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Lecture notes, cheat sheets
Russian literature of the XX century in brief. Cheat sheet: briefly, the most important
Directory / Lecture notes, cheat sheets Table of contents
Fyodor Kuzmin Sologub (1863-1927) petty imp Roman (1902) Ardalyon Borisovich Peredonov, a teacher of literature at the local gymnasium, constantly felt himself the subject of special attention from women. Still would! A state councilor (fifth grade in the ranking table!), a man in the juice, in fact, not married ... After all, Barbara, what ... Barbara, in which case, you can side. There's only one thing - without her, perhaps, you won't get an inspector's job. (The director of the gymnasium does not favor him, the students and their parents consider him rude and unfair.) Princess Volchanskaya promised Varvara to plead for Ardalyon Borisovich, but she made the wedding condition: it’s inconvenient to plead for the roommate of her former home dressmaker. However, first the place, and then the wedding. And then just deceived. Varvara was extremely worried about these moods of his, and she begged the widow Grushina to prepare a letter for money, supposedly from the princess, with a promise of a place if they got married. Peredonov was overjoyed, but Vershina, who tried to pass off the dowry Marta as him, immediately rebuked him: where is the envelope? Business letter - and without an envelope! Varvara and Grushina immediately corrected the matter with a second letter sent through Petersburg acquaintances. Both Vershina and Routilov, who was wooing his sisters to Peredonov, and Prepolovenskaya, who was counting on getting a niece for him, all understood that their case was lost, Ardalyon Borisovich appointed the wedding day. Already suspicious, he was now even more afraid of envy and kept waiting for a denunciation or even an attempt on his life. Prepolovenskaya added fuel to the fire, alluding to the fact that Pavel Vasilyevich Volodin, a close friend of Ardalyon Borisovich, was visiting Peredonov for Varvara Dmitrievna's sake. This, of course, is nonsense. Varvara considers Volodin a fool, and besides, the teacher of trade in the city school receives four times less than the teacher of the gymnasium Peredonov. Ardalyon Borisovich became worried: he would marry Varvara, they would go to the inspector's place, and on the way they would poison him and bury him like Volodin, and he would be an inspector. Barbara does not let go of the knife, and the fork is dangerous. (And he hid the utensils under the bed. The Chinese eat with chopsticks.) And here is the ram, so similar to Volodin, staring blankly, probably intriguing. The main thing, they will inform - and died. After all, Natasha, Peredonov's former cook, went directly from them to the gendarme. Having met the gendarme lieutenant colonel, Ardalyon Borisovich asked not to believe what Natasha would say about him, she was lying, and her lover was a Pole. The meeting suggested the idea of visiting the city fathers and assuring them of their trustworthiness. He visited the mayor, the prosecutor, the marshal of the nobility, the chairman of the county zemstvo council, and even the police chief. And he told everyone that everything they talk about him is nonsense. Wanting to somehow smoke on the street, he suddenly saw a policeman and inquired if it was possible to smoke here. So that the almost accomplished inspector would not be replaced by Volodin, he decided to mark himself. On the chest, on the stomach, on the elbows, he put the letter P in ink. The cat also became suspicious. Strong electricity in wool is the trouble. And he took the beast to the hairdresser - to cut his hair. Already many times a gray nedotykomka appeared to him, rolled around at his feet, mocked him, teased him: he would lean out and hide. And even worse - cards. The ladies, two at a time, winked; aces, kings, jacks whispered, whispered, teased. After the wedding, the director and his wife visited the Peredonovs for the first time, but it was noticeable that they moved in different circles of local society. And in the gymnasium, not everything is going smoothly with Peredonov. He visited the parents of his students and complained about their laziness and insolence. In several cases, the children were sekoma for these fictitious guilt and complained to the director. The story with the fifth grader Sasha Pylnikov turned out to be quite wild. Grushina told me that this boy was really a girl in disguise: he was so cute and blushed all the time, he was quiet and the schoolboys teased him as a girl. And all this to catch Ardalyon Borisovich. Peredonov reported to the director about a possible scandal: depravity would begin in the gymnasium. The director considered that Peredonov was going too far. Nevertheless, the cautious Nikolai Vlasevich, in the presence of the gymnasium doctor, was convinced that Sasha was not a girl, but the rumor did not subside, and one of the Rutilov sisters, Lyudmila, looked into Kokovkina's house, where the aunt rented a room for Sasha. Lyudmila and Sasha became friends with a tender but restless friendship. Lyudmila awakened in him premature, still vague aspirations. She came dressed up, perfumed, sprinkled perfume on her Daphnis. Innocent excitement for Lyudmila was the main charm of their meetings, she said to the sisters: “I don’t love him at all as you think ... I innocently love him. I don’t need anything from him.” She shook Sasha, put her on her knees, kissed and allowed her wrists, shoulders, legs to be kissed. Once she half-begged, half-forced him to strip to the waist. And she said to him: “I love beauty ... I would like to be born in ancient Athens ... I love the body, strong, dexterous, naked ... My dear idol, godlike youth ... " She began to dress him in her outfits, and sometimes in the chiton of an Athenian or a fisherman. Her gentle kisses aroused the desire to do something sweet or sick, tender or shameful, so that she laughed with joy or screamed with pain. Meanwhile, Peredonov was already repeating to everyone about Pylnikov's depravity. The townspeople looked at the boy and Lyudmila with filthy curiosity. The future inspector himself behaved more and more strangely. He burned the cards winking and grimacing in his face, wrote denunciations about card figures, about the underdog, about the ram who pretended to be Volodin. But the most terrible was what happened at the masquerade. The eternal pranksters and inventors of the Rutilov sisters dressed Sasha as a geisha and did it so skillfully that he got the first ladies' prize (no one recognized the boy). The crowd, excited by envy and alcohol, demanded to remove the mask, and in response to the refusal, they tried to grab the geisha, but the actor Bengalsky saved her, carrying her out of the crowd in his arms. While the geisha was being persecuted, Peredonov decided to set fire to the underdog that had come from nowhere. He brought the match to the curtain. The fire was already noticed from the street, so the house burned down, but people escaped. Subsequent events assured everyone that the talk about Sasha and the Rutilov girls was nonsense. Peredonov began to realize that he had been deceived. One evening Volodin came in and sat down at the table. They drank more than they ate. The guest bleated, fooled around: "They fooled you, Ardasha." Peredonov drew his knife and slashed Volodin across the throat. When they entered to take the killer, he sat dejectedly and muttered something meaningless. I. G. Zhivotovsky Created legend Novel trilogy (1914) Part one. BLOOD DROPThe eyes of the flaming Serpent fall on the Skoroden River and the naked maidens bathing there. These are the sisters Elisaveta and Elena, daughters of the wealthy landowner Rameev. They are curiously discussing the appearance in the city of Privatdozent, Doctor of Chemistry Georgy Sergeevich Trirodov: no one knows where his fortune comes from, what is happening on the estate, why he needs a school for children. The girls decide to pass by the mysterious estate, cross the narrow bridge over the ravine and stop at the gate. Suddenly a pale boy comes out of the bushes with clear, too calm, as if inanimate eyes. Opening the gate, he disappears. In the distance, on the lawn, dozens of children sing and dance under the guidance of a girl with golden braids - Nadezhda Veshchezerova. She explains: “People built cities to get away from the beast, but they themselves became brutal, wild. Now we are going from the city to the forest. We must kill the beast…” The house of Trirodov is notorious. They say that it is inhabited by ghosts who come from the graves, which is why they call it Naviy Dvor, and the path leading to the Krutitsy cemetery, the Naviy path. The owner's son Kirsch notices the girls and brings them to his father in the greenhouse. Examining the outlandish plants and back streets of the house, Elizabeth and Elena find themselves in a magical room with a mirror, looking into which they instantly grow old. Trirodov calms them down, gives them an elixir that restores youth: "This is the property of this place. Horror and delight live together here." The student Peter Matov, who is unrequitedly in love with Elizabeth, lives in the Rameevs' house. He is an opponent of the "autocracy of the proletariat", and the girl tells him: "My love is an uprising." Elisaveta sympathizes with the reasoning of the young worker Shchemilov, who is more inviting to speak at the May Day meeting. The visiting agitator is hidden in Trirodov's house. Colonel Zherbenev, the organizer of the Black Hundreds, considers the Privatdozent unreliable and asks the actor Ostrov about him. Unexpectedly appearing in Trirodov's house, the actor demands a lot of money for silence. Once he became an eyewitness of how Georgy Sergeevich dealt with the provocateur of their revolutionary circle Matov, Peter's father, by chemical methods. Through complex transformations, he received a "body" in the form of a small cube on his desk. For non-disclosure of secrets, Ostrov receives 2000 rubles. Midsummer night is coming. Kirsha, with the eyes of a quiet angel, walks with her father along the Navi path. The dead are passing by, talking about Navi's deeds. Quiet children do not sleep. One of them, Grisha, draws a circle around the Trirodovs from the Navi charms - even Kirsha's mother is unable to overcome the features. Elisaveta and Shchemilov make their way to a clearing where about three hundred people are listening to an agitator. The girl barely recognizes the disguised Trirodov, but she is happy to speak in front of him, and her voice is filled with strength. Cossacks fly in, Trirodov saves Elisaveta, hiding in a ravine. A passionate love develops between them. In the evenings, Elizabeth examines her sultry, naked body in the mirror. O great fire of blossoming flesh! Once, while walking in the forest, she was overtaken by two guys who tore off her clothes and pushed her to the ground. Quiet boys suddenly ran up, tugged at them, lulled the fellows to sleep. In oblivion, she imagined Queen Ortrud ... Trirodov declares his love, and Elizabeth is ready to be his slave, to be a thing in his hands. Trirodov has hypnotic power, he is able to resurrect from the dead, as happened with the boy Yegorka, who was unnecessary to his mother, flogged with rods and buried in a lethargic dream. Quiet children dig it out, and Yegorka settles with them at Trirodov. His school is visited by police officers, director of public schools Dulebov, inspector Shabalov, vice-governor. They are dissatisfied with the fact that children and teachers are disrespectful, free, walking barefoot. "This is pornography," concludes the commission. "The school will be closed immediately." And Elizabeth languishes with sultry dreams. It seems to her that she is experiencing a parallel life, she is walking the joyful and mournful path of Queen Ortrud, who she saw in the forest... Part two. QUEEN ORWOODOrtrud was born to reign in the happy Mediterranean region. She received an excellent Hellenic upbringing, loved the beauty of nature and the naked body. On her sixteenth birthday, she was crowned. The day before, Ortrud fell in love with Prince Tancred, a blue-eyed Teutonic youth. The charm was mutual, and at the end of the celebrations, the engagement took place. In this union happily combined the laws of sweet love and the harsh demands of the highest politics of the dynasty and the bourgeois government of the kingdom of the United Islands. A year later they got married. Prince Tancred was enrolled in the Guards, but his reactionary views, love affairs and heavy debts made him an unpopular figure. His weaknesses are exploited by aristocrats who are plotting to dissolve parliament and declare Tancred king. Gloomy signs frighten Ortrud: even on the day of the coronation, the volcano on Dragonera Island began to smoke, and in the eleventh year of his reign, the ghost of the white king began to appear ... Ortrud shares all his experiences only with Aphra, a young court lady. Their sympathies gradually turn into a dark jealous passion. Aphra hates Tancred, and Ortrud does not let her go to Philippe Meccio, who is in love with Aphra. One day they stopped in a mountain village and met the poor teacher Aldonsa. She spoke ingenuously about her friend, who calls her Dulcinea. Aphra guesses that this is Tancred, but Ortrud still trustingly listens to the false words of the Dragon, which the prince sometimes seems to be. He develops plans for building a huge fleet, capturing colonies, uniting under his power all the Latin countries of the Old and New Worlds. Secretly from the Queen, conspiracies are brewing, politicians are demanding change. Doctor Meccio campaigns for the socialist system. First Minister Victor Aorena proves that modern man is too individualistic to realize the dreams of a just society. Unrest is coming. The marshal shows Ortrud a secret passage from the palace to the sea, the key to which is the secret name of the queen "Araminta". In the dungeon, she is accompanied by the young son of the marshal Astolf, who fell in love with the queen. Their relationship ignited Aphra's jealousy, she is lonely going through the torments of love and hate. Some kind of dark, evil power emanates from the queen - in vain she descends into the dungeon and prays to her imaginary Luminary, she is doomed ... Karl Reimers, who is in love with her, shoots, Aldonsa is hanged, Astolf, who killed Margarita on her orders, rushes from sheer cliffs ... Thoughts about death became familiar to her. The cardinal denounces Ortrude for her behavior that offends morality. "The people will judge me," the queen replies. The volcano is smoking more and more, and the talk is more insistent that only Queen Ortrud can pacify it. Dr. Meccio, trying to break the tender union of Aphra and Ortrud, plunges his girlfriend into a hypnotic sleep, passes her off as dead and takes her away from the castle. The news of Aphra's death robs the queen of the will to live. She ascends to the volcano as a source of fiery death, casts a spell over it three times, but in vain. A disaster is inevitable. The city is dying. Queen Ortrud is suffocating in the bloody mist. Part three. SMOKE AND ASHThe tragic events in the kingdom of the United Islands make Trirodov think about many things. He subscribes to island newspapers, studies Spanish, reflects on the role of the individual in history, where the crowd destroys, man creates, society saves. Georgy Sergeevich comes to the idea of becoming the king of the United Islands. Elizabeth is surprised and does not believe in the success of the case, but Trirodov sends a letter to the First Minister Loreno about nominating his candidacy for the vacant seat of the king. Loredo, irritated, orders this message to be printed in the Government Index. The people busy with their own affairs do not pay attention to him, but the opposition is interested in a stranger. At night, the ghost of his first wife, the lunar Lilith, appears to Trirodov and consoles him. And in the afternoon, Georgy Sergeevich admires the naked beauty of Elizabeth. They decide to move to the blissful land of Oile. Silently climb the tower. There, on the mahogany table, there are vials of multi-colored liquids. Trirodov pours them into a bowl, they drink from it one by one and wake up on the land of Oile under the clear Mair. Earthly life fades in memory. Fresh and sweet new impressions of being. Is it really necessary to return to an evil earthly life? destroy her? Or transform with a desperate effort of will? Trirodov and his disciples visit the holy monastery. In the monastery, the actor Ostrov and his accomplices steal the icon, cut it into chips and burn it. There is a quarrel, and everyone dies in a remote forest hut. Not far from Trirodov's estate, an attempt is made on the police officer and vice-governor. Suspicion falls on the Privatdozent. Black-Hundred pogroms are being prepared in the city, robberies and arson have become more frequent. Georgy Sergeevich is dejected by the closure of the school and turns to Marquis Telyatnikov for help. His Grace, a member of the State Council, Adjutant General was 160 years old, of which he served the tsar and the fatherland for almost 150 years. A handsome, dignified old man, very preserved for his age, he used Bulgarian curdled milk and spermine. He asked Trirodov for an elixir of youth. In honor of the marquis, a masquerade ball was given, to which, along with the city nobility, dead guests, shrouded in the smell of decay, were invited. In the midst of fun from excessive zeal, the Marquis Telyatnikov crumbles. Trirodov is blamed for this incident. Trirodov's popularity in the foreign press is growing. Prince Tancred is worried about agitation for a Russian impostor. The social democrats of the kingdom begin to correspond with the applicant about possible reforms. Their deputation comes to Skorodozh to exchange views. After they leave, the police arrange a search, but Trirodov, with the help of a green ball, makes the police feel like bedbugs. In the summer, Trirodov and Elisaveta get married in the church of the village of Prosyanye Polyany. A sudden thunderstorm portends them a stormy future. A day has been set for the election of the king. Everything is ready for flight: children, teachers, friends gather in the greenhouse. There are quiet children here. Outside, the rioters are approaching, it is impossible to delay, and Trirodov gives the command to take off. A huge luminous core silently rushes up. A convention is held in the United Islands to elect a king. Voting is underway: out of 421 deputies, 412 voted for the Russian candidate. George I elected king! But his fate remains unknown. Confusion grows, Prince Tancred attempts unsuccessfully to escape. Evil soldiers kill him and throw him out of the window. In the morning, a huge, magnificent crystal ball, like a planet, descends on the coast of the United Islands. King George I enters the land of his new fatherland... I. G. Zhivotovsky Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky (1866-1941) Christ and Antichrist Trilogy I. DEATH OF THE GODS (Julian the Apostate) (1896)Cappadocia. The Roman Tribune Condemned wishes to curry favor with his superior. To do this, he is going to kill two children - cousins of the current Emperor of Constantinople Constantius. Constantius is the son of Constantine the Great, who began his reign by killing many of his relatives, including his uncle, father Julian and Gallus. Condemned, together with a detachment of legionnaires, breaks into the palace, where the disgraced youths are kept, but their tutor Mardonius shows the pogromists a certain edict (actually long overdue), which scares off the killers. Those leave. Young people are engaged in studying theology under the guidance of Eutropius. Julian secretly reads Plato, visits the cave of the god Pan. In the Christian church, the young man feels uncomfortable. After the service, he enters the nearby temple of Aphrodite, where he meets the priest Olympiador and his two daughters, Amaryllis and Psyche. Rapprochement with Amaryllis does not work, she is indifferent to his gift - a model of a trireme made by him. Frustrated, the young man leaves. However, the girl returns and encourages him. Julian spends the night in the temple of Aphrodite, where he vows to love the goddess forever. The next scene takes place in Antioch. Two strangers first eavesdrop on people's conversations, then watch the performance of itinerant artists. One gymnast excites the young man so much that he immediately buys her from the owner and drags her with him to the empty temple of Priapus. There he accidentally kills one of the sacred geese, the stranger is taken to court, and his false beard is torn off. It turns out that this is Caesar Gallus. Six years have passed since the beginning of the story, the emperor Constantius, in order to protect himself, made Gallus co-ruler. Julian at this time wanders around Asia Minor, talking with various philosophers and magicians, including the authoritative Neoplatonist Yamvlik, who expounds to him his ideas about God. Teacher and student watch as Christians smash pagan churches. Then Julian visits the sorcerer Maxim of Ephesus, with the help of some cunning devices causing the young man to see visions in which he renounces Christ in the name of the Great Angel, Evil. Maximus teaches Julian that God and the Devil are one. Julian and Maxim ascend a high tower, from where the philosopher shows the student to the world below and offers to rise up and become Caesar himself. Julian then rides to his brother, who realizes that Constantius will soon order his death. Indeed, Gallus was soon expelled from Constantinople, and the same Skudilo was carrying him. The "Caesar" is mistreated, and finally executed. Julian spends time in Athens. Here he meets the exiled poet Publius, who shows him "Artemis" - a beautiful girl with the body of a goddess. A month later, Julian and Publius are at a feast to the senator Hortensius. That girl is his pupil, her name is Arsinoe. Julian meets her, it turns out that both of them hate Christianity. Julian confesses that he must be hypocritical in order to survive. Young people enter into an alliance aimed at the revival of Olympian paganism. After a night spent together, Julian leaves for Constantinople. Constantius graciously accepts Julian, who hates him. Just at this time, a church council is taking place, where the Orthodox clash with the Arians. The emperor supports the latter. The cathedral ends in scandal. Julian watches the squabbling of the Christians with malice. Emperor Constantius, meanwhile, makes Julian co-ruler to replace the slain Gallus. Arsinoe moves to Rome. Together with her sister Mirra and one of her admirers, centurion Anatoly, the girl visits the Roman catacombs, where the secret church is located. Here the Orthodox hold their services. The legionnaires of the Arian Emperor break into the caves and disperse the assembly. Young people barely manage to escape from their pursuers. The next scene takes place in the Rhenish forest. Two lagging soldiers from the army of Julian - Aragariy and Strombik - are catching up with their legion. Caesar Julian wins a brilliant victory over the army of the Gauls. Julian sends a letter to Arsina, in which he reminds her of the once concluded alliance. At the same time, the girl's sister, the meek Christian Mirra, dies. The young Caesar is resting from the war in Paris-Lutetia. Julian's wife is also here - a fanatical Christian Elena imposed on him by the emperor. She considers her husband the devil, not allowing him to her. Julian, out of hatred for Christianity, tries to take her by force. The envious Constantius sends an official to Julian, authorized to withdraw the best troops to the south. Soldiers rebel against such a decision; the rebels ask Julian to be their emperor. After some hesitation, Julian agrees. His wife, Elena, is dying at this time. As Julian approaches Constantinople to take power by force, Constantius dies. Upon learning of this, Julian goes out to the troops and, renouncing Christianity, swears allegiance to the god of the Sun - Mithra. He is supported by Maxim of Ephesus. The soldiers are perplexed, some call the new emperor the Antichrist. After becoming emperor, Julian tries to officially restore paganism. Churches are destroyed, the pagan priests are returned the values taken from them under Constantine the Great. Julian arranges a Bacchic procession, but the people do not support the emperor's undertakings, faith in Christ is too rooted. Julian urges the people to worship Dionysus in vain. The emperor feels that his ideas will not be able to materialize, but decides to fight to the end. In a conversation with Maxim, he declares: "Here I go to give people such freedom that they did not even dare to dream of.<...> I am the messenger of life, I am the liberator, I am the Antichrist!" Outwardly, Christians again become pagans; in fact, at night, the monks take out the precious stones from the eyes of the statue of Dionysus and insert them back into the icons; Julian is hated. The emperor is engaged in charity, introduces freedom of religion - all this in order to free the people from the influence of the "Galileans". A church council is held, at which Christians again squabble among themselves; Julian is convinced of the futility of their religion. The emperor does not react to the accusations of the bishops, refusing to execute anyone for expressing his opinion. Julian travels to a Christian monastery, where he meets Arsinoe, who has become a nun. She accuses him of the fact that his dead gods are not the former Olympians, but the same Christ, but without observing the rites. Julian is too virtuous; the people need not love and compassion, but blood and sacrifice. Dialogue among the former allies does not work. Julian, inspecting his charitable institutions, is convinced that everything is as false as before. Maxim the sorcerer explains to the student that his time has not yet come, prophesies death, but blesses him for the fight. Officials openly sabotage the emperor's decrees, considering him insane; the people hate him, rumors spread about the persecution of Christians. street preacher elder Pamva denounces Julian as the Antichrist. Julian hears all this, enters into an argument, but even by force he cannot disperse the crowd: everything is against him. The emperor comes to the half-abandoned temple of Apollo, where he meets with the priest Gorgias and his deaf-mute son - perhaps the last pagans. All attempts by Julian to help the temple, to pull the flock back to the former gods, end in failure; in response to an order to remove the relics of a Christian saint from the territory of the temple, the "Galileans" respond with arson (it is arranged by the very legionnaires of Julian who were catching up with him in the Rhine forest); the priest and his son are killed. Julian, in order to somehow restore his charisma, goes on a campaign against the Persians. The beginning of the campaign is preceded by bad omens, but nothing can stop the emperor. A series of victories is crossed out by one unfortunate decision of Julian to burn the ships in order to make the army as mobile as possible. The Emperor finds out that he believed the traitor; he has to give the order to retreat. On the way to him, Arsinoe appears, again convincing Julian that he is not an enemy of Christ, but his only faithful follower. Julian is annoyed by her words, the conversation again ends in a spat. In the final battle, the Emperor is mortally wounded. The new emperor Jovian is an adherent of Christianity; Julian's former friends change faith again; the people are delighted that the bloody spectacles have been returned to them, the final scene - Arsinoe, Anatoly and his friend the historian Ammian are sailing on the ship, talking about the late emperor. Arsinoe sculpts a statue with the body of Dionysus and the face of Christ. They talk about Julian being right, about the need to preserve the spark of Hellenism for future generations. In their hearts, the author notes, "there was already a great rejoicing of the Renaissance." II. RISEN GODS (Leonardo da Vinci) (1900)The action of the novel takes place in Italy at the end of the XNUMXth - beginning of the XNUMXth century. Merchant Cipriano Buonaccorzi, a collector of antique objects, finds a statue of Venus. Leonardo da Vinci is invited as an expert. Several young people (one of them is Giovanni Beltraffio, a student of the painter Fra Benedetto, who both dreams and fears of becoming Aeonardo's student), discuss the behavior of a strange artist. The Christian priest Father Faustino, who sees the Devil everywhere, breaks into the house and smashes the beautiful statue. Giovanni enters Aeonardo as a student. He is engaged in the construction of an aircraft, writes "The Last Supper", builds a huge monument to the Duke of Sforza, teaches the worthy behavior of his students. Giovanni does not understand how his teacher can combine such different projects in himself, get involved in both divine and purely earthly affairs at the same time. Astro, another student of Leonardo, talks with the "sorceress" Mona Cassandra, tells her about the peach tree, which his teacher poisons with poison while experimenting. Giovanni also often visits Mona Cassandra, she convinces him of the need to believe in the old Olympian gods. The young man, frightened by the radicalness of the proposals of the "White Devil" (to fly together to the Sabbath, etc.), leaves her. The girl, having rubbed herself with magic ointment, flies to the witches' gathering, where she becomes the wife of Lucifer-Dionysus. The Sabbat turns into a Bacchic orgy. Duke Moreau, ruler of Florence, womanizer and voluptuous, spends his days with his wife Beatrice and his mistresses - Lucrezia and Cecilia Bergamini. Louis Moreau is threatened with war with Naples, he is trying to enlist the support of the French king Charles VIII. In addition, he sends his rival Duke Gian Galeazzo "poisoned" peaches stolen from Leonardo's garden. Leonardo offers the duke projects for the construction of cathedrals, canals, but they seem too bold, so it is allegedly impossible to implement them. At the invitation of Gian Galeazzo, he goes to him in Pavia. In a conversation with him, Leonardo says that he is innocent of his friend's illness, the peaches were not poisoned at all. Gian Galeazzo dies. There are rumors among the people about Leonardo's involvement in this death, that Leonardo is an atheist and a sorcerer. Meanwhile, the master himself is instructed to raise a nail from the Cross of the Lord to the dome of the temple; Leonardo does an excellent job. The sixth book of the novel is written in the form of the diary of Giovanni Beltraffio. The student reflects on his teacher, his behavior. Leonardo simultaneously creates both a terrible weapon and the vile "Dionysian ear", and writes "The Supper", and builds a flying machine. Leonardo seems to Giovanni then the new St. Francis, the Antichrist. Under the influence of the ardent sermons of the influential Savonarola, Giovanni leaves Leonardo to become a novice with Savonarola. Meanwhile, Savonarola himself receives an offer from the dissolute Pope Alexander VI Borgia to become a cardinal in exchange for refusing to criticize the papal court. Savonarola, not afraid of excommunication, gathers the "Holy Host" - in a crusade against the Pope-Antichrist. Giovanni is a member of the Host. Doubts, however, do not leave him: when he sees "Aphrodite" by Botticelli, he again recalls Mona Cassandra. The army smashes palaces, burns books, breaks statues, breaks into the houses of the "wicked". A huge bonfire is arranged, on which, among other things, they burn the beautiful creation of Leonardo - the painting "Leda and the Swan". Giovanni, shocked, unable to watch this scene. Leonardo leads him out of the crowd; the student stays with the teacher. Leonardo attends a ball hosted by both the frivolous and treacherous Duke Moreau in honor of the new year, 1497. The Duke rushes between his wife and his mistresses. Among the guests are Russian ambassadors, dissatisfied with the ancient tastes of the Italians. In a conversation with Leonardo, they claim that the Third Rome will be in Russia. The pregnant Duchess Beatrice, Moreau's wife, with the help of many tricks, obtains evidence of her husband's connection with the favorites. From excitement she has a premature birth; cursing her husband, she dies. Shaken by the circumstances, the duke, who has just been predicted a golden age of reign, leads a pious life for a year, not forgetting, however, his mistresses. Savonarola, who lost the "fiery duel" by not daring to enter the fire, loses his influence; he is imprisoned, while Leonardo participates in a "scientific duel" at the Moro court: during the conversation, Leonardo scientifically explains to the audience the origin of the Earth. Only the intervention of the duke saves the artist from being accused of heresy. French troops enter Italy; Duke Moreau flees. His return is short-lived: he is soon captured. During the hostilities, the soldiers try to smash the creations of Leonardo; "The Last Supper" is in a semi-flooded room. Leonardo paints new pictures, discovers the physical law of reflection of light, participates in a dispute about the comparative merits of painting and poetry. At the invitation of Cesare Borgia, he enters his service. On the way to Milan, the artist visits his native places, recalls his childhood, years of apprenticeship, family. In a road tavern, Leonardo meets Niccolò Machiavelli; they talk at length about politics and ethics. Machiavelli believes that only such an unprincipled sovereign as Cesare Borgia can become the unifier of Italy. Leonardo doubts: in his opinion, true freedom is achieved not by murders and betrayals, but by knowledge. At the court of Cesare Borgia, Leonardo works a lot - he builds, draws, writes. Giovanni wanders around Rome, examines the fresco "The Coming of the Antichrist", talks with the German Schweinitz about the reformation of the church. Pope Alexander VI introduces censorship. After a while he dies. The affairs of Cesare Borgia become bad, the sovereigns offended by him unite against him and start a war. Leonardo has to return to Florence and enter the service of the gonfalonier Soderini. Before leaving, the artist meets again with Machiavelli. Wandering around Rome, friends talk about their similarity, discuss how dangerous it is to discover new truths; looking at the ancient ruins, they talk about antiquity. In 1505, Leonardo is busy with a portrait of Mona Lisa Gioconda, with whom he, without realizing it, is in love. The portrait looks like both the model and the author at the same time. During the sessions, the artist talks to the girl about Venus, recalling forgotten ancient myths. Leonardo has rivals - Michelangelo, who hates him, the most talented Raphael. Leonardo does not want to compete with them, does not enter into disputes, he has his own way. Seeing Mona Lisa for the last time, the artist tells her a mysterious tale about the Cave. The artist and model say a warm farewell. After some time, Leonardo learns that Gioconda has died. After the unsuccessful implementation of another Leonardo project - the construction of a canal - the master moves to Milan, where he meets his old friend, the anatomist Marco Antonio. Leonardo enters the service of Louis XII, writes a treatise on anatomy. By 1511, Giovanni Beltraffio meets again with his old acquaintance Mona Cassandra. Outwardly, she observes Christian rites, but in fact remains a pagan. Cassandra tells Giovanni that the Olympian gods will rise again, about the imminent death of Christianity. The girl shows Giovanni the emerald tablet, promising to explain the mysterious words inscribed on it another time. But the ferocious inquisitor Fra George arrives in Milan; the witch hunt begins; Mona Cassandra is also seized. Together with the rest of the "witches" she is burned at the stake. Giovanni feels that the Devil has Hellenic roots, that he and Prometheus are one. In delirium, he sees Cassandra appearing before him in the form of Aphrodite with the face of the Virgin Mary. In Italy, there is a civil war going on all the time, the power is constantly changing. Leonardo, together with Giovanni and a new faithful student, Francesco, moves to Rome, to the court of the patronizing Pope Leo X. The artist fails to settle down here, in the fashion of Raphael and Michelangelo, who considers Leonardo a traitor and sets the pope against him. One day, Giovanni Beltraffio is found hanged. After reading the diary of his student, Leonardo realizes that he has passed away, because he realized that Christ and the Antichrist are one. Leonardo is in poverty, sick. Some students betray him, run to Raphael. The artist himself admires the frescoes of Michelangelo, feeling, on the one hand, that he surpassed him, and on the other, that he, Leonardo, was stronger in his plans. To avoid ridicule inspired by the pope himself, Leonardo enters the service of the French Emperor Francis I. Here he is successful. The king gives him a castle in France. Leonardo works hard (however, his bold projects, as a rule, are never carried out), he begins to write John the Baptist, similar to Androgyne and Bacchus. Francis, having visited the workshop of Leonardo, buys the "Forerunner" and a portrait of Mona Lisa very expensively from the artist. Leonardo asks that the Mona Lisa be left with him until he dies. The king agrees. At the festivities on the occasion of the birth of the king's son, many guests come to France - including from Russia. There are several icon painters in the embassy. Many are "corrupted" by Western art, the idea of perspective, various heresies. Russians discuss "too human" Western painting, opposing it with strict Byzantine iconography, arguing whether to paint icons according to the "Original" or as portraits. Eutychius, one of the masters, adds pagan allegorical images to the icon "Let every breath glorify the Lord". Leonardo examines the icons, "The Original". Not recognizing these paintings as real paintings, he feels that by faith they are much stronger than Western portrait icons. Never having built his flying machine, Leonardo dies. Eutychius, shocked by Leonardo's "Forerunner", writes his own, completely different John - with wings similar to Leonardo's flying machine. The icon painter reads The Tale of the Babylonian Kingdom, which foreshadows the earthly kingdom of the Russian land, and The Tale of the White Klobuk, about the future heavenly greatness of Russia. Eutyches ponders the idea of a Third Rome. III. ANTICHRIST (Peter and Alexei) (1904)In St. Petersburg in 1715, Tsarevich Alexei listens to the sermon of the old man Larion Dokukin, who foreshadows the appearance of the Antichrist and curses Peter. Alexei promises him that everything will be different under him. On this day, he himself must attend the festivities in the Summer Garden - on the occasion of the installation of the statue of Venus there. Wandering around the park, he first encounters his father, then he listens to the official Avramov, who claims that the Christian faith is forgotten and that pagan gods are now worshipped. Tsar Peter himself unpacks the statue. This is the same Venus that the future emperor Julian once prayed to and that Leonardo's student looked at. All those present are obliged to bow to Venus. The fireworks display begins. Peter's drinking buddies sail on barrels - members of the All-Shuteysky Cathedral, dressed up as Bacchus. Ceremonial speeches are made. Avramov enters into a general conversation, declaring that the pagan gods are not just allegories, but living beings, namely, demons. The conversation turns to false miracles; Peter orders that they bring an allegedly miraculous icon, the secret of which he revealed; the king shows everyone the mechanism that allows the icon to "cry". An experiment is being carried out. Thunder rumbles, a storm begins. People flee in panic; Aleksey watches in horror as the abandoned icon is lying on the ground, useless to anyone. Someone steps on it, it breaks. At the same time, on the other side of the Neva, a company consisting of hysterics, runaway sailors, schismatics and other outcasts is sitting around the fire. The conversation is about Peter, who is considered the Antichrist; interprets the Apocalypse. All hopes are pinned on the meek heir - Tsarevich Alexei. The speakers go home. Elder Kornily calls his disciple Tikhon Zapolsky (he is the son of an archer executed by Peter, who went through the usual path of a Russian nobleman under the carpenter tsar: forced training, Navigation school, abroad) to flee from St. Petersburg. Tikhon recalls conversations