Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" was written in 1870. In this article we will describe its brief content and talk about the interesting history of the creation of the work. We will also analyze the poem “Grandfather” by Nekrasov. So, let's start with a summary.

Poem "Grandfather" (Nekrasov): summary

Little Sasha once saw a portrait of some young general in his father’s office and decided to ask who it was. The father replied that this man was his grandfather. But he did not talk about it in detail. This is how Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" begins.

Sasha then ran to his mother and began asking her where this man was now, and why the boy had never seen him. The mother had tears in her eyes and sadly answered her son that he would find out everything himself when he grew up. Soon this mysterious grandfather came to visit the boy's family. Everyone greeted him friendly and were happy. Sasha decided to ask his grandfather why he had not been in the house for so long, and where his uniform was. But he answered, repeating his mother’s words: “When you grow up, you’ll know.”

Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" continues as follows. Sasha quickly became friends with the main character, they spent a lot of time walking together. Grandfather gave the impression of a very wise and experienced person. He was slender and stately, with a gray beard and white curls. By nature this man seemed simple; no work frightened him. He talked a lot about the village of Tarbagatai, located somewhere beyond Lake Baikal. Sasha could not yet understand where exactly it was located, but hoped to find out when he grew up.

The poem we are describing tells, in particular, about what the main character did when he arrived home. Grandfather was a general, but despite this, he was excellent with a plow, even plowing an entire field alone. He never sat for a minute without difficulty. Arriving home, the grandfather walked, enjoyed nature, communicating with his grandson, and worked all the time (either in the garden, then at the plow, or darning or repairing something). He also sang songs and told stories that greatly interested the boy, who grew up in a good family, which instilled in him an interest in the fate and history of the Russian people. Grandfather often felt sad when remembering something. When Sasha inquired about the reason for this sadness, he replied that everything had already passed, everything was fine. After all, it’s a completely different time now, it’s easier for people these days.

Previously, he had seen so much suffering in the country that now everything around him seemed calm and peaceful. Grandfather often sang songs about free people, glorious campaigns, and wonderful beauties.

Time was ticking by. Grandfather always answered any of Sasha’s questions by saying: “When you grow up, you’ll know.” The boy thus developed a keen interest in learning. After some time, he was already studying geography and history. The boy could show on the map where St. Petersburg and Chita are located, and tell a lot about the life of the Russian people. Due to past wounds, my grandfather began to get sick more and more often. He now needed a crutch. He understood, looking at Sasha, that the boy would very soon learn about the terrible events that had recently occurred in Russia - this is how Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather” ends. Let us now tell you about the history of its creation.

Kostroma basis of the work

In the early seventies of the 19th century, Nekrasov worked on a cycle consisting of poems about the fate of the Decembrists: “Grandfather” (written in 1870), as well as “Russian Women”, which consisted of two parts: in 1871 “Princess” was completed Trubetskaya", and in 1872 - Princess Volkonskaya.

At first glance, addressing this topic may seem uncharacteristic for a poet like Nekrasov, who is indifferent to historical subjects. However, as Nikolai Leonidovich Stepanov noted, this was precisely an appeal to the revolutionary pages of the past, and not to history as such, a reminder of selfless figures and the first attempt at revolution in our country.

Grandfather's prototype

The plot of the work is the story of how an old Decembrist came to the estate to visit his son. He was freed from Siberia in 1856 according to a manifesto published at that time.

Who is Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" dedicated to? The prototype of the main character is considered to be Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky (life - 1788-1865) - a prince, a former major general, a famous Decembrist. S. G. Volkonsky arrived in the Kostroma province in the summer of 1857.

In August 1857, the governor of Moscow sent Andrei Fedorovich Voitsekh, his colleague in Kostroma, a special order to establish supervision over this man, who went to Buysky district, to his daughter’s estate. By this time, she was already widowed, since Dmitry Vasilyevich Molchanov, her husband, who served under Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Amursky (Governor General of all Eastern Siberia) as an official on special assignments, died in 1856. Elena Sergeevna, Volkonsky’s daughter, in 1854 a son was born, who was named Seryozha in honor of his grandfather. Thus, the poem “Grandfather” (Nekrasov) as the main storyline has a basis taken by Nikolai Alekseevich from life (from the trip of Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky to the Kostroma province).

The history of the creation of the poem "Grandfather"

Nekrasov could have learned about this trip from his old friend - Prince M. S. Volkonsky (life - 1832-1902), with whom he often went on winter hunting from St. Petersburg. This man was the son of S. G. Volkonsky.

One of the main sources for the creation of this poem was, according to the fair remark of Yu. V. Lebedev, the book “Siberia and Hard Labor” by S. V. Maksimov, published in the magazine “Domestic Notes” (which was published by Nekrasov) in 1868-1869.

The most reliable sources that the poet had when working on these two poems were the information he took from the third part of this book - “State Criminals”. It contained detailed descriptions of Siberian life and exiles of the Decembrists. The author not only visited all these places, but also visited the famous Tarbagatai. Nekrasov's story about him served as the ideological seed of the poem.

The impact of censorship on a work

The author had to change the outline of the poem "Grandfather" (Nekrasov) due to censorship. So, at the beginning of his acquaintance with the main character, Nekrasov writes that the grandfather entered his house with the words that he had made peace with everything that he had to endure in his lifetime. That is, this man realized that he was rightly punished and reconciled with the regime that crippled his life. In fact, however, this was not the case at all. We draw this conclusion based on the grandfather’s subsequent speeches. Consequently, Nekrasov wrote these lines to disguise his work (the poem “Grandfather”) from censorship.

The image of the main character

The grandfather is depicted as gray-haired, very old, but still active, cheerful, with intact teeth, firm posture and a humble look. Nekrasov pays special attention to the gray hair to show how long this man spent in Siberia, how difficult it was for him to live in that harsh land, what suffering he had to endure.

Grandfather is happy to the point of tears to see his native nature, because in Siberia it is completely different - merciless, gray, alien. He dreams that the peasant people will finally be given freedom, and all of them - nobles, peasants - will live in harmony with each other, will be happy with everything.