with his German teacher Gluck, his conversations with General Bruce about Newton's comments on the Apocalypse. Gluck calls Tikhon to Stockholm - to continue on the path of Peter. Tikhon chooses the East and leaves with the elder to look for the city of Kitezh. Alexei visits the half-mad Empress Marfa Matveevna, the widow of Fyodor Alekseevich. Here he is given letters from his mother, who was forcibly tonsured as a nun. The prince is persuaded not to give up, to wait for the death of his father. The third book is written in the form of the diary of Lady Arnheim, the lady-in-waiting of the wife of Prince Charlotte. She is an enlightened German woman, familiar with Leibniz. In her diary, she tries to understand how wild barbarism can be combined in the Russian Tsar with the desire for Europeanization. Arnheim tells about the strange disposition of Peter, about how St. Petersburg was built; writes about the relationship of the prince with his unloved wife. The diary includes a description of the death and burial of Marfa Matveevna, the last Russian queen. New Russia buries the old one, Petersburg - Moscow. A diary of Alexei himself is also cited, in which he laments about the substitution of Orthodoxy for Lutheranism, comments on Peter's decrees, and writes about the state of the church under Peter the Antichrist. Despite the warning about the beginning of the flood, Peter arranges an assembly in Apraksin's house. In the midst of conversations with Archimandrite Theodosius, who calls for the closure of monasteries and the destruction of icon veneration with various heresiarchs and other haters of Orthodoxy, water bursts into the house. Peter is involved in saving people. After spending a lot of time in cold water, the guy catches a bad cold. There are rumors that he is dying. To the prince, the heir, now and then there are various officials with assurances of their loyalty. O. Yakov Ignatiev insists that Alexei not back down. The king recovers; he knows everything about his son's behavior during his illness. At confession, the confessor of Alexei Fr. Yakov forgives the prince the sin of wishing his father to die, but Alexei himself feels that the church depends on politics; his conscience is not clear. Peter is angry with his son, threatening to deprive him of his inheritance. Alexei asks to be sent to a monastery, but Peter understands that this will not solve the problem: he offers his son either to "correct" or threatens to "cut off like a gangrenous ud." Peter abroad; Alexey, meanwhile, goes to Moscow, wanders around the abandoned Kremlin, recalls his childhood, the history of his relationship with his father, his feelings for him - from love to hatred and horror. In a dream, he sees himself walking along with Christ, and a whole horde of the Antichrist with his father at the head. Aleksey understands that he sees the Adoration of the world to the Beast, the Harlot and the Coming Ham. Peter summons his son to Copenhagen; he goes, but on the way he decides to run away and turns to Italy, where, together with his mistress Euphrosyne, he lives under the auspices of the Austrian Caesar, hiding from his father. In Naples, Alexei writes anonymous letters to the senators in St. Petersburg against Peter. In his mistress, Alexei suddenly recognizes the ancient Venus - the White Devil. Frightened, he nevertheless decides to bow to her. Peter sends the "Russian Machiavell" Peter Tolstoy and Count Rumyantsev to Italy. Those threats and promises ensure that Alexei returns home. In his father's letter, he is guaranteed complete forgiveness. Peter at the zenith of glory. His dream is to realize Leibniz's idea: to make Russia a link between Europe and China. His diary resembles in its boldness the diary of Leonardo da Vinci. Having learned that his son is returning, the tsar hesitates for a long time what to do with him: to execute Alexei means to destroy himself, to forgive - to destroy Russia. Peter chooses Russia. Peter deprives his son of the right to the throne. He reminds Alexei of his ties with his disgraced mother, of preparing a rebellion. Alexey perceives his father as the revealed Antichrist. Peter grabs all those involved in the case of Alexei, tortures them into confessions; mass executions follow. The new bishop Feofan Prokopovich delivers a sermon "On the power and honor of the king." Aleksey listens with bitterness to the voice of the church completely suppressed by the state-Peter. Larion Dokukin again opposes Peter, this time openly. Peter wearily confronts him, then orders him to be arrested. The ninth book, "Red Death", tells about the life of the young man Tikhon in a schismatic skete. Skitnitsa Sophia calls Tikhon to self-immolation; through the face of Sophia the Wisdom of God, the seductive face of the earth also peeps through. In one of the conversations, a certain elder says that the Antichrist is not yet Peter - the real one will take God's throne with love and affection, and then he will be terrible. Tikhon is present at the schismatic "fraternal gathering". The fathers swear because of the rites "just like in the time of Julian the Apostate at church councils at the court of the Byzantine emperors." The arguing is pacified only by the news that a "team" is coming to the village - to smash the schismatics. Skeet is going to arrange a mass self-immolation. Tikhon tries to get away from him, but Sophia, having given herself to the young man, persuades him to accept the Red Death. In the event of a fire, Elder Cornelius leaves the flame through an underground passage, taking Tikhon with him. He, disappointed by the hypocrisy of the old man, runs away from the blue one. Tsarevich Alexei foresees his imminent death, drinks a lot, is afraid of his father and at the same time hopes for forgiveness. At the next interrogation, it turns out that Euphrosyne, Alexei's mistress, betrayed him. Enraged by this betrayal and the fact that their newborn child was apparently killed on the orders of Peter, Alexei confesses that he was plotting a rebellion against his father. Peter severely beats his son. The Church does not prevent the future execution of Alexei; the king understands that all responsibility is on him. At the trial, Alexei calls his father an perjurer, the Antichrist, and curses him. Then, under torture, he signs all the charges against himself. He is tortured further, Peter himself is especially cruel. Even before the official execution, Alexei dies from torture. Peter swims in a stormy sea, it seems to him that the waves are blood red. Nevertheless, he remains firm: "Do not be afraid!" He says to the helmsman. "Our new ship is strong - it will withstand the storm. God is with us!" Tikhon Zapolsky, having left the elder, becomes a member of a heretical sect, whose teaching is similar to paganism, and the rites to Dionysian. But the young man cannot stand it when an innocent baby is to be killed during one of the celebrations. Tikhon rebels, and only the intervention of the soldiers saves him from reprisal. Sectarians are mercilessly executed; Tikhon is granted forgiveness; he lives with Feofan Prokopovich as a librarian. Listening to the conversations of Feofan's educated guests, the young man understands that this path - of enlightened faith - leads, rather, to atheism. Tikhon leaves from here too and, together with the sectarian runners, ends up on Valaam. At some point, he feels that the pious monks he met here are unable to explain everything to him. Tikhon leaves. In the forest, however, he meets the old man Ivanushka, at the same time the apostle John. He proclaims the Third Testament - the Kingdom of the Spirit. Tikhon, who believes, becomes the first son of the new church of John, Flying Thunder, and goes to bring people the light that has been revealed to him. The last words in the novel are Tikhon's exclamation: "Hosanna! Christ will defeat the Antichrist." L. A. Danilkin Vikenty Vikentievich Veresaev (1867-1945) Dead end Roman (1922) Black Sea. Crimea. White-maned waves roll under the very terrace of a cozy house with a tiled roof and green shutters. Here, in the holiday village of Armatluk, near Koktebel, Ivan Ilyich Sarganov, an old zemstvo doctor, lives with his wife and daughter. Tall, thin, gray-haired, he had recently been a regular participant in the "Pirogov" congresses, he came into conflict first with the tsarist authorities (either calling for the abolition of the death penalty, then declaring the world war a massacre), then with the Bolsheviks, opposing mass executions. Arrested by the "emergency", was sent under escort to Moscow, but remembered his youth, two escapes from Siberian exile, and jumped off the train at night. Friends helped him hide in the Crimea under the protection of the White Guard army, surrounded by the same neighbors, longingly waiting for the revolutionary storm. The Sartanovs live very poorly - lean borscht, boiled potatoes without oil, rosehip tea without sugar ... On a frosty February evening, Academician Dmitrevsky comes with his wife, Natalya Sergeevna. She is concerned about the loss of her beloved diamond ring, which only Princess Andozhskaya could take. What need can bring people to if this beauty, the widow of a naval officer, burned alive by sailors in the furnace of a steamship boiler, decided to steal! Natalya Sergeevna says that the windows of the Agapovs were broken at night, and the priest's kitchen was set on fire. The peasant senses that the Bolsheviks are close, they are approaching Perekop and will be here in two weeks. The Dmitrevskys are worried about their son Dmitry, an officer in the Volunteer Army. Suddenly he appears on the threshold with the words: "Peace be with you!" Love is born between Mitya and Ivan Ilyich's daughter Katya. But is it up to her now? In the morning the officer should return to the unit, he became ruder, sharper, told how he shot at people, how he discovered the true face of the people - stupid, greedy, cruel: "What hopeless spiritual cynicism, what hopelessness! they spit the cherished thing in his face - in his God! And he twisted his visor, whistles and peels the seeds. What will Rublev, Vasnetsov, Nesterov say to his soul now? Katya is a different person, striving to get away from extremes. She is busy with daily cares about piglets, chickens, she knows how to extract interest from cooking, washing. She becomes uncomfortable with the well-fed, carefree atmosphere of the Agapovs' house, where, together with Dmitry, she takes the things of their murdered son Mark. How strange this festive table and elegant sisters Asya and Maya look with diamond earrings in their ears, music, poems ... And in the village disputes do not subside: will the Reds be allowed into the Crimea or not? Will there be order? Will it get worse? But some under any power well. The former soloist of the imperial theaters, Belozerov, once bought up candles for 25 kopecks per pound, and in difficult times he sold to friends for 2 rubles. Now he is the chairman of the board, a member of some commissions, committees, he is looking for popularity, he agrees with the peasants. And he has everything: flour, sugar, and kerosene. And Katya, with great difficulty, received a sack of flour from the cooperative. But you can’t take him home alone, and the villagers don’t want to help, they swagger: “Drag on your ridge. No one doesn’t rely on other people’s ridges.” However, there is also a kind person, helping to put the bag, saying: “Yes, the people have become rabid ...” The dear one tells how the Cossacks came to their village to stay: “Feed them, give them water. Everyone takes whatever they look at - a fur coat, felt boots "How many wild boars were slaughtered, geese, chickens, that they drank wine. They began to take away my son-in-law's horse, he won't give it. Then he was shot in the forehead with a livarver. They threw him into a ditch and left." It's been a passionate week. Somewhere there are muffled cracks. Some say that the Bolsheviks are shelling the city, others - the Whites are blowing up artillery depots. The gardeners are confused. The poor are rumored to organize a revolutionary committee. Bolshevik agitators and red scouts are traveling everywhere. Under the guise of a search, some dubious individuals take away money and valuables. The day came when the whites fled from the Crimea. Soviet power began with the total mobilization of all male residents to dig trenches. Is it old, is it sick - go. One priest died on the way. Ivan Ilyich was also driven, although he could barely walk. Only the intervention of the nephew of Leonid Sartanov-Sedogo, one of the leaders of the Revolutionary Committee, saved the old man from overwork. Leonid holds a show trial of the young Red Army soldiers who robbed the Agapov family, and Katya rejoices at the many-voiced will of the crowd. The relations of dacha owners with the new authorities are developing differently. Belozerov offers his services in organizing a sub-department of theater and art, occupies luxurious rooms, assuring that "I have always been a communist to my heart." Academician Dmitrevsky is assigned to head the department of public education, and he attracts Katya as a secretary. Things turned out to be unrelenting. Katya treated the common people kindly, she knew how to listen, ask questions, and advise. However, relations with the new bosses are not getting better, because, being a direct and frank nature, she said what she thought. A serious conflict arises between Katya and the head of the housing department, Seidberg. The girl, who was evicted from the apartment, to the paramedic Sorokina, offers shelter in her room, but the housing department does not allow: whoever we give out a warrant, we will hook up. The whole day, passing through the authorities, the women turn to Seidberg and stumble upon a blank wall. It was as if something hit Katya, and in a fit of despair she shouts: "When will this boorish kingdom end?" She is immediately taken to a special department and put in cell "B" - a basement with two narrow vents, without light. But the girl does not give up and declares during interrogation: "I was in the royal prisons, I was interrogated by the royal gendarmes. And I have never seen such a brutal attitude towards prisoners." What helped Katya - a family connection with Leonid Sedym or simply the absence of guilt - is unknown, but she is soon released ... The first of May is approaching. Domkom announces: whoever does not decorate his house with red flags will be put on trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal. They also threaten those who do not go to the demonstration. Total participation! The Makhnovists appeared in the Crimea. All on horseback or carts, hung with weapons, drunk, impudent. They ran into the cart in which Katya and Leonid were returning home, began to demand a horse. Leonid fires a revolver and rushes to the mountains with Katya. There is a strong shooting, one of the bullets injures the girl's hand. The fugitives manage to escape, and Leonid thanks his sister for her courage: "It's a pity that you are not with us. We need such people," Unexpectedly, an order came from Moscow to arrest Ivan Ilyich. His acquaintances are busy about release, but the situation is complicated, and the Crimea again passes into the hands of the Whites. Before leaving, the Reds shoot the prisoners, but Leonid again saves Sartanov. His wife is killed by an accidental bullet, and his second daughter, Vera, who has recently returned home, is a staunch communist, shot by the Cossacks. The commandant's offices, counterintelligence again appear, arrests are underway ... The ruined summer residents are asking for the return of what was taken away by the commissars. Katya tries to protect Academician Dmitrevsky, who was captured for cooperation, but to no avail. Alienation lies between her and Dmitry. Ivan Ilyich gradually weakens and dies of scurvy. Left alone, Katya sells things and, without saying goodbye to anyone, leaves the village for no one knows where. I. G. Zhivotovsky Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) Meshchan Play (1901, published 1902) Bessemenov Vasily Vasilyevich, 58 years old, foreman of the painting shop, who is aiming for a deputy to the city duma from the shop class, lives in a prosperous house; Akulina Ivanovna, his wife; son Peter, a former student expelled for participating in unauthorized student meetings; daughter Tatyana, a school teacher who has been sitting too long in brides; Bessemenov's pupil Nil, a machinist in a railway depot; the church chorister Teterev and the student Shishkin are freeloaders; Elena Nikolaevna Krivtsova is a young widow of a prison warden who rents rooms in the house, and Stepanida is a cook who does all the menial work in the house with the help of the girl Poli, a seamstress, daughter of a distant relative of Bessemenov Perchikhin, a songbird merchant and a drunkard. In addition to them, Tsvetaeva, a young teacher, a friend of Tatyana, often visits the house. The action of the play takes place in an atmosphere of constantly flaring up and fading scandals between Bessemenov and his children. The father is dissatisfied with the irreverence of the children towards him, as well as the fact that both have not yet found their place in life. In his opinion, both of them have become too "educated" and therefore proud. It prevents them from living. Tatyana just has to get married, and Peter - it is profitable to marry and work to increase his father's wealth. As the action develops, it becomes clear that the children not so much do not want to live "like a father", but simply cannot because of their weakened will, loss of interest in life, etc. Education really did not benefit them; it only confused them, deprived them of the will to live and their strong philistine roots. This is the main tragedy of the Bessemenov family. In the case of Peter, according to Teterev, who plays a kind of reasoner role in the play, this tragedy should be decided in favor of his father: Peter will leave Krivtsova, whom he is still in love with against the will of his parents, will inevitably follow the path of his father and also become an exemplary tradesman. In the case of Tatyana, who is hopelessly in love with Nil, who is already bound by mutual love with Fields, the question is open: most likely, Tatyana will remain the unfortunate victim of the contradiction between her bourgeois roots and the new trends of the times. These trends are most clearly expressed by Nil, the most "progressive" hero and, obviously, the future socialist-revolutionary, to which Bessemenov alludes. Nil reflects the aesthetics of struggle and labor close to Gorky, inextricably linked. For example, he loves to forge, but not because he loves work in general, but because he likes to sort of fight with metal, suppressing its resistance. At the same time, Neil's will and purposefulness have a downside: he is ruthless to Tatyana, who is in love with him, and to Bessemenov, who raised him. Along the way, marginal plots unfold in the play: Teterev's love for Field, in which he sees his last salvation from drunkenness and boredom of life; the fate of Perchikhin, a man not of this world, living only with love for birds and the forest; the tragedy of Krivtsova, who is in love with life, but has lost her place in it. The most interesting of the secondary characters is Grouse. This man is too huge (both physically and spiritually) for that wretched life, the owners of which are Bessemenov and others like him so far. But he is unlikely to find a place in that life, the owners of which will be people like Neil. His image is the image of the eternal exile of life. The play ends on a tragic note. After a failed attempt to commit suicide, Tatyana realizes her doom and uselessness among people. In the last scene, she falls on the keys of the piano, and a discordant loud sound is heard ... P. V. Basinsky At the bottom PICTURES Play (1902, published 1903) The play contains, as it were, two parallel actions. The first is social and everyday and the second is philosophical. Both actions develop in parallel, not intertwined. There are, as it were, two planes in the play: external and internal. External plan. In the doss house, owned by Mikhail Ivanovich Kostylev (51 years old) and his wife Vasilisa Karlovna (26 years old), live, according to the author's definition, "former people", that is, people without a solid social status, as well as working, but poor people. These are: Satin and Actor (both under 40 years old), Vaska Pepel, a thief (28 years old), Andrey Mitrich Kleshch, a locksmith (40 years old), his wife Anna (30 years old), Nastya, a prostitute (24 years old), Bubnov (45 years old), Baron (33 years old), Alyoshka (20 years old), Tatarin and Crooked Goiter, hookers (age not named). Kvashnya, a dumpling vendor (under 40 years old) and Medvedev, Vasilisa's uncle, a policeman (50 years old), appear in the house. There is a very difficult relationship between them, scandals are often tied up. Vasilisa is in love with Vaska and persuades him to kill her elderly husband in order to be the sole mistress (in the second half of the play, Vaska beats Kostylev and accidentally kills him; Vaska is arrested). Vaska is in love with Natalya, Vasilisa's sister (20 years old); Vasilisa mercilessly beats her sister out of jealousy. Satin and the Actor (a former actor of provincial theaters by the name of Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky) are completely degraded people, drunkards, gamblers, Satin is also a sharpie. The baron is a former nobleman who squandered his entire fortune and is now one of the most miserable people in the rooming house. The tick tries to earn money with his metalwork tool; his wife Anna falls ill and needs medicine; at the end of the play, Anna dies, and the Tick finally sinks "to the bottom." In the midst of drunkenness and scandals, the wanderer Luka appears in the rooming house, pitying people. He promises many an unrealizable bright future. He predicts happiness for Anna after death. The actor talks about a free hospital for alcoholics. Vaska and Natasha are advised to leave home, etc. But at the most tense moment, Luka actually runs away, leaving hopeful people. The actor is driven to suicide. In the finale, the bunkhouses sing a song, and when Satin hears about the death of the Actor, he annoys and bitterly says: "Eh ... He ruined the song ... fool!" Internal plan. Two philosophical "truths" collide in the play: Luke and Satina. The nochlezhka is a kind of symbol of a dead-ended humanity, which by the beginning of the XNUMXth century. has lost faith in God, but has not yet gained faith in herself. Hence the general feeling of hopelessness, lack of perspective, which, in particular, is expressed by the Actor and Bubnov (the pessimist reasoner) in the words: "What's next" and "And the strings are rotten ..." The world has become dilapidated, exhausted, is coming to an end. Satine prefers to accept this bitter truth and not lie to himself or to people. He offers Tick to stop working. If all people stop working, what will happen? "They will die of hunger ..." - Kleshch answers, but by doing so he only reveals the meaningless essence of labor, which is aimed only at maintaining life, and not at bringing any meaning to it. Satin is a kind of radical existentialist, a person who accepts the absurdity of the universe, in which "God died> (Nietzsche) and the Void, Nothing was exposed. Luke adheres to a different view of the world. He believes that it is the terrible nonsense of life that should cause special pity for a person "If a person needs a lie to continue his life, he must lie, console him. Otherwise, the person will not stand the "truth" and will perish. So Luke tells a parable about a seeker of a righteous land and a scientist who showed him on the map that there is no righteous land "The offended man left and hanged himself (a parallel with the future death of the Actor). Luke is not just an ordinary wanderer, comforter, but also a philosopher. In his opinion, a person is obliged to live in spite of the nonsense of life, because he does not know his future, he is only a wanderer in the universe, and even our earth is a wanderer in space. Luke and Satin argue. But Satin accepts Luke's "truth" in some way. In any case, it is the appearance of Luke that provokes Satine to his monologue about Man, which he utters, imitating the voice of his opponent (the principle remark in the play). Sateen does not want to feel sorry for and console a person, but, having told him the whole truth about the meaninglessness of life, move him to self-respect and rebellion against the universe. A person, realizing the tragedy of his existence, should not despair, but, on the contrary, feel his value. The whole meaning of the universe is in it alone. There is no other meaning (for example, Christian). "Man - that sounds proud!" "Everything is in man, everything is for man." P. V. Basinsky Mother Roman (1906) The novel is set in Russia in the early 1900s. Factory workers with their families live in the working settlement, and the whole life of these people is inextricably linked with the factory: in the morning, with the factory whistle, the workers rush to the factory, in the evening it throws them out of its stone bowels; on holidays, meeting each other, they only talk about the factory, drink a lot, get drunk - they fight. However, the young worker Pavel Vlasov, unexpectedly for his mother Pelageya Nilovna, the widow of a locksmith, suddenly begins to live a different life: on holidays he goes to the city, brings books, reads a lot. To his mother's bewildered question, Pavel replies: "I want to know the truth and therefore I read forbidden books; if they find them in my possession, they will put me in prison." After some time, Pavel's comrades begin to gather in the Vlasovs' house on Saturday evenings: Andrey Nakhodka - "a crest from Kanev", as he introduces himself to his mother, who recently arrived in the suburb and entered the factory; several factory guys from the suburbs, whom Nilovna had known before; people from the city come: a young girl Natasha, a teacher who left Moscow from rich parents; Nikolai Ivanovich, who sometimes comes instead of Natasha to deal with the workers; thin and pale young lady Sashenka, also, like Natasha, who left the family: her father is a landowner, a zemstvo chief. Pavel and Sashenka love each other, but they cannot get married: they both believe that married revolutionaries are lost for business - they need to earn a living, an apartment, raise children. Gathering in the house of the Vlasovs, the members of the circle read books on history, talk about the hard lot of the workers of the whole earth, about the solidarity of all working people, and often sing songs. At these meetings, the mother hears the word "socialists" for the first time. Mother really likes Nakhodka, and he also fell in love with her, affectionately calls her "nenko", says that she looks like his late foster mother, but he does not remember his own mother. After some time, Pavel and his mother offer Andrei to move into their house, and the Little Russian gladly agrees. Leaflets appear at the factory, which speak of workers' strikes in St. Petersburg, of the injustice of the factory's order; leaflets call on the workers to unite and fight for their interests. The mother understands that the appearance of these sheets is connected with the work of her son, she is both proud of him and fears for his fate. After some time, the gendarmes come to the Vlasovs' house with a search. The mother is scared, but she tries to suppress her fear. Those who came did not find anything: having been warned in advance about the search, Pavel and Andrey took away forbidden books from the house; nevertheless Andrey is arrested. An announcement appears at the factory stating that the directorate will deduct a penny from each ruble earned by the workers - to drain the swamps surrounding the factory. The workers are dissatisfied with this decision of the management, several elderly workers come to Pavel for advice. Pavel asks his mother to go to the city to take his note to the newspaper so that the story with the "swamp penny" gets into the nearest issue, and he goes to the factory, where, having led a spontaneous rally, in the presence of the director, he sets out the workers' demands for the abolition of the new tax. However, the director orders the workers to resume work, and everyone disperses to their places. Pavel is upset, he believes that the people did not believe him, did not follow his truth, because he is young and weak - he did not manage to tell this truth. At night, the gendarmes again appear and this time they take Pavel away. A few days later, Yegor Ivanovich comes to Nilovna - one of those who went to meetings with Pavel before his arrest. He tells his mother that, in addition to Pavel, 48 more factory workers were arrested, and it would be good to continue delivering leaflets to the factory. The mother volunteers to carry leaflets, for which she asks a friend who sells lunches for workers at the factory to take her to be her assistant. Everyone entering the factory is searched, but the mother successfully smuggles the leaflets and passes them to the workers. Finally Andrei and Pavel are released from prison and begin to prepare for the celebration of the First of May. Pavel is going to carry the banner ahead of the column of demonstrators, although he knows that for this he will be sent to prison again. On the morning of May XNUMX, Pavel and Andrei do not go to work, but go to the square, where the people have already gathered. Pavel, standing under the red banner, declares that today they, members of the Social Democratic Labor Party, are openly raising the banner of reason, truth, and freedom. "Long live the working people of all countries!" - with this slogan of Paul, the column headed by him moved along the streets of the settlement. However, a chain of soldiers came out to meet the demonstration, the column was crushed, Pavel and Andrei, who was walking next to him, were arrested. Automatically picking up a fragment of a pole with a fragment of a banner torn by the gendarmes from the hands of her son, Nilovna goes home, and in her chest there is a desire to tell everyone that the children are following the truth, they want a different, better life, the truth for everyone. A few days later, the mother moves to the city to Nikolai Ivanovich - he promised Pavel and Andrei, if they were arrested, to immediately take her to him. In the city of Nilovna, leading the simple household of the lonely Nikolai Ivanovich, he begins active underground work: alone or together with Nikolai's sister Sophia, disguised as either a nun, or a pilgrim-wanderer, or a lace merchant, she travels around the cities and villages of the province, delivering forbidden books, newspapers, and proclamations. She likes this job, she loves talking to people, listening to their stories about life. She sees that the people live half-starved among the vast riches of the earth. Returning from trips to the city, the mother goes on dates with her son in prison. On one of these dates, she manages to give him a note with a proposal from her comrades to arrange an escape for him and his friends. However, Pavel refuses to escape; Most of all, Sashenka, who was the initiator of the escape, is upset by this. Finally, the day of judgment arrives. Only the relatives of the defendants were allowed into the hall. Mother was waiting for something terrible, waiting for a dispute, finding out the truth, but everything goes quietly: the judges speak indifferently, indistinctly, reluctantly; witnesses - hastily and colorless. The speeches of the prosecutor and lawyers also do not touch the mother's heart. But then Paul begins to speak. He does not defend himself - he explains why they are not rebels, although they are judged as rebels. They are socialists, their slogans are - down with private property, all means of production - to the people, all power - to the people, labor is obligatory for all. They are revolutionaries and will remain so until all their ideas win. Everything that the son says is known to the mother, but only here, at the trial, does she feel the strange, captivating power of his faith. But now the judge reads the verdict: send all the defendants to the settlement. Sasha is also waiting for the verdict and is going to declare that he wants to be settled in the same area as Pavel. The mother promises her to come to them when their children are born, to nurse her grandchildren. When the mother returns home, Nikolai informs her that it was decided to publish Pavel's speech at the trial. The mother volunteers to take her son's speech for distribution to another city. At the station, she suddenly sees a young man whose face and attentive gaze seem strangely familiar to her; she remembers that she had met him earlier both in court and near the prison, and she understands that she has been caught. The young man calls the watchman and, pointing at her with his eyes, says something to him. The watchman approaches the mother and reproachfully says: "The thief! The old one is already there, but there too!" "I'm not a thief!" - choking with resentment and indignation, the mother screams and, snatching bundles of proclamations from her suitcase, holds them out to the people around her: "This is the speech of my son, yesterday he was judged by political politicians, he was among them." The gendarmes push people aside as they approach their mother; one of them grabs her by the throat, preventing her from speaking; she wheezes. There are sobs in the crowd. N. V. Soboleva "Passion-muzzles" Story (1913, publ. 1917) In a provincial town, a young trader in Bavarian kvass meets a walking woman in the evening. She, drunk, stands in a puddle and stamps her feet, splashing mud like children. The merchant takes her to her home; she agrees to go with him, thinking that he is her client. "House" is a basement hole in which, in addition to a woman, her son lives with sore legs. She gave birth to him at the age of fifteen from an old voluptuous man, for whom she served as a maid. Lyonka (that's the name of the boy) sits in his hole all day long and very rarely sees white light. He entertains himself by collecting in different boxes all sorts of insects that he manages to catch, gives them funny nicknames (spider - Drummer, fly - Official, beetle - Uncle Nikodim, etc.) and endows in his fantasy with human features that he spying on his mother's clients. These insects make up a special world for Lenka, which replaces the real, human world for him. However, he has a low concept of the human world, because he judges it by those who come to their hole to have fun with his mother. Mother's name is Mashka Frolikha. She seems to be seriously ill (her nose fell through, although she does not consider herself "contagious"). She is madly in love with her son and lives only for him. At the same time, she is a finished, sick and drunk person. The future, therefore, does not bode well for her son. Lyonka is wise and serious beyond his years. He treats his mother like a small child, pities her and teaches her life. At the same time, he is just a child with no experience of life. The merchant (who is also the narrator and the alter ego of the author) begins to visit the boy and tries to somehow brighten up his life. But the situation is so hopeless that at the end of the story the hero realizes that he is at an impasse: "I quickly left the yard, gritting my teeth so as not to cry." P. V. Basinsky blue life Story (1924, publ. 1925) The tradesman Konstantin Mironov lives in a remote provincial town. When he was a child, his parents drank and often fought. At the same time, the mother was a religious person and went on a pilgrimage to the monastery. The father was a weirdo. For example, he amused himself by attaching wooden pipes with rubber balls to the doors, which whistled disgustingly when the door was opened. In general, my father tried to “drown out” the boredom of life with different sounds: either he listened to a music box that his mother once broke in her hearts, or he brought home a globe that, turning around its axis, played “chizhik-pyzhik” ... Before his father, his mother was married to his boss who shot his father with a pistol. "Woe to me that he did not kill you!" - often shouted mother to father. Konstantin Mironov is also an eccentric and dreamer. He dreams of going to Paris. He has never been abroad and therefore imagines Paris as a city where everything is resolutely blue: the sky, the people, and the houses. The dream of Paris and its "blue life" brightens up the boredom of a provincial town, but also breaks Mironov's connection with reality. People begin to notice something strange about him and shun him. The first signs of madness make themselves felt when Mironov decides to paint his house blue in order to at least partially realize his dream. The house is painted by a strange man - the Carpenter, who is a bit like a boring provincial devil. Instead of blue paint, he uses blue, and the result is monstrous, especially since the joiner paints some kind of creature on the facade with yellow paint, vaguely resembling a fish. The city's burghers take this as a challenge to them, for no one paints their houses that color. At the same time, Mironov falls in love with Lisa Rozanova, the daughter of a respected person in the city. But he again "invents" the object of his love: Lisa is an ordinary petty bourgeois, she does not understand Mironov's romantic dreams. In the end, Mironov goes crazy. He is cured by a local doctor, and Mironov becomes an ordinary bookbinder, moderately business-like, moderately greedy, etc. A narrator meets him, to whom he conveys the story of his madness. P. V. Basinsky Vassa Zheleznova Play (1935, published 1936) Vassa Borisovna Zheleznova, nee - Khrapova, 42 years old (but looks younger), owner of a steamship company, a very rich and influential person, lives in her own house with her drunken husband, Sergei Petrovich Zheleznov, 60 years old, a former captain, and brother, Prokhor Borisovich Hrapov, a careless, drinking person who collects all kinds of locks (the collection, as it were, parodies the sister's possessive instincts). Natalya and Lyudmila, the daughters of Vassa and Sergei Petrovich, also live in the house; Anna Onoshenkova - Vassa's young secretary and confidante And at the same time a domestic spy; Lisa and then Polya are maids. The sailor Pyaterkin constantly visits the house, playing the role of a jester and secretly hitting on Aiza in the hope of marrying her and getting rich; Gury Krotkikh - manager of the shipping company; Melnikov is a member of the district court and his son Yevgeny (tenants). Rachel arrives from abroad - the wife of Vassa's son Fyodor, who is dying far from his homeland. Rachel is a socialist revolutionary wanted by the police. She wants to take her young son Kolya, whom Vassa hides in the village and does not want to give to her daughter-in-law, as she expects to make him the heir to her fortune and the successor of her business. Vassa threatens to hand over Rachel to the gendarmes if she insists on her son's return. The precarious prosperity of Vassa's house rests on crime. She poisons her husband, Sergei Petrovich, when he is involved in the seduction of a minor and he is threatened with hard labor. But first, she invites him to commit suicide, and only when he refuses, Vassa, saving the honor of unmarried daughters, sprinkles powder on her husband. Thus, the family avoids the shame of the court. The series of crimes did not end there. The maid Liza suffered from her brother Vassa and, in the end, hanged herself in the bathhouse (people were told that she had lost her mind). Vassa is ready to do anything to save her house and her business. She is madly in love with her failed children, who were victims of their father's former unbridled life and his cruel treatment of their mother. Fedor is not a tenant in this world. As a child, Lyudmila, having seen enough of her father's fun with slutty girls, grew up foolish. Natalya gradually becomes an inveterate drunkard with her uncle and does not love her mother, whom she is nevertheless very similar to in her cool temper. The last hope is the grandson, but he is still too small. Between Rachel and Vassa there is some similarity that they both feel. These are integral, fanatical characters - "masters of life"; only Vassa is all in the past, and behind Rachel is the future. They are irreconcilable enemies, but respect each other. Nevertheless, Vassa orders the secretary to inform the gendarmes on Rachel, but does it solely for the sake of her grandson, the ending of the play is unexpected. Vassa suddenly