We continue the analysis of the poem “Grandfather” (Nekrasov is the author). The old Decembrist says: “There will be a free people!” He believes that soon all difficulties will end, that is, he believes in the liberal reforms that Alexander II carried out at that time, that serfdom will end.

A story about life in Siberia

Grandfather said that “wonderful wonders are created” by the labor and will of man. His belief in these qualities is confirmed by the story of how in Siberia, with the help of a small group of people, a livable settlement was built, grain was grown on what was considered barren, harsh northern land in the distant village of Tarbagatai. Now “beautiful, tall” people lived there richly and happily.

Attitudes towards different social groups of people

Grandfather calls clerks, officials and landowners money-grubbers (that is, self-interested people). They ruined the fates of serfs, upset their marriages, beat them, robbed them, and sent young men as recruits. But there were also good people in our country who sincerely worried about the fate of the country and people. They were among the Decembrists on Senate Square in 1825.

To fight and defeat darkness and acquisitiveness, reason, unanimity and united strength are needed. The true grief, according to grandfather, was that our country was ruined, backward, and people turned deaf to any attempts to develop it, revive it, since the people were already suffering without it.

But the main character calls for remembering that there are no “irresistible victories” in the world. That is, sooner or later all saboteurs and villains will come to an end, their evil will return to them a hundredfold, and the people will be avenged.

Time of creation of the poem

This poem was created during a new social upsurge that occurred in the late 1860s and early 70s, and was associated with the activities of the so-called revolutionary populists. With his work, Nekrasov wanted to remind people of the heroic feat performed by the Decembrists, who openly opposed the government, and thereby focus attention on the importance of liberation ideas in Russia. In addition, he sought to draw the attention of his contemporaries to the fact that the situation of the Russian people had changed little after the abolition of serfdom. Nekrasov raised the question of the need to continue to fight for workers’ rights and for social justice.

Topicality and relevance of the work

In the poem "Grandfather" the main character strives to open his grandson's eyes to the people's disasters, to instill the idea that it is necessary to serve truth and goodness. And his speeches meet with a lively response. Sasha, communicating with his grandfather, begins to look at the world differently and think more deeply. Now he hates the evil and stupid, and wishes good to the poor. The grandfather sought to raise a future citizen in his grandson. The topicality and relevance of the poem lies precisely in this. It resonated with the tasks that figures of that time, including N.A. Nekrasov, set for themselves.

"Grandfather" is a poem that was created taking into account the censorship requirements for literature of that time. In the work, Nekrasov, for obvious reasons, could not speak openly about the matter for which the hero was exiled to hard labor. The story of the Decembrist uprising sounds muffled in the poem. But the holy, lofty idea of serving the people runs through the entire work as a bright line.

Development of the theme in Nekrasov’s further work

The poet continued to work on reflecting the Decembrist theme. The next stage was an appeal to the feat accomplished by the wives of the Decembrists, who went to distant Siberia to hard labor for their husbands. In the poem about the princesses Volkonskaya and Trubetskoy, Nekrasov expresses his admiration for these best representatives of the noble circle, who realized the meaning of the cause for which their spouses suffered.

This concludes the analysis of such a work as the poem “Grandfather” (Nekrasov). The essay does not pretend to fully cover the topic, but we tried to consider everything in as much detail as possible.

N. Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather” is dedicated to the Decembrists, Russian noble revolutionaries who fought against serfdom and autocracy.

By order of the tsar, the Decembrists were exiled to a remote village, on a barren land, dooming them to hunger, a slow and painful death, and the Decembrists, thanks to their work, lived and continued to defend their ideas. Reading the work, we learn how hard the life of the serfs was, how cruelly the landowners treated the peasants; the peasants had no rights, the landowner treated them as his property. We see the full burden of serf labor and are convinced of the justice of the Decembrists’ struggle. This poem says a lot about the role of labor:

I saw a miracle, Sasha:
A handful of Russians were exiled
Into the terrible wilderness, for the split,
They were given freedom and land;
A year has passed unnoticed -
The commissars are going there.
Lo and behold, the village is standing.
Rigs, sheds, barns!
The hammer is knocking in the forge...
So gradually over half a century
A huge planting has grown -
Will and labor of man
Wonderful wonders create!..

Thanks to their work, the exiles had housing and food, and maintained their health. Labor among the Decembrists was a means of fighting the autocracy.

Grandfather gives Sasha advice: to love his homeland, his native nature, a hard worker; fight oppressors; learn everything useful for humans; prepare from a young age to fight for the happiness of the poor; be able to observe the surrounding life of the working people, understand it, respect the working person, hate greed, stupidity; value honor, be reasonable and patient in the struggle for better ideals; know the sciences well, especially history and geography, sciences that help to know one’s homeland. To characterize the image of Sasha, you need to read individual passages from several chapters. Sasha is an inquisitive, persistent, obedient boy who follows his grandfather’s advice.

In the lines “mine and man’s labor create wonderful wonders,” one can see the influence of labor on the development of moral qualities of character and views of the Decembrists. Grandfather bows to reason, reassures the peasants, informing them of imminent freedom. Labor convinced the Decembrists of the rightness of their struggle. The Decembrists were convinced from their own experience that work free from landlord oppression brings great joy.

The work teaches that the younger generation should study, be able to work, love work in agriculture, and love their homeland.

The general conclusion about the theme, idea and main thought of N.A. Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather” can be made as follows:

In the history of the people's liberation from autocracy, the struggle of the Decembrists was important. The Decembrists were patriots of their homeland, they fought to make life easier for peasant workers and for free labor. The work that the Decembrists did in exile gave them strength and stamina in the fight against tsarism. Agricultural work made life easier for exiles, helped satisfy nutritional needs and maintain health, and strengthened spiritual strength. But labor became completely free only under Soviet rule.

In the early 70s, Nekrasov worked on a cycle of poems dedicated to the fate of the Decembrists: “Grandfather” (1870), “Russian Women”, consisting of two parts: “Princess Trubetskaya” (1871) and “Princess M.N. Volkonskaya" (1872). At first glance, turning to Decembrist themes may seem uncharacteristic of Nekrasov with his indifference to historical subjects. However, as N. L. Stepanov wrote: “This (...) is not just an appeal to the past, but to the revolutionary pages of history, a reminder of the first attempt at revolution in Russia and its selfless heroic figures.” 515 .

As you know, the plot basis of “Grandfather” is the story of the arrival of an old Decembrist man, who was freed from Siberia according to the manifesto of 1856, to his son’s estate. The prototype of the hero of the poem is considered to be the famous Decembrist, former major general, Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky (1788 - 1865). .) 516 . In the summer of 1857, S. G. Volkonsky visited the Kostroma province. On August 13, 1857, the governor of the Moscow province sent a special message to his Kostroma colleague, Major General A.F. Voitsekh, about establishing supervision over S.G. Volkonsky, who had gone to his daughter’s estate in Buisky district. The statement read: “The political criminal Sergei Volkonsky, returned from Siberia, living in the specific village of Alekseevskoye, Moscow district, on the 8th of this month left the Kostroma province of Buysky district to the village of Leontyevo to visit his daughter, Molchanova. I have the honor to inform Your Excellency about this for your appropriate disposal.” 517 .

The Mrs. Molchanova mentioned in relation is the daughter of S. G. and M. N. Volkonsky, Elena Sergeevna Volkonskaya (1835 - 1916), in Molchanov’s first marriage. In August 1857, S. G. Volkonsky visited his daughter’s family, who lived in the village of Leontyevo in Buysky district (now the village of Leontyevo in the Susaninsky district). By this time, his daughter was already widowed; her first husband, Dmitry Vasilyevich Molchanov, who served as an official on special assignments under the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, died in 1856. 518 In 1854, Elena Sergeevna had a son, named after his grandfather Seryozha A. Thus, the main plot line of the poem “Grandfather”, that a grandfather comes from Siberia to his grandson’s estate, was clearly taken by Nekrasov from life - from S. G. Volkonsky’s trip to Leontyevo.

Nekrasov could have learned about S. G. Volkonsky’s trip to the Kostroma province from S. G. Volkonsky’s son, his old friend Prince M. S. Volkonsky (1832 - 1902), with whom he often traveled from St. Petersburg on winter hunting.

According to the fair opinion of Yu. V. Lebedev, one of the main sources of the poems “Grandfather” and “Princess Volkonskaya” was the book by S. V. Maksimov “Siberia and hard labor,” published in Nekrasov’s “Notes of the Fatherland” in 1868-1869. Yu. V. Lebedev writes: “...at the time the poet was working on the first two poems of the Decembrist cycle, the most reliable sources he had were information from the third part of Maximov’s book “Siberia and hard labor” - “State criminals.” This part was published in the September and October issues of Otechestvennye zapiski for 1869 and contained detailed descriptions of the exile and Siberian life of the Decembrists. (...) Maksimov visited not only all the places of exile of the Decembrists, but also visited the famous Tarbagatai, the story of which was the ideological seed of Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather”" 519 .

Nekrasov and “Walking among the People”

As you know, in 1874, members of revolutionary youth circles made an attempt to rouse the peasant masses to an uprising, which went down in history as “going to the people.” “Walking among the people” did not escape the Yaroslavl and Kostroma provinces. In August 1874, in Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov wrote a poem related to one of the episodes of the “walk” - “The Grief of Old Naum.” Most of all, “The Grief of Old Naum” is known from its passage, which is not directly related to the main part of the poem, where the poet dreams of the future of the Volga:

Other times, other pictures

I'll see the beginning

In the random life of the shores

My beloved river:

Freed from shackles,

Tireless people

Will ripen, populate densely

Coastal deserts;

The science of water will deepen:

Along their smooth plain

Giant ships will run

Countless crowd

And vigorous work will be eternal

Above the eternal river... (II, 384).

Much has been written about “The Mountain of Old Nahum,” but it seems to have never become the object of historical study. After all, it was not by chance that Nekrasov gave it the subtitle - “Volga true story.” The hero of the poem is the rich peasant Naum, the owner of a molasses factory and an inn. It is believed that the prototype of Naum was the former serf Nikita Petrovich Ponizovkin, who received his freedom from the landowner in 1849 and settled not far from Greshnev. N.P. Ponizovkin was an Old Believer who, it is believed, believed in the consent of wanderers 520 . The rise of this man is amazing: already in 1850 he became a merchant of the Second Guild, in 1863 - of the First Guild 521 . On the banks of the Volga, not far from Greshnev, an entire industrial town grew up - Ponizovkino (after the revolution, renamed “Red Profintern”). Ponizovkin’s career developed before Nekrasov’s eyes; it is possible that he knew him personally. Of course, the breeder N.P. Ponizovkin was for the poet a sworn enemy, a people's oppressor, a spider.

Naum lives not far from the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery and Big Salts. The poem says:

Nearby is the “Babai” monastery,

Village "Big Soli"

Kostroma is also nearby (II, 382).

In “The Mountain of Old Naum,” Nekrasov, as far as possible, showed the episode of “going to the people.” A young man and a girl propagandized among the peasants of the Yaroslavl province. They pretended to be peasants and were dressed accordingly. Already at the very beginning, their mission almost failed. The girl propagandist smoked, and one day she sat down to smoke, not just somewhere in a nook, but on the porch of the house where they were staying, in front of people. The sight of a smoking peasant girl could not help but shock eyewitnesses b. Rumors began to spread about the young people, which soon reached the right people, and only circumstances saved the propagandists from immediate arrest.