dies. This feels the punishment from above for the ridiculous, sudden death of her husband and the mockery of fate: part of Vassa's money is stolen by Onoshkova, and the rest of the wealth, according to the law, will be disposed of by a dissolute brother who will undoubtedly squander everything. Only the weak-minded Lyudmila mourns her mother. The rest of her death does not touch. P. V. Basinsky Life of Klim Samgin FOURTY YEARS Tale (1925-1936, unfinished, published 1927-1937) In the house of the populist intellectual Ivan Akimovich Samgin, a son was born, to whom his father decided to give the "unusual", peasant name Klim. It immediately singled out the boy among other children of his circle: the daughter of Dr. Somov, Lyuba; the children of the lodger Varavka Varvara, Lydia and Boris; Igor Turoboev (together with Boris studies at the Moscow military school); Ivan Dronov (an orphan, a hanger-on in the Samgins' house); Konstantin Makarov and Alina Telepneva (comrades in the gymnasium). There is a complicated relationship between them, partly because Klim tries to excel, which is not always possible. The first teacher is Tomilin. Rivalry with Boris. The unexpected death of Boris and Varvara, who fell through the ice while skating. A voice from the crowd: "Was there a boy, maybe there wasn't a boy?" - as the first "key" motive of the story, as if expressing the unreality of what is happening. Studying at the gymnasium. Erotic languor of Samghin. The seamstress Rita is secretly bribed by Klim's mother for the young man's "safe" sex life. She is in love with Dronov; Samghin finds out about this and about the act of his mother and is disappointed in women. Makarov's love for Lydia; failed suicide attempt. Klim saves him, but then regrets it, because he himself secretly sympathizes with Lydia and feels that he looks pale against the background of his friend. Petersburg, students. Samghin's new circle of friends, where he again tries to occupy a special place, subjecting everything and everyone to critical analysis "in his mind" and receiving the nickname "wise guy". Elder brother Dmitry (a student who joined the revolutionary struggle), Marina Premirova, Serafima Nekhaeva (in love with everything "decadent"), Kutuzov (an active revolutionary, a future Bolshevik, reminiscent of Lenin in his features), Elizaveta Spivak with a sick musician husband, Vladimir Lyutov (a student from a merchant family) and others. Lyutov's love for Alina Telepneva, who has grown into a beautiful and capricious woman. Her consent to be Lyutov's wife and subsequent refusal, because she falls in love with Turoboev (the theme of a kind of rivalry between the "poor aristocrat" Turoboev and the "rich man" Lyutov). Life in the country. The symbolic scene of catching catfish on a pot of hot porridge (the catfish will swallow the pot, it will burst, the catfish will float up) is the swindle of the "masters" by the peasant, who nevertheless admires Lyutov as an exponent of the mysterious talent of the Russian people. Disputes about Slavophiles and Westernizers, Russia and the West. Lyutov is a Russian anarchist. Klim tries to take a special position, but as a result does not take any. His unsuccessful attempt to declare his love to Lydia, Refusal. Rise of the bells to the village church. The death of a young peasant (the rope swept over the throat). The second "key" phrase of the story, uttered by a village girl: "Why are you being naughty?" - as if addressed to the "masters" in general. Not knowing the people, they are trying to decide its fate. Moscow. New people whom Samghin is trying to understand: Semion Diomidov, Varvara Antipova, Pyotr Marakuev, Uncle Khrisanf - the circle of the Moscow intelligentsia, which differs from the St. Petersburg intelligentsia in an underlined "Russianness". Drinking at Lyutov's apartment. Dismissed deacon Yegor Ipatievsky reads his own poems about Christ, Vaska, and the "unchangeable ruble". The bottom line is that the Russian people serve Christ with hatred. Lyutov's cry: "Brilliant!" Samghin again does not find a place in this environment. The arrival of the young Nicholas I and the tragedy at the Khodynka field, where hundreds of people were crushed during the coronation feast. Samghin's look at the crowd, which resembles "caviar". The insignificance of personal will in the era of a surge of mass psychosis. Samghin's final break with Lydia; her departure for Paris Klim goes to the Nizhny Novgorod industrial exhibition and gets acquainted with the provincial journalistic environment. Inokov is a bright newspaperman and a kind of poet (Gorky himself is a likely prototype). The arrival in Nizhny of the king, similar to "Balzaminov, dressed as an officer ...". Sashin and the newspaper. Dronov, Inokov, spouses Spivaki. Meeting with Tomilin, who preaches that "the path to true faith lies through the desert of unbelief" (a Nietzsche thought close to Samghin). The provincial historian Kozlov is a guardian and a monarchist who denies the revolution, including the revolution of the spirit. Meeting with Kutuzov, "outrageously self-confident" and therefore similar to his antipode - Kozlov. Kutuzov about "revolutionaries out of boredom", to which he refers the entire intelligentsia. The fall of the barracks under construction as a symbol of the "rotten" system. A parallel scene of the feast of the "fathers of the city" in a restaurant. Search in Samghin's apartment. A conversation with the gendarme captain Popov, who for the first time makes Samghin understand that he will never become a revolutionary. Moscow. Preis and Tagilsky - the top of the liberal intelligentsia (possible prototypes - "Vekhi"). The arrival of Kutuzov (each of his appearances reminds Samghin that a real revolution is being prepared somewhere aside, and he and his entourage do not take part in it). Makarov's thoughts on the philosophy of N. F. Fedorov and the role of women in history. Death of Father Samgin in Vyborg. Meeting with brother. Arrest of Samghin and Somova. Interrogation by the police and an offer to become an informant. Refusal of Samghin; strange uncertainty that he did the right thing. Love affair with Varvara Antipova; abortion. The words of the old servant Anfimievna (expressing the popular opinion) about the young: "Children of an alien god." Samghin's trip to Astrakhan and Georgia). Moscow, student unrest near the Manege. Samghin in the crowd and his fear of her. Rescues Mitrofanov - a police agent. A trip to the village; scene of peasant robberies. Samghin's fear of peasants. New unrest in Moscow. Ayubov's relationship with Nikonova (turns out to be a police informant). Trip to Staraya Russa; a look at the king through the lowered curtains of the carriage. January 9, 1905 in St. Petersburg. Scenes of Bloody Sunday. Gapon and the conclusion about him: "the priest is insignificant." Samghin in prison on suspicion of revolutionary activity. Bauman's funeral and outbursts of "Black Hundred" psychology. Moscow, revolution of 1905. Somova is trying to organize sanitary posts to help the wounded. Samghin’s thoughts about the revolution and Kutuzov: “And he’s right! .. Let passions flare up, let everything fly to hell, all these houses, apartments stuffed with caretakers of the people, dogmatists, critics, analysts ...” Nevertheless, he understands that such a revolution cancel him too, Samghin. Death of Turoboev. Makarov’s thoughts about the Bolsheviks: “So, Samghin, my question is: I don’t want a civil war, but I helped and, it seems, I will help the people who start it. There is something ... wrong with me” - recognition of the spiritual crisis of the intelligentsia. The funeral of Turoboev, the crowd of Black Hundreds and the thief Sashka Sudakov, who rescues Samghin, Alina Telepneva, Makarov and Lyutov. Barricades. Samghin and combat units. Comrade Yakov is the leader of the revolutionary crowd. Execution in front of Samghin detective Mitrofanov. Death of Anfimievna. Samghin understands that events are developing against his will, and he is their unwitting hostage. A trip to Rusgorod at the request of Kutuzov for money for the Bolsheviks. A conversation on the train with a drunken lieutenant who tells how scary it is to shoot at people on orders. Acquaintance with Marina Zotova - a rich woman with a "folk" way of thinking. Her reasoning is that the intelligentsia never knew the people, that the roots of the people's faith go back to schism and heresy, and this is a hidden, but true driving force of the revolution. A nightmare of "doubleness" that haunts Samghin and expresses the beginning of the disintegration of his personality. The assassination of the governor in front of Samghin. Meeting with Lydia, who came from abroad, Samghin's final disappointment in her. The philosophy of Valentin Bezbedov, an acquaintance of Marina, who denies any meaning in history. The motto "I don't want to" is the third "key" motif of the story, expressing Samghin's rejection of the entire universe, in which he seems to have no place. Marina and Elder Zachary are a type of "folk" religious figure. Religious "zeal" at Marina, which Samghin spies and which finally convinces him of his isolation from the elements of the people. Departure abroad. Berlin, boring. Bosch's paintings in the gallery, which unexpectedly coincide with Samghin's worldview (the fragmentation of the universe, the lack of a clear image of man). Meeting with mother in Switzerland; mutual misunderstanding. Samghin remains all alone. Lutov's suicide in Geneva; words of Alina Telepneva: "Volodya fled ..." Paris. Meeting with Marina Zotova. Popov and Berdnikov, who are trying to bribe Samghin to be their secret agent under Zotova and report on her possible deal with the British. Sharp refusal of Samghin. Return to Russia. The murder of Marina Zotova. Mysterious circumstances associated with it. Suspicion falls on Bezbedov, who denies everything and strangely dies in prison before the trial begins. Moscow. Death of Barbara. Kutuzov's words about Lenin as the only true revolutionary who sees through the future. Samghin and Dronov. An attempt to organize a new liberal-independent newspaper. Conversations around the collection "Milestones"; Samghin's thoughts: "Of course, this bold book will cause noise. The bell will ring in the middle of the night. The socialists will object furiously. And not only the socialists. "Whistling and ringing from all sides." A dozen more bubbles will swell on the surface of life." Death of Tolstoy. The words of the maid Agafya: "Lev Nikolaich died ... Do you hear how everyone in the house slams the doors? As if people were frightened." Samgin's thoughts about Faust and Don Quixote as a continuation of Ivan Turgenev's thoughts in the essay "Hamlet and Don Quixote". Samghin puts forward the principle not of active idealism, but of rational activity. The beginning of the world war as a symbol of the collapse of the collective mind. Samghin's trip to the front in Borovichi. Acquaintance with lieutenant Petrov, symbolizing the decomposition of military officers. The absurd murder of Tagilsky by an angry officer. War nightmares. Return from the front. Evening at Leonid Andreev's. His words: "People will feel like brothers only when they understand the tragedy of their being in space, feel the horror of their loneliness in the universe, come into contact with the bars of the iron cage of the insoluble mysteries of life, life, from which there is only one way out - into death", - which seem to fail the line under Samghin's spiritual quest. February Revolution of 1917 Rodzianko and Kerensky. Unfinished ending. Uncertainty of Samghin's further fate... P. V. Basinsky Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) Duel Tale (1905) Returning from the parade ground, Lieutenant Romashov thought: "I won't go today: you can't annoy people every day." Every day he stayed with the Nikolaevs until midnight, but in the evening of the next day he again went to this cozy house. "You have received letters from the mistress," Gainan, a cheremis, sincerely attached to Romashov, reported. The letter was from Raisa Alexandrovna Peterson, with whom they had been dirty and boring (and for quite a long time) deceived her husband. The cloying smell of her perfume and the vulgarly playful tone of the letter evoked an unbearable disgust. Half an hour later, embarrassed and annoyed with himself, he knocked on the door of the Nikolaevs. Vladimir Yefimitch was busy. For two years in a row he had failed the exams at the academy, and Alexandra Petrovna, Shurochka, did everything so that the last chance (it was allowed to enter only up to three times) was not missed. Helping her husband to prepare, Shurochka had already mastered the whole program (only ballistics was not given), Volodya was moving very slowly. With Romochka (as she called Romashov), Shurochka began to discuss a newspaper article about fights recently allowed in the army. She sees in them a severe necessity for Russian conditions. Otherwise, a card sharper like Archakovsky or a drunkard like Nazansky will not be brought out among the officers. Romashov did not agree to enlist Nazansky in this company, who said that the ability to love is given, like talent, not to everyone. Once this man was rejected by Shurochka, and his husband hated the lieutenant. This time Romashov stayed by Shurochka's side until they started talking that it was time for bed. ... At the nearest regimental ball, Romashov plucked up the courage to tell his mistress that it was all over. Petersonikha vowed revenge. And soon Nikolaev began to receive anonymous letters with hints of a special relationship between the second lieutenant and his wife. However, there were enough ill-wishers besides her. Romashov did not allow non-commissioned officers to fight and strongly objected to the "dentists" from among the officers, and promised Captain Plum that he would file a report against him if he allowed the soldiers to be beaten. Romashov and the authorities were dissatisfied. In addition, money was getting worse, and the barman was no longer lending even cigarettes. The soul was bad because of the feeling of boredom, the meaninglessness of service and loneliness. At the end of April, Romashov received a note from Alexandra Petrovna. She reminded of their common name day (Queen Alexandra and her faithful knight George). Having borrowed money from Lieutenant Colonel Rafalsky, Romashov bought perfume and at five o'clock was already at the Nikolaevs, the picnic turned out to be noisy. Romashov sat next to Shurochka, almost did not listen to Osadchy's rantings, toasts and flat jokes of the officers, experiencing a strange state, similar to a dream. His hand sometimes touched Shurochka's hand, but neither he nor she looked at each other. Nikolaev, it seems, was dissatisfied. After the feast, Romashov wandered into the grove. Footsteps were heard behind. It was Shurochka. They sat down on the grass. "I'm in love with you today," she admitted. Romochka appeared to her in a dream, and she terribly wanted to see him. He began to kiss her dress: "Sasha ... I love you ..." She admitted that she was worried about his closeness, but why is he so miserable. They have common thoughts, desires, but she must abandon him. Shurochka got up: let's go, they'll miss us. On the way, she suddenly asked him not to visit them again: her husband was besieged by anonymous letters. In mid-May, a review took place. The corps commander drove around the companies lined up on the parade ground, looked at how they marched, how they performed rifle techniques and reorganized to repel unexpected cavalry attacks, and was dissatisfied. Only the fifth company of Captain Stelkovsky, where they did not torture with steps and did not steal from the common cauldron, deserved praise. The most terrible thing happened during the ceremonial march. Even at the beginning of the review, Romashov seemed to be picked up by some kind of joyful wave, he seemed to feel like a particle of some formidable force. And now, walking ahead of his half-company, he felt himself the object of general admiration. Shouts from behind made him turn around and turn pale. The formation was mixed up - and it was precisely because he, Lieutenant Romashov, ascending in his dreams to the heavens, all this time shifted from the center of the ranks to the right flank. Instead of delight, public disgrace fell on his lot. To this was added an explanation with Nikolaev, who demanded that everything be done to stop the flow of anonymous letters, and also not to visit their house. Going through what had happened in his memory, Romashov imperceptibly reached the railroad track and in the darkness made out the soldier Khlebnikov, the subject of bullying and ridicule in the company. "You wanted to kill yourself?" - he asked Khlebnikov, and the soldier, choking with sobs, told that they beat him, laughed, the platoon commander extorted money, and where to get it. And the teaching is beyond his power: from childhood he suffers from a hernia. Romashov suddenly felt his grief so trifling that he embraced Khlebnikov and spoke of the need to endure. From that time on, he understood: the faceless companies and regiments consist of such Khlebnikovs, aching with their grief and having their own fate. The forced distance from the officer society allowed me to focus on my thoughts and find joy in the very process of the birth of a thought. Romashov saw more and more clearly that there were only three worthy vocations: science, art, and free physical labor. At the end of May, a soldier hanged himself in Osadchy's company. After this incident, unrestrained drunkenness began. At first they drank in the assembly, then they moved to Schleifersha. This is where the scandal erupted. Bek-Agamalov rushed with a saber at those present (“Everyone get out of here!”), And then his anger turned to one of the young ladies, who called him a fool. Romashov intercepted his hand: "Beck, you will not hit a woman, you will be ashamed all your life." The revelry in the regiment continued. Romashov found Osadchy and Nikolaev in the meeting. The latter pretended not to notice him. They sang around. When silence finally reigned, Osadchy suddenly began a memorial service for the suicide, interspersed with dirty curses. Romashov was furious: "I won't allow it! Be silent!" In response, for some reason, already Nikolaev, with a face distorted by anger, shouted to him: "You yourself are a disgrace to the regiment! You and various Nazanskys!" "And what does Nazansky have to do with it? Or do you have reasons to be dissatisfied with him?" Nikolaev swung, but Romashov managed to throw the rest of the beer in his face. On the eve of the meeting of the officers' court of honor, Nikolaev asked the enemy not to mention the name of his wife and anonymous letters. As expected, the court determined that the quarrel could not be ended by reconciliation. Romashov spent most of the day before the duel at Nazansky, who urged him not to shoot. Life is an amazing and unique phenomenon. Is he really so devoted to the military class, does he really believe in the supposedly higher meaning of the army order so that he is ready to put his very existence at stake? In the evening, Romashov found Shurochka at his home. She began to say that she had spent years arranging her husband's career. If Romochka refuses to fight for the sake of her love, then there will still be something dubious about it, and Volodya will almost certainly not be allowed to take the exam. They must certainly shoot, but not one of them must be wounded. The husband knows and agrees. Saying goodbye, she threw her hands around his neck: "We will not see each other again. So we will not be afraid of anything ... Once ... we will take our happiness ..." - and pressed her hot lips to his mouth. ... In an official report to the regimental commander, Staff Captain Dietz reported the details of the duel between Lieutenant Nikolaev and Lieutenant Romashov. When, on command, the opponents went towards each other, Lieutenant Nikolaev wounded the second lieutenant in the right upper abdomen with a shot, and he died seven minutes later from an internal hemorrhage. Attached to the report was the testimony of a junior doctor in Znoiko. I. G. Zhivotovsky Headquarters Captain Rybnikov Story (1905) Shchavinsky, an employee of a large St. Petersburg newspaper, met Rybnikov in the company of well-known St. Petersburg reporters. The miserable and miserable staff captain was orating, smashing the mediocre command and extolling - with some affectation - the Russian soldier. Watching him, Shchavinsky noticed some duality in his appearance. At first glance, he had an ordinary face with a snub-nosed nose, in profile it looked mocking and intelligent, and in front - even arrogant. At this time, the drunken poet Petrukhin woke up, stared at the officer with a dull look: "Ah, Japanese muzzle, are you still here?" "Japanese. That's what he looks like," thought Shchavinsky. This thought was strengthened when Rybnikov tried to demonstrate his wounded leg: the underwear of an army infantry officer was made of fine silk. Shchavinsky leaned over to the staff captain and said that he was not Rybnikov at all, but a Japanese military agent in Russia. But he didn't react at all. The journalist even doubted: after all, among the Ural and Orenburg Cossacks there are many such Mongolian, with yellowness, faces. But no, a slanted, high-cheeked face, constant bowing and rubbing hands - all this is not accidental. And already out loud: "No one in the world will know about our conversation, but you are Japanese. You are safe, I will not inform, I admire your self-control." And Shchavinsky sang an enthusiastic praise of Japanese contempt for death. But the compliment was not accepted: the Russian soldier is no worse. The journalist then tried to hurt his patriotic feelings: the Japanese is still an Asian, a half-monkey ... "That's right!" Rybnikov shouted at this. In the morning we decided to continue the spree at the "girls". Clotilde took Rybnikov to the second floor. An hour later, she joined the company that invariably formed around their mysterious client Lenka, apparently connected with the police, and told about her strange guest, whom those who arrived with him called either General Oyama or Major Fukushima. They were drunk and joking, but it seemed to Clotilde that the staff captain reminded her of the mikado. Besides, her regular customers are outrageously rude. The caresses of this middle-aged officer were distinguished by insinuating caution and at the same time surrounded by an atmosphere of intense, almost bestial passion, although it was clear that he was insanely tired. Resting, he plunged into a state similar to delirium, and strange words ran from his lips. Among them, she made out the only one she knew: a banzai! A minute later Lenka was on the porch and called the policemen with alarm whistles. When heavy steps of many feet were heard at the beginning of the corridor, Rybnikov woke up and, running to the door, turned the key, and then, with a soft movement, jumped up on the windowsill and flung open the window. The woman grabbed his arm, screaming. He broke free and awkwardly jumped down. At the same instant, the door collapsed under the blows and Lenka jumped after him with a run. Rybnikov lay motionless and did not resist when the pursuer fell on him. He only whispered: "Don't push, I broke my leg." I. G. Zhivotovsky Garnet bracelet Tale (1911) A bundle with a small jewelry case in the name of Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina was handed over by the messenger through the maid. The princess reprimanded her, but Dasha said that the messenger immediately ran away, and she did not dare to tear the birthday girl away from the guests. Inside the case was a gold, low-grade puffy bracelet covered with garnets, among which was a small green stone. The letter enclosed in the case contained congratulations on the day of the angel and a request to accept the bracelet that belonged to the great-grandmother. A green stone is a very rare green garnet that communicates the gift of providence and protects men from violent death. The letter ended with the words: "Your obedient servant G.S.Zh. before death and after death." Vera took the bracelet in her hands - inside the stones, alarming dense red living lights lit up. "Just like blood!" she thought as she returned to the living room. Prince Vasily Lvovich at that moment was demonstrating his humorous home album, which had just been opened on the "tale" "Princess Vera and the Telegraph Operator in Love". "Better not," she pleaded. But the husband has already begun commenting on his own drawings full of brilliant humor. Here a girl named Vera receives a letter with kissing doves, signed by telegrapher P.P.Zh. Here young Vasya Shein returns Vera's engagement ring: "I dare not interfere with your happiness, and even so it is my duty to warn you: telegraphists are seductive, but insidious ". But Vera marries the handsome Vasya Shein, but the telegraph operator continues to persecute. Here he, disguised as a chimney sweep, enters the boudoir of Princess Vera. Here, having changed clothes, he enters their kitchen as a dishwasher. Here, at last, he is in a lunatic asylum, etc. "Gentlemen, who wants tea?" Vera asked. After tea, the guests began to leave. The old general Anosov, whom Vera and her sister Anna called grandfather, asked the princess to explain what was true in the prince's story. G.S.Z. (and not P.P.Z.) began harassing her with letters two years before her marriage. Obviously, he constantly watched her, knew where she was at the parties, how she was dressed. When Vera, also in writing, asked not to bother her with his persecution, he fell silent about love and limited himself to congratulations on holidays, as well as today, on her name day. The old man was silent. "Maybe it's a maniac? Or maybe, Verochka, it was the kind of love that crossed your life path that women dream of and that men are incapable of more." After the guests left, Vera's husband and her brother Nikolai decided to find an admirer and return the bracelet. The next day they already knew the address of G.S.Zh. It turned out to be a man of about thirty to thirty-five. He did not deny anything and admitted the indecency of his behavior. Finding some understanding and even sympathy in the prince, he explained to him that, alas, he loves his wife and neither deportation nor prison will kill this feeling. Except death. He must confess that he has squandered government money and will be forced to flee the city, so that they will not hear from him again. The next day, in the newspaper, Vera read about the suicide of G. S. Zheltkov, an official of the control chamber, and in the evening the postman brought his letter. Zheltkov wrote that for him all life consisted only in her, in Vera Nikolaevna. It is the love that God rewarded him for something. leaving, he repeats in delight: "Hallowed be thy name." If she remembers him, then let her play the D major part of Beethoven's "Appassionata", he thanks her from the bottom of his heart for the fact that she was his only joy in life. Vera could not help but go to say goodbye to this man. Her husband fully understood her impulse. The face of the person lying in the coffin was serene, as if he had learned a deep secret. Vera raised his head, placed a large red rose under his neck, and kissed him on the forehead. She understood that the love that every woman dreams of had passed her by. Returning home, she found only her college friend, the famous pianist Jenny Reiter. "Play something for me," she asked. And Jenny (oh miracle!) began to play the place in "Appassionata", which Zheltkov indicated in the letter. She listened, and in her mind words were composed, like couplets, ending with a prayer: "Hallowed be thy name." "What happened to you?" asked Jenny, seeing her tears. "... He has forgiven me now. Everything is fine," Vera replied. I. G. Zhivotovsky Pit Tale (part I - 1909, part II - 1915) Anna Markovna's establishment is not one of the most luxurious "like, say, Treppel's establishment, but not one of the low-ranking ones either. In the Pit (the former Yamskaya Sloboda) there were only two more. The rest were ruble and fifty dollars, for soldiers, thieves, gold miners. Late in May, Anna Markovna had a company of students in the guest room, accompanied by Privatdozent Yarchenko and a reporter for the local newspaper Platonov. The girls had already gone out to them, but the men continued the conversation they had begun on the street. Platonov said that he knew this place and its inhabitants well and for a long time. It can be said that he is his own person here, but he has never visited any of the "girls". He wanted to enter this little world and understand it from the inside. All loud phrases about the trade in women's meat are nothing in comparison with everyday, business trifles, prosaic everyday life. The horror is that it is not perceived as horror. Petty-bourgeois everyday life - and nothing more. Moreover, in the most incredible way, seemingly incompatible principles converge here: sincere, for example, piety and a natural inclination to crime. Here's Simeon, the local bouncer. Robs prostitutes, beats them, in the past, probably a killer. And he made friends with him on the creations of John of Damascus. Extraordinarily religious. Or Anna Markovna. Bloodsucker, hyena, but the most tender mother. Everything for Bertochka: a horse, an Englishwoman, and forty thousand worth of diamonds. At that time, Zhenya entered the hall, whom Platonov, and both clients and residents of the house, respected for her beauty, mocking audacity and independence. She was agitated today and quickly spoke in conventional jargon with Tamara. However, Platonov understood him: due to the influx of the public, Pasha had already been taken into the room more than ten times, and this ended in hysteria and fainting. But as soon as she came to her senses, the hostess again sent her to the guests. The girl was in great demand because of her sexuality. Platonov paid for it so that Pasha could rest in their company... The students soon dispersed into their rooms, and Platonov, left alone with Likhonin, an ideological anarchist, continued his story about the local women. As for prostitution as a global phenomenon, it is an irresistible evil. Lichonin listened sympathetically to Platonov and suddenly declared that he would not like to remain only a condoling spectator. He wants to take the girl from here, save her. "Save? Will come back," Platonov declared with conviction. "He'll be back," Zhenya responded to him in a tone. "Lyuba," Lichonin turned to another returning girl, "do you want to leave here? Not for maintenance. I'll help you, you'll open a canteen." The girl agreed, and Lichonin, having taken ten dollars more from the housekeeper for an apartment for the whole day, the next day he was going to demand her yellow ticket and exchange it for a passport. Taking responsibility for the fate of a person, the student had a poor idea of the hardships associated with this. His life became complicated from the very first hours. However, friends agreed to help him develop the rescued one. Lichonin began to teach her arithmetic, geography and history, and it was his duty to take her to exhibitions, to the theater and to popular lectures. Nezheradze undertook to read The Knight in the Panther's Skin to her and teach her to play the guitar, mandolin and zurna. Simanovsky suggested studying Marx's "Capital", the history of culture, physics and chemistry. All this took a lot of time, required a lot of money, but gave very modest results. In addition, brotherly relations with her did not always work out, and she perceived them as a disregard for her feminine virtues. In order to get a yellow ticket from the hostess Lyubin, he had to pay more than five hundred rubles of her debt. The passport cost twenty-five. The relationship of his friends to Lyuba, who grew prettier and prettier outside the brothel environment, also became a problem. Solovyov, unexpectedly for himself, found that he obeyed the charm of her femininity, and Simanovsky more and more often turned to the topic of a materialistic explanation of love between a man and a woman, and when he drew a diagram of this relationship, he leaned so low over the sitting Lyuba that he heard the smell of her breasts. But to all his erotic nonsense, she answered "no" and "no", because she became more and more attached to her Vasil Vasilyich. The same, noticing that Simanovsky liked her, was already thinking about how, having caught them inadvertently, make a scene and free himself from a burden that was really unbearable for him. Lyubka reappeared at Anna Markovna's after another extraordinary event. Known throughout Russia, the singer Rovinskaya, a large, beautiful woman with green eyes of an Egyptian, in the company of Baroness Tefting, lawyer Rozanov and a secular young man Volodya Chaplinsky, out of boredom, traveled around the establishments of the Pit: first expensive, then average, then the dirtiest. After Treppel, they went to Anna Markovna and occupied a separate office, where the housekeeper drove the girls. The last to enter was Tamara, a quiet, pretty girl who had once been a novice in the monastery, and before that by someone else, at least spoke fluent French and German. Everyone knew that she had a "cat" Senechka, a thief, on whom she spent a lot of money. At the request of Elena Viktorovna, the young ladies sang their usual, canonical songs. And everything would have worked out well if the drunken Little Manka had not burst into them. When sober, she was the meekest girl in the whole establishment, but now she fell to the floor and screamed: "Hurrah! New girls have arrived!" The baroness, indignant, said that she patronized the monastery for the fallen girls - the Magdalene shelter. And then Zhenya appeared, offering this old fool to get out immediately. Her orphanages are worse than a prison, and Tamara said that she is well aware that half of the decent women are on the payroll, and the rest, older ones, keep young boys. Of the prostitutes, hardly one in a thousand had an abortion, and they were all several times. During Tamara's tirade, the baroness said in French that she had already seen this face somewhere, and Rovinskaya, also in French, reminded her that in front of them was the chorus girl Margarita, and it was enough to recall Kharkov, Konyakin's hotel, Soloveichik's entrepreneur. Then the baroness was not yet a baroness. Rovinskaya got up and said that, of course, they would leave and the time would be paid, but for now she would sing Dargomyzhsky's romance "We parted proudly ..." for them. As soon as the singing ceased, the indomitable Zhenya fell on her knees before Rovinskaya and sobbed. Elena Viktorovna bent down to kiss her, but she whispered something to her, to which the singer replied that a few months of treatment - and everything would pass. After this visit, Tamara inquired about Zhenya's health. She admitted that she contracted syphilis, but does not announce it, and every evening she purposely infects ten to fifteen two-legged scoundrels. The girls began to remember and curse all their most unpleasant or perverted clients. Following this, Zhenya remembered the name of the man to whom she, ten years old, had been sold by her own mother. "I'm small," she shouted to him, but he answered: "Nothing, you'll grow up," - and then repeated this cry of her soul, like a walking anecdote. Zoya remembered the teacher of her school, who said that she must obey him in everything or he will expel her from school for bad behavior. At that moment, Lyubka appeared. Emma Eduardovna, the housekeeper, responded to a request to take her back with swearing and beatings. Zhenya, unable to bear it, clutched at her hair. There was a roar in the adjoining rooms, and a fit of hysteria engulfed the whole house. Only an hour later Simeon with two brothers in the profession was able to calm them down, and at the usual hour the junior housekeeper Zosya shouted: "Young ladies! Get dressed! In the hall!" ... Cadet Kolya Gladyshev invariably came to Zhenya. And today he was sitting in her room, but she asked him not to hurry and did not allow him to kiss her. Finally she said that she was ill and that she should thank God: another would not have spared him. After all, those who are paid for love hate those who pay and never feel sorry for them. Kolya sat on the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands. Zhenya got up and crossed him: "May the Lord protect you, my boy." "Will you forgive me, Zhenya?" - he said. "Yes, my boy. Forgive me too ... We won't see you again!" In the morning, Zhenya went to the port, where, leaving the newspaper for the sake of a vagabond life, Platonov worked unloading watermelons. She told him about her illness, and he that, probably, Sabashnikov and a student nicknamed Ramses, who shot himself, left a note saying that he himself was to blame for what happened, because he took a woman for money, without love. But Sergei Pavlovich, who loved Zhenya, could not resolve her doubts that had seized her after she took pity on Kolya: wasn’t the dream of infecting everyone a stupidity, a fantasy? Nothing makes sense. There is only one thing left for her ... Two days later, during a medical examination, she was found hanged. It smacked of some notoriety for the institution. But now only Emma Eduardovna could worry about it, who finally became the mistress, having bought the house from Anna Markovna. She announced to the young ladies that from now on she requires real order and unconditional obedience. Her place will be better than Treppel's. She immediately suggested that Tamara become her main assistant, but that Senechka should not appear in the house. Through Rovinskaya and Rezanov, Tamara settled the matter with the funeral of the suicidal Zhenya according to the Orthodox rite. All the young ladies followed her coffin. Following Zhenya, Pasha died. She finally fell into dementia, and she was taken to a lunatic asylum, where she died. But the troubles of Emma Eduardovna did not end there either. Tamara, together with Senka, soon robbed a notary, whom, playing a married woman in love with him, she inspired complete confidence. She mixed sleeping powder with the notary, let Senka into the apartment, and he opened the safe. A year later, Senka was caught in Moscow and betrayed Tamara, who fled with him. Then Vera passed away. Her lover, an official of the military department, squandered government money and decided to shoot himself. Vera wanted to share his fate. In the room of an expensive hotel, after a chic feast, he shot her, became cowardly and only wounded himself. Finally, during one of the fights, Little Manka was killed. The ruin of Emma Eduardovna ended when a hundred soldiers came to the aid of two fighters who had been cheated in a neighboring institution, ruining at the same time all the nearby ones. I. G. Zhivotovsky Juncker Roman (1928-1932) At the very end of August, the cadet adolescence of Alyosha Alexandrov ended. Now he will study at the Third Junker named after Emperor Alexander II infantry school. In the morning he paid a visit to the Sinelnikovs, but alone with Yulenka he managed to stay no more than a minute, during which, instead of a kiss, he was asked to forget the summer country nonsense: both of them have now become big. It was vague in his soul when he appeared in the building of the school on Znamenka. True, it was flattering that now he was already a "pharaoh", as the "chief officers" called the first-year students - those who were already in their second year. Alexander's junkers were loved in Moscow and were proud of them. The school invariably participated in all solemn ceremonies. Alyosha will long remember the magnificent meeting of Alexander III in the autumn of 1888, when the royal family walked along the line at a distance of several steps and the "pharaoh" fully tasted the sweet, pungent delight of love for the monarch. However, superfluous appointments, cancellation of vacation, arrest - all this rained down on the heads of the young men. Junkers were loved, but at the school they "warmed" mercilessly: the uncle warmed him - a classmate, a platoon officer, a course officer and, finally, the commander of the fourth company, Captain Fofanov, who bore the nickname Drozd. Of course, daily exercises with a heavy infantry berdanka and drill could cause disgust for the service, if all the warmers of the "pharaoh" were not so patient and sternly sympathetic. The school did not even have a "tsukanya" - pushing the younger ones around, which is usual for St. Petersburg schools. An atmosphere of chivalrous military democracy, a stern but caring