These young people's names were Pavel Semenovich Troitsky and Maria Eduardovna Geishtor. P.S. Troitsky was the son of a priest from the village. Balakhty near Krasnoyarsk. After graduating from the Tomsk Theological Seminary, he entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. Maria Eduardovna (Maria Yuzefa) Geishtor (1855 – 1922), Lithuanian on her father’s side and Polish on her mother’s side, was born in Minsk. On her father's side, she belonged to a Lithuanian noble family. Her father and older brother were exiled to Siberia for participating in the 1863 uprising; her mother followed her husband to Siberia, where she died. Maria Jozefa spent her childhood and youth in Siberia. In 1873, she arrived in St. Petersburg, where she began to prepare to enter women’s medical courses and joined the circle of Siberian students at the Medical-Surgical Academy. In May 1874, Troitsky and Geishtor left Rybinsk and moved parallel to the Volga, engaged in propaganda. The incident with Maria Eduardovna smoking occurred in Kostroma district, somewhere near Bolshie Soli. Having learned that their comrade in Rybinsk had been arrested, Troitsky and Geishtor returned to St. Petersburg, where they were arrested. Maria Eduardovna was soon deported to the Kostroma province. For some time she was in the Kostroma prison on the street. Rusina, then by order of the governor she was sent to the city of Kologriv. Soon she was taken from Kologriv to Yaroslavl and put in prison. In total, Maria Eduardovna spent four years in prison (two years in Yaroslavl and two in the Peter and Paul Fortress), after which she went through the “193s” process. Her future husband, I.I. Dobrovolsky, whom she met in Yaroslavl prison, was also tried with her. At the trial, Maria Eduardovna was acquitted, and I. I. Dobrovolsky received 9 years of hard labor. However, he managed to escape, and they left for Switzerland, where Maria Eduardovna graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva. In 1905, after an amnesty, the couple returned to Russia. Maria Eduardovna was an active member of the Political Red Cross and worked in a hospital during World War I. She lived until the revolution and died in December 1922 near Moscow in the town of Starye Gorki near Bolshevo station 522 .

In recent years

At the end of the 60s, Nekrasov was not yet fifty years old. He was rich, his fame grew. After parting with Polina Lefren, the poet soon met Praskovya Nikolaevna Meishen. Coming from a philistine background, Praskovya Nikolaevna was born in Yaroslavl. Very young, she married an elderly provincial mechanic, V.I. Meishen, but very soon, at the beginning of 1867, she was widowed. In the summer of 1867, Praskovya Nikolaevna became close to Nekrasov; in October of the same year, she moved with him to St. Petersburg and settled in his apartment on Liteiny. About a year later they separated, and Praskovya Nikolaevna returned to Yaroslavl. After some time, she remarried the nobleman Volkov, lived with him for ten years and was widowed again 523 .

In the spring of 1870, Nekrasov met “a young, charming and cheerful girl Feklusha Viktorova. Beautiful and modest, kind and warm-hearted, a cheerful singer and laugher, she passionately fell in love with the poet and entered his life forever. Nekrasov was then 48 years old, she was 23.” 524 . Nothing reliable is known about her origin, where she was from and under what circumstances she met the poet. It is only clear that Fekla Anisimovna Viktorova (1847 - 1915) was of “simple rank” 525 . As befits a democrat and lover of the people, Nekrasov renamed his girlfriend, replacing her common folk name and patronymic with the exquisitely euphonious Zinaida Nikolaevna (Nekrasov formed the patronymic in his own name) V. In this “renaming” one cannot help but see manifestations of the old landowner tradition of giving close serf servants or favorites “noble” names (remember how Tatyana Larina’s mother in “Eugene Onegin” called the courtyard girl Akulka Selina). Zinaida Nikolaevna settled in the former “Panaev half” of his apartment on Liteiny, which after the death of I. I. Panaev and the departure of Avdotya Yakovlevna became part of the poet’s apartment. Officially, she was listed as a housekeeper.

It was already written above that from the beginning of the 60s Nekrasov often went hunting in the Novgorod province, and from 1868 he regularly hunted in the Chudov region. In the spring of 1871, Nekrasov acquired a small estate near the village of Luka from the landowners Vladimirovs, located one mile from the Chudovo railway station (now the city of Chudovo in the Novgorod region), which is why the name Chudovskaya Luka was assigned to it. The poet's new estate on the Kerest River consisted of a two-story wooden house with an outbuilding, services, and a stable. The estate had a park with alleys of ancient linden and oak trees. The estate included 162 acres of land 526 . In Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov’s hunting dogs were kept at the kennel, which, when the poet traveled to Karabikha, were delivered there 527 .

Before purchasing Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov usually lived in Karabikha in the summer. Starting from 1871, the poet began to regularly visit Chudovskaya Luka: he came here in 1871, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1875 and 1876. In the vicinity of his new estate, Nekrasov hunted a lot, in particular bears. Nekrasov’s authority as a hunter and the fame of his dogs were already so great that in the summer of 1873, the Tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, asked the poet for hounds from Chudovskaya Luka G528 .

From Chudovskaya Luka in the summer of 1875, Nekrasov came to Karabikha for the last time, visited Greshnevo with Zinaida Nikolaevna, visited the graves of his parents in Abakumtsevo, and visited his old hunting companion Kuzma Efimovich Solnyshkov in the village of Orlovo 529 .

In 1875, Nekrasov was already suffering from a serious illness that soon brought him to his grave - rectal cancer. Suffering from pain, he wrote the great satire “Contemporaries” in Karabikha, where he mockingly depicted a number of real representatives of the highest bureaucracy and industrialists, some of whom he personally knew from the English Club. Nekrasov made the famous V. A. Kokorev one of the heroes of Contemporaries, bringing him out under the name of Savva Antichristov. Vasily Aleksandrovich Kokorev (1817 - 1889), a native of Soligalich, an Old Believer of the Pomeranian persuasion, was the brightest figure of young Russian capitalism. Suffice it to say that he was the founder of a number of joint-stock companies: the Volga-Don Railway Company, the Volga-Caspian Shipping Company "Caucasus and Mercury", the Ural Railway Company, and the Baku Oil Company. V. A. Kokorev was also the founder of the Volga-Kama Bank and the creator of the first oil refinery in Russia, which opened in 1859 near Baku (his services in this area were highly appreciated by D. I. Mendeleev). Of course, V.A. Kokorev was not an angel. Modern researchers write about him: “...we see before us a very contradictory, complex, by no means abstract image of not only a major Russian businessman and capitalist, but also an extraordinary personality, whose breadth of views and initiatives was ahead of the people of his circle, and at the same time the most typical representative of his class, his time" 530 .

In the summer of 1876, the sick poet came to Chudovskaya Luka for the last time. The ever-increasing illness caused him excruciating suffering, at times leading him to thoughts of suicide 531 .

Poems written in the last period of Nekrasov’s life, during a serious illness, made up the cycle “Last Songs”. In their declining years, philosophical motives usually predominate in the work of poets. Nekrasov, even from his deathbed, continued to denounce and call Rus' to the axe. One of the main ones in the cycle was the poem “To the Sowers,” best known for the lines:

Russian people... (II, 401).

V. E. Evgeniev-Maksimov wrote: “... the main meaning of this poem is a greeting addressed to the fighters for the liberation of the people.” 532 . In fact, Nekrasov called for “sowing” the ideas of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov.

The “Last Songs” cycle was published in the January issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski for 1877 and caused a flurry of responses. On February 3, 1877, at a student evening, 395 people, mostly students of St. Petersburg University and the Medical-Surgical Academy, signed the Address to the poet. A few days later, three student representatives presented it to the sick poet. The Address said that Russian youth carry in their hearts “a mighty, holy love for the people,” and Nekrasov, “the singer of the people, the singer of their grief and suffering,” with his poetry “kindles this mighty love for the people and inflames with hatred of their oppressors.” . The Address ended with the words: “Passing the names dear to us from mouth to mouth, we will not forget your name and will hand it over to the healed and restored people, so that they will know the one whose many good seeds fell on the soil of people’s happiness. Know that you are not alone, that these seeds will be nurtured and nurtured by the Russian student youth who love you with all their souls.” 533 .

Life was passing away, it was necessary to take stock and pay off the last debts. On January 13, 1877, Nekrasov drew up an official will. There is one mystery connected with the poet's will. Its text specifically states: “He, the testator, has no capital in monetary securities at all” (XII, 100). Touching upon Nekrasov’s lack of “capital in monetary securities,” V.V. Zhdanov wrote: “This caused some surprise among his contemporaries, who considered Nekrasov’s fortune in the last years of his life to be very significant.” 534 . The researcher, in particular, refers to the entry in the diary of E. A. Stackenschneider dated October 19, 1880, which states that Nekrasov bequeathed “five hundred thousand” to the “nihilists” 535 . Commenting on the entry of E. A. Stackenschneider, V. V. Zhdanov writes: “... rumors about the bequest of money circulated, and even a certain amount was named; maybe this is where we need to look for an explanation of the mystery of where the money went (...). Didn’t this money go to support the revolutionary populist organization, to revolutionary propaganda?” 536 .

Could Nekrasov have donated a large sum of money to revolutionary causes? The answer to this question can only be in the affirmative. Surely, the poet helped revolutionaries before. Before his death, the childless Nekrasov could bequeath to them most of his fortune. For him it was a natural and logical act, which in some respect summed up his entire life.

Most likely, Nekrasov bequeathed his money to the organization of revolutionary populists - “Land and Freedom”, which arose at the end of 1876. It is unlikely that the poet’s capital went only to revolutionary propaganda. We have the right to believe that it was also used for a number of high-profile acts of terror in subsequent years.

In the spring of 1877, Nekrasov took an important step: he married Zinaida Nikolaevna. All his life, the poet tried not to introduce relationships with women into legal frameworks. Only fear for the fate of Zinaida Nikolaevna forced him to overcome his hostility to marriage. He decided to get married only on the eve of his upcoming operation, the outcome of which could not be predicted. Nekrasov was already in such bad condition that there could be no talk of any wedding in the church. At the prompting of Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg, they turned to the military clergy, who had portable churches-tents. A similar tent was installed in the dining room of the Nekrasov apartment 537 . On April 4, 1877, Nekrasov was married by the priest of the Admiralty Cathedral of St. Spyridon, Fr. Mikhail Kutnevich 538 . At the decisive moment, “they took the patient by the arms and led him around the lectern three times, half dead from suffering. Eyewitnesses remembered that he was barefoot and wearing a long shirt." 539 .

A week after the wedding, Nekrasov lay on the operating table. He was operated on by the luminary of European medicine, surgeon Billroth, invited from Vienna. After the operation, which took place on April 12, 1877 at the poet’s apartment, Nekrasov lived for several more months.

On December 15, 1877, A. A. Butkevich wrote to F. A. Nekrasov in Karabikha: “Everything is the same with us, my brother is still in the same position, only he gets out of bed not three times a day, but twice, and cannot sit for a long time. In general, his situation is difficult, but looking at him makes it easier to go to bed yourself.” 540 .

Death and funeral of the poet

Nekrasov died on December 27, 1877, at 8:50 pm. The next day, a coffin was displayed in the dining room of his apartment, at which, according to tradition, the Psalter was read until the funeral. In the following days, many people visited the house on Liteiny. In particular, on December 29, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (son of Emperor Alexander II) visited the apartment of the deceased. d. Of course, after the revolution they never wrote that the Tsar’s son honored the memory of Nekrasov.

It is noteworthy that Nekrasov did not want to be buried on the Literary Bridge of the Volkov Cemetery, which by that time had become the traditional resting place for artists, or, for example, in Abakumtsevo next to his parents. According to his will dated January 13, 1877, he designated the cemetery of the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent as his burial place (XII, 100). It can be confidently assumed that his choice was due to the fact that this cemetery had an “aristocratic, closed character” 542 . The master again defeated the democrat in Nekrasov; vanity turned out to be stronger than the desire to be buried in the same graveyard with Belinsky and Dobrolyubov. In Nekrasov’s circle, the news of his choice of burial place caused mixed reactions e.