camaraderie, prevailed. Everything related to the service did not allow relaxation even among friends, but outside of this, an unchanging "you" and a friendly, with a touch of familiarity that did not cross certain boundaries, were prescribed. After the oath, Drozd reminded them that now they were soldiers and for misconduct they could be sent not to their mother, but as privates in an infantry regiment. And yet, youthful enthusiasm, a boyishness that had not been outlived to the end, were visible in the tendency to give its name to everything around. The first company was called "stallions", the second - "animals", the third - "dabs" and the fourth (Alexandrova) - "fleas". Each commander also bore the name assigned to him. Only to Belov, the second course officer, not a single nickname stuck. From the Balkan War, he brought a Bulgarian wife of indescribable beauty, before whom all the cadets bowed, which is why the personality of her husband was considered inviolable. But Dubyshkin was called Pup, the commander of the first company was Khukhrik, and the battalion commander was Berdi-Pasha. The persecution of officers was also a traditional manifestation of youth. However, the life of eighteen-twenty-year-old youths could not be completely absorbed by the interests of the service. Alexandrov vividly experienced the collapse of his first love, but just as vividly, sincerely interested in the younger sisters Sinelnikovs. At the December ball, Olga Sinelnikova announced Yulenka's engagement. Alexandrov was shocked, but replied that he did not care, because he had loved Olga for a long time and would dedicate his first story to her, which would soon be published by Evening Leisures. This his writing debut really took place. But at the evening roll call, Drozd appointed three days in a punishment cell for publishing without the sanction of his superiors. Aleksandrov took Tolstoy's "Cossacks" into his cell, and when Drozd asked if the young talent knew what he had been punished for, he cheerfully replied: "For writing a stupid and vulgar essay." (After that, he abandoned literature and turned to painting.) Alas, the troubles did not end there. A fatal mistake was discovered in the dedication: instead of "O" there was "Yu" (such is the power of first love!), So soon the author received a letter from Olga: "For some reason, I can hardly ever see you, and therefore goodbye" . The Junker's shame and despair seemed to know no bounds, but time heals all wounds. Alexandrov turned out to be "dressed up" for the most, as we now say, prestigious ball - at the Catherine Institute. This was not part of his Christmas plans, but Drozd did not allow him to argue, and thank God. For many years, with bated breath, Alexandrov will remember the frantic race among the snows with the famous photogen Palych from Znamenka to the institute; a shiny entrance of an old house; the porter Porfiry, who seems just as old-fashioned (not old!) The marble staircases, light-coloured behinds, and pupils in formal dresses with a ball neckline. Here he met Zinochka Belysheva, from whose mere presence the very air brightened and shone with laughter. It was true and mutual love. And how wonderfully they suited each other both in dance, and at the Chistoprudny skating rink, and in society. She was undeniably beautiful, but she possessed something more precious and rare than beauty. Once Alexandrov confessed to Zinochka that he loved her and asked her to wait for him for three years. Three months later he graduated from college and served two months before entering the Academy of the General Staff. He will pass the exam no matter what the cost. That's when he will come to Dmitry Petrovich and ask for her hand. The lieutenant receives forty-three rubles a month, and he will not allow himself to offer her the miserable fate of a provincial regimental lady. "I'll wait," was the answer. Since then, the question of the average score has become a matter of life and death for Aleksandrov. With nine points, it became possible to choose a regiment suitable for you for service. He also lacks up to nine some three tenths because of the six in military fortification. But now all the obstacles have been overcome, and nine points provide Alexandrov with the right of the first choice of a place of service. But it so happened that when Berdi Pasha called out his name, the cadet almost at random jabbed his finger into the leaf and stumbled upon an unknown Undom infantry regiment. And now a brand new officer's uniform is put on, and the head of the school, General Anchutin, admonishes his pupils. Usually there are at least seventy-five officers in a regiment, and in such a large society, gossip is inevitable, corroding this society. So when a comrade comes to you with news about comrade X., be sure to ask if he will repeat this news to X himself. Farewell, gentlemen. I. G. Zhivotovsky Ivan Alekseevich Bunin (1870-1953) Antonov apples Story (1900) The author-narrator recalls the recent past. He recalls the early fine autumn, the whole golden dried up and thinned garden, the delicate aroma of fallen leaves and the smell of Antonov apples: gardeners pour apples onto carts to send them to the city. Late at night, running out into the garden and talking with the watchmen guarding the garden, he looks into the dark blue depths of the sky overflowing with constellations, looks for a long, long time, until the earth floats under his feet, feeling how good it is to live in the world! The narrator recalls his Vyselki, which since the time of his grandfather have been known in the district as a rich village. Old men and women lived there for a long time - the first sign of well-being. The houses in Vyselki were brick and strong. The average noble life had much in common with the rich peasant life. He remembers his aunt Anna Gerasimovna, her estate is small, but solid, old, surrounded by hundred-year-old trees. The aunt's garden was famous for its apple trees, nightingales and doves, and the house for its roof: its thatched roof was unusually thick and high, blackened and hardened with time. First of all, the smell of apples was felt in the house, and then other smells: old mahogany furniture, dried lime blossom. The narrator recalls his late brother-in-law Arseniy Semenych, a landowner-hunter, in whose big house a lot of people gathered, everyone had a hearty dinner, and then went hunting. A horn blows in the yard, dogs howl in different voices, the owner's favorite, a black greyhound, climbs onto the table and devours the remains of a hare with sauce from the dish. The author recalls himself riding an evil, strong and squat "Kyrgyz": trees flash before his eyes, the cries of hunters, the barking of dogs are heard in the distance. From the ravines it smells of mushroom dampness and wet tree bark. It is getting dark, the whole gang of hunters tumble into the estate of some almost unknown bachelor hunter and, it happens, stays with him for several days. After a whole day spent hunting, the warmth of a crowded house is especially pleasant. When it happened to oversleep hunting the next morning, one could spend the whole day in the master's library, leafing through old magazines and books, looking at the notes in their margins. Family portraits look from the walls, an old dreamy life rises before my eyes, my grandmother is remembered with sadness, But the old people died in Vyselki, Anna Gerasimovna died, Arseniy Semenych shot himself. There comes the kingdom of small landed nobles, impoverished to beggary. But this small local life is good too! The narrator happened to visit a neighbor. He gets up early, orders the samovar to be put on, and, putting on his boots, goes out onto the porch, where he is surrounded by hounds. It will be a glorious day for hunting! Only they don’t hunt along the black trail with hounds, oh, if only greyhounds! But he does not have greyhounds ... However, with the onset of winter, again, as in the old days, small locals come to each other, drink with their last money, and disappear for whole days in snowy fields. And in the evening, on some remote farmstead, the windows of an outhouse glow in the dark: candles burn there, clouds of smoke float, they play the guitar, they sing ... N. V. Soboleva Village Tale (1910) Russia. Late XIX - early. XNUMXth century The Krasov brothers, Tikhon and Kuzma, were born in the small village of Durnovka. In their youth, they were engaged in petty trade together, then they quarreled, and their paths diverged. Kuzma went to work for hire. Tikhon rented an inn, opened a tavern and a shop, began buying up grain from the landowners, acquiring land for a pittance, and, becoming a fairly wealthy owner, even bought a manor estate from an impoverished descendant of the previous owners. But all this did not bring him joy: his wife gave birth only to dead girls, and there was no one to leave everything that he had gained. Tikhon did not find any consolation in the dark, dirty village life, except for the tavern. Began to drink. By the age of fifty, he realized that there was nothing to remember from the past years, that there was not a single close person and he himself was a stranger to everyone. Then Tikhon decided to make peace with his brother. Kuzma by nature was a completely different person. Since childhood, he dreamed of studying. A neighbor taught him to read and write, a bazaar "freethinker", an old harmonist, supplied him with books and introduced him to disputes about literature. Kuzma wanted to describe his life in all its poverty and terrible routine. He tried to compose a story, then he began to write poetry and even published a book of simple verses, but he himself understood all the imperfection of his creations. Yes, and this business did not bring income, and a piece of bread was not given for nothing. Many years passed in search of work, often fruitless. Having seen enough of human cruelty and indifference in his wanderings, he began to drink, began to sink lower and lower and came to the conclusion that he must either go to a monastery or commit suicide. Here Tikhon found him, offering his brother to take over the management of the estate. It seems that a quiet place was found. Having settled in Durnovka, Kuzma became cheerful. At night, he walked with a mallet - he guarded the estate, during the day he read newspapers and made notes in an old office book about what he saw and heard around. But gradually he began to overcome his longing: there was no one to talk to. Tikhon rarely appeared, talking only about the economy, about the meanness and malice of the peasants, and about the need to sell the estate. The cook, Avdotya, the only living creature in the house, was always silent, and when Kuzma fell seriously ill, leaving him to himself, without any sympathy, she went to spend the night in the servants' room. Kuzma recovered with difficulty from his illness and went to his brother. Tikhon greeted the guest cordially, but there was no mutual understanding between them. Kuzma wanted to share what he read from the newspapers, but Tikhon was not interested. For a long time he had been obsessed with the idea of arranging Avdotya's wedding with one of the village boys. Once he had sinned with her for the sake of his indomitable desire to have a child - even if it was illegal. The dream did not come true, and the woman was disgraced throughout the village. Now Tikhon, who rarely went to church, decided to justify himself before God. He asked his brother to take care of this matter. Kuzma opposed the undertaking: he felt sorry for the unfortunate Avdotya, in whose fiancés Tikhon identified a real "liver cutter", who beat his own father, had no inclination to the household and was tempted only by the promised dowry. Tikhon stood his ground, Avdotya meekly submitted to an unenviable fate, and Kuzma was forced to yield to his brother. The wedding was played in a routine manner. The bride sobbed bitterly, Kuzma blessed her with tears, the guests drank vodka and sang songs. The irrepressible February blizzard accompanied the wedding train to the dull chime of bells. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Mister from San Francisco Story (1915) A gentleman from San Francisco, who is never mentioned by name in the story, since, as the author notes, no one remembered his name either in Naples or Capri, he is sent with his wife and daughter to the Old World for two whole years in order to to have fun and travel. He worked hard and is now rich enough to afford such a vacation. At the end of November, the famous "Atlantis", which looks like a huge hotel with all amenities, sets sail. Life on the ship is measured: they get up early, drink coffee, cocoa, chocolate, take baths, do gymnastics, walk along the decks to whet their appetite; then - go to the first breakfast; after breakfast they read the newspapers and calmly wait for the second breakfast; the next two hours are devoted to rest - all decks are filled with long reed chairs, on which travelers lie, covered with rugs, looking at the cloudy sky; then - tea with cookies, and in the evening - that which is the main goal of this entire existence - dinner. A fine orchestra exquisitely and tirelessly plays in a huge hall, behind the walls of which the waves of a terrible ocean go with a rumble, but decollete ladies and men in tailcoats and tuxedos do not think about it. After dinner, dancing begins in the ballroom, men in the bar smoke cigars, drink liquors, and they are served by Negroes in red coats. Finally, the ship arrives in Naples, the family of the gentleman from San Francisco stays in an expensive hotel, and here their life also flows according to routine: early in the morning - breakfast, after - visits to museums and cathedrals, second breakfast, tea, then - cooking for dinner and in the evening - a plentiful dinner. However, December in Naples turned out to be unsuccessful this year: wind, rain, mud on the streets. And the family of the gentleman from San Francisco decides to go to the island of Capri, where, as everyone assures them, it is warm, sunny and lemons bloom. A small steamboat, waddling on the waves from side to side, transports a gentleman from San Francisco with his family, seriously suffering from seasickness, to Capri. the funicular takes them to a small stone town on top of a mountain, they settle in a hotel where they are warmly welcomed by everyone, and they are preparing for dinner, already quite recovered from seasickness. Having dressed before his wife and daughter, the gentleman from San Francisco goes to the cozy, quiet reading room of the hotel, opens the newspaper - and suddenly the lines flash before his eyes, the pince-nez flies off his nose, and his body, wriggling, slides to the floor. Another guest who was present at the same time of the hotel, screaming, runs into the dining room, everyone jumps up from their seats, the owner tries to calm the guests, but the evening is already irreparably ruined. The gentleman from San Francisco is transferred to the smallest and worst room; wife, daughter, servants stand and look at him, and now what they expected and feared has happened - he is dying. The wife of a gentleman from San Francisco asks the owner to allow the body to be transferred to their apartment, but the owner refuses: he appreciates these rooms too much, and tourists would begin to avoid them, since the whole of Capri would immediately become aware of what had happened. The coffin is also not available here - the owner can offer a long crate of soda water bottles. At dawn, a cab driver carries the body of the gentleman from San Francisco to the pier, a steamboat transports him through the Gulf of Naples, and the same Atlantis, on which he arrived with honor in the Old World, is now carrying him, dead, in a tarred coffin, hidden from the living. deep down in the black hold. Meanwhile, on the decks, the same life continues as before, everyone has breakfast and dinner in the same way, and the ocean is still terrifying behind the glass of the portholes. N. V. Soboleva Easy breath Story (1916) The exposition of the story is a description of the grave of the main character. What follows is a summary of her history. Olya Meshcherskaya is a prosperous, capable and playful schoolgirl, indifferent to the instructions of the class lady. At the age of fifteen, she was a recognized beauty, had the most admirers, danced the best at balls and ran on skates. There were rumors that one of the high school students in love with her attempted suicide because of her windiness. In the last winter of her life, Olya Meshcherskaya "went completely crazy with fun." Her behavior leads the boss to make another remark, reproaching her, among other things, for dressing and behaving not like a girl, but like a woman. At this point, Meshcherskaya interrupts her with a calm message that she is a woman and the friend and neighbor of her father, brother of the boss, Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, is to blame for this. A month after this conversation, an ugly Cossack officer shot Meshcherskaya on the station platform among a large crowd of people. He announced to the bailiff that Meshcherskaya was close to him and swore to be his wife. On this day, seeing him to the station, she said that she had never loved him, and offered to read a page from her diary, which described how Malyutin had seduced. It followed from the diary that this happened when Malyutin came to visit the Meshcherskys and found Olya alone at home. Describes her attempts to occupy the guest, their walk in the garden; Malyutin's comparison of them with Faust and Margarita. After tea, she pretended to be unwell, and lay down on the couch, and Malyutin moved to her, first kissed her hand, then kissed her on the lips. Further, Meshcherskaya wrote that after what happened next, she feels such disgust for Malyutin that she is unable to survive it. The action ends at the cemetery, where every Sunday her cool lady comes to the grave of Olya Meshcherskaya, who lives in an illusory world that replaces reality for her. The subject of her previous fantasies was her brother, a poor and unremarkable ensign, whose future seemed to her brilliant. After the death of her brother, Olya Meshcherskaya takes his place in her mind. She goes to her grave every holiday, keeps her eyes on the oak cross for hours, remembers her pale face in the coffin among the flowers and once overheard words that Olya said to her beloved friend. She read in one book what beauty a woman should have - black eyes, black eyelashes, longer than an ordinary arm, but the main thing is light breathing, and she (Oli) has it: "... you listen to how I sigh, - is there any truth? N. V. Soboleva Life Arsenyev YOUTH Novel (1927-1933, field pub. 1952) Alexey Arseniev was born in the 70s. XNUMXth century in central Russia, in his father's estate, on the Kamenka farm. His childhood years passed in the silence of discreet Russian nature. Endless fields with scents of herbs and flowers in summer, boundless expanses of snow in winter gave rise to a heightened sense of beauty that shaped his inner world and remained for life. For hours he could watch the movement of clouds in the high sky, the work of a beetle entangled in grain ears, the play of sunlight on the living room parquet. Ayudi entered the circle of his attention gradually. A special place among them was occupied by his mother: he felt his "inseparability" from her. Father attracted by his love of life, cheerful disposition, breadth of nature and his glorious past (he participated in the Crimean War). The brothers were older, and in children's amusements the younger sister Olya became the boy's girlfriend. Together they examined the secret corners of the garden, the kitchen garden, the manor buildings - everywhere had its own charm. Then a man named Baskakov appeared in the house, who became Alyosha's first teacher. He had no pedagogical experience, and, having quickly learned the boy to write, read, and even French, he did not really introduce the student to the sciences. Its influence was in a different way - in a romantic attitude towards history and literature, in the worship of Pushkin and Lermontov, who forever captured Alyosha's soul. Everything acquired in communication with Baskakov gave impetus to the imagination and poetic perception of life. These carefree days ended when it was time to enter the gymnasium. Parents took their son to the city and settled with the tradesman Rostovtsev. The atmosphere was miserable, the environment completely alien. Lessons in the gymnasium were conducted by the state, among the teachers there were no people of any interest. During all his gymnasium years, Alyosha lived only with a dream of a vacation, of a trip to his relatives - now in Baturino, the estate of his deceased grandmother, since his father, short of money, sold Kamenka. When Alyosha moved to the 4th grade, a misfortune happened: brother Georgy was arrested for involvement in the "socialists". He lived for a long time under a false name, hid, and then arrived in Baturin, where, on the denunciation of the clerk of one of the neighbors, the gendarmes took him. This event was a big shock for Alyosha. A year later, he left the gymnasium and returned to his parental home. At first, the father scolded, but then he decided that his son’s vocation was not service and not household (especially since the household was in complete decline), but “poetry of the soul and life” and that, perhaps, a new Pushkin or Lermontov would come out of him. Alyosha himself dreamed of devoting himself to "verbal creativity." His development was greatly facilitated by long conversations with George, who was released from prison and deported to Baturin under police supervision. From a teenager, Alexei turned into a young man, he matured physically and spiritually, felt in himself growing strength and the joy of being, read a lot, thought about life and death, wandered around the neighborhood, visited neighboring estates. Soon he experienced his first love, having met in the house of one of his relatives a young girl Ankhen, who was visiting there, and experienced separation from her as a true grief, because of which even the St. Petersburg magazine received on the day of her departure with the publication of his poems did not bring real joy. But then there followed a slight passion for young ladies who came to neighboring estates, and then a relationship with a married woman who served as a maid on the estate of brother Nikolai. This "madness", as Alexey called his passion, ended due to the fact that Nikolai finally calculated the culprit of the unseemly story. In Alexei, the desire to leave the almost ruined native nest and start an independent life was ripening more and more tangibly. Georgiy by this time had moved to the stalls, and the younger brother decided to go there too. From the first day, a lot of new acquaintances and impressions fell upon him. The surroundings of George differed sharply from the village. Many of the people included in it went through student circles and movements, visited prisons and exiles. At the meetings, conversations were in full swing about the pressing issues of Russian life, the form of government and the rulers themselves were condemned, the need to fight for the constitution and the republic was proclaimed, and the political positions of literary idols - Korolenko, Chekhov, Tolstoy were discussed. These table conversations and disputes fueled Alexei's desire to write, but at the same time he was tormented by his inability to put it into practice. A vague mental disorder prompted some kind of change. He decided to see new places, went to the Crimea, was in Sevastopol, on the banks of the Donets, and, having already decided to return to Baturino, stopped by Orel on the way to look at the "city of Leskov and Turgenev." There he found the editorial office of Golos, where he had planned to find a job even earlier, met the editor Nadezhda Avilova and received an offer to cooperate in the publication. After talking about business, Avilova invited him to the dining room, received him at home, and introduced her cousin Lika to the guest. Everything was unexpected and pleasant, but he could not even imagine what an important role fate had assigned to this chance acquaintance. At first there were just cheerful conversations and walks that gave pleasure, but gradually sympathy for Lika turned into a stronger feeling. Captured by him, Alexei constantly rushed between Baturin and Orel, abandoned classes and lived only by meeting with a girl, she either brought him closer to her, then pushed him away, then again called him out on a date. Their relationship could not go unnoticed. One fine day, Lika's father invited Alexei to his place and ended a rather friendly conversation with a decisive disagreement with the marriage with his daughter, explaining that he did not want to see them both languishing in need, for he understood how uncertain the young man's position was. Upon learning of this, Lika said that she would never go against her father's will. However, nothing has changed. On the contrary, there was a final rapprochement. Alexei moved to Orel under the pretext of working at Golos and lived in a hotel, Lika settled with Avilova under the pretext of studying music. But little by little, the difference in natures began to show: he wanted to share his memories of his poetic childhood, his observations on life, his literary predilections, and all this was alien to her. He was jealous of her gentlemen at city balls, to partners in amateur performances. There was misunderstanding with each other. One day Lika's father came to Oryol, accompanied by a rich young tanner Bogomolov, whom he introduced as a contender for his daughter's hand and heart. Lika spent all her time with them. Alex stopped talking to her. She ended up refusing Bogomolov, but nevertheless left Oryol with her father. Alexei was tormented by separation, not knowing how and why to live now. He continued to work in Golos, again began to write and print what was written, but he languished in the squalor of Oryol's life and again decided to embark on wanderings. Having changed several cities, without staying anywhere for a long time, he finally could not stand it and sent a telegram to Lika: "I will be there the day after tomorrow." They met again. Existence apart for both proved unbearable. A life together began in a small town, where Georgy moved. Both worked in the administration of Zemstvo statistics, were constantly together, visited Baturin. Relatives reacted to Lika with cordial warmth. Everything seemed to be fine. But the roles gradually changed: now Lika lived only with her feelings for Alexei, and he could no longer live only with her. He went on business trips, met different people, reveled in the feeling of freedom, even entered into casual relationships with women, although he still could not imagine himself without Lika. She saw the changes, languished in loneliness, was jealous, was offended by his indifference to her dream of a wedding and a normal family, and in response to Alexei's assurances of the immutability of his feelings, she somehow said that, apparently, she was something like air for him. , without which there is no life, but which you do not notice. Lika could not completely renounce herself and live only by what he lives, and, in despair, having written a farewell note, she left Orel. Alexei's letters and telegrams remained unanswered until Leakey's father informed her that she had forbidden her hiding place to be opened to anyone. Alexei almost shot himself, quit his service, did not show up anywhere. An attempt to see her father was not successful: he was simply not accepted. He returned to Baturino, and a few months later learned that Aika had come home with pneumonia and died very soon. It was at her request that Alexei was not informed of her death. He was only twenty years old. There was still much to be experienced, but time did not erase this love from memory - it remained for him the most significant event in his life. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Natalie Story (1942) Vitaly Meshchersky, a young man who has recently entered the university, comes home for the holidays, inspired by the desire to find love without romance. Following his plans, he travels to neighboring estates, getting into his uncle's house one day. In passing, mention is made of the hero's childhood love for his cousin Sonya, whom he now meets and with whom he immediately begins an affair. Sonya coquettishly warns Vitaly that tomorrow he will see her friend from the gymnasium Natalya Stankevich visiting her and fall in love with her "to the grave." The next morning, he really sees Natalie and is amazed at her beauty. Since that time, a sensual relationship with Sonya and Natalie's innocent admiration have been developing for Vitaly at the same time. Sonya jealously assumes that Vitaly is in love with Natalie, but at the same time asks him to pay more attention to the latter in order to carefully hide his connection with him. However, Natalie does not leave Sonya's relationship with Vitaly unnoticed and, when he takes her by the hand, informs him of this. Vitaly replies that he loves Sonya like a sister. The day after this conversation, Natalie does not go out for breakfast or dinner, and Sonya ironically assumes that she has fallen in love. Natalie appears in the evening and surprises Vitaly with friendliness, liveliness, a new dress and a changed hairstyle. On the same day, Sonya says that she is ill and will lie in bed for five days. In Sonya's absence, the role of mistress of the house naturally passes to Natalie, who, meanwhile, avoids being alone with Vitaly. One day, Natalie tells Vitaly that Sonya is angry with her for not trying to entertain him, and suggests that they meet in the garden in the evening. Vitali occupies himself with reflections to what extent he owes this offer to polite hospitality. At dinner, Vitaly announces to his uncle and Natalie that he is going to leave. In the evening, when she and Natalie go for a walk, she asks him if this is true, and he, answering in the affirmative, asks her permission to introduce herself to her relatives. She, with the words "yes, yes, I love you," goes back to the house and tells Vitaly to leave tomorrow, adding that she will return home in a few days. Vitaly returns home and finds Sonya in her nightgown in his room. At the same moment, Natalie appears on the threshold with a candle in her hand and, seeing them, runs away. A year later, Natalie marries Alexei Meshchersky, Vitaly's cousin. A year later, Vitaly accidentally meets her at the ball. A few years later, Natalie's husband dies and Vitaly, fulfilling his family duty, comes to the funeral. They avoid talking to each other. Years pass. Meshchersky graduates from the university and settles in the countryside. He converges with the peasant orphan Gasha, who gives birth to a child for him. Vitaly invites Gache to marry, but in response he hears a refusal, an offer to go to Moscow and a warning that if he is going to marry someone else, she will drown herself with the child. Some time later, Meshchersky goes abroad and sends a telegram to Natalie on the way back, asking permission to visit her. Permission is given, a meeting takes place, a mutual sincere explanation and a love scene. Six months later, Natalie dies from premature birth. N. V. Soboleva Leonid Nikolaevich Andreev (1871-1919) Life of Basil of Thebes Story (1903) Like an ant - a grain of sand to a grain of sand - Father Vasily built his life: he married, became a priest, gave birth to a son and a daughter. Seven years later, life crumbled to dust. His son drowned in the river, his wife began to drink with grief. Father Vasily does not find peace in the temple either - people shun him, the headman openly despises him. Even on a name day, only the clergy come to him, respectable fellow villagers do not honor the priest with attention. At night, a drunken wife demands affection from him, imploring hoarsely: "Give me back my son, priest! Give me back, you damned one!" And her passion conquers a chaste husband. A boy is born, in memory of his late brother they call him Vasily. It soon becomes clear that the child is an idiot; life becomes even more unbearable. Before, it seemed to Father Vasily: the earth is tiny, and on it he is alone, huge. Now this land is suddenly inhabited by people, they all go to him for confession, and he, ruthlessly and shamelessly demanding the truth from everyone, repeats with restrained anger: "What can I do? That I am God? Ask him!" He called grief to him - and grief comes and goes from all over the earth, and he is powerless to reduce earthly grief, but only repeats: "Ask him!" - already doubting the desire of God to alleviate human suffering. Somehow, during Great Lent, a beggar cripple confesses to him. He makes a terrible confession: ten years ago he raped a girl in the forest, strangled her and buried her. The villain told his secret to many priests - and no one believed him; he himself began to think that this was an evil tale, and, telling it the next time, he invented new details, changed the face of the poor victim. Father Vasily is the first who believes what he hears, as if he himself had committed a crime. Falling on his knees in front of the murderer, the priest shouts: “Hell on earth, hell in heaven! Where is heaven? Are you a man or a worm? Where is your God, why did you leave you? paradise, with the righteous, with the saints, above all - I tell you this! .. " That night, on the eve of Good Friday, Father Vasily confesses to his wife that he cannot go to church. He decides to survive the summer somehow, and in the fall to take off his dignity and leave with his family wherever his eyes look, far, far away ... This decision brings peace to the house. The soul rests for three months. And at the end of July, when Father Vasily was at the hayfield, a fire breaks out in his house and his wife burns alive. He wandered for a long time in the garden of the old deacon, who served with him and sheltered with his daughter and son after the fire. And the thoughts of Father Vasily are wonderful: the fire - was it not the same fiery pillar as the one that showed the Jews the way in the desert? God decided to turn his whole life into a desert - is it not so that he, Basil of Thebes, would no longer wander along the old, well-trodden paths? .. And for the first time in many years, bowing his head humbly, he says that morning: "Thy holy will be done!" - and the people who saw him that morning in the garden meet an unfamiliar, completely new, as from another world, person who asks them with a smile: "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I a miracle?" Father Vasily sends his daughter to the city to his sister, builds a new house, where he lives alone with his son, reading the Gospel aloud to him and himself, as if for the first time hearing about the healing of the blind man, about the resurrection of Lazarus. In the church, he now serves daily (and before - only on holidays); imposed monastic vows on himself, a strict fast. And this new life of his is even more alarming for fellow villagers. When the peasant Semyon Mosyagin, appointed by Father Vasily as a worker to the church elder, dies, everyone agrees that the priest is to blame. The headman enters Father Vasily at the altar and directly declares: "Get out of here. You are nothing but misfortunes here. Even the chicken does not dare to die for no reason, but people are dying from you." And then Father Vasily, who had been afraid of the headman all his life, the first to take off his hat when meeting him, expelled him from the temple, like a biblical prophet, with anger and flame in his eyes ... The funeral service for Seeds takes place on Spirits Day. In the temple - the smell of decay, outside the windows it is dark, like at night. Anxiety runs through the crowd of worshipers. And a thunderstorm breaks out: interrupting the reading of the memorial prayers, Father Vasily laughs silently and triumphantly, like Moses, who has seen God, and, going up to the coffin where the ugly, swollen body lies, loudly proclaims: "I tell you - get up!" The dead man does not obey him, does not open his eyes, does not rise from the grave. "Do not want?" - Father Vasily shakes the coffin, pushes the dead man out of it. The people run out of the temple in fear, believing that demons have taken possession of their quiet and absurd shepherd. And he continues to cry out to the dead man; but rather the walls will collapse than the dead man will obey him ... Yes, he is not fighting a duel with a dead man - he is fighting with God, in whom he believed infinitely and therefore has the right to demand a miracle! Seized with rage, Father Vasily runs out of the church and rushes through the village, into the open field, where he lamented more than once his bitter fate, his incinerated life. There, in the middle of the field, the next day the peasants will find him - sprawled in such a position, as if he continued to run even dead ... M. K. Pozdnyaev red laugh Extracts from the recovered manuscript Story (1904) "... madness and horror. For the first time I felt this when we walked along the En road - we walked for ten hours continuously, without slowing down, without picking up the fallen and leaving them to the enemy, who moved behind us and after three or four hours erased the marks of our feet with his feet ... " The narrator is a young writer drafted into the army. In the sultry steppe he is haunted by a vision: a piece of old blue wallpaper in his office, at home, and a dusty carafe of water, and the voices of his wife and son in the next room. And yet - like a sound hallucination - two words haunt him: "Red laughter." Where are people going? Why this heat? Who are they all? What is a house, a piece of wallpaper, a decanter? He, exhausted by visions - those that are before his eyes, and those that are in his mind - sits down on a roadside stone; next to him, other officers and soldiers, who have fallen behind the march, sit down on the hot ground. Unseeing glances, unhearing ears, lips whispering God knows what... The narrative of the war that he leads is like shreds, fragments of dreams and reality, fixed by a half-mad mind. Here is the fight. Three days of satanic roaring and screeching, almost a day without sleep and food. And again before his eyes - blue wallpaper, a decanter of water ... Suddenly he sees a young messenger - a volunteer, a former student: "The general asks to hold out for another two hours, and there will be reinforcements." “I was thinking at that moment about why my son was not sleeping in the next room, and answered that I could hold on as long as I wanted ...” The messenger’s white face, white as light, suddenly explodes in a red spot - from the neck, on which head gushing blood... Here it is: Red laughter! It is everywhere: in our bodies, in the sky, in the sun, and soon it will spill over the whole earth ... It is no longer possible to distinguish where reality ends and delirium begins. In the army, in hospitals - four psychiatric rest. People go crazy, like they get sick, being infected from each other, during an epidemic. In the attack, the soldiers scream like mad; in between fights they sing and dance like crazy people. And they laugh wildly. Red laugh... He is in a hospital bed. Opposite is an officer looking like a dead man, reminiscing about the battle in which he was mortally wounded. He remembers this attack partly with fear, partly with delight, as if wishing to experience the same thing again. "And another bullet in the chest?" - "Well, not every time - a bullet ... It would be nice and an order for courage! .." The one who in three days will be thrown on top of other dead bodies in a common grave, smiling dreamily, almost chuckling, speaks of an order for bravery. Madness… There is a holiday in the infirmary: somewhere they got a samovar, tea, lemon. Ragged, skinny, dirty, lousy - they sing, laugh, remember the house. "What is a 'home'? What is a 'home'? Is there a 'home' anywhere?" - "There is - where now we are not." - "Where are we?" - "At war…" …Another vision. The train slowly crawls along the rails through a battlefield littered with the dead. People pick up bodies - those who are still alive. Those who are able to walk give way to the seriously wounded in the calf wagons. The young orderly cannot stand this madness - he puts a bullet in his forehead. And the train slowly carrying the crippled "home" is blown up by a mine: the enemy is not stopped even by the Red Cross, visible from afar ... The narrator is at home. An office, blue wallpaper, a decanter covered with a layer of dust. Is it real? He asks his wife to sit with her son in the next room. No, it looks like it's real. Sitting in the bath, he talks to his brother: it looks like we are all going crazy. The brother nods: "You don't read the newspapers yet. They are full of words about death, about murders, about blood. When several people stand somewhere and talk about something, it seems to me that they will now rush at each other and kill ... " The narrator dies from wounds and crazy, suicidal work: two months without sleep, in an office with curtained windows, under electric light, at a desk, almost mechanically moving a pen over paper. The interrupted monologue is picked up by his brother: a virus of insanity that has taken root in the deceased at the front, now left to live in the blood. All the symptoms of a serious illness: fever, delirium, there is no longer the strength to fight the Red laughter that surrounds you from all sides. I want to run out to the square and shout: "Now stop the war - or ..." But which "or"? Hundreds of thousands, millions wash the world with tears, fill it with cries - and this does not give anything ... Railway station. Soldiers-escorts take prisoners out of the car; meeting glances with an officer walking behind and at a distance from the line. "Who's the one with the eyes?" - and his eyes are like an abyss, without pupils. "Crazy," the guard answers casually. "There are many of them..." In the newspaper, among the hundreds of names of the dead, is the name of the sister's fiancé. Overnight with the newspaper comes a letter - from him, the murdered - addressed to the deceased brother. The dead - correspond, talk, discuss front-line news. This is more real than the reality in which the not yet dead exist. "The crow cries..." - repeated several times in the letter, still keeping the warmth of the hands of the one who wrote it... All this is a lie! There is no war! The brother is alive - as is the sister's fiancé! The dead are alive! But then what about the living? Theater. Red light pours from the stage into the stalls. Horror, how many people are here - and all alive. And what if you shout now: "Fire!" - what will be the stampede, how many spectators will die in this stampede? He is ready to shout - and jump out onto the stage, and watch how they begin to crush, choke, kill each other. And when silence comes, he will throw into the hall with a laugh: "It's because you killed your brother!" “Be quiet,” someone whispers to him from the side: he, apparently, began to pronounce his thoughts aloud ... Sleep, one more terrible than the other. In each - death, blood, the dead. Children on the street play war. One, seeing a man in the window, asks to him. "No. You will kill me..." More and more brother comes. And with him - the other dead, recognizable and unfamiliar. They fill the house, crowd closely in all rooms - and there is no place for the living here. M. K. Pozdnyaev Human Life Play (1906) Throughout the action, the Someone in Gray and a second nameless character, silently standing in the far corner, are on the stage. In the prologue, The One in Gray addresses the audience with an explanation of what will be presented to them. This is the life of a Man, all, from birth to the hour of death, like a candle, which he, the witness of life, will hold in his hand. In front of him and the spectators, Man will go through all the stages of being, from bottom to top - and from top to bottom. Limited by sight, Man will never see the next step; limited by hearing, Man will not hear the voice of fate; limited by knowledge, he will not guess what the next minute brings him. Happy young man. Proud husband and father. Weak old man. A candle consumed by fire. A string of paintings, where in a different guise - the same Man. ...Listening to the cries of a woman in labor, giggling old women are talking on the stage. One of the old women notices how lonely the man is screaming: everyone is talking - and they cannot be heard, but only one is shouting - and it seems as if all the others are silently listening. And how strangely the man screams, the second old woman grins: when you yourself are in pain, you do not notice how strange your cry is. And how funny children are! How helpless! How difficult they are born - animals give birth easier ... And die easier ... And live easier ... There are many old women, but they seem to be uttering a monologue in unison. Their speech is interrupted by Someone in gray, announcing: Man is born. The Father of Man passes through the scene with the doctor, confessing how he suffered during these hours of the birth of his son, how he felt sorry for his wife, how he hates the baby who brought her suffering, how he punishes himself for her torment ... And how grateful he is to God who heard his prayer, who made his dream of a son come true! Relatives are on stage. Their remarks are like a continuation of the mutterings of the old women. They discuss with the most serious look the problems of choosing a name for a Person, his feeding and upbringing, his health, and then somehow quietly move on to much more prosaic questions: is it possible to smoke here and what is the best way to remove grease stains from a dress. ... The man has grown. He has a beloved wife and a favorite profession (he is an architect), but he has no money. The neighbors gossip on the stage about how strange it is: these two are young and beautiful, healthy and happy, it is pleasant to look at them, but they are unbearably sorry: they are always hungry. Why so? For what and in the name of what? The Man and his Wife embarrassedly tell each other about the envy of the well-fed and rich people they meet on the street. “Dressy ladies pass me by,” says the Man's Wife, “I look at their hats, hear the rustle of their silk skirts, and I'm not happy about it, but I say to myself: “I don't have such a hat! I don’t have such a silk skirt!” “And when I walk down the street and see something that does not belong to us,” the Man answers her, “I feel how my fangs grow. If someone inadvertently pushes me in the crowd, I bare my fangs." The man swears to Zhenya: they will get out of poverty. "Imagine that our house is a luxurious palace! Imagine that you are the queen of the ball! Imagine that an amazing orchestra is playing - for us and our guests!" And the Man's Wife easily imagines all this. ... And now it came true! He is rich, he has no end to customers, his wife bathes in luxury. In their palace - a wonderful ball, a magic orchestra is playing - either humanoid musical instruments, or people similar to instruments. Pairs of young people are circling, admiringly talking: what an honor it is for them to be at the Man's ball. A man enters - he has aged noticeably. He paid for wealth with years of his life. His wife has also grown old. With them, in a solemn procession through a suite of shining rooms, numerous friends with white roses in their buttonholes and no less number of enemies of Man with yellow roses go. Young couples, interrupting the dance, follow everyone to a fabulous feast. …He became impoverished again. The fashion for his creations has passed. Friends and enemies helped him squander his accumulated fortune. Now only rats are running around the palace, there have been no guests here for a long time. The house is dilapidated, no one buys it. The man's son dies. The man and his wife kneel and pray to the One who stood motionless in the far corner: she - with a humble maternal prayer, he - with a demand for justice. This is not a filial complaint, but a conversation between man and man, father with Father, old man with old man. "Is it necessary to love submissive flatterers more than bold and proud people?" the Man asks. And not a word is heard in response. The Son of Man is dying, which means that his prayer has not been heard! A man proclaims curses to someone who is watching him from the corner of the stage. "I curse everything that You have given! I curse the day on which I was born, and the day on which I will die! I curse myself - eyes, hearing, tongue, heart - and I throw all this into Your cruel face! And with my curse - I conquer You! .." ... Drunkards and old women in the tavern are surprised: there is a Man sitting at the table, drinking little, but sitting a lot! What would that mean? Drunken delirium is interspersed with remarks, born, it seems, in the fading consciousness of a Man - echoes of the past, an echo of his whole life. There are musicians - both those and not those that once played at balls in the Palace of Man. It is difficult to understand whether they are or not, how difficult it is to remember the past life and everything that a Person has lost - a son, wife, friends, home, wealth, fame, life itself ... The old women are circling around the table, at which the Man sits with bowed head. Their dance parodies the wonderful dance of young ladies at the old ball at the Man's. In the face of death, he stands up to his full height, throwing back his beautiful gray head, and sharply, loudly, desperately shouts out - asking either the sky, or drunkards, or spectators, or Someone in gray: "Where is my squire? Where is my sword? Where is my shield?" Someone in gray looks at the stub of the candle - it is about to blink for the last time and go out. "I'm disarmed!" - the Man exclaims, and darkness surrounds him. M. K. Poednyaev The Tale of the Seven Hanged Men (1906) An old, corpulent, diseased man sits in a strange house, in a strange bedroom, in a strange armchair, and examines his body with bewilderment, listens to his feelings, tries hard and cannot fully master the thoughts in his head: "Fools! They think that, telling me about the impending assassination attempt on me, telling me the hour when I was to be torn to pieces by a bomb, they delivered me from the fear of death! They, fools, think that they saved me by secretly bringing me and my family to this strange house where I am saved, where I am safe and at peace! It is not death that is terrible, but the knowledge of it. If someone knew for sure the day and hour when he must die, he could not live with this knowledge. And they say to me: "At one o'clock in the afternoon, Your Excellency!.." The minister, on whom the revolutionaries were preparing an assassination attempt, thinks on that night, which could be his last night, about the bliss of not knowing the end, as if someone had told him that he would never die. The intruders, detained at the time set by the denunciation with bombs, infernal machines and revolvers at the entrance to the minister's house, spend the last nights and days before hanging, to which they will be hastily sentenced, in equally painful reflections. How can it be that they, young, strong, healthy, will die? And is it death? “Am I afraid of her, the devil?” one of the five bombers, Sergei Golovin, thinks about death. “I feel sorry for my life! A magnificent thing, no matter what the pessimists say. It didn’t grow, it didn’t grow, but then it suddenly grew - why? .. " In addition to Sergei, the son of a retired colonel (at the last meeting, his father wished him to meet death like an officer on the battlefield), there are four more in the prison cell. The son of a merchant, Vasya Kashirin, who gives all his strength not to show the horror of death crushing him to the executioners. An unknown named Werner, who was considered the instigator, who has his own mental judgment about death: it doesn’t matter at all whether you killed or didn’t kill, but when you are killed, thousands kill - you alone, they kill out of fear, which means that you won death for you no more. Unknown, nicknamed Musya, looking like a teenage boy, thin and pale, ready at the hour of execution to join the ranks of those bright, holy, best ones who from time immemorial go through torture and execution to the high sky. If she had been shown her body after death, she would have looked at it and said: "It is not me," and the executioners, scientists and philosophers would have retreated with a shudder, saying: "Do not touch this place. It is holy!" The last among those sentenced to hanging was Tanya Kovalchuk, who seemed like a mother to her like-minded people, so caring and loving were her eyes, smile, fears for them. She did not pay any attention to the trial and the sentence, she completely forgot about herself and thought only of others. With five "politicals" waiting to be hanged on the same crossbar, Estonian Janson, a laborer who barely speaks Russian, convicted of murdering the owner and attempted rape of the mistress (he did all this foolishly, having heard that a similar thing happened on a neighboring farm), and Mikhail Golubets nicknamed Gypsy, the last in a series of atrocities of which was the murder and robbery of three people, and the dark past went into a mysterious depth. Misha himself, with complete frankness, calls himself a robber, flaunts both what he has done and what awaits him now. Janson, on the contrary, is paralyzed by both his deed and the verdict of the court, and repeats the same thing to everyone, putting into one phrase everything that he cannot express: "I don't need to be hanged." Hours and days pass. Until the moment when they are gathered together and then taken together out of town, to the March forest - to be hanged, the convicts alone master the idea, which seems wild, absurd, incredible to each in his own way. The mechanical man Werner, who treated life as a difficult chess puzzle, will instantly be healed of contempt for people, disgust even for their appearance: he, as if in a balloon, will rise above the world - and will be touched by how beautiful this world is. Musya dreams of one thing: that people, in whose kindness she believes, do not feel sorry for her and declare her a heroine. She thinks of her comrades, with whom she is destined to die, as of friends, into whose house she will enter with greetings on her laughing lips. Serezha exhausts his body with the gymnastics of the German doctor Muller, overcoming fear with a sharp sense of life in a young flexible body. Vasya Kashirin is close to insanity, all people seem to him like puppets, and, like a drowning man at a straw, he clutches at the words that have surfaced in his memory from somewhere in early childhood: “Joy to all who grieve”, pronounces them touchingly ... but tenderness evaporates at once, as soon as he he recalls candles, a priest in a cassock, icons and a hated father bowing in church. And he gets even worse. Janson turns into a weak and stupid animal. And only Tsyganok, until the very last step towards the gallows, swaggers and scoffs. He experienced horror only when he saw that everyone was being led to death in pairs, and he would be hanged alone. And then Tanechka Kovalchuk gives way to him in a pair with Musya, and Tsyganok leads her by the arm, warning and groping for the way to death, as a man should lead a woman. The sun is rising. They put the bodies in a box. The spring snow is just as soft and fragrant, in which the worn galosh lost by Sergey turns black. M. K. Pozdnyaev Judas Iscariot Story (1907) Among the disciples of Christ, so open, understandable at first glance, Judas from Carioth stands out not only for his notoriety, but also for his dual appearance: his face seems to be sewn from two halves. One side of the face is constantly moving, dotted with wrinkles, with a black sharp eye, the other is deadly smooth and seems disproportionately large from a wide-open, blind, thorn-covered eye. When he appeared, none of the apostles noticed. What made Jesus draw him closer to himself and what attracts this Judas to the Teacher are also unanswered questions. Peter, John, Thomas look - and are unable to comprehend this closeness of beauty and ugliness, meekness and vice - the closeness of Christ and Judas sitting next to the table. Many times the apostles asked Judas about what compels him to do bad deeds, he answers with a grin: every person has sinned at least once. The words of Jude are almost similar to what Christ tells them: no one has the right to condemn anyone. And the apostles faithful to the Teacher humble their anger at Judas: "It's nothing that you are so ugly. Not so ugly come across in our fishing nets!" "Tell me, Judas, was your father a good man?" - "And who was my father? The one who whipped me? Or the devil, the goat, the rooster? How can Judas know everyone with whom his mother shared a bed?" Jude's answer shakes the apostles: whoever glorifies his parents is doomed to perdition! "Tell me, are we good people?" - "Ah, they tempt poor Judas, offend Judas!" - the red-haired man from Karyota grimaces. In one village they are accused of stealing a kid, knowing that Judas is walking with them. In another village, after the preaching of Christ, they wanted to stone Him and the disciples; Judas rushed to the crowd, shouting that the Teacher was not possessed by a demon at all, that He was just a deceiver who loves money, just like him, Judas, - and the crowd humbled himself: "These strangers are not worthy to die at the hands of an honest one!" Jesus leaves the village in anger, moving away from it with long steps; the disciples follow him at a respectful distance, cursing Judas. “Now I believe that your father is the devil?” Foma throws him in the face. Fools! He saved their lives, but once again they did not appreciate him ... Somehow, at a halt, the apostles decided to have fun: measuring their strength, they pick up stones from the ground - who is bigger? - and thrown into the abyss. Judas lifts the heaviest piece of rock. His face shines with triumph: now it is clear to everyone that he, Judas, is the strongest, most beautiful, best of the twelve. "Lord," Peter prays to Christ, "I don't want Judas to be the strongest. Help me to overcome him!" - "And who will help Iscariot?" Jesus replies sadly. Judas, appointed by Christ to keep all their savings, hides a few coins - this is revealed. The students are outraged. Judas is brought to Christ - and He again stands up for him: "No one should count how much money our brother embezzled. Such reproaches offend him." In the evening at dinner, Judas is cheerful, but he is pleased not so much by reconciliation with the apostles, but by the fact that the Teacher again singled him out from the general row: “How can a man who was kissed so much today for stealing not be cheerful? John, what is love for one's neighbor? Isn't it fun to be a hook on which one hangs damp virtue to dry, and the other mind wasted by moths? The mournful last days of Christ are approaching. Peter and John are arguing over which of them is more worthy to sit at the right hand of the Teacher in the Kingdom of Heaven - the cunning Judas points out to everyone his primacy. And then, when asked how he still thinks in good conscience, he proudly answers: "Of course, I!" The next morning, he goes to the high priest Anna, offering to bring the Nazarene to trial. Annas is well aware of the reputation of Judas and drives him away for several days in a row; but, fearing a rebellion and interference by the Roman authorities, he contemptuously offers Judas thirty pieces of silver for the life of the Teacher. Judas is indignant: “You don’t understand what they are selling you! He is kind, he heals the sick, he is loved by the poor! This price - it turns out that for a drop of blood you give only half an obol, for a drop of sweat - a quarter of an obol ... And His screams? And the groans? And the heart, lips, eyes? You want to rob me!" "Then you won't get anything." Hearing such an unexpected refusal, Judas is transformed: he must not cede the right to the life of Christ to anyone, and in fact there will surely be a villain who is ready to betray Him for an obol or two ... Judas surrounds the One whom he betrayed with caress in the last hours. Affectionate and helpful he is with the apostles: nothing should interfere with the plan, thanks to which the name of Judas will forever be called in the memory of people along with the name of Jesus! In the Garden of Gethsemane, he kisses Christ with such painful tenderness and longing that if Jesus were a flower, not a drop of dew would fall from His petals, he would not sway on a thin stalk from the kiss of Judas. Step by step, Judas follows in the footsteps of Christ, not believing his eyes when He is beaten, condemned, led to Golgotha. The night is thickening… What is the night? The sun is rising... What is the sun? Nobody shouts: "Hosanna!" No one defended Christ with weapons, although he, Judas, stole two swords from Roman soldiers and brought them to these "faithful disciples"! He is alone - to the end, to the last breath - with Jesus! His horror and dream come true. Iscariot rises from his knees at the foot of the Calvary cross. Who will wrest victory from his hands? Let all nations, all future generations flow here at this moment - they will find only a pillory and a dead body. Judas looks at the ground. How small she suddenly became under his feet! Time no longer passes by itself, neither in front nor behind, but, obediently, it moves with all its bulk only together with Judas, with his steps on this small earth. He goes to the Sanhedrin and throws them in the face, like a ruler: "I deceived you! He was innocent and pure! You killed a sinless one! It was not Judas who betrayed him, but you, betrayed him to eternal disgrace!" On this day, Judas speaks like a prophet, which the cowardly apostles do not dare: "I saw the sun today - it looked at the earth with horror, asking:" Where are the people here? "Scorpions, animals, stones - everyone echoed this question. If you say the sea and the mountains, how much people valued Jesus, they will come down from their places and fall on your heads! .. " “Which of you,” Iscariot addresses the apostles, “will go with me to Jesus? You are afraid! You say that it was His will? You explain your cowardice by the fact that He ordered you to carry His word on earth? But who will believe His word in your cowardly and unfaithful lips?" Judas “climbs the mountain and tightens the noose around his neck in front of the whole world, completing his plan. The news of Judas the traitor is spreading all over the world. Not faster and not quieter, but along with time this message continues to fly ... M. K. Pozdnyaev Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin (1873-1954) At the walls of the invisible city Light Lake Tale (1909) My homeland is a small estate in the Oryol province. That's where, having heard enough arguments at religious and philosophical meetings in St. Petersburg, I decided to go to look around, to find out what the wise forest elders think. Thus began my journey into the invisible city. Spring. The nightingales sing in the black garden. The peasants in the field are like lazy bright gods. Everywhere there is talk of a Japanese war, of the coming "bloodshed". Sectarians came to Alekseevka - "the baptized wandered somewhere and lost their faith," they are frightening with fiery hell. “Yes, this is not Christ,” I think, “merciful Christ, clear without books ...” My second homeland is the Volga, kondovoy Rus with hermitages, schismatics, with faith in the invisible city of Kitezh. Under Midsummer Night, wanderers gather from all sides to Vetluga to the city of Varnavin to crawl "in a rim one after another all night" around a wooden church over a cliff. Barnabas the Wonderworker helped Tsar Ivan take Kazan. A candle flickers over his tomb, and in a dark corner a bearded old woman prophesies: "... And Abvadon will come to Pitenburg, and sit down on the kingdom, and give a seal with the number six hundred and sixty-six." From the time of Barnabas, pilgrims return to the Uren forests. Here, the descendants of the exiled archers live in sketes and villages, they preserve the old faith, they are baptized with two fingers. "Something childishly naive and courageous was combined in these Russian knights, the last, dying forest old men." They hid in swamps, sat in pits, read righteous books, prayed... To find out about them, distrustful, wary, they give me a young scribe Mikhail Erastovich as an escort. With difficulty, we get to the well-known in the district of Petrushka. As a teenager, he ran away to the Volga forests to seek God. The Christ-loving Pavel Ivanovich dug a hole for him, covered it with boards, gave him books, candles, carried bread and water at night. Petrushka spent twenty-seven years underground, and when he got out, he set up huts, gathered old people around him. But this is after the law on freedom of conscience! The Old Believers tell me that they are afraid that the new law will “turn over” on the old persecutions? They complain about the priest Nikola: he took the best icons from the monastery in Krasnoyarsk to the Nikonian church, tore off the vestments, attributed third fingers, rejuvenated, now they are sitting cheerful, as if drunk ... In the village of Uren "whatever the yard, then a new faith, there are all sorts of sects of a split." However, educated people also find themselves in the Old Believers. On the Volga I met a doctor and a priest in one person, "believing, like the people, that Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days under the influence of gastric juice." This doctor gave me a letter to the bishop, with whom I was going to discuss whether a "visible church" was possible. "The Church should not become mercenaries to the state" - that is the content of our long conversation. In my presence, for the first time, the bishop, not hiding, but on a clear day, came to the laity, went out to the square and preached. Bells ring, dilapidated chapels and large eight-pointed crosses rejoice. But there is an "invisible church" stored in the human soul. Therefore, wanderers flock to the Lake of Light, to "a bowl of holy water in a green jagged frame." Everyone radiates a ray of faith in the God-saving invisible city of Kitezh. Heavy books are carried hundreds of miles away in order to "letter" defeat opponents. I feel that I am also beginning to believe in Kitezh, albeit a reflected, but sincere faith. I am advised to listen to the righteous Tatyana Gornyaya - she was given to see the hail hidden in the lake. And everyone hopes for this miracle. An old woman lowers a kopeck and a chicken egg into a crack near birch roots for the afterlife, another slips canvas under a snag: the saints were worn around ... In what century am I? The hills around Svetloyar are full of pilgrims. My old believer friend Ulyan enters into an argument with the priest. A big old man in bast shoes comes out of the crowd and says about Christ: "He is the Word, he is the Spirit." In appearance, an ordinary forest peasant with a red, ragged beard, but it turned out - "a non-worshipper, an iconoclast, a non-molyaka." Dmitry Ivanovich met with the St. Petersburg writer Merezhsky, corresponded with him, did not agree: “He recognizes the carnal Christ, but, in our opinion, Christ according to the flesh cannot be understood. needed, there are enough men already." On the way back from Lake Svetloye to the city of Semyonov, Dmitry Ivanovich introduces me to other non-Molaks, spoon-philosophers. They are passionate about "translating" the Bible from the "material heaven to the spiritual man" and believe that when everything is read and translated, eternal life will come. They argue with visiting Baptists, refuse to see Christ as a real person. Feeling my sincere interest, the youngest of the non-Molians, Alexei Larionovich, reveals the secret of how they abandoned the wooden gods, realizing that "all Scripture is a parable." Alexey Larionovich secretly took the icons from his wife, chopped them with an ax, burned them, but nothing happened: "firewood - firewood is there ..." And he put his Lozhkar instrument into the empty goddess (his wife, out of habit, is baptized on it). What secret underground paths connect these, forest, and those, cultural, seekers of the true faith! Hundreds of them, which I saw, starting from the hermit Petrushka and ending with an imaginary spiritual person, separated from the flesh by these non-molars, passed by the walls of the invisible city. And it seems that the Old Believer way of life speaks to my heart about the possible, but missed happiness of the Russian people. "The weakened soul of Archpriest Avvakum," I thought, "does not unite, but separates earthly people." I. G. Zhivotovsky Ginseng Tale (1932) After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, I chose a better three-ruler and went from Manchuria to Russia. Pretty soon he crossed the Russian border, crossed some kind of ridge and met a Chinese, a ginseng seeker, on the ocean's beret. Louvain sheltered me in his fanza, sheltered from typhoons in the Zusu-he ravine, completely covered with irises, orchids and lilies, surrounded by trees of unprecedented relic species, densely entwined with lianas. From a secluded place in the thickets of Manchurian walnut and wild grapes, I happened to see a miracle of the coastal taiga - a female spotted deer Hua-lu (Deer Flower), as the Chinese call her. Her thin legs with tiny strong hooves were so close that it was possible to grab the animal and tie it up. But the voice of a man who appreciates beauty, who understands its fragility, drowned out the hunter's voice. After all, a beautiful moment can be saved, if only you do not touch it with your hands. This was understood by a new person who was born in me almost in those moments. Almost immediately, as if as a reward for defeating the hunter in myself, I saw a woman on the seashore from the ship that brought the settlers. Her eyes were exactly like those of Hua-lu, and all of her, as it were, affirmed the inseparability of truth and beauty. She immediately discovered this new, timidly enthusiastic person in me. alas, the hunter that woke up in me almost destroyed the union that had almost taken place. Having again taken up the conquering height, I told her about the meeting with Hua-lu and how I overcame the temptation to seize her, and the deer-flower, as if as a reward, turned into a princess who arrived by a steamer standing in the bay. The answer to this confession was fire in the eyes, a fiery blush and half-closed eyes. The whistle of the steamer rang out, but the stranger did not seem to hear it, and I, as was the case with Hua-lu, froze and continued to sit motionless. With the second beep, she got up and, without looking at me, went out. Louvain knew well who the steamer had taken away from me. Fortunately for me, he was an attentive and cultured father, because the essence of culture is in the creativity of understanding and communication between people: "Your ginseng is still growing, I will soon show it to you." He kept his word and took me to the taiga, where "my" root was found twenty years ago and left for another ten years. But the red deer, passing by, stepped on the head of the ginseng, and it froze, and recently it began to grow again and in fifteen years it will be ready: "Then you and your bride - you will both become young again." Having engaged with Luvan in a very profitable antler hunt, I occasionally met Hua-lu with her one-year-old fawn. Somehow by itself the idea came to domesticate spotted deer with the help of Hua-lu. Gradually we taught her not to be afraid of us. When the rut began, the most powerful handsome stags came for Hua-lu. Precious antlers were now mined not with the same labors as before and not with such injuries for relic animals. This work itself, done in the coastal subtropics, amid unspeakable beauty, became my medicine, my ginseng. In my dreams, in addition to domesticating new animals, I wanted to "Europeanize" the Chinese who worked with me so that they would not depend on people like me and could fend for themselves. However, there are terms of life that do not depend on personal desire: until the time has come, conditions have not been created, the dream will remain a utopia. And yet I knew that my ginseng root was growing and I would wait until my due date. Don't give in to despair when you fail. One of these failures was the flight of deer into the hills. Hua-lu once stepped on the tail of a chipmunk who was eating beans that had fallen from her feeder. The animal dug its teeth into her leg, and the deer, mad with pain, rushed to the side, and behind her the whole herd, which brought down the fences. On the ruins of the nursery, how can one not think that Hua-lu is a witch who beckoned with her beauty and turned into a beautiful woman who, as soon as I fell in love with her, disappeared, plunging me into anguish. As soon as I began to cope with it, breaking the vicious circle with creative power, Hua-lu destroyed it all. But all these philosophies are always broken by life itself. Suddenly she returned with her deer Hua-lu, and when the rut began, the males came for her. Ten years have passed. Louvain had already died, and I was still alone. The nursery grew and grew rich. There is a time for everything: a woman has reappeared in my life. This was not the woman who had once appeared as Princess Hua-lu, the Deer Flower. But I found my own being in her and fell in love with her. This is the creative power of the root of life: to overcome the boundaries of oneself and reveal oneself in another. Now I have everything; the business I created, my beloved wife and children. I am one of the happiest people on earth. However, at times one trifle worries, which does not affect anything, but which must be mentioned. Every year, when deer shed their old antlers, some kind of pain and longing drives me out of the laboratory, out of the library, out of the family. I go to the rock, from the cracks of which moisture flows, as if this rock is always crying. There, the past is resurrected in my memory: I see a grape tent into which Hua-lu put her hoof, and the pain turns into a question to a stone friend-rock or a reproach to myself: "Hunter, why didn't you grab her hooves then!" I. G. Zhivotovsky Ivan Sergeyevich Shmelev (1873-1950) The man from the restaurant Tale (1911) As time passed, Yakov Sofronych understood: it all started with the suicide of Krivoy, their tenant. Before that, he quarreled with Skorokhodov and promised to report that Kolyushka and Kirill Severyanych were arguing about politics. He, Krivoy, serves in the detective department. And he hung himself because he was expelled from everywhere and there was nothing for him to live on. Just after this, Kolyushkin's director summoned Yakov Sofronych to him, and Natasha began to meet with the officer, and the apartment had to be changed, and new tenants appeared, from which Kolya's life went to dust. The school demanded that the son (he is really harsh, even with his father) apologize to the teacher. Only Kolyushka stood his ground: he was the first to humiliate him and mocked him from the first grade, calling him a ragamuffin and not Skorokhodov, but Skomorokhov. In a word, they were expelled six months before graduation. Unfortunately, he also made friends with the tenants. The poor, the young, live like husband and wife, not married. They suddenly disappeared. The police came, they did a search, and they took Kolya away - they took him away until the circumstances were clarified - and then they sent him away. Natalya was not happy either. She often went to the skating rink, became even more impudent, came late. Cherepakhin, a lodger in love with her, warned her that an officer was looking after her. There was shouting at home and insults flowed like a river. The daughter spoke about independent living. The final exams are coming soon, and she will live separately. She is taken to a decent department store as a cashier for forty rubles. And so it happened. Only she lived now, unmarried, with a man who promised to marry, but only when his grandmother died, who bequeathed a million. Of course, he did not marry, demanded to get rid of the pregnancy, committed embezzlement and sent Natasha to ask her father for money. And just then the director, Mr. Stose, announced the dismissal of Skorokhodov. They are very pleased with him in the restaurant, and he has been working for twenty years, he knows everything and knows everything to the point, but ... the arrest of his son, and they have a rule ... They are forced to fire him. Moreover, by this time the son had escaped from exile. It was true. Yakov Sofronych had already seen Kolyushka. Was - not as before, but affectionate and kind with him. He gave the letter to his mother and disappeared again. Lusha, as she read the news from her son, began to cry, and then clutched her heart and died. Yakov Sofronych was left alone. Here, however, Natalya, not listening to her roommate, gave birth to her daughter Yulenka and gave it to her father. He already worked as an incoming waiter, longing for white halls, mirrors and a respectable audience. Of course, there were grievances in the same place, there were plenty of outrages and injustices, there was, however, a kind of art brought to perfection, and Yakov Sofronych mastered this art completely. I had to learn to keep my mouth shut. The venerable fathers of families spent thousands here with the girls; respected elders brought fifteen-year-olds into the study; men's wives from good families worked secretly. The most terrible memory left cabinets, upholstered in plush. You can scream and call for help as much as you want - no one will hear. However, Kolyushka was right. What is the nobility of life in our business?! Why did Karp, the man assigned to these rooms, even that time could not stand it and knocked on the door: so one screamed and struggled. And then there was a ladies' orchestra playing at the restaurant, consisting of strict young ladies who graduated from the conservatory. There was a beauty there, thin and light, like a girl, and her eyes were large and sad. And so the adviser of commerce Karasev began to look at her, whose fortune was impossible to live, because every minute it arrived at five rubles. He will sit in a restaurant for three hours - that's a thousand. But the young lady does not even look, and did not accept a bouquet of roses worth hundreds of rubles, and did not stay for a chic dinner ordered for the entire orchestra by Karasev. Yakov Sofronych was ordered to take the bouquet to her apartment in the morning. The bouquet was received by the old woman. Then the thin one herself came out and slammed the door: "There will be no answer." A lot of time has passed, but the restaurant nevertheless played the wedding of Mr. Karasev. Thin from him with another millionaire drove away abroad due to the fact that Mr. Karasev refused to marry her. So he overtook them on an emergency train and brought them by force. Kolya was nevertheless found and arrested. In the letter he wrote: "Farewell, dad, and forgive me for everything that I caused." But just before the trial, twelve prisoners ran away, and Kolya was with them, but he was saved by a miracle. He escaped from the chase and ended up in a dead end. He rushed into the shop: "Save and do not give out." The old shopkeeper took him to the cellar. Yakov Sofronych went to this man. He thanked, but he only said in response that you cannot live without the Lord, but he truly said that he had opened his eyes to the world. A month later, an unknown person came and said that Kolyushka was safe. After that, things started to get a little better. During the summer, Yakov Sofronych worked in the summer garden, managed the kitchen and buffet at Ignatiy Eliseich, from the same restaurant where he had once worked. He was very pleased and promised to work hard. And then there was the trade union (the director now had to reckon with it) demanded the reinstatement of the illegally dismissed. And now Yakov Sofronych is again in the same restaurant doing his usual business. Only there are no children around. I. G. Zhivotovsky Summer of the Lord HOLIDAYS - JOY - SORRY Autobiographical story (1934-1944) Clean Monday. Vanya wakes up in his native Zamoskvoretsky house. Great Lent begins, and everything is ready for it. The boy hears his father scolding the senior clerk, Vasil Vasilich: yesterday his people saw off Shrovetide, drunk, rolled the people down the hills and "almost maimed the audience." Vanya's father, Sergei Ivanovich, is well known in Moscow: he is a contractor, a kind and energetic owner. After dinner, the father forgives Vasil Vasilich. In the evening, Vanya and Gorkin go to church: special Lenten services have begun. Gorkin is a former carpenter. He is already old, and therefore does not work, but simply lives "at the house", takes care of Vanya. Spring morning. Vanya looks out the window, as the cellars are being filled with ice, and goes with Gorkin to the Lenten Market for supplies. The Annunciation comes - on this day "everyone should please someone." The father forgives Denis, who drank the master's proceeds. The songbird merchant Solodovkin