Since the 60s In the 19th century, a tradition arose in St. Petersburg and Moscow when the funerals of writers or public figures who had somehow “suffered” for their beliefs turned, in fact, into political demonstrations. Nekrasov’s funeral, which took place on December 30, 1877, became one of the most striking examples of this kind. Members of “Land and Freedom” even twice almost brought it to the point of shooting at them: the first time, when, coming to the funeral with a wreath “From the Socialists”, they surrounded those carrying it with an armed ring, the second time - during a speech at the grave of G. V. Plekhanov. In both cases, the landowners agreed in advance to defend both the wreath and Plekhanov with weapons in their hands 544 . Thus, the populists are ready to organize a massacre at the funeral of their beloved poet.

Nekrasov's funeral service took place in the Resurrection Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. This monastery near the Obvodny Canal was built by the labors of a native of the Kostroma region, Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) * .

Much has been written about Nekrasov’s funeral in Soviet times, but one important episode was usually hushed up. We are talking about the “Word”, which was delivered at the poet’s tomb by a native of the Kostroma region, professor at St. Petersburg University, Archpriest Mikhail Gorchakov ** .

Why exactly Fr. Mikhail had a chance to pronounce the funeral eulogy; whether he did this on his own initiative or at someone’s request, whether he was personally acquainted with the deceased, we do not know.

After the completion of the funeral service and the singing of “Rest with the Saints” in the crowded cathedral, Fr. Mikhail Gorchakov said a word about the deceased. In particular, he said: “The deceased was a bearer and spokesman for the suffering and grief of the Russian people. His poems pour out the suffering thoughts and feelings of not one class of people, not one state or title, not one circle (as some try to believe), but the thoughts and feelings of each and every one of us, who have experienced misfortune and grief without differences of rank, condition, position, age and gender. No circle of people that is part of the Russian people should or has the right to consider the deceased as their only poet, belonging exclusively to one circle. No, the deceased is dear to all Russians; he is our common, our people's poet. (...) As a truly national poet and as a member of the Orthodox Russian Church, the deceased knew where Russian grief poured out, where the Russian heart, languishing from troubles, found relief, consolation and salvation. He recognized and understood the significance and position of the great Russian national shrine, our domestic Orthodox Church. (...) He asks for forgiveness and love with emotion and repentance...

Are you, the deceased, asking for forgiveness and love? But you are given honors unprecedented among us, worthy both of you and of those giving them to you. They are rewarded to you by the thinking class and our young generation, on whom the hopes of the fatherland rest in its near future. Honors to you from the fatherland will grow over time, deep into the centuries, as the people develop the consciousness of comprehending, but suffering thoughts and feelings, the artistic expression of which you have been for several decades.

Are you asking for forgiveness and love? -Your suffering has redeemed you. Your love for others covers you. The Orthodox Church remembers the words of the Savior: “Whoever loves much will be forgiven much”; “He who endures to the end will be saved.” The Church as a society always maintains faith in its unfading future, which was presented to you in your poetic visions, and with the Orthodox Russian people will never cease to sing eternal memory to you. Amen" 547 .

The fate of the “Word” about. Mikhail Gorchakov's life was unusual. Pronounced in the presence of numerous representatives of the cultural and social elite of the capital, it was not published in its entirety either in pre-revolutionary times, much less in Soviet times. The reason for this was the unusual interpretation of Nekrasov’s work, in which for the first time Orthodox motifs were spoken of in his poetry.

In 1881, a monument with a sculptural image of the poet (sculptor M. Chizhov, architect V. Schreiber) stood at Nekrasov’s grave in the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent. On the monument were carved lines from the poem “To the Sowers,” which is rightly considered the poet’s political testament:

Sow what is reasonable, good, eternal,

Sow! Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Russian people…

Below was a phrase from the Address of St. Petersburg students in 1877: “As we pass on dear names from mouth to mouth, we will not forget your name and will hand it over to the healed and enlightened people, so that they will know the one whose many good seeds fell on the soil of the people’s happiness.” (one word on the monument was changed: instead of “to the people who have seen the light” - to “to the enlightened people” - N.Z.) 549 .

The poem “Grandfather” was written by Nekrasov in 1870. It describes the arrival of an old Decembrist to his son’s estate. The beginning of the poem dates back to 1856, when a manifesto was published returning the Decembrists from exile.

The image of the grandfather is collective. The prototype is considered to be Sergei Volkonsky, who returned as a 68-year-old man, still handsome and stately. The demoted General Volkonsky loved to talk with the peasants, and the peasant children called him grandfather. The temperamental Mikhail Bestuzhev, with whom Nekrasov communicated in 1869, is also considered a prototype.

The poem is dedicated to Z-n-ch-e (Zinochka), that is, Zinaida Nikolaevna Nekrasova, Nekrasov’s common-law wife.

Literary direction, genre

"Grandfather" is a realistic poem. For censorship reasons, Nekrasov does not say directly that his grandfather is a Decembrist. The hero dreams of freedom and wealth of the people, promising peasants and soldiers that life will soon be easier for them (a hint at the reforms of Alexander II).

The image of the main character

The reader sees the grandfather through the eyes of his grandson. First, Sasha notices a portrait of a young general (obviously from the war of 1812). Then he learns from his parents that his grandfather is surrounded by some sad secret. Then mother reveals to Sasha that grandfather is kind, brave and unhappy. Having arrived from afar, grandfather announces that he has come to terms with everything. But subsequent events suggest that this is not the case. Grandfather lives with the thought of revenge, calls on Sasha to value honor and take revenge for insults. He is like a biblical hero who suffered for the people: his son falls at his feet, Sasha’s mother combs her gray curls, Sasha asks about the wounds on his arm and leg.

The portrait is described using epithets: “Ancient for years, but still vigorous and beautiful.” Grandfather has intact teeth, firm gait and posture, white curls, a silver beard, a holy smile.