arrives. All together, according to custom, release birds. In the evening they find out that because of the ice drift, their father's barges were "cut off". The father and his assistants manage to catch them. Easter. Father arranges illumination in his parish church and, most importantly, in the Kremlin. Festive dinner - in the yard, the owners dine with their employees. After the holidays, new workers come to hire. The Iberian icon of the Mother of God is solemnly brought into the house - to pray to her before starting work. On Trinity, Vanya and Gorkin go to Sparrow Hills for birch trees, then with his father - for flowers. On the day of the feast, the church, decorated with flowers and greenery, turns into a "sacred garden". The Transfiguration is approaching - Apple Spas. An apple tree is shaken in the garden, and then Vanya and Gorkin go to the Swamp to the apple merchant Krapivkin. We need a lot of apples: for ourselves, for the workers, for the clergy, for the parishioners. Frosty, snowy winter. Christmas. A shoemaker comes into the house with boys to "praise Christ." They give a small idea about King Herod. Poor beggars come, they are served "for the Holiday". In addition, as always, they arrange a dinner "for different", that is, for the poor. Vanya is always curious to look at outlandish "different" people. The holidays have arrived. Parents have gone to the theater, and Vanya goes to the kitchen, to people. Gorkin offers to tell fortunes "in the circle of King Solomon." Reads each saying - to whom what will fall out. True, he chooses these sayings himself, taking advantage of the fact that the rest are illiterate. Only Vanya notices Gorkin's cunning. But the fact is that Gorkin wants to read the most suitable and instructive for everyone. At Epiphany in the Moscow River, the water is blessed, and many, including Gorkin, bathe in the hole. Vasil Vasilich competes with the German "Ledovik" who can stay in the water longer. They contrive: the German is rubbed with lard, Vasil Vasilich with goose. A soldier competes with them, and without any tricks. Vasil Vasilich wins. And the father takes the soldier as a watchman. Pancake week. Workers bake pancakes. The bishop arrives, the cook Garanka is invited to prepare a festive treat. On Saturday, famously ride from the mountains. And on Sunday, everyone asks each other for forgiveness before the start of Lent. Gorkin and Vanya go to the icebreaker to "put things in order": Vasil Vasilich drinks everything, but the customer needs to have time to deliver the ice. However, it turns out that the day laborers do everything quickly and well: Vasil Vasilich has "permeated them" and drinks beer every day. Summer Petrovsky post. Maid Masha, seamstress Glasha, Gorkin and Vanya go to the Moscow River to rinse clothes. Denis lives there at the port. He wants to marry Masha, asks Gorkin to talk to her. Feast of the Don Icon, solemn religious procession. Banners are carried from all Moscow churches. The Veil is coming soon. At home they pickle cucumbers, chop cabbage, wet Antonovka. Denis and Masha exchange barbs. On the very holiday, Vanya's sister Katyusha is born. And Denis and Masha finally got married. The workers are in a hurry to give Sergei Ivanovich a pretzel of unprecedented size for his name day with the inscription: "To the good owner." Vasil Vasilich, in violation of the rules, arranges church bells while the pretzel is being carried. Name days are a success. More than a hundred congratulations, pies from all over Moscow. The bishop arrives. When he blesses Vasil Vasilich, he cries in a thin voice... Mikhailov's day arrives, Gorkin's name day. Everyone loves him too. Vanya's father favors him with rich gifts. Everyone starts talking before Christmas Lent. Father's aunt, Pelageya Ivanovna, arrives. She is "kind of a holy fool", and predictions lurk in her jokes. Christmas is coming. My father undertook to build an "ice house" in the Zoological Garden. Denis and Andryushka the carpenter suggest how to do it. It turns out - just a miracle. Father - glory to all of Moscow (though no profit). Vanya goes to congratulate the godfather angel Kashin, the "proud rich man", on the day. During Holy Week, Vanya and Gorkin go to bed, and this is Vanya's first time. This year there are many bad omens in the house: father and Gorkin see ominous dreams, a terrible flower "snake color" blooms. Palm Sunday is coming soon. Old coal miners bring willow from the forest. Easter. Janitor Grishka, who did not attend the service, is doused with cold water. On Holy Week, Vanya and Gorkin go to the Kremlin, go to cathedrals. Yegoriev day. Vanya listens to shepherd songs. Again, bad omens: the dog Bushui howls, the starlings did not arrive, instead of a holy picture, a blasphemous one was slipped to the furrier. Radunitsa - Easter commemoration of the dead. Gorkin and Vanya go to cemeteries. On the way back, having stopped at a tavern, they hear terrible news: Vanya's father was "killed by a horse." The father survived, but he has been ill since he broke his head, falling from a stubborn horse. He is getting better, he goes to the baths - to be pumped with cold water. After that, he feels completely healthy, goes to Vorobyovka - to admire Moscow. He also starts going to construction sites ... but then the disease returns. The icon of the healer Panteleimon is invited to the house, a prayer service is served. The patient gets better for a while. The doctors say there is no hope. Sergei Ivanovich blesses the children in parting; Vanya is an icon of the Trinity. It is clear to everyone that he is dying. He is congregated. Father's birthday is coming. Again, congratulations and pies are sent from everywhere. But the family of the dying man sees all this as a bitter mockery. Father comes - to read the waste. Vanya falls asleep, he has a joyful dream, and in the morning he learns that his father has died. At the coffin, Vanya becomes ill. He falls ill, cannot go to the funeral, and only sees the removal of the coffin through the window. O. V. Butkova Olga Dmitrievna Forsh (1873-1961) crazy ship Roman (1930) Writers, artists, musicians lived in this house of Elizabethan times and almost Biron. However, there were also co-workers, and tailors, and workers, and former servants... So it was later, and not only in the border with the NEP and the first NEP years. Life has been simplified to its originality, and life has acquired fantastic outlines. It already seemed to the inhabitants that this house was not a house at all, but a ship rushing somewhere. Slightly warm potbelly stoves, partitions dividing the once tasteless luxurious halls into cells - all testified that ordinary everyday life was no longer there, that the accepted norms of relationships had become a thing of the past, the usual hierarchy of values had changed. However, just as vineyards flourish on the edge of a volcano, so people bloomed here with their best color. All were heroes, creators. New forms of society were created, entire schools, books were written. In everyday life, boots were born from card cloth, blouses were born from furniture covers, dried carrots turned into tea, and vobla - into a two-course dinner. So, it was a place where at every step the elementary, commonplace coexisted with the elite. In the morning, passing by the washbasins, a person could be stopped by a shout: "Hey, listen ... Let's talk about the Logos." This was shouted by Akovich (A. L. Volynsky), who was brushing his teeth, an amazing erudite, ready to argue both with a representative of the old intelligentsia and with the former servants who sat in the kitchen around the still warm stove. The first loved Akovich for the complexity of his inner world, the second - for "simplicity", accessibility: "Although he is a Jew, but, like the apostles, he is Russian." a firework of thought exploded noisy and generous in wasting creative forces Zhukanets (V. B. Shklovsky), in whose head - of good volume - the "Chinese method" in literary criticism (formal method), which absolutized "reception" was born. Both the author, the writer Doliva, and the “household teacher” Sokhatom (all three are different incarnations of O. D. Forsh) were close to the life attitude of Zhukants, busy sculpting a new person, although each saw this path in his own way. The author strove for a feasible "explosion of the boundary pillars of time." Doliva was convinced that if a person is not enriched internally, he will slip through his fingers, will not take place as an organized person and will secretly depend on the beast in himself. Sokhaty "taught creativity" to novice writers, who believed that, having read and "disassembled" a dozen masterpieces, they would write the eleventh themselves. He offered to work, asked exercises like the task to describe the monument of Peter in five lines, seeing him, say, through the eyes of a friend or girlfriend living in China. Only one cadet fit into this volume: "... In China ... I don’t have a girl, but I go to the registry office ... I go with Sanya from the Red Triangle. She saw the monument perfectly, so there’s nothing to smear ... " Sokhatom, however, was promised a place somewhere and something in charge. Panna Wanda, one of the sister-owners of the cafe "Varshavyanka", only under this bill gives advances to the "household teacher" in the form of smiles and vague words that give rise to vague hopes. But the sisters disappeared overnight, and the author met them years later in Italy, engaged in something like the most famous and ancient profession. The bug consoled his friend: according to his "scheme of the new man", the individual would be completely devoid of the remnant of personal beginnings and, free, would flare up with all the possibilities of his intellect. He took him to the poetry evening of Gaetana, which turned out to be the last. "Love ended with him ... This page is closed with him forever." The drooping Prongs continued his research in the field of "everyday life and tales", in one of Lenin's clubs he read Russian literature for half a pound of bread and one candy, flying on the Crazy Ship to an unknown future, sometimes rejoicing in the happiness of seeing and hearing his amazing crew and passengers. Alien Guest Performer (A. Bely) with his "Novel of Results"; Mikula, an almost brilliant poet from the same origins as Rasputin; Eruslan (M. Gorky), who defended "them" before "us", and "us" before "them" - this is from the "old". And the poetess Elan (N. P. Pavlovich), who claimed that she was "the last snow mask"; Roerich's student artist Kotikhina; everyone's favorite, improviser-entertainer and organizer of various kinds of pranks, skits Genya Chorn (Evg. Schwartz) - from the "new". A young faun, who was simply called Vovoy (L. Lunts), whose mighty run was stopped only by early death, which, however, did not have time to prevent him from throwing out a banner, under which surprisingly gifted youth gathered: "Brother Aleut" (Vs. Ivanov) - the creator of spicy and fragrant prose; Kopilsky (M. Slonimsky), in whose pencil case a fraternal union of poets and writers was born, who believed that "art is real, like life itself"; the poet who turned out to be the founder of the new lyricism (Nik. Tikhonov); a woman poet (not a poetess, not a sister, but a full-fledged brother - Z. Polonskaya) - they all connected two eras with their work, without betraying art. Yeruslan was very attentive to these young people, appreciated and supported them. After all, through him himself, the connection of the past culture with the culture of the future was carried out. He came as a worker and an intellectual, and their meeting in his face took place without mutual extermination. The crazy ship completed its voyage almost two years after the Kronstadt events, having done perhaps more for Russian literature than any specially created creative association of writers and poets. I. G. Zhivotovsky Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873-1924) Fire Angel Roman (1907) Ruprecht met Renata in the spring of 1534, returning from ten years of service as a landsknecht in Europe and the New World. He did not have time to get to Cologne before dark, where he had once studied at the university and not far from which was his native village of Lozheim, and spent the night in an old house standing alone in the forest. At night, he was awakened by women's screams behind the wall, and he, bursting into the next room, found a woman writhing in terrible writhing. Having driven away the devil with a prayer and a cross, Ruprecht listened to the lady who came to her senses, who told him about the incident, which became fatal for her. When she was eight years old, an angel began to appear to her, all as if fiery. He called himself Madiel, was cheerful and kind. Later, he announced to her that she would be a saint, and conjured to lead a strict life, to despise the carnal. In those days, Renata's gift of wonderworking was revealed, and in the neighborhood she was reputed to be pleasing to the Lord. But, having reached the age of love, the girl wanted to be combined with Madiel bodily, but the angel turned into a pillar of fire and disappeared, and in response to her desperate pleas, he promised to appear before her in the form of a man. Soon Renata really met Count Heinrich von Otterheim, who looked like an angel with his white clothes, blue eyes and golden curls. For two years they were incredibly happy, but then the count left Renata alone with the demons. True, the good patron spirits encouraged her with the message that she would soon meet Ruprecht, who would protect her. Having told all this, the woman behaved as if Ruprecht had taken a vow to serve her, and they set off to look for Heinrich, turning to the famous soothsayer, who only said: "Wherever you are going, go there." However, she immediately screamed in horror: "And blood flows and smells!" This, however, did not prevent them from continuing their journey. At night, Renata, afraid of demons, kept Ruprecht with her, but did not allow any liberties and endlessly spoke with him about Heinrich. Upon her arrival in Cologne, she searched the city in vain in search of the count, and Ruprecht witnessed a new fit of obsession, followed by deep melancholy. Nevertheless, the day came when Renata perked up and demanded to confirm her love for her by going to the Sabbath to find out something about Heinrich there. Rubbed with the greenish ointment that she gave him, Ruprecht was transported somewhere far away, where naked witches introduced him to "Master Leonard", who forced him to renounce the Lord and kiss his black, stinking ass, but only repeated the words of the soothsayer: where you are going, go there . Upon returning to Renata, he had no choice but to turn to the study of black magic in order to become the master of those to whom he was a petitioner. Renata helped in the study of the works of Albert the Great, Roger Bacon, Sprenger and Institoris, and Agrippa of Nottesheim, who made a particularly strong impression on him. Alas, the attempt to call the spirits, despite careful preparations and scrupulousness in following the advice of warlocks, almost ended in the death of novice magicians. There was something that should have been known, apparently directly from the teachers, and Ruprecht went to Bonn to see Dr. Agrippa of Nottesheim. But the great one disowned his writings and advised him to move from divination to the true source of knowledge. Meanwhile, Renata met with Heinrich and he said that he did not want to see her anymore, that their love was an abomination and a sin. The count was a member of a secret society that sought to hold Christians stronger than the church, and hoped to lead it, but Renata forced him to break his vow of celibacy. Having told all this to Ruprecht, she promised to become his wife if he killed Heinrich, who pretended to be another, higher. On the same night, their first connection with Ruprecht took place, and the next day the former landsknecht found an excuse to challenge the count to a duel. However, Renata demanded that he not dare to shed Henry's blood, and the knight, forced only to defend himself, was seriously wounded and wandered between life and death for a long time. It was at this time that the woman suddenly said that she loved him, and had loved him for a long time, only him, and no one else. They lived all December like newlyweds, but soon Madiel appeared to Renate, saying that her sins were grave and that she needed to repent. Renata devoted herself to prayer and fasting. The day came, and Ruprecht found Renata's room empty, having experienced what she had once experienced, looking for her Heinrich on the streets of Cologne. Doctor Faust, a tester of the elements, and a monk nicknamed Mephistopheles, who accompanied him, were invited to a joint journey. On the way to Trier, during a visit to the castle of Count von Wallen, Ruprecht accepted the host's offer to become his secretary and accompany him to the monastery of St. Olaf, where a new heresy appeared and where he was sent as part of the mission of the Archbishop of Trier John. In the retinue of his Eminence was the Dominican brother Thomas, the inquisitor of his Holiness, known for his perseverance in the persecution of witches. He was resolute about the source of confusion in the monastery - sister Mary, whom some considered a saint, others - possessed by demons. When the unfortunate nun was brought into the courtroom, Ruprecht, called to keep the minutes, recognized Renata. She confessed to witchcraft, cohabitation with the devil, participation in the black mass, sabbaths and other crimes against the faith and fellow citizens, but refused to name her accomplices. Brother Foma insisted on the use of torture, and then on the death sentence. On the night before the fire, Ruprecht, with the assistance of the count, entered the dungeon where the condemned woman was kept, but she refused to run, saying that she longed for martyrdom, that Madiel, the fiery angel, would forgive her, the great sinner. When Ruprecht tried to carry her away, Renata screamed, began to desperately fight back, but suddenly calmed down and whispered: "Ruprecht! It's good to have you with me!" - and died. After all these events that shocked him, Ruprecht went to his native Aozheim, but only from a distance looked at his father and mother, already hunched old men, basking in the sun in front of the house. He also turned to Dr. Agrippa, but found him with his last breath. This death again confused his soul. A huge black dog, from which the teacher with a weakening hand removed the collar with magical inscriptions, after the words: "Go away, damned one! All my misfortunes are from you!" - with his tail between his legs and his head bowed, he ran out of the house, rushed into the waters of the river with a run and did not appear on the surface again. At the same moment, the teacher breathed his last and left this world. There was nothing left to prevent Ruprecht from rushing across the ocean in search of happiness, to New Spain. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Alexei Mikhailovich Remizov (1877-1957) Indefatigable tambourine Tale (1909) Outlandish man Ivan Semenovich Stratilatov. As a young man, he began his judicial service in the long, low, smoky office of the criminal department. And now forty years have passed, and many secretaries have changed since then, and he still sits at a large table by the window - in smoky glasses, his head is bald - and rewrites papers. Ivan Semyonovich lives in an apartment in the house of the deacon Procopius. Agapevna serves him, meekly, faithfully. Yes - the old one, whatever she takes on, everything falls out of her hands, and snores like a sergeant major, and in all corners, by the stove, behind the cupboard, stale bread crusts are folded - she saves for some reason. Stratilatov would have driven Agapevna away, but still he cannot imagine how he would part with the old woman: Agapevna has taken root in the house, Agapevna knows all corners. Stratilatov was once married. Glafira Nikanorovna is a quiet, meek woman. And everything would be fine. Yes, they appointed a new investigator to the court about this time: young, playful, and the same surname: Stratilatov. Once, at the birthday party of Artemy, the old Pokrovsky deacon, among all sorts of jokes, Ivan Semyonovich heard something in a drunken corner, and about Glafira Nikanorovna: "Oh, why are you talking in vain, she ran head over heels into Stratilatov." Ivan Semyonovich dropped his fork: the fidgety investigator introduced himself. He got out from behind the table, without a hat - home. A furious one burst in from the threshold: "Get out, get out of my house!" In the same year, the investigator was transferred somewhere, and Glafira Nikanorovna remained to live with her mother, quiet, meek. It’s impossible to stay in the house alone: it’s boring and you need to look after the house. It was then that Agapevna decided to go to Ivan Semyonovich. The first to come to the court of the Stratilates. In the morning it is better not to disturb him: at twelve the secretary will demand the execution of the previous day. How afraid Ivan Semenovich of secretary Lykov is, even though he smells with his nose: let Lykov be a lawman, neat as a German, but still - a riffraff, a revolutionary. And as soon as the secretary leaves with a report, Stratilatov becomes inexhaustible: he roasts all sorts of adventures, all sorts of historical adventures as a keepsake, sprinkling with anecdotes, jokes, and everything is hotter, more intense, as if he beats a tambourine. In the office - who laughs, who sniffs, who squeals: "Indefatigable tambourine!" However, among the judicial officials, one Boris Sergeevich Zimarev - Assistant Secretary and Stratilatov's immediate superior - for his ability to accurately and correctly identify antiquities, of which Ivan Semenovich is a great lover, earned him sincere respect and even friendship. Ivan Semenovich had other friends, but all people turned out to be dubious. It was as if they came to listen to his singing, Stratilatov, after all, is a master on the guitar - one artist from St. Petersburg remained to live, and the regent Yagodov was not for nothing. Miraculously, Ivan Semenovich got rid of them. Now - only for Zimarev Boris Sergeevich after tea he sings and plays. Once in the summer, at the name day of Artemy, the old Pokrovsky deacon, Stratilatov saw his orphan niece Nadezhda, so thin, white, and his nature overflowed. And summer, and autumn, and all winter looked after. And he stopped sleeping, everything tossed and turned. The friend intervened. Persuaded the young. It was then that Stratilatov drove Agapevna out of the yard. Soon everyone knew that Stratilatov had Nadezhda and that they lived as in a real marriage. Officials from all departments of the court came together to congratulate, giggle and just take a look. Stratilatov laughed it off and sulked, and then lost his temper: He took hope for Agapevna's place, nothing more. They made fun of him, because the evidence is there! Yes, there is another case... At the late mass, people flock to the Church of All Saints to listen to the fool Matryona. She tells how children - joyfully, out of breath - from the lives and the Gospel. And with Stratilatov - he was just returning from a late mass - she told an immodest dream. The people laughed, the deacon Prokopiy cackled with all his might, Ivan Semyonovich cursed, spat - and away. And the deacon with a laugh: "And your Naderka is a whore walking!" - "But I'll shoot you, deacon." Ivan Semyonovich quickly sniffed towards the house and immediately back, with a large Georgian pistol, decorated with fine carvings. Everything went quiet. Ivan Semenovich takes aim, it seems that he is about to pull the trigger. The deacon suddenly trembled, stuck out his tongue, and, as if on broken legs, walked away. And the next day Stratilatov moved out, to please Nadezhda he left the deacon's house, moved to a new apartment with his neighbor Tarakteev. There would be no end to the conversations and ridicule, but the minds of the police chief Zhiganovsky turned away from him. I decided to bring the nuns of the female Zachatievsky to clean water. He sat in the basket like a gentleman - at night the nuns raised them to their windows. Yes, as they looked into the basket - out of fear they released the rope, and Zhiganovsky was killed to death. And then another: the official drank thirty-nine cups of tea on a dare, took up the fortieth, his eyes bulged, and suddenly water gushed from his ears, from his mouth, from his nose - and died. And in broad daylight, the high-school student Verbova, executing the verdict of the local revolutionary committee, shot by mistake the retired colonel Auritsky instead of the governor. On the same night, Lykov, the secretary, was also arrested. Stratilatov was triumphant: after all, he had long known that the incorruptible and unswerving Lykov, who held his head higher than the prosecutor himself, was a revolutionary. And in the office, Lykov did not leave his tongue. During the conversations, they did not notice that one fine day Ivan Semenovich did not appear in the office. Enough only after three days. Zimarev found Agapevna. After her expulsion, the old woman took refuge not far from Ivan Semenovich, she felt: there will be trouble! Indeed, the lover, Emelyan Prokudin, seduced Nadezhda, she left with him, and they grabbed a full load of good. Grabbed Prokudin and styling with silver. Stratilatov - does not give, well, he "dared" him. In the hospital, Stratilatov kept complaining: "If he wasn't sick, he would go straight to court." Himself bandaged, lying on a bunk - neither turn around nor raise a hand. They said that he suffered before death, languished. He left without heirs. Items are up for sale. And while Agapevna lived with them. The old woman has become completely crazy: she lies down on a couch at night, but does not lie down, she hears everything, as if Ivan Semyonovich is calling: "Agapevna?" - "I, father." S. R. Fedyakin Cross sisters Tale (1910) Pyotr Alekseevich Marakulin infected his colleagues with fun and carelessness. Himself - narrow-chested, with a thread of a mustache, already thirty years old, but felt almost twelve years old. Marakulin was famous for his handwriting, he wrote the reports letter by letter: he scribbles evenly, as if with beads, and rewrites more than once, but after that - at least bring it to the exhibition. And Marakulin knew joy: another time in the morning he runs to work, and suddenly his chest will overflow and become unusual. All at once everything changed. Marakulin was waiting for an increase and an award by Easter - but instead he was expelled from the service. For five years, Pyotr Alekseevich was in charge of coupon books, and everything was in good order, but the directors started checking before the holiday - something did not add up. They said later - the cashier, a friend of Marakulin, "tallyed up". Pyotr Alekseevich tried to prove that there was some kind of mistake here - they did not listen. And then Marakulin understood: "Man is a log to man." I skipped the summer without doing anything, pawned things, sold them out, pulled myself together. And I had to move out of my apartment. Pyotr Alekseevich settled in the Burkov house, opposite the Obukhov hospital, where people in hospital gowns roam and the red cross of white sisters flickers, The rich live from the front end of the house: the owner Burkov, the former governor, and the attorney at law, and the doctor of medicine, and the general's wife Kholmogorova - "louse", one percent is enough for her to die. From black - the apartments are small. There are shoemakers, tailors, a baker, attendants, hairdressers and who else is not there. Here is the apartment of the mistress of Marakulin, Adonia Ivoilovna. She is a widow, rich, loves the blessed and holy fools. In the summer he leaves on a pilgrimage, leaving the apartment for Akumovna, the cook. Akumovna is loved around the yard: Akumovna was in the next world, went through torments - divine! From home, she is almost nowhere, and she wants everything in the air. Marakulin's neighbors are the Damaskin brothers: Vasily Alexandrovich, a clown, and Sergey Alexandrovich, who dances in the theater, walks - does not touch the ground. And even closer - two Faiths. Vera Nikolaevna Klikacheva, from the Nadezhda courses, pale, thin, earns money by massage, wants to prepare for a matriculation certificate in order to enter a medical institute, but it is difficult to study to the point of tears, and at night Vera howls, as if squeezed by a noose. Vera, Vera Ivanovna Vehoreva, is a student of the Theater School. Marakulin liked Verochka. She danced well, read with a voice. But her arrogance struck me, she said that she was a great actress, she shouted: "I will show who I am to the whole world." And Marakulin felt that she wanted to show the breeder Vakuev: she kept him for a year, but she got bored - she sent him to St. Petersburg to study for thirty rubles a month. At night Vera beat her head against the wall. And Marakulin listened in a frenzy and cursed every "louse". Everyone left for the summer, and in the fall Verochka did not return. After they saw her on the boulevard, with different men. Anna Stepanovna, a gymnasium teacher, settled in her place - robbed, offended, abandoned by her husband. Everyone had a hard time in the fall. The clown Vasily Alexandrovich fell from the trapeze, injured his legs, Anna Stepanovna was delayed in salary, Marakulin's work was over. And suddenly - a call to him from Moscow, from Pavel Plotnikov. Himself something Marakulin Moscow. Drove - remembered. In those distant years, Peter fiddled a lot with Pasha, and Plotnikov obeyed him as a senior. And later, when the adult Plotnikov drank and was ready to throw out anything, only Pyotr Alekseevich could appease his unrestrained friend. Marakulin also thought about his mother, Yevgenia Alexandrovna: he must go to the grave. He remembered her in the coffin - he was then ten years old, her cross was visible on the wax forehead from under the white halo. Zhenya's father served as a factory doctor for Plotnikov's father, often taking her with him. Zhenya had seen enough of factory life, her soul had been ill. She undertook to help the young technician Tsyganov, who arranged for factory readings, picked up books. Once everything was done, I hurried home. Yes, Tsyganov suddenly rushed at her and knocked her to the floor. She didn’t say anything at home, horror and shame tormented her. She blamed herself for everything: Tsyganov "simply went blind." And every time she came to help him, that evening was repeated. And she begged him to spare, not to touch, but he did not want to hear. A year later, Tsyganov disappeared from the factory, Zhenya was about to sigh, but then exactly the same thing happened another time, only with her brother, a cadet. And she begged him, but he did not want to hear. And when a year later his brother left Moscow, a young doctor, father's assistant, replaced his brother. And she was silent for three years. And she blamed herself. Her father, looking at her, was worried: was she overtired? He persuaded me to go to the village. And there, on Great Lent on Holy Week on Tuesday, she went into the forest and prayed for three days and three nights with all the burning of horror, shame and torment. And on Good Friday she appeared in the church, completely naked, with a razor in her hand. And when they carried the shroud, she began to cut herself, putting crosses on her forehead, on her shoulders, on her arms, on her chest. And her blood was shed on the shroud. She spent a year in the hospital, a barely noticeable scar remained on her forehead, and even then it was not visible under her hair. And when an acquaintance of her father, accountant Marakulin Alexei Ivanovich, explained to her - she decided, she told everything without concealment. He listened meekly and wept—he loved her. And the son only remembered: his mother was strange. Marakulin did not fall asleep all night, only once he forgot himself for a minute, and he had a dream, as if Plotnikov was persuading him: it is better to live without a head, and cuts his neck with a razor. And he arrived - Plotnikov had a fever: "He has no head, his mouth is on his back, and his eyes are on his shoulders. He is a beehive." Otherwise - the king of the polar state, controls the entire globe, wants - to the left rotates, wants - to the right, then he will stop, then he will let him go. Suddenly - after a month's hard drinking - Plotnikov Marakulin recognized: "Petrusha, a scoundrel tail ..." - and, staggering to the sofa, collapsed to sleep for two days. And the mother - cries and thanks: "Healed him, father!" When Pavel woke up, he dragged Marakulin to a tavern, where he confessed at the table: “I believe in you, Petrusha, as I believe in God, I won’t get along in business - I’ll call your name, - look, everything is the same again.” And he dragged him along, then he escorted him to the station. Already in the car, Marakulin remembered: he did not have time to visit his mother's grave. And a kind of sadness washed over him... Sadly tenants met Easter. Vasily Alexandrovich was discharged from the hospital, walked with difficulty, as if without heels. Vera Nikolaevna is not up to the certificate - the doctor advised to go somewhere to Abastuman: something was wrong with the lungs. Anna Stepanovna fell down, waited for her dismissal, and kept smiling with her sick, terrible smile. And when Sergei Alexandrovich made a condition with the theater about a trip abroad, other herds were called: "Russia is suffocating among all sorts of Burkovs. Everyone needs to go abroad, at least for a week." - "What money are we going to use?" Anna Stepanovna smiled. "I'll get the money," said Marakulin, remembering Plotnikov, "I'll get a thousand rubles!" And everyone believed. And heads turned. There, in Paris, they will all find their place on earth, work, matriculation, lost joy. “Verochka should be found,” Marakulin suddenly grabbed: she will become a great actress in Paris, and the world will descend on her. In the evenings, Akumovna guessed, and everyone got a big break. "But shouldn't we take Akumovna too?" Sergei Alexandrovich winked. "Well, I'll go and get some air!" And finally an answer came from Plotnikov: he transferred twenty-five rubles to Marakulin through the bank. And Sergey Alexandrovich left with the theater abroad, and Vera Nikolaevna and Anna Stepanovna persuaded him to settle with Vasily Alexandrovich in Finland, in Tur-Kiel - he needs care. From morning to evening, Marakulin walked around St. Petersburg from end to end, like a mouse in a mousetrap. And at night he dreamed of a snub-nosed, toothy, naked woman: “On Saturday,” she chatters her teeth, laughs, “mother will be in white!” Marakulin woke up in mortal anguish. It was Friday. And the whole thing went cold from the thought: his term is Saturday. And he did not want to believe the dream, and he believed, and, believing, he sentenced himself to death. And Marakulin felt that he couldn’t bear it, he couldn’t wait for Saturday, and in deathly anguish from the morning, wandering the streets, he only waited for the night: to see Verochka, tell her everything and say goodbye. Trouble drove him, threw him from street to street, confused him - this is a fate that cannot be avoided. And he wandered around the night - he tried to find Verochka. And Saturday came and was already coming to an end, the hour was drawing near. And Marakulin went to his place: maybe the dream means something else, why didn’t he ask Akumovna? I rang for a long time and entered from the back door. The door to the kitchen was unlocked. Akumovna was sitting in a white shawl. "Mother will be in white!" - Marakulin remembered and groaned. Akumovna jumped up and told how she climbed into the attic in the morning, the laundry hung there, and someone locked it. She climbed onto the roof, almost slipped, she tries to scream - there is no voice. I wanted to go down the gutter, but the janitor saw: "Don't climb," she shouts, "I'll unlock it!" Marakulin told his story. "What does this dream mean, Akumovna?" The old woman is silent. The kitchen clock wheezed, ticking twelve o'clock. "Akumovna?" Marakulin asked. "Has Sunday arrived?" "Sunday, sleep well." And, having waited until Akumovna calmed down, Marakulin took a pillow and, as the summer residents of Burkovo do, laying it on the windowsill, he hung himself free. And suddenly he saw green birch trees on the rubbish and bricks along the cabinet-stalls, felt his former lost joy slowly approaching, rolling over. And, unable to resist, with a pillow flew down from the windowsill. "Times are ripe," he heard as if from the bottom of a well, "punishment is near. Lie down, swamp head." Marakulin was lying in blood with a broken skull in the Burkov yard. S. R. Fedyakin Mikhail Petrovich Artsybashev (1878-1927) Sanin Roman (1908) The hero of the novel, Vladimir Sanin, lived for a long time outside the family, which is probably why he easily masters the threads of all the collisions that he notices in his home and in the familiar city. Sanina's sister, the beautiful Aida, "a delicate and charming interweaving of graceful tenderness and dexterous strength," is carried away by the officer Zarudin, who is completely unworthy of her. For some time they even meet to mutual satisfaction, with the slight difference that after the meeting Zarudin is in an even good mood, while Lida is melancholy and indignant at herself. Having become pregnant, she will rightly call him "cattle." Lida did not expect an offer from him at all, but he does not find words to calm the girl for whom he became the first man, and she has a desire to commit suicide. Her brother saves her from a rash step: “It’s not worth dying. Look how good it is ... Look how the sun shines, how water flows. Imagine that after your death they will find out that you died pregnant: what do you care! .. So you die not because you are pregnant, but because you are afraid of people, you are afraid that they will not let you live. The whole horror of your misfortune is not that it is a misfortune, but that you put it between yourself and life and think that there is nothing behind him. In fact, life remains the same as it was ... " The eloquent Sanin manages to convince the young but timid Novikov, who is in love with Lida, to marry her. He asks for her forgiveness from him (after all, it was only a “spring flirtation”) and advises, without thinking about self-sacrifice, to surrender to the end of his passion: “You have a bright face, and everyone will say that you are a saint, but to lose absolutely nothing , Lida still has the same hands, the same legs, the same passion, the same life ... It's nice to enjoy, knowing that you are doing a holy deed!" Mind and delicacy in Novikov is enough, and Lida agrees to marry him. But here it turns out that officer Zarudin is also familiar with pangs of conscience. He comes to the house, where he has always been well received, but this time he was almost thrown out the door and shouted after him not to return. Zarudin feels insulted and decides to challenge Sanin's "main offender" to a duel, but he categorically refuses to shoot himself ("I don't want to kill anyone and I don't want to be killed even more"). Having met in the city on the boulevard, they once again sort things out, and Sanin lays down Zarudin with one blow of his fist. A public insult and a clear understanding that no one sympathizes with him makes the dapper officer shoot himself in the temple. In parallel with Lida's love story, in a quiet patriarchal city, a romance is developing between a young revolutionary Yuri Svarozhich and a young teacher Zina Karsavina. To his shame, he suddenly realizes that he does not love a woman to the end, that he is not able to surrender to a mighty impulse of passion. He cannot take possession of a woman, have fun and leave her, but he cannot marry either, because he is afraid of petty-bourgeois happiness with his wife, children and household. Instead of breaking up with Zina, he commits suicide. Before his death, he studies Ecclesiastes, and "a clear death causes boundless heavy malice in his soul." Sanin, succumbing to the charm of Zina's beauty and summer night, declares his love for her. As a woman, she is happy, but she is tormented by remorse for the lost "pure love". She has no idea about the true reason for Svarozhich’s suicide, she is not convinced by Sanin’s words: “Man is a harmonious combination of body and spirit, until it is broken. Naturally, it is violated only by the approach of death, but we ourselves destroy it with an ugly worldview ... We have branded bodies with