The biblical nature of the image of the grandfather is emphasized by the hero’s repetitions of biblical phrases: “He who has ears, let him hear, and he who has eyes, let him see.”

At home, the grandfather walks with his grandson, admires nature, comparing it with the deaf, dull, deserted nature of the place of exile, “strokes the peasant children,” talks with the peasants. He cannot sit without work: he plows, digs ridges, weaves, weaves.

The song brings grandfather closer to the people. He sings about the Decembrists, about their exile. Nekrasov also sang “about Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya”: his poem “Grandfather” opened a cycle of poems about the Decembrists.

Nekrasov entrusted his innermost thoughts to his grandfather: a successful country is one in which the population is characterized not by dull obedience, but by strength, unanimity and reason. Nekrasov, in the words of his grandfather, appeals to the reader: “Woe to the devastated country, woe to the backward country.”

Negative images of the poem

Officials and gentlemen squeeze the juice out of the people (metaphor), vile clerks (epithet), go on a campaign against the army, treasury and people (metaphor), a greedy flock of predators (metaphor and epithet) prepares the death of the fatherland, “muffling out the groans of slaves with flattery and the whistling of whips "(metaphor). The military commander commits atrocities, hammers his soul into his heels, so that his teeth rain down like hail, and does not even allow him to breathe in the ranks (hyperbole).

Theme, main idea and composition

The theme of the poem is the transfer to new generations of true, from the author’s point of view, values (freedom and happiness of the people, prosperity of the country).

The main idea: the cause of the Decembrists did not die. It will be continued by the next, properly educated generations.

The poem consists of 22 chapters, many of which end with the refrain: “When you grow up, Sasha, you will know...”. Others – with rhetorical questions: “Who, who has a soul, could bear this? Who?"

The action of the poem takes several years. It begins with little Sasha's question about his grandfather's portrait. The grandfather tells his grandson about the tyranny of the landowners of the past (obviously, before the Decembrist uprising), summarizing it: “The spectacle of the people’s disasters is unbearable, my friend.” The poem ends with Sasha’s readiness to find out the sad truth. He has enough knowledge and heartfelt disposition: “He hates the stupid and the wicked, he wishes good to the poor.” The poem has an open ending.

In inserted episodes, grandfather tells Sasha a story about a utopian settlement that he met in Siberia, in Tarbagatai. The Raskolnikovs were exiled to a deserted place, and a year later there was a village there, and half a century later a whole settlement grew up: “The will and labor of man creates wondrous wonders.”

Meter and rhyme

The poem is written in dactyl trimeter. The rhyme is cross, female rhyme alternates with male rhyme.

“It’s stuffy! Without happiness and will...", analysis of Nekrasov’s poem
“Farewell”, analysis of Nekrasov’s poem
“The heart breaks from torment,” analysis of Nekrasov’s poem

Literature lesson (extracurricular reading) in 6th grade on the topic:

Historical poem "Grandfather". Decembrist theme in creativity

N. A. Nekrasova

Lesson objectives:

1.Introduce students to the historical poem; talk about the fate of the Decembrists in Siberia;show how much attention the writer paid to depicting the life of the common people in the era of serfdom.

2. Develop the ability to analyze a work and formulate conclusions and assumptions after reading.

3. Cultivate a conscious attitude of students towards the historical the country's past.

During the classes.

Class organization

Goal setting. Determining the topic of the lesson. Setting goals.

Which writer's work did we talk about in previous lessons?

How will you remember Nekrasov? (interesting facts from biography and life).

- What is the main theme of Nekrasov's creativity? (the fate of the worker, the fate of the Russian people. His poems are imbued with deep sympathy for the peasant, the working man). Game “Literary Lotto” (match the quatrains with reproductions of paintings).

Based on your homework, determine the topic of today's lesson.

Today in class we will get acquainted with another work by Nekrasov, written in 1870, with the historical poem “Grandfather”.

VI. Learning new material

Open your workbooks, write down the date and topic of the lesson.

Definition of the word "poem" poem

- (from the Greek poiema - creation) - lyric-epic genre: a large or medium-sized poetic work (a poetic story,novel in verse ), the main features of which are the presence of a plot (as in an epic) and an image of a lyrical hero (as in lyrics):

A) Identifying the level of primary perception of the poem.

What is the plot of the poem?

What lyrical heroes are we talking about?(boy Sasha, grandfather A)

What does the text say about the boy? (he lives with his dad and mom, shown in the process of growing up from 3 to 10 years)

What is said about grandfather at the beginning of the poem?

(in my father’s office there is a portrait of him, no one knows anything about him, everyone cries when anyone talks about him, while waiting for his grandfather, a lot of cleaning begins, everyone has happy faces, the grandfather has a big cross on his chest (researchers believe that this cross was melted down from his shackles), his leg was erased (maybe from the shackles), his hand was wounded (probably from a shot), the author calls him “mysterious grandfather.”)

So, who is this “mysterious grandfather?”(Decembrist)

Who are the Decembrists?

( Decembrists are people who took part in the uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. For the most part, the Decembrists were nobles, well educated, many were military men. They really wanted to change Russia. They fought for the abolition of serfdom, the abolition of royal power and the creation of a constitution. The Decembrist Society was formed after the Patriotic War of 1812.) Fragment of the film. From 3:51 to 6.11

In November 1825, Emperor Alexander unexpectedly died during a trip to the south of Russia in Taganrog.I. He had no children, and Alexander’s brother, Constantine, was to inherit the throne. But during Alexander’s lifetime, he abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. Constantine's abdication was not announced. The troops and population were sworn in to the new emperor. But he confirmed his renunciation of the throne. The re-oath was scheduled for December 14, 1825.

Before the senators and members of the State Council took the oath, the Decembrists wanted to force them to sign the “Manifesto”, liquidate the existing government, abolish serfdom, proclaim freedom of speech, religion, freedom of occupation, movement, equality of all classes before the law, and a reduction in military service.

On the morning of December 14 The rebel officers brought their regiments to the square in front of the Senate; the plan developed earlier could not be implemented: the Senate and the State Council had already taken the oath before the arrival of the regiments.

Several times NikolaiIsent generals and metropolitans “to exhort”; several times the cavalry attacked the rebel regiments. By evening, the king gave the order to shoot the rebels.

The tsarist government brutally dealt with the Decembrists. More than 100 Decembrists were exiled to Siberia, many were sentenced to death by hanging.

Why do we need to know about the Decembrists, about the December uprising in the work? (this is our story, understand this type of people, know their life)

Who is Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky?(partly a prototype of the hero of the poem) (slide number 5)

S.G. Volkonsky is a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, a Decembrist. Prince. At one time he participated in all military campaigns, was wounded, and received awards. For participation in the uprising, in 1826 he was arrested and sentenced to death, then the sentence was commuted to 20 years of hard labor in Siberia. In 1856, a manifesto was announced for the release of all convicts and he was allowed to return to European Russia. 5 days before his arrest, Maria Raevskaya (Volkonskaya) gave birth to his son and soon follows her husband.

Probably every person who can read Russian knows about the feat of Maria Volkonskaya, about her decision to share fate with her husband and follow him to Siberia for hard labor and exile. “The sight of his shackles excited and touched me so much that I threw myself on my knees in front of him and kissed him.” first his shackles, and then himself,” Maria Volkonskaya recalled when she arrived in the Nerchinsk mines after separation.

Tell me, is there a story about the Decembrists, about the uprising in the work?(not clear, sounds muffled).

What happens in the poem after the grandfather arrives? (Through individual events, the grandson recognizes his grandfather’s character)

Now we will try to figure out the character of the grandfather and that difficult period of time from the events, from the conversations that are presented in the poem.- Chapter 5

1) “Sasha became friends with grandfather,

The two of them walk forever,

They walk through meadows, forests,

Cornflowers are tearing among the fields.”

2) Grandfather's description:

“Grandfather is ancient for years,

But still cheerful and handsome,

Grandfather's teeth are intact

Walk, posture is firm,

The curls are fluffy and white,

Like a silver head

Slender, tall,...

3) The speech is “apostolically simple”

4) “I’m glad I see the picture

Sweet to my eyes since childhood.

Look at this plain -

And love her yourself!”

5) He talks about peasant farming that only then “There will be joy in the song, / Instead of despondency and torment,” when there is a large farm.

6) “Grandfather praises nature,

Petting the peasant boys."

"Grandfather's first order of business

Talk to a guy:

"Soon it will not be difficult for you,

You will be a free people!” - How do you understand these lines? ( believes in change)

Chapters 9-1 1.

Describe the life of peasants in the village of Tarbagatiy

a) Russian men were driven into a terrible wilderness on infertile lands, and given freedom and land.

b) a year later the commissars arrived - a village and a mill had already been built.

c) a year later they arrived - peasants were harvesting crops from barren land, etc.

Thus, over the course of 50 years, “a huge planting grew up.”

– Why does grandfather talk about the life of peasants?(He points out to Sasha that a free, hardworking person will not disappear anywhere. He says that “The will and labor of man/Wonderful wonders are created.” And if the family’s life is organized, the children are healthy, that means it’s a happy family. And the peasants can be happy, they can live rich.)

(The image of this emaciated man is contrasted with the well-fed, comfortable life in Tarbagatai. A lot still has to be done to achieve such a life for the peasants. A person should not disdain any kind of work. Labor adorns a person.)

What kind of national disasters does the grandfather talk about?Chapter 13?

( He recalls a peasant wedding, where the young people “forgot to ask permission” from the master. He separated the newlyweds and punished everyone. Grandfather says that landowners have no soul. He takes pity on the peasants, accuses the powers that be of tyranny)

Read the episode of the meeting with the soldier.Chapter 16-17.

What does your grandfather say about serving in the army during his time? (He talks about what kind of drill there was in the army, assault, obscenity when addressing a junior in rank, Teaches his grandson that one must value honor)

Read the episode about life in hard labor from the words “…. Deaf, deserted...” to the words “Slowly, slowly you melt…”(chapter 20)

What does grandfather remember? (He remembers that terrible life. No heroism. Ordinary person)

How does the work end? How does Sasha understand his grandfather’s attitude to life, to people, to the history of Russia?

Conclusion: Throughout the entire poem, Sasha asks questions to both dad and mom, and then to grandfather. One way or another they are connected with the Decembrists, with the uprising.
He is also interested in how his grandfather lived in Siberia.

VI. Summarizing.

What work of N. A. Nekrasov did we get acquainted with in class?

What is the main idea of the poem?

VII. Homework.

Literary lotto

Kostroma basis of the work

Grandfather's prototype

The plot of the work is the story of how an old Decembrist came to the estate to visit his son. He was freed from Siberia in 1856 according to a manifesto published at that time.

The history of the creation of the poem "Grandfather"

The impact of censorship on a work

Tarbagataisky district is one of the places of compact residence of Old Believers of Transbaikalia. In our area they are called FAMILY.

Semeyskie are a very bright and ancient branch of the Russian people - a part of pre-Petrine Moscow Rus'.

In 1653-1660, the so-called schism occurred as a result of church reform. Old Believers are that part of the Russian population that abandoned innovations, continuing to adhere to the old faith, rituals, and way of life. For this they were subjected to severe repression, many were forced to flee to free lands: to the Terek, Don, beyond the Urals, and many abroad, to Poland.

In the second halfXVIIIcentury, by decree of CatherineIIThere was a forcible expulsion of schismatics from Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. An unknown land awaited them, harsh Siberia, untouched lands. The first Old Believers taken from Vetka in 1766 were settled near Verkhneudinsk in the villages of Tarbagatai, Kuitun, Bolshoi Kunaley, Desyatnikovo and Burnashevo. They settled as whole families, which is why they were later called “Semeyskie”. They quickly got used to the harsh Siberian nature. Thanks to the exceptional hard work of the Semeis, good-quality villages soon grew up.