animality, they began to be ashamed of them, dressed them in a humiliating form and created a one-sided existence ... Those of us who are weak in essence do not notice this and drag out life in chains, but those who are weak only as a result of the false view of life and ourselves that has bound them, those - martyrs: the crumpled strength is torn out, the body asks for joy and torments them themselves. All their lives they wander among the divisions, clutching at every straw in the sphere of new moral ideals and in the end they are afraid to live, they yearn, they are afraid to feel ... " Sanin's bold thoughts frighten the local intelligentsia, teachers, doctors, students and officers, especially when Vladimir says that. Svarozhich "lived stupidly, tormented himself over trifles and died a stupid death." His thoughts of a "new man" or even a superman are poured throughout the book, in all dialogues, in conversations with his sister, mother, and numerous characters. He is outraged by Christianity in the form that was revealed to man at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. "In my opinion, Christianity has played a sad role in life... At a time when humanity was already becoming completely unbearable and there was already little enough for all the humiliated and destitute to take up their minds and with one blow overthrow the impossibly difficult and unjust order of things, simply destroying everything that lived on the blood of others, just at that time, quiet, humbly wise, promising Christianity appeared, condemned the struggle, promised inner bliss, inspired sweet sleep, gave the religion of non-resistance to evil by violence, and, to put it briefly, let off steam!.. On the human personality , too indomitable to become a slave, Christianity put on a penitential mantle and hid under it all the colors of the human spirit ... It deceived the strong, who could now, today, take their happiness into their hands, and transferred the center of gravity of their life to the future, to a dream about the non-existent, about the fact that none of them will see ... " Sanin - a revolutionary of the Nietzsche-Dionysian persuasion - is drawn by the author of the book as a very pretty and attractive face. To modern ears, he is neither cynical nor rude, but the Russian provinces, a stagnant swamp of inertia and idealism, reject him. O. V. Timasheva Alexander Stepanovich Green (1880-1932) Scarlet Sails Extravaganza. Tale (1920-1921) Longren, a closed and unsociable person, lived by making and selling models of sailing ships and steamers. The fellow countrymen did not really like the former sailor, especially after one incident. Once, during a severe storm, the shopkeeper and innkeeper Menners was carried away in his boat far out to sea. Longren was the only witness to what was happening. He calmly smoked his pipe, watching Manners call out to him in vain. Only when it became obvious that he could not be saved, Longren shouted to him that in the same way his Mary asked a fellow villager for help, but did not receive it. On the sixth day the shopkeeper was picked up among the waves by a steamer, and before his death he told about the culprit of his death. He did not tell only about how, five years ago, Longren's wife turned to him with a request to lend a little. She had just given birth to little Assol, the birth was not easy, and almost all of her money was spent on treatment, and her husband had not yet returned from swimming. Menners advised not to be touchy, then he is ready to help. The unfortunate woman went to the city in bad weather to lay a ring, caught a cold and died of pneumonia. So Longren remained a widower with his daughter in his arms and could no longer go to sea. Whatever it was, the news of Longren's demonstrative inaction struck the villagers more than if he had drowned a man with his own hands. The ill-will turned almost into hatred and also turned to the innocent Assol, who grew up alone with her fantasies and dreams and seemed to need neither peers nor friends. Her father replaced her mother, her friends, and fellow countrymen. Once, when Assol was eight years old, he sent her to the city with new toys, among which was a miniature yacht with scarlet silk sails. The girl lowered the boat into the stream. The stream carried him and carried him to the mouth, where she saw a stranger holding her boat in his hands. It was old Egle, the collector of legends and fairy tales. He gave the toy to Assol and told that years would pass and the prince would sail for her on the same ship under scarlet sails and take her to a distant country. The girl told her father about it. Unfortunately, a beggar who accidentally heard her story spread the rumor about the ship and the overseas prince throughout Capern. Now the children shouted after her: "Hey, gallows! The red sails are sailing!" So she came across as crazy. Arthur Gray, the only offspring of a noble and wealthy family, grew up not in a hut, but in a family castle, in an atmosphere of predetermination of every current and future step. This, however, was a boy with a very lively soul, ready to fulfill his own life purpose. He was determined and fearless. The keeper of their wine cellar, Poldishok, told him that two barrels of Cromwellian alicante were buried in one place, and that it was darker than cherry and thick as good cream. The casks are made of ebony and have double copper hoops on which is written: "I'll be drunk by Gray when he's in paradise." No one has tasted this wine and never will. "I'll drink it," Gray said, stamping his foot, and clenched his hand into a fist: "Paradise? He's here! .." For all that, he was extremely responsive to someone else's misfortune, and his sympathy always poured into real help. In the library of the castle, he was struck by a painting by some famous marine painter. She helped him understand himself. Gray secretly left the house and entered the schooner "Anselm". Captain Hop was a kind man, but a stern sailor. Having appreciated the mind, perseverance and love for the sea of a young sailor, Gop decided to "make a captain out of a puppy": to introduce him to navigation, maritime law, sailing and accounting. At the age of twenty, Gray bought a three-masted galliot "Secret" and sailed on it for four years. Fate brought him to Liss, an hour and a half walk from which was Caperna. With the onset of darkness, together with the sailor Letika Gray, taking fishing rods, he sailed on a boat in search of a suitable place for fishing. Under the cliff behind Kaperna they left the boat and lit a fire. Letika went fishing, and Gray lay down by the fire. In the morning he went for a wander, when suddenly he saw Assol sleeping in the thicket. He looked at the girl who struck him for a long time, and as he left, he took off the old ring from his finger and put it on her little finger. Then he and Letika went to Menners' tavern, where the young Hin Menners was now in charge. He said that Assol was crazy, dreaming of a prince and a ship with scarlet sails, that her father was responsible for the death of the elder Menners and a terrible person. Doubts about the veracity of this information intensified when a drunken collier assured that the innkeeper was lying. Gray and without outside help managed to understand something in this extraordinary girl. She knew life within the limits of her experience, but, moreover, she saw in phenomena a meaning of a different order, making many subtle discoveries that were incomprehensible and unnecessary to the inhabitants of Caperna. The captain was in many ways the same himself, a little out of this world. He went to Liss and found scarlet silk in one of the shops. In the city, he met an old acquaintance - a wandering musician Zimmer - and asked him to come to the "Secret" with his orchestra in the evening. The scarlet sails bewildered the crew, as did the order to advance towards Kaperna. Nevertheless, in the morning the "Secret" set out under scarlet sails, and by noon was already in sight of Caperna. Assol was shocked by the spectacle of a white ship with scarlet sails, from the deck of which music was pouring. She rushed to the sea, where the inhabitants of Caperna had already gathered. When Assol appeared, everyone fell silent and parted. The boat, in which Gray was standing, separated from the ship and headed towards the shore. After a while, Assol was already in the cabin. Everything happened just as the old man had predicted. On the same day, they opened a barrel of hundred-year-old wine, which no one had ever drunk before, and the next morning the ship was already far from Caperna, carrying away the crew, defeated by Gray's unusual wine. Only Zimmer did not sleep. He quietly played his cello and thought about happiness. I. G. Zhivotovsky Running on the waves Roman (1928) In the evening they played cards at Sters's. Among those gathered was Thomas Harvey, a young man stuck in Lissa due to a serious illness. During the game, Harvey heard a woman's voice say clearly: "Running on the waves". And the rest of the players did not hear anything. The day before, from the window of the tavern, Harvey had watched a girl step off the steamer, carrying herself as if she had been gifted with the secret to subjugate circumstances and people. The next morning, Thomas went to find out where the stranger who struck him was staying, and found out that her name was Bice Seniel. For some reason, he saw a connection between the stranger and yesterday's incident behind the cards. This conjecture was strengthened when in the port he saw a ship with light contours and on board its inscription: "Running on the waves." Captain Ghez, a surly and blunt man, refused to take Harvey as a passenger without the permission of the owner, a certain Brown. With Brown's note, the captain received Garvey almost kindly, introduced his assistants to Sincright and Butler, who made a good impression, unlike the rest of the crew, which looked more like rabble than sailors. During the voyage, Thomas learned that the ship was built by Ned Seniel. Seniel Harvey already saw the portrait of his daughter Bice on the captain’s cabin table. Gez bought the ship when Ned went broke. In Dagon, three women boarded. Harvey did not want to take part in the fun that had begun with the captain, and he remained at his place. After some time, hearing the screams of one of the women and the threat of a drunken captain, Harvey intervened and, defending himself, knocked the captain down with a blow to the jaw. In a rage, Gez ordered to put him in a boat and put it into the open sea. When the boat was already being carried away from the side, the woman wrapped up from head to toe deftly jumped to Harvey. Under a hail of ridicule, they set sail from the ship. When the stranger spoke, Harvey realized that this was the voice he had heard at Sters's party. The girl called herself Fresy Grant and told Harvey to head south. There he will be picked up by a ship going to Gel-Gyu. Having taken his word from him not to tell anyone about her, including Bice Seniel, Fresy Grant stepped into the water and flew away along the waves. By noon, Harvey actually met the "Dive" going to Gel-Gyu. Here, on the ship, Harvey heard about Fresy Grant again. One day, when the sea was completely calm, a rising wave lowered her father's frigate near the extraordinary beauty of the island, to which it was impossible to moor. Frezi, however, insisted, and then the young lieutenant casually noticed that the girl was so thin and light that she could run through the water. In response, she jumped onto the water and ran lightly over the waves. Then a fog descended, and when it cleared, neither the island nor the girl could be seen. It is said that she began to appear to the shipwrecked. Harvey listened to the legend with particular attention, but only Daisy, Proctor's niece, noticed. Finally, the Dive approached Gel-Gyu. The city was dominated by the carnival. Harvey went along with the motley crowd and found himself near a marble figure, on the pedestal of which was the inscription: "Running on the waves." The city, it turns out, was founded by Williams Hobbes, who was wrecked a hundred years ago in the surrounding waters. And he was saved by the freesi Grant, who ran along the waves and named the course that brought Hobbes to the then deserted shore, where he settled. Then a woman called to Harvey and said that a person in a yellow dress with brown fringe was waiting for him in the theater. Not doubting that it was Bice Seniel, Harvey hurried to the theatre. But the woman dressed as they said was Daisy. She was disappointed that Harvey called her by Beeche's name and quickly left. A minute later Harvey saw Bice Seniel. She had brought the money and was now looking for a meeting with Gez in order to buy the ship. Harvey managed to find out in which hotel Gez was staying. The next morning he went there with Butler. They went up to the captain. Gez lay with a bullet in his head. The people came running. Suddenly they brought Bice Seniel. It turned out that on the eve of the captain was very drunk. In the morning a young lady came to him, and then a shot rang out. The girl was detained on the stairs. But then Butler spoke and admitted that it was he who killed Geza. He had his own account with a scammer. It turns out that the Wave Runner was carrying a cargo of opium, and Butler was due a significant part of the income, but the captain deceived him. He did not find Gez in the room, and when he appeared with the lady, Butler hid in the closet. But the meeting ended in an ugly scene, and in order to get rid of Gez, the girl jumped out of the window onto the landing, where she was later detained. When Butler got out of the closet, the captain pounced on him, and Butler had no choice but to kill him. Upon learning the truth about the ship, Bice ordered the defiled ship to be auctioned off. Before parting, Harvey told Beach about his meeting with Fresy Grant. Bice suddenly began to insist that his story was a legend. Harvey, however, thought that Daisy would have taken his story with complete confidence, and remembered with regret that Daisy was engaged. Some time has passed. One day at Lega, Harvey met Daisy. She broke up with her fiancé, and in her story about this there was no feeling of regret. Harvey and Daisy soon got married. Their house on the seashore was visited by Dr. Filatr. He spoke about the fate of the ship "Running on the Waves", whose dilapidated hull he discovered near a deserted island. How and under what circumstances the crew left the ship remained a mystery. I saw filatre and Bice Seniel. She was already married and gave Harvey a short letter wishing him happiness. Daisy, she said, expected the letter to recognize Harvey's right to see what he wanted. Daisy Harvey speaks for everyone: "Thomas Harvey, you are right. Everything was as you said. Freesy Grant! You exist! Respond!" "Good evening, friends! - we heard from the sea. - I'm in a hurry, I'm running ..." I. G. Zhivotovsky Andrei Bely (1880-1934) silver dove Roman (1911) On the golden morning of a hot, stuffy, dusty Trinity Day, Daryalsky is walking along the road to the glorious village of Tselebeev, well, the same one that has rented Fedorov’s hut for two years and often went to his friend, the Tselebeevsky summer resident Schmidt, who spends days and nights reading philosophical books . Now Daryalsky lives in neighboring Gugolev, on the estate of Baroness Todrabe-Graaben - her granddaughter Katya, his bride. Three days since they got engaged, although the old baroness does not like the simpleton and the bean Daryalsky. Daryalsky goes to the Tselebeevsky church past the pond - the water in it is clear, blue - past the old birch on the shore; sinks with his gaze into the radiant - through the bent branches, through the sparkling tow of the spider - deep sky blue. Fine! But a strange fear creeps into the heart, and the head is spinning from the blue abyss, and the pale air, if you look closely, is completely black. In the temple - the smell of incense, mixed with the smell of young birches, peasant sweat and oily boots. Daryalsky prepared to listen to the service - and suddenly he saw: a woman in a red scarf was looking at him intently, her face was eyebrowless, white, all in mountain ash. A pockmarked woman, a werewolf hawk penetrates into his soul, enters his heart with quiet laughter and sweet peace ... Everyone has left the church. A woman in a red scarf comes out, behind her is the carpenter Kudeyarov. He looked at Daryalsky in such a strange way, alluringly and coldly, and went with the pock-marked woman, his worker. In the depths of the log Hidden is the hut of Mitriy Mironovich Kudeyarov, a carpenter. He makes furniture, and people from Likhov and Moscow order from him. He works during the day, in the evenings he goes to priest Vukol - the carpenter is well-read in writing, - and at night a strange light comes through the shutters of the Kudeyarov’s hut - either he prays, or the carpenter has mercy on his worker Matryona, and wanderer guests along the paths trodden to the carpenter’s house come... It is not in vain, apparently, that Kudeyar and Matryona prayed at night, the Lord blessed them to become the head of a new faith, a dove, then, a spiritual one - which is why their consent was called the consent of the Dove. And the faithful brethren had already appeared in the surrounding villages and in the city of Likhov, in the house of the richest flour miller Luka Silych Eropegin, but for the time being Kudeyar did not reveal himself to the pigeons. The dove's faith had to reveal itself In some mystery, the spiritual child was to be born into the world. But for this, a person was needed who was able to take upon himself the fulfillment of these mysteries. And Kudeyar's choice fell on Daryalsky. On Spirits Day, together with the beggar Abram, the messenger of Likhov's pigeons, Kudeyar came to Likhov, to the house of the merchant Eropegin, to his wife Fekla Matveevna. Luka Silych himself was away for two days and did not know that his house had turned into a pigeon parish, he only felt something was wrong in the house, rustles, whispers settled in him, but he felt empty from the sight of Fekla Matveevna, a stout woman , "tetehi-flat cakes". He was sick in the house and became weak, and the drug, which his wife secretly slipped into his tea on the instruction of the carpenter, apparently did not help. By midnight, the pigeon brethren gathered in the bathhouse, Fyokla Matveevna, Annushka the dovecote, her housekeeper, the old women of Likhov, the townspeople, the physician Sukhorukov. The walls are decorated with birch branches, the table is covered with turquoise satin with a red velvet heart sewn in the middle, tormented by a silver beaded dove - the dove's beak came out in needlework; a heavy silver dove shone above the tin lamps. The carpenter reads prayers, turns around, stretches out his hands over the tidy table, the brethren whirl in a round dance, a dove comes to life on a staff, roams, flies onto the table, claws at the atlas and pecks at raisins ... Spent the day in Tselebeevo Daryalsky. At night, through the forest, he returns to Gutolevo, strays, wanders, seized by nighttime fears, and as if he sees wolf eyes in front of him, calling the slanting eyes of Matryona, the pockmarked witch. "Katya, my clear Katya," he mutters, running from obsession. The whole night she waited for Daryalsky Katya, ash curls fall on her pale face, blue circles under her eyes clearly appeared. And the old baroness closed herself in proud silence, angry with her granddaughter. They drink tea in silence, the old footman Yevseich waits. And Daryalsky enters light and calm, as if yesterday had not happened and troubles were dreaming. But this lightness is deceitful; passions flare up... The troika, like a large black bush, adorned with bells, rushed wildly out of the vines and froze at the porch of the baroness's house. General Chizhikov - the one who works as a commission for merchants and about whom they say that he is not Chizhikov, but an agent of the third department Matvey Chizhov - and Luka Silych Eropegin came to the baroness. "Why did the guests come," thinks Daryalsky, looking out the window, "another figure is approaching, an absurd creature in a gray felt hat on a small, as if flattened head. His classmate Semyon Chukholka, he always appeared on Daryalsky's bad days. Yeropegin presents the bills to the baroness, says that her valuable papers are no longer worth anything, demands payment. Destroyed Baroness. Suddenly a strange creature with an owl's nose rises in front of her - Chukholka. "Out!" - shouts the baroness, but Katya is already at the door, and Daryalsky steps up in anger ... A slap in the face snapped loudly in the air, the baroness's hand on Peter's cheek unclenched ... It seemed that the ground between these people collapsed and everyone rushed into the gaping abyss. Darialsky says goodbye to his beloved place, he will never set foot here again. In Tselebeevo, Daryalsky staggers, drinks, asks about Matryona, a carpenter's worker. Finally, at the old hollow oak, he met her. She looked with slanting eyes, invited me to come in. And another person is walking towards the oak tree. Beggar Abram with a tin dove on a staff. He talks about pigeons and the faith of the pigeon Daryalsky. "I am yours," replies Daryalsky. Luka Silych Eropegin was returning to Likhov, home, dreaming about the charms of Annushka, his housekeeper. He stood on the platform, he kept looking askance at the elderly gentleman, dry, lean, - his back is slender, straight, like that of a young man. On the train, the gentleman introduced himself to him, Pavel Pavlovich Todrabe-Graaben, the senator, on the business of his sister, Baroness Graaben, arrived. No matter how he plays Luka Silych, he understands that he cannot cope with the senator and cannot see the baroness's money. A gloomy one approaches the house, and the gates are locked. Eropegin sees: something is wrong in the house. He let go of his wife, who wanted to go to the Tselebeevsky priesthood, he himself went around the rooms and found objects of pigeon zeal in his wife's chest: vessels, long, floor-length shirts, a piece of satin with a silver dove tormenting the heart. Annushka the dovecote enters, embraces tenderly, promises to tell everything at night. And at night she mixed the potion into his glass, Eropegin had a blow, he lost his speech. Katya and Yevseich are sending letters to Tselebeevo - Daryalsky is hiding; Schmidt, who lives in his dacha among philosophical books, on astrology and Kabbalah, on secret wisdom, looks at Daryalsky's horoscope, says that he is in danger; Pavel Pavlovich calls back from the Asian abyss, to the west, to Gugolevo, - Daryalsky answers that he is going to the East. He spends all the time with the pockmarked woman Matryona, they are getting closer. How Darialsky looks at Matryona - she is a witch, but her eyes are clear, deep, blue. The carpenter, who was leaving home, returned, found the lovers. He is annoyed that they got along without him, and even more angry that Matryona fell deeply in love with Daryalsky. He puts his hand on Matrena's chest, and a golden ray enters her heart, and the carpenter weaves a golden tow. Matryona and Daryalsky are entangled in the golden web, unable to escape from it... Daryalsky works as an assistant at Kudeyar’s, in Kudeyar’s hut they love Matryona and pray with the carpenter at night. And it’s as if a child is born from those spiritual chants, turns into a dove, rushes at Daryalsky like a hawk and tears his chest ... Daryalsky feels heavy in his soul, he thinks, recalls the words of Paracelsus that an experienced magnetizer can use human love forces for his own purposes. And a guest came to the carpenter, the coppersmith Sukhorukov from Likhov. During the prayers, everything seemed to Daryalsky that there were three of them, but someone fourth was with them. I saw Sukhorukov, I understood: he is the fourth one. Sukhorukov and the carpenter are whispering in the tearoom. This coppersmith brought Annushka a potion for Eropegin. The carpenter complains that Daryalsky turned out to be weak, and it is impossible to let him go. And Daryalsky was talking to Yevseich, looking askance at the tinker and carpenter, listening to their whisper, and deciding to go to Moscow. The next day Daryalsky goes with Sukhorukov to Likhov. He watches the coppersmith, squeezes Daryalsky's cane in his hand and feels the bulldog in his pocket. Behind them, in a droshky, someone is galloping after them, and Daryalsky is driving the cart. He is late for the Moscow train, there are no places in the hotel. In pitch darkness, the night one runs into a coppersmith and goes to spend the night in the Eropeginsky house. The weak old man Eropegin, trying to say something, seems to him death itself, Annushka the dovecote says that he will sleep in the wing, leads him to the bathhouse and closes the door with a key. Daryalsky recollects himself, and left his coat with the bulldog in the house. And now four men are trampling at the door and waiting for something, because they were people. "Come in!" - Daryalsky shouts, and they entered, a blinding blow knocked Daryalsky down. The sighs of four stooped fused backs over some object were heard; then a clear, as if crunching of a squeezed chest, and it became quiet ... They took off their clothes, wrapped the body in something and carried it away. "A woman with flowing hair walked in front with the image of a dove in her hands." N. D. Aleksandrov Petersburg Roman (1913) Apollon Apollonovich Ableukhov is a senator of a very respectable family: he has Adam as his ancestor. However, if we talk about times not so distant, then during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the Kirkiz-Kaisatsky Mirza Ab-Lai entered the Russian service, was named Andrei in baptism and received the nickname Ukhov. He was the great-great-grandfather of Apollon Apollonovich. Apollon Apollonovich is preparing to go to the Institution, he was the head of the Institution and from there he sent circulars throughout Russia. He ran the circulars. Apollon Apollonovich had already got up, wiped himself with eau de cologne, wrote down in his "Diary" - which will be published after his death - an idea that came to mind. He ate coffee, inquired about his son, and, having learned that his son Nikolai Apollonovich had not yet got up, he grimaced. Every morning the senator asked about his son and grimaced every morning. He sorted out the correspondence and put aside, without opening, a letter that had come from Spain from his wife Anna Petrovna. Two and a half years ago the couple parted, Anna Petrovna left with an Italian singer. Young, in a black top hat, in a gray coat, pulling on a black glove as he walked, Apollon Apollonovich ran down the porch and got into the carriage. The carriage flew to Nevsky. It flew in a greenish fog along the avenue that rushed to infinity, past the cubes of houses with strict numbering, past the circulating public, from which Apollon Apollonovich was reliably protected by four perpendicular walls. The senator did not like open spaces, could not bear zigzag lines. He liked the geometric regularity of cubes, parallelepipeds, pyramids, the clarity of straight lines, and the planning of St. Petersburg avenues. The islands rising in the fog, into which the arrows of the avenues pierced, aroused fear in him. The resident of the islands, the raznochinny, factory people, the inhabitants of chaos, the senator believed, threaten St. Petersburg. From a huge gray house on the seventeenth line of Vasilyevsky Island, descending a black staircase strewn with cucumber peels, a stranger with a black mustache comes out. In his hands is a bundle, which he carefully holds. Across the Nikolaevsky bridge, in a stream of people - blue shadows in the dusk of a gray morning - the shadow of a stranger to Petersburg. He hated Petersburg for a long time. A carriage stopped at the crossroads... Suddenly. Frightened, Apollon Apollonovich raised his gloved hands, as if trying to protect himself, leaned back into the depths of the carriage, hit the wall with a cylinder, and exposed a bare skull with huge protruding ears. The flaming, staring at him look close to the carriage of the walking commoner pierced him. The carriage flew by. The stranger was further carried away by the flow of people. Couple after couple flowed along the Nevsky, fragments of words formed into phrases, Neva gossip was woven: "They are going to ...", "Throw ...", "Who is ...", "In Abl ...". The provocation went on a spree along Nevsky, the words in the stranger turned into a provocation, the provocation was in himself. "Look, what courage, Elusive," the stranger heard behind him. Out of the autumn dankness, a stranger enters the restaurant. Apollon Apollonovich was somehow especially concentrated that day. Idle thoughts played out, a brain game started up. He remembers that he saw a stranger in his house. Out of the senator's brain game, out of an ephemeral being, a stranger came out and established himself in reality. When the stranger disappeared at the door of the restaurant, two silhouettes appeared; fat, tall, clearly distinguished by his build, and next to him was the lousy figure of a short gentleman with a huge wart on his face. Separate phrases of their conversation were heard: "Senator Ableukhov to issue a circular...", "The elusive one will have to...", "Nikolai Apollonovich will have to...", "The matter is staged like a clockwork...", "They would receive a salary." The figure of an unpleasant fat man appeared at the door of the establishment, the stranger turned around, and the lady waved her cat hat to him in a friendly way. "Alexander Ivanovich ..", "Lippanchenko". The person sits down at the table. “Be careful,” the stranger warns him, noticing that the fat man wants to put his elbow on a sheet of newspaper: the sheet was covered with a knot. Lippanchenko's lips trembled. He asks to take the dangerous little bundle for storage to Nikolai Apollonovich Ableukhov, and at the same time to hand over the letter. For two and a half years, Nikolai Apollonovich has not met his father for morning coffee, does not wake up before noon, walks around in a Bukhara dressing gown, Tatar shoes and a yarmulke. However, he still reads Kant and draws conclusions, builds chains of logical premises. In the morning he received a box from the dresser: in the box is a satin red domino. Nikolai Apollonovich sets off into the damp Petersburg twilight, throwing a Nikolaevka coat over his shoulders. A piece of red satin peeks out under the Nikolaevka. Memories of unsuccessful love swept over him, he remembered that foggy night when he almost threw himself from the bridge into dark waters and when the plan matured in him to make a promise to one frivolous party. Nikolai Apollonovich enters the entrance of the house on the Moika and remains in the darkness of the entrance. A woman's shadow, burying her face in her muff, runs along the Moika and enters the entrance. The maid opens the door and screams. In the streak of light that cut through the darkness, there is a red domino in a black mask. Putting the mask forward, the domino holds out a bloody sleeve. And when the door slammed shut, the lady sees a visiting card lying at the door: a skull with bones instead of a noble crown and typed words in fashionable type - "I'm waiting for you in a masquerade there, such and such a date. Red Jester." Sofya Petrovna Likhutina lives in the house on the Moika, she is married to lieutenant Sergei Sergeyevich Likhutin; Nikolai Apollonovich was the best man at her wedding. Nikolai Apollonovich often visited this house, where the Little Russian Lippanchenko came, and the student Varvara Evgrafovna, who was secretly in love with Ableukhov. The noble appearance of Nikolai Apollonovich first captivated Sofya Petrovna, but behind the ancient mask something frog-like suddenly opened up in him. Sofya Petrovna both loved and hated Ableukhov, attracted him, repulsed him from her, and once in anger called him the Red Jester. Ableukhov stopped coming. In the morning, a stranger with a mustache comes to Nikolai Apollonovich. The visit is not too pleasant for Ableukhov, he remembers the recklessly given promise, he thinks to refuse, but somehow everything does not work out. And the stranger asks to take the bundle for storage, opens up, complains of insomnia, loneliness. All of Russia knows him as Elusive, but he himself is locked in his apartment on Vasilyevsky Island, he does not go anywhere. After the exile of Yakutsk, he met a special one in Helsingfors and now depends on the person. Apollon Apollonovich arrives, his son introduces him to a university student Alexander Ivanovich Dudkin. Apollon Apollonovich recognizes him as yesterday's commoner. A rumble rolls across Petersburg. There will be a rally. With the news of the rally, Varvara Evgrafovna comes to Sofya Petrovna and asks to convey a letter to Nikolai Apollonovich Ableukhov, whom, according to rumors, Sofya Petrovna is to meet at the ball at the Tsukatovs. Nikolai Apollonovich knew that Sofya Petrovna would be at the meeting. Varvara Evgrafovna always takes everyone to the rallies. In a Nikolaevka coat, worn over a red domino, he rushes into the St. Petersburg twilight. Escaped from the stuffy hall, where speakers were speaking and shouts of "Strike!" were heard, Sofya Petrovna runs to her home. She sees on the bridge: a red domino in a black mask rushes towards her. But two steps away from Sofya Petrovna, a red domino slips and falls, revealing light-green pantalon thongs. "A frog, a freak, a red jester," Sofya Petrovna shouts and, in anger, kicks the jester. She runs home upset and in a fit tells everything to her husband. Sergei Sergeevich became terribly agitated and, pale, clenching his fists, paced the room. He forbade going to the ball to the Tsukatovs. Sofya Petrovna was offended. Offended by her husband and Ableukhov, she opened the letter brought by Varvara Evgrafovna, read it and decided to take revenge. In the costume of Madame Pompadour, despite the prohibition of her husband, Sofya Petrovna arrived at the ball. Apollon Apollonovich also arrived. They were waiting for masks. And then a red domino appears, and then other masks. Madame Pompadour invites a red domino to dance, and in the dance she hands over a letter. Does not recognize Sofya Petrovna Ableukhov. In the corner room, he rips off the envelope, lifts the mask and reveals himself. Scandal. Red domino - Nikolai Ableukhov. And already a short gentleman with a wart informs Apollon Apollonovich about this. Having run out of the entrance, in the alley, by the light of a lantern, Ableukhov again reads the letter. He does not believe his eyes. They remember this promise to him, they offer to blow up their own father with a time bomb, which is stored in the bundle handed to him in the form of a sardine. And then a short gentleman comes up, carries him along, leads him to a tavern. At first he appears as the illegitimate son of Apollon Apollonovich, and then as Pavel Yakovlevich Morkovin, an agent of the security department. He says that if Nikolai Apollonovich does not fulfill the requirements stated in the letter, he will arrest him. Sergei Sergeevich Likhutin, when Sofya Petrovna left for the ball, despite the prohibition, decides to commit suicide. He shaved his mustache and shaved his neck, smeared the rope with soap, fastened it to the chandelier and climbed onto a chair. The doorbell rang, at that moment he stepped out of his chair and ... fell. I didn't hang myself. Suicide turned out to be an even greater humiliation for Lieutenant Likhutin. This is how Sofia Petrovna discovered him. She leaned over him and wept softly. Apollo Apollonovich firmly decided to himself that his son was a notorious scoundrel; the scandal at the ball, that is, the appearance of Nikolai Apollonovich in a red domino, makes him decide to sort things out. But at the last moment, Apollon Apollonovich finds out about the arrival of Anna Petrovna and, unexpectedly for himself, only informs his son of this and looks not with hatred, but with love. Another moment, and Nikolai Apollonovich would throw himself at his father's feet in repentance, but, noticing his movement, Apollon Apollonovich suddenly points to the door in anger and shouts that Nikolai Apollonovich is no longer his son. In his room, Nikolai Apollonovich takes out a sardine bowl, a sardine bowl of terrible content. Without a doubt, it should be thrown into the Neva, but for now ... for now, at least delay the terrible event by turning the key of the clock mechanism twenty times. Alexander Ivanovich wakes up broken and sick. With difficulty, he gets up and goes outside. Here Nikolai Apollonovich, excited and indignant, rushes at him. From his confused explanations, it becomes clear to Dudkin for whom the "sardine of terrible content" is intended, he also recalls the letter that he forgot to give to Nikolai Apollonovich and asked Varvara Evgrafovna to do it. Alexander Ivanovich assures Ableukhov that there has been a misunderstanding, promises to settle everything and asks to immediately throw the sardine into the Neva. The strange word "enfranchish" beats in Alexander Ivanovich's head. He comes to a small house with a garden. The dacha overlooked the sea, a bush was beating through the window. He is met by the hostess Zoya Zakharovna Fleisch. She is talking to some Frenchman. Singing comes from the next room. Zoya Zakharovna explains that this is the Persian Shishnarfiev. The surname seemed familiar to Dudkin. Lippanchenko comes, he looks at Dudkin disdainfully, even disgustedly. He talks with a Frenchman, makes him wait for a conversation with himself. As a high-ranking person he treats Alexander Ivanovich. And now the person has the power. Dudkin is removed, he has no influence, he is completely dependent on the person, and the person does not hesitate to threaten him. Dudkin returns home. On the stairs he is met by darkness and strange geniuses at the door of the apartment. His guest, Shishnarfiev, is waiting in the room, assuring us that Petersburg, a city in a swamp, is in fact the kingdom of the dead; recalls the meeting in Helsingfors, when Alexander Ivanovich spoke out for the destruction of culture, saying that Satanism would replace Christianity. "Enfranches!" exclaims Dudkin. "You called me, so I came," the voice answers. The Persian thins out, turns into a silhouette, then simply disappears and speaks as if from Alexander Ivanovich himself. That's who he concluded an agreement with in Helsingfors, and Lippanchenko was only an image of these forces. But now Dudkin knows what he will do with Lippanchenko. A heavy-voiced galloping is heard outside the window. The Bronze Horseman enters the room. He puts his hand on Dudkin's shoulder, breaking his collarbone: "Nothing: die, be patient," and pours red-hot metal into his veins. You need to find a metal place, Dudkin understands in the morning, goes to the store and buys scissors ... On the street, Nikolai Apollonovich meets Likhutin. The one in civilian clothes, clean-shaven, without a mustache; drags him along, takes him home for explanations, drags Ableukhov into the apartment, pushes the room into the back. Sergey Sergeevich nervously paced, it seems that he will beat Ableukhov now. Nikolai Apollonovich pitifully makes excuses... That morning Apollon Apollonovich did not go to the Institution. In a dressing gown, with a rag in his hands, wiping the dust from the bookshelves, Anna's youthful gray-haired cavalier, who arrived with the news of the general strike, finds her with it. Apollon Apollonovich is retiring, they began to say in the Institution. Apollon Apollonovich walks around his deserted house, enters his son's rooms. An open drawer draws his attention. In absent-mindedness, he takes some strange heavy object, leaves with it and forgets it in his office ... Nikolai Apollonovich tried to escape from Likhutin, but he was thrown into a corner and lies humiliated, with his tailcoat torn off. "I won't kill you," says Sergey Sergeevich. He dragged Ableukhov to his place, because Sofya Petrovna told him about the letter. He wants to lock up Ableukhov, go to his house, find a bomb and throw it into the Neva. Pride woke up in Nikolai Apollonovich, he is indignant that Sergey Sergeevich could consider him capable of killing his own father. The dacha overlooked the sea, a bush was beating through the window. Ligshanchenko and Zoya Zakharovna were sitting in front of the samovar. The bush boiled. A figure was hiding in its branches, languishing and trembling. It seemed to her that the horseman was pointing with his outstretched hand at the windows of the dacha. The figure approached the house and recoiled again ... Lilpanchenko looks around, the noise outside the windows attracts his attention, with a candle he goes around the house - no one ... The small figure runs up to the house, climbs into the bedroom window and hides ... The candle casts fantastic shadows, Lippanchenko locks the door and goes to bed . In the ensuing phosphorescent twilight, a shadow clearly emerges and approaches him. Lippanchenko rushes to the door and feels as if a stream of boiling water went down his back, and then he felt a stream of boiling water under his navel ... When they came to his room in the morning, Lippanchenko was not there, but there was a corpse; and the figure of a man with a strange grin on his white face, sitting on a dead man, clutching scissors in his hand. Apollon Apollonovich came to the hotel to Anna Petrovna and returned home with her ... Nikolai Apollonovich searches through his closets in his room in search of a sardine. Nowhere is she. The servant enters with the news - Anna Petrovna has arrived - and asks to go into the living room. After two and a half years, the Ableukhovs again dine together ... Nikolai Apollonovich decides that Lihutin has already taken the sardine in his absence. He escorts his mother to the hotel, calls in on the Likhutins, but there is darkness in the windows of their apartment, the Likhutins were not at home ... Nikolai Apollonovich could not sleep that night. He went out into the corridor, sank down on his haunches, took a nap from fatigue. I woke up on the floor in the hallway. There was a heavy roar... Nikolai Apollonovich ran up to the place where the door to his father's office had just been. There was no door: there was a huge failure. In the bedroom, Apollon Apollonovich sat on the bed with his arms around his knees and roared. Seeing his son, he started to run away from him, ran through the corridor and locked himself in the toilet ... Apollon Apollonovich retired and moved to the village. Here he lived with Anna Petrovna, wrote memoirs, in the year of his death they saw the light. Nikolai Apollonovich, who had been lying in a fever all the time of the investigation, went abroad, to Egypt. He returned to Russia only after the death of his father. N. D. Aleksandrov Kotik Letaev Tale (1917-1918, published - 1922) Here, on a steep line, I cast long and silent glances into the past. The first moments of consciousness on the threshold of my three years - rise to me. I am thirty five years old. I am standing in the mountains, among the chaos of steep-horned rocks, heaping boulders, reflections of diamond peaks. The past is known to me and swirls with clubs of events. My life arises for me from the gorges of the first infancy to the steepness of this self-conscious moment, and from its steepness to the ravines of death - the Future flees. The path of descent is terrible. In thirty-five years my body will burst out of me, escaping along the rapids, the glacier will overflow with waterfalls of feelings. Self-consciousness is naked to me; I stand among dead fallen concepts and meanings, rational truths. The architectonics of meanings was comprehended by rhythm. The meaning of life is life; my life, it is in the rhythm of years, facial expressions past flying events. Rhythm lit up a rainbow on water-jet drops of meanings. To myself, the baby, I turn my gaze and say: "Hello, you, strange!" I remember how the first "you are" was composed to me from ugly delirium. There was no consciousness yet, there were no thoughts, no world, and there was no I. There was some kind of growing, whirling, fiery stream, scattered with the fires of red carbuncles: flying swiftly. Later - a similarity was opened - a ball directed inward; sensations rushed from the periphery to the center, striving to master the infinite, and burned, exhausted, not mastering it. I was told later that I had a fever; I was sick for a long time at that time: scarlet fever, measles ... The world, thoughts, - scum on the self that has become, consciousness has not yet formed for me; there was no division into "I" and "not-I"; and in the ugly world the first images were born - myths; out of the breathing chaos - like grinning masses of land from the waters - reality emerged. I stuck my head out into the world, but my feet were still in the womb; and my feet snaked: the world surrounded me with snake-footed myths. It was not a dream because there was no awakening, I had not yet woken up into reality. It was looking back, behind the fleeing consciousness. There I spied in the bloody spills of red carbuncles something running and sticking into me; this contacted me with the old woman - fiery-breathing, with evil eyes. I saved myself from the overtaking old woman, painfully trying to tear myself away from her. Imagine a temple; temple of the body that will rise in three days. In a swift run from the old woman, I burst into the temple - the old woman remained outside - under the vaults of the ribs I enter the altar; under the unique curves of the dome of the skull. Here I remain, and behold, I hear the cries: "It's coming, it's getting close!" He goes, priest, and looks. Voice: "I ..." It's come, it's - "I ...". I see the wings of outstretched arms: we are familiar with this gesture and given, of course, in the spread of the wide arches of the superciliary ... The outside world clearly poked its way into my apartment; in the first moments of consciousness rise: rooms, corridors, into which if you enter, you will not come back; and you will be engulfed by objects, it is not yet clear what. There, among the armchairs in gray covers, the lilo of my grandmother rises to me in tobacco smoke, her bare skull is covered with a cap, and something formidable in appearance. In the dark labyrinths of the corridors, Dr. Dorionov is approaching with a stomp - he seems to me like a bull-headed minotaur. The world is swarming to me with the swaying of flying lines in the drawings of the wallpaper, surrounds me with snake-footed myths. I'm going through a catacomb period; the walls are permeable, and it seems that if they collapse, the desert will appear in the ribs of the pyramids, and there: Lev. I distinctly remember the cry: "The lion is coming"; shaggy mane and mouth grin, a huge body among the yellowing sands. Later they told me that Leo was a St. Bernard, on the Dog Playground he approached the playing children. But later I thought: it was not a dream and not reality. But the Lion was; they shouted: “The lion is coming,” and the lion was walking. Life is growth; life becomes in growths, in disgrace the first growth was for me - an image. The first images are myths: a man - he contacted my grandmother - an old woman, I saw in her something from a bird of prey - a bull and a lion .... The outside world appeared to me as an apartment, I began to live in the reality that had become, in the reality that had fallen away from me. The rooms are the bones of ancient creatures I know; and the memory of memory, of the pre-corporeal, is alive in me; reflect it on everything. My dad, flying to the club, to the university, with a red face in glasses, is a fiery Hephaestus, he threatens to throw me into the abyss of ugliness. Aunt Doga's pale face looks in the mirrors, reflected endlessly; in it - a sound of a bad infinity, the sound of drops falling from a tap - something te-ti-do-ti-but. I live in the nursery with my nanny Alexandra. I don't remember her voice, she's like a mute rule; I live with her according to the law. Through a dark corridor I make my way to the kitchen with her, where the fiery mouth of the stove is open and our cook is fighting with a fiery serpent with a poker. And it seems to me that I was saved by a chimney sweep from the red chaos of fiery tongues, through the pipe I was pulled out into the world. In the morning, from the bed, I look at the brown locker, with dark stains of knots. In the ruby light of the icon-lamp I see an icon: the Magi bowed, - one completely black - this is a Moor, they tell me - over a child. I know this world; I continued our apartment to the Arbat Trinity Church, here in the blue puffs of incense smoke the Golden Hump spoke, the Gray Antiquity spoke, and I heard a voice: "Bless, lord, censer." The fairy tale continued the myth, the farce Petrushka. Alexandra's nanny is no longer there, the governess Raisa Ivanovna reads to me about kings and swans. They sing in the living room, half-sleep interferes with the fairy tale, and the voice joins the fairy tale. Concepts have not yet developed consciousness, I think in metaphors; I faint: then - where they fall, fail; probably to Pfeffer, the dentist downstairs. Daddy's fables, the terrible boo-boo-boo behind the wall of Khristofor Khristoforovich Pompul - he is all in London looking for statistical data and, dad assures, breaks the landau of Moscow cabbies: London, probably, is the landau, they scare me. The voice of pre-modern antiquity is still audible to me - the memory of it turns into titans, the memory of memory. Concepts - a shield from the titans ... Feeling space, I look at the world, at Moscow houses from the windows of our Arbat house. This world collapsed in an instant and moved apart into the vastness in Kasyanovo - we are in the village in the summer. The rooms are gone; got up - a pond with dark water, a bathhouse, experiencing a thunderstorm, - thunder - an accumulation of electricity, papa calms, - Raisa Ivanovna's gentle agate look ... Back in Moscow - now our apartment seemed cramped. Our dad is a mathematician, Professor Mikhail Vasilyevich Letaev, his office is lined with books; he calculates everything. Mathematicians visit us; my mother does not like them, she is afraid - and I will become a mathematician. Throw the curls off my forehead, say - not my forehead - the second mathematician! - my premature development frightens her, and I am afraid to talk with dad. In the morning, fooling around, I caress to my mother - Affectionate Kitty! To the opera, to the ball, my mother leaves in a carriage with Poliksena Borisovna Bleschenskaya, tells us about her life in St. Petersburg. This is not our world, another universe; dad calls him empty: "They are empty, Lizochek ..." In the evenings Raisa Ivanovna and I hear music from the living room; mom is playing. The rooms are filled with music, the sound of the spheres, revealing hidden meanings. The music continued to play for me. In the drawing-room I heard the trampling of feet, a "nativity scene" was arranged, and the figure of Ruprecht from the canopy of the green spruce moved onto the locker; looked at me from the locker for a long time, then got lost somewhere. The music continued to play for me, Ruprecht, the red-yellow clown presented to me by Sonya Dadarchenko, the red worm tied by Raisa Ivanovna - jakke - the snake Yakke. My dad has already brought me a Bible, read about paradise, Adam, Eve and the snake - the red snake Yakka. I know: and I will be expelled from paradise, Raisa Ivanovna will be taken away from me - what kind of tenderness with a child! Would give birth to your own! - Raisa Ivanovna is no longer with me. "I remember the days that have flown by - not days, but diamond holidays; days now are only weekdays." I am surprised at sunsets - in the bloody splits, the sky flooded all the rooms with red. Horrifyingly recognizable as a disk, a huge sun stretches its arms towards us ... I heard about spirits, confessors, spiritual things from my grandmother. I became aware of the breath of the spirit; like a hand in a glove, the spirit entered the consciousness, grew out of the body as a blue flower, opened into a bowl, and circled over the bowl of a dove. The abandoned Kitty was sitting in an armchair, - and I fluttered over him in a flutter of wings, illuminated by Light; the Mentor appeared - and you, my unborn princess, were with me; we met after and got to know each other... I wore a spiritual robe: I put on clothes made of light, two semicircles of the brain flapped my wings. The consciousness of the spirit is inexpressible, and I was silent. The world became incomprehensible to me, it became empty and cold. "I have already heard about the crucifixion from the Pope. I am waiting for it." A moment, a room, a street, a village, Russia, history, the world - a chain of my extensions, before this self-conscious moment. I know, crucifying myself, I will be reborn, the ice of words, concepts and meanings will break; the Word will flare up like the sun - in Christ we die in order to be resurrected in the Spirit. N. D. Aleksandrov Alexander Alexandrovich Blok (1880-1921) Stranger Lyric, drama (1906) A street tavern, vulgar and cheap, but with a claim to romance: huge identical ships are floating along the wallpaper ... A slight touch of unreality: the owner and the sex look alike, like twins, one of the visitors is "the spitting image of Verlaine", the other is the "spitting image of Hauptmann" . Drunken companies, loud noise. Separate remarks, fragmentary dialogues add up to broken music of tavern vulgarity, addictive like a whirlpool. When a light allegro predicted the tonality of the action, the Poet appears: wasted, worn out in taverns, drunkenly reveling in the fact that he intends to "tell his soul to a figurehead" (sexual) Vague poetic longing, a flickering dream of a "Stranger" in rustling silks, whose shining face shines through a dark veil, contrasting with the drunken vulgarity advancing from all sides, intensifying its pressure, but at the same time, as if generated by it. And the languid melody of a dream is woven into the rude tavern cries, and the shabby Man in a coat offers the Poet a cameo with a marvelous image, and everything sways in smoke, floats, and "the walls part. The finally tilted ceiling reveals the sky - winter, blue, cold." Janitors are dragging the intoxicated Poet across the bridge. The astrologer follows the course of the luminaries: "Ah, the star is falling, the star is flying ... Fly here! Here! Here!" - sings the verse of his adagio. Summoned by him, a beautiful woman appears on the bridge - the Stranger. She is all in black, her eyes are full of surprise, her face still retains a starry brilliance. Towards her smoothly goes Blue - beautiful, like her, too, perhaps, torn from heaven. He speaks to her in the dreamy language of the stars, and the winter air is filled with the music of the spheres - eternal and therefore bewitchingly sleepy, cold, incorporeal. And the "falling maiden-star" craves "earthly speeches." "Do you want to hug me?" "I dare not touch you." - "Do you know passion?" - "My blood is silent" ... And Blue disappears, melts, swirling with a snow column. And the Stranger is picked up by the passing Master - an oily, lustful dandy. Crying on the bridge Stargazer - mourning a fallen star. The poet is crying, waking up from a drunken dream and realizing that he had missed his dream. The snow is falling more and more thickly, it brings down the wall, the snow walls are compacted, folding into ... ... The walls of the large living room. Guests are gathering, "a general hum of meaningless conversations", as if secular, in a higher tone than conversations in a tavern, but exactly about the same thing. Separate remarks are repeated word for word ... And when the Master flies in, having taken the Stranger away, and pronounces the already sounded phrase: "Kostya, friend, yes she is at the door", when everyone suddenly begins to feel the strangeness of what is happening, vaguely guess what it was, was, was - then the Poet appears. And behind him enters the Stranger, embarrassing the guests and hosts with his unexpected appearance, forcing the street don Juan to embarrassingly hide. But the polished meanness of the living room is impenetrable; the conversation swirled again in the same tavern circle. Only the Poet is thoughtful and quiet, looking at the Stranger - not recognizing ... The belated Astrologer politely asks if he managed to catch up with the disappeared vision. "My searches were fruitless," the Poet replies coldly. In his eyes, "emptiness and darkness. He forgot everything" ... The unrecognized maiden disappears. "There is a bright star outside the window." E. A. Zlobina booth Lyric drama (1906) On the stage - an ordinary theater room with three walls, a window and a door. Mystics of both sexes in frock coats and fashionable dresses sit at the table with a concentrated look. Pierrot in a white robe is sitting by the window. Mystics are waiting for the arrival of Death, Pierrot is waiting for the arrival of his bride Colombina, Suddenly and incomprehensibly from where a girl of extraordinary beauty appears. She is dressed in white with a braided braid over her shoulders. Enthusiastic Pierrot kneels in prayer. The mystics recline in horror: "Arrived! Emptiness in her eyes! Features as pale as marble! This is Death!" Pierrot tries to dissuade the Mystics, saying that this is Columbine, his bride, but the Chairman of the mystical assembly assures Pierrot that he is mistaken, this is Death. Confused, Pierrot rushes to the exit, Colombina follows him. The Harlequin appears and takes Colombina away, taking her by the hand. The mystics hang lifelessly on their chairs - it seems that they are hanging empty frock coats. The curtain closes, the Author jumps out onto the stage, trying to explain to the public the essence of the play he wrote: it is about the mutual love of two young souls; a third person blocks their way, but the barriers finally fall, and the lovers unite forever. He, the Author, does not recognize any allegories... However, they do not let him finish, a hand sticking out from behind the curtain grabs the Author by the collar, and he disappears backstage. The curtain opens. On the stage - a ball. To the sounds of dance, masks are spinning, knights, ladies, clowns are walking. Sad Pierrot, sitting on a bench, utters a monologue: "I stood between two lanterns / And listened to their voices, / As they whispered, covering themselves with cloaks, / Kissing their night in the eyes. / ... Ah, then in a cab sleigh / He seated my girlfriend! / I wandered in the frosty fog, / I watched them from afar. / Ah, he entangled her with nets / And, laughing, he tinkled a bell! But when he wrapped her up, - / Ah, her friend fell prone! / ... And all night through the snowy streets / We wandered - Harlequin and Pierrot ... / He clung to me so gently, / A feather tickled my nose! / He whispered to me: "My brother, we are together, / Inseparable for many days ... / We will grieve with you about the bride, / About your cardboard bride!" Pierrot leaves sadly. Loving couples pass in front of the audience one after another. the two, who imagine they are in a church, are talking softly as they sit on a pew; two passionate lovers, their movements are swift; a pair of medieval lovers - she quietly, like an echo, repeats the last words of his every phrase. Harlequin appears: "Through the sleepy and snowy streets / I dragged the fool behind me! / The world opened to rebellious eyes, / The snowy wind sang over me! / ... Hello, world! You are with me again! / Your soul is close to me for a long time! / I go to breathe your spring / Into your golden window!" Harlequin jumps out of the painted window - the paper bursts. In the gap in the paper, against the background of the breaking dawn, stands Death - in long white robes with a scythe on his shoulder. Everyone flees in horror. Pierrot suddenly appears, he slowly walks across the whole stage, stretching out his arms to Death, and as he approaches, her features begin to come to life - and now, against the backdrop of dawn, Colombina stands at the window. Pierrot comes up, wants to touch her hand - when suddenly the Author's head sticks out between them, who wants to join the hands of Columbine and Pierrot. Suddenly, the scenery rises and flies up, the masks scatter, Pierrot lies helplessly on an empty stage. Pitifully and dreamily, Pierrot pronounces his monologue: “Oh, how bright is the one that left / (The ringing comrade took her away). / She fell (she was made of cardboard). / And I came to laugh at her. / <...> And here I stand I, my face is pale, / But it’s a sin for you to laugh at me. / What to do! She fell prone ... / I’m very sad. Are you funny? N. V. Soboleva Rose and Cross Play (1912) The action takes place in the XNUMXth century. in France, in Languedoc and Brittany, where an uprising of the Albigenses flares up, against which the pope organizes a crusade. The army, called to help the overlords, is moving from the north. The play begins with a scene in the courtyard of the castle, where the watchman Bertrand, nicknamed the Knight of Misfortune, sings a song heard from a visiting juggler. The refrain of this song, which tells about the hopelessness of life, from which there is only one way out - to become a crusader, are the lines: "The law of the heart is immutable - Joy - Suffering is one!" It is they who will become "cross-cutting" for the whole play. Alice, a court lady, asks Bertrand to stop singing: her mistress, seventeen-year-old Isora, in whose veins Spanish blood flows, the wife of the owner of the castle, is unwell. The chaplain pesters Alice with obscene suggestions. She rejects him with indignation, but she herself is not averse to flirting with the page Aliskan. However, he rejects her. The doctor diagnoses Isora with melancholy. She sings a song about Joy-Suffering, understanding suffering as "joy with the sweet." He plays chess with the page - and makes fun of him. He taunts the unknown songwriter. Isora leaves. Alice seduces Alyskan. The Earl of Archimbout, the owner of the castle, sends Bertrand (to whom he treats without any respect) to find out: is the army hurrying to the rescue far? The chaplain, meanwhile, hints at the lady's bad inclinations: he reads romance novels ... The visiting doctor announces melancholy. Isora asks Bertrand during his journey to find the author of the song. He agrees. The count sends his wife to prison - in the Tower of the Inconsolable Widow. In Brittany, Bertrand meets the trouveur Gaetan, lord of Traumenec: he almost kills him during a duel, but they soon reconcile and even have a friendly conversation in Gaetan's house. It is he who turns out to be the author of the cherished song. On the ocean shore, Gaetan teaches Bertrand to listen to the Voice of Nature. Count Bertrand brings good news: he saw the troops. As a reward, he asks permission to sing at the festival to the juggler, whom he brought with him, and to release the count's wife from the Tower, where, judging by the conversations in the kitchen, she is kept very strictly. And indeed: Isora yearns in captivity. Only dreams of a knight support her. Hopes are intensified after the unfortunate woman accepts at her own expense a love note addressed to Alice by Aliskan, where a date is set for moonrise. Meanwhile, Bertrand, in a conversation with Gaetan, is trying to understand: "How can suffering become joy?" Isora, waiting inconsolably at the window, suddenly sees Gaetan - and, throwing him a black rose, loses consciousness from an overabundance of feelings. The Count, thinking that the imprisonment is the reason, announces his release. In the courtyard of the castle, Bertrand prays for the health of the unfortunate woman. In a flowering meadow at dawn, Alyskan is angry at Alice, who did not come on a date, and again indulges in dreams of Izora. Bringing Gaetan the juggler's clothes, Bertrand sees that he has a black rose - and asks for it for himself. At the May festival, Alyskan is knighted. The minstrels compete in singing: the song about the war is rejected by the count, the song about love for the girls and the native land is rewarded. It's Gaetan's turn. After his song about Joy-Suffering, Izora faints. Gaetan disappears into the crowd. Waking up, Isora turns her attention to Alyskan. Meanwhile, the rebels are approaching the fortress. Bertrand fights best of all: those who defended the fortress owe their victory to him. But the count refuses to admit the obvious, although he frees the wounded Bertrand from the night guard. Meanwhile, the unfaithful Alice arranges with the chaplain to meet at midnight in the yard, and Isora, weary of heart emptiness in the spring, asks the watchman to warn about the arrival of unwanted guests during her meeting with her lover. Aliskan unexpectedly takes the role of such. But their date is open by Alice and the chaplain. The last calls the count. At this moment, exhausted by his wounds, Bertrand falls dead. With the sound of a dropped sword, he frightens Alyskan away. The young lover runs away - and the count bursting into the chambers of his wife does not catch anyone. A. B. Mokrousov nightingale garden Poem (1915) The hero of the poem - it is written in the first person - is a worker; he comes at low tide to the sea in order to earn his living with hard work - with a pick and a crowbar to chop layered rocks. The extracted stone is carried on a donkey to the railroad. It is hard for both animals and humans. The road passes a shady, cool garden hidden behind a high trellis. From behind the fence, roses reach out to the worker, somewhere in the distance “a nightingale’s chant is heard, streams and leaves whisper something”, quiet laughter, barely audible singing is heard. Wonderful sounds torment the hero, he falls into thought. Dusk - the day ends - increases anxiety. The hero imagines a different life: in his miserable shack, he dreams of a nightingale garden, fenced off from the accursed world by a high lattice. Again and again he recalls the white dress that he dreamed of in the blue twilight - it beckons him "by whirling and singing calls." This continues every day, the hero feels that he is in love with this "inaccessibility of the fence." While the tired animal is resting, the owner, excited by the nearness of his dream, wanders along the familiar road, now, however, has become mysterious, since it is precisely this road that leads to the bluish twilight of the nightingale's garden. The roses, under the weight of the dew, hang lower than usual because of the lattice. The hero tries to understand how he will be met if he knocks on the desired door. He can no longer return to dull work, his heart tells him that they are waiting for him in the nightingale garden. Indeed, the hero's premonitions are justified - "I did not knock - she herself opened the impregnable doors." Deafened by the sweet melodies of nightingale singing, the sounds of streams, the hero finds himself in "an alien land of unfamiliar happiness." So the "poor dream" becomes a reality - the hero finds his beloved. "Scorched" by happiness, he forgets his past life, hard work and the animal, which for a long time was his only comrade. So, behind a wall overgrown with roses, in the arms of his beloved, the hero spends time. However, in the midst of all this bliss, it is not given to him not to hear the sound of the tide - "the nightingale autumn is not free to drown out the rumble of the sea!" At night, the beloved, noticing the anxiety on his linden, constantly asks her beloved about the cause of longing. He in his visions distinguishes a high road and a laden donkey wandering along it. One day the hero wakes up, looks at the peacefully sleeping beloved - her dream is beautiful, she smiles: she is dreaming of him. The hero opens the window - the sound of the tide is heard in the distance; behind him, it seems to him, one can distinguish "an inviting plaintive cry." The donkey screams - drawlingly and for a long time; the hero perceives these sounds as a groan. He pulls the curtain over his beloved, trying to keep her from waking up longer, goes outside the fence; flowers, "like hands from a garden," cling to his clothes. The hero comes to the seashore, but does not recognize anything around him. There is no house - in its place lies rusty scrap, covered with wet sand. It is not clear whether he sees this in a dream, or whether it happens in reality - from the path trodden by the hero, "where the hut used to be / A worker with a pick began to go down, / Chasing someone else's donkey." L. A. Danilkin Twelve Poem (1918) The action takes place in revolutionary Petrograd in the winter of 1917/18. Petrograd, however, acts both as a concrete city and as the center of the Universe, a place of cosmic cataclysms. The first of the twelve chapters of the poem describes the cold, snow-covered streets of Petrograd, tormented by wars and revolutions. People make their way along slippery paths, looking at slogans, cursing the Bolsheviks. At spontaneous rallies, someone - "must be a writer - Vitya" - speaks of sold Russia. Among the passers-by - "a sad comrade priest", a bourgeois, a lady in astrakhan fur, intimidated old women. There are fragmentary screams from some nearby meetings. It's getting dark, the wind is picking up. Status - poet? one of the passers-by? - described as "malice", "sad malice", "black malice, holy malice". The second chapter: a detachment of twelve people is walking through the night city. The cold is accompanied by a feeling of complete freedom; people are ready to do anything to protect the new world from the old - "let's fire a bullet at Holy Rus' - into the condo, into the hut, into the fat-ass." On the way, the fighters discuss their friend, Vanka, who got along with the “rich” girl Katya, scold him as a “bourgeois”: instead of defending the revolution, Vanka spends time in taverns. Chapter three is a dashing song, apparently performed by a squad of twelve. A song about how, after the war, in torn coats and with Austrian guns, "guys" serve in the Red Guard. The last verse of the song is a promise of a world fire, in which all the "bourgeois" will perish. Blessing for the fire is requested, however, from God. The fourth chapter describes the same Vanka: with Katya in a scorcher they rush through Petrograd. A handsome soldier hugs his girlfriend, says something to her; she, contented, laughs merrily. The next chapter is Vanka's words addressed to Katya. He reminds her of her past - a prostitute who moved from officers and cadets to soldiers. Katya's wild life was reflected in her beautiful body - with scars and scratches from the stab blows of abandoned lovers. In rather rude terms (“Al, didn’t you remember, cholera?”), the soldier reminds the walking young lady of the murder of some officer, to whom she clearly had something to do. Now the soldier demands his own - "dance!", "get lost!", "put to sleep with you!", "sin!" Sixth chapter: a scorcher carrying lovers collides with a detachment of twelve. Armed people attack the sledge, shoot at those sitting there, threatening Vanka with reprisals for appropriating a "strange girl." The cab driver, however, takes out Vanka from under the shots; Katya, with a shot through her head, remains lying on the snow. A detachment of twelve people goes on, as cheerfully as before a skirmish with a cabman, a "revolutionary step." Only the killer - Petrukha - is sad for Katya, who was once his mistress. Comrades condemn him - "now is not such a time to coddle with you." Petruha, really cheered up, is ready to move on. The mood in the detachment is the most combative: "Lock the floors, today there will be robberies. Unlock the cellars - now the squalor is walking!" The eighth chapter is the confused thoughts of Petrukha, who is very sad about the shot girlfriend; he prays for the repose of her soul; He is going to disperse his longing with new murders - "you fly, bourgeois, like a little sparrow! I'll drink blood for a sweetheart, for a black-eyed ...". Chapter nine is a romance dedicated to the death of the old world. Instead of a policeman at the crossroads, there is a freezing bourgeois, behind him - very well combined with this hunched figure - a lousy dog. Twelve go on - through the blizzard night. Petka commemorates the Lord, marveling at the strength of the blizzard. His comrades blame him for his unconsciousness, they remind him that Petka is already stained with Katka's blood, which means that there will be no help from God. So, "without the name of a saint," twelve people under a red flag firmly move on, ready at any moment to respond to the enemy's blow. Their procession becomes eternal - "and the blizzard dusts their eyes for days and nights…". Chapter twelve, last. A mangy dog is tied behind the detachment - the old world. The soldiers threaten him with bayonets, trying to drive him away from them. Ahead, in the darkness, they see someone; trying to figure it out, people start shooting. The figure, however, does not disappear, it stubbornly goes ahead. "So they walk with a sovereign step - behind - a hungry dog, in front - with a bloody flag <...> Jesus Christ." L. A. Danilkin Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (1882-1969) Crocodile Tale in verse (1917) A crocodile walks the streets of Petrograd. He smokes cigarettes and speaks Turkish. And the people follow him, mock, tease and offend. And then the dog expresses its contempt for him - bites him on the nose. And the Crocodile swallows the dog. The people are indignant, angry: "Hey, hold him, / Yes, knit him, / Yes, bring him to the police as soon as possible!" A policeman comes running to the noise and says that "crocodiles are not allowed to walk here." In response to this, the Crocodile swallows the policeman. Here everyone is horrified. People are in a panic. Only one is not afraid of a terrible beast - this is the valiant Vanya Vasilchikov. He waves a toy saber and announces to Crocodile that he is a villain and for this he, Vanya, will cut off his head, Crocodile. Then the Crocodile returns to the people a live and healthy policeman and biting watchdog. Everyone admires Vanechka and rewards him with a huge amount of sweets for saving the capital "from a furious reptile". And the Crocodile flies to Africa, where the waters of the Nile wash his home. The wife tells how, in the absence of a strict dad, the children were naughty: one drank a bottle of ink, the other swallowed a samovar, etc. At this moment, relatives and friends burst in - giraffes and hippos, elephants and hyenas, boas and ostriches. The crocodile, delighted with the meeting, distributes gifts to everyone, not forgetting his own children - dad brought them a fluffy green Christmas tree, all hung with toys, crackers and candles. Everyone joins hands in joy and dances around the Christmas tree. Then the monkeys run in, carrying good news: the king himself, the Hippopotamus, is coming to visit the Crocodile. This is where the confusion kicks in. And on the threshold - the king. The crocodile welcomes him cordially and asks what he owes such an honor to. He says that he heard about the Crocodile's trip to Russia and came to listen to wonderful stories about a distant country. The crocodile talks about how animals suffer in a terrible prison - a zoological garden. He talks about the death of his nephew, who, dying, cursed not the executioners, but his unfaithful brothers, his strong friends who did not come to break the shackles of the unfortunate. And then the Crocodile vowed to take revenge on people for the torment of animals. Here, all the animals rise in a formidable crowd and go to Petrograd, wanting to devour all the tormentors, eradicate their kind and release the poor animals into the wild ... Little Lyalechka, walking along Tavricheskaya Street, is kidnapped by a wild gorilla. But no one wants to save the child. People in horror crawl under the beds, hide in chests. No one will help the baby. Nobody but Vanya Vasilchikov. He boldly goes to the camp of terrible embittered animals, taking with him a toy gun. He is so formidable that the animals scatter in horror. Vanya is a hero again, he saved his city again, and the city gives him chocolate again. But where is Lyalechka? Vanya rushes after evil animals so that they give him his sister. But the animals answer that their cute animal children, parents, brothers and sisters are languishing in cages. They, the animals, will release the girl only when all the martyrs of the zoo are sent home. But Vanya's friends who have run away declare war on the beasts. And the fight broke out! And now Lyalya is saved. But kind Vanyusha feels sorry for the animals, and he agrees with them that he will grant freedom to all the pets of the zoo. Let them live in Petrograd, but first let them cut down their horns and hooves, let them not attack anyone or eat anyone. The animals agree. And grace comes. Animals and people are friends and love each other. The animals pamper Vanya, who gave them freedom. And here are the holidays! Today everyone is going to the Christmas tree to the Wolf. And everyone is invited to join. M. A. Soboleva Cockroach Tale in verse (1923) "Bears rode / On a bicycle. / And behind them a cat / Back to front. / And behind him mosquitoes / On a balloon. / And behind them crayfish / On a lame dog. / Wolves on a mare, / Lions in a car. / Bunnies in a tram / A toad on a broom ... "They ride and laugh, when suddenly a terrible giant crawls out of the gateway - the Cockroach. He threatens the beasts that he will eat them. The animals are in a panic - the wolves ate each other, the crocodile swallowed the toad, and the elephant sat on the hedgehog. Only crayfish are not afraid - although they back away, they fearlessly shout to the mustachioed monster that they themselves can move their mustaches - no worse than a Cockroach. And Hippo promises to those who are not afraid of the monster and fight with him, give two frogs and welcome a fir cone. The animals have taken courage and rush in a crowd to the barbel. But when they see him, the poor fellows are so frightened that they immediately run away. The Hippo urges the animals to go and raise the Cockroach on its horns, but the animals are afraid: "All you can hear is the chattering of teeth, / You can only see how the ears are trembling." And so the Cockroach became the lord of the fields and forests, and all the animals obeyed him. He orders the beasts to bring him their children for dinner. All animals cry and say goodbye to their children forever, cursing the evil master. Poor mothers weep the most: what kind of mother would agree to give her dear child for dinner to an insatiable scarecrow? But then one day a Kangaroo rode up. Seeing the barbel, the guest laughs: "Is this a giant? <...> It's just a cockroach! <...> A cockroach, a cockroach, a cockroach. / Liquid-legged goat-insect". The kangaroo shames his toothy and fanged acquaintances - they obeyed the booger, the cockroach. Hippos get scared, shush at the Kangaroo, but then a Sparrow flies out of nowhere, which swallows the Cockroach. There is no giant! The whole animal family thanks and praises its deliverer. Everyone rejoices so violently and dances so dashingly that the moon, trembling in the sky, falls on the elephant and rolls into the swamp. But the moon is soon restored to its place, and peace and joy again return to the forest dwellers. M. A. Soboleva Aibolit Tale in verse (1929) The good doctor Aibolit sits under a tree and treats animals. Everyone comes with their illnesses to Aibolit, and the good doctor refuses no one. He helps both the fox, which was bitten by an evil wasp, and the watchdog, which the chicken pecked in the nose. The bunny, whose legs were cut by a tram, Aibolit sews new ones, and he, healthy and cheerful, dances with his mother-hare. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a jackal appears riding a mare - he brought Aibolit a telegram from Hippo, in which he asks the doctor to come to Africa as soon as possible and save the kids who have tonsillitis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, bronchitis, malaria and appendicitis! The good doctor immediately agrees to help the kids and, having learned from the jackal that they live on Mount Fernando Po near the wide Limpopo, sets off. Wind, snow and hail interfere with the noble doctor. He runs through fields, meadows and forests, but he gets so tired that he falls into the snow and cannot go any further. And then the wolves run out to him, who volunteer to give him a lift. But in front of them is a raging sea. Aibolit is confused. But then a whale swims up, which, like a big steamer, is carrying a good doctor. But there are mountains in front of them. Aibolit tries to crawl through the mountains and thinks not about himself, but about what will become of the poor sick animals. But then eagles fly from a high mountain, and Aibolit, sitting on an eagle, quickly rushes to Africa, to his patients. And in Africa, all the animals are waiting for their savior - Dr. Aibolit. They look at the sea in concern - does it float? After all, 6e-hemotics have tummies, ostriches squeal in pain. And shark babies, little sharks, have had toothache for twelve days already! The grasshopper has a dislocated shoulder, he does not jump, does not jump, but only cries and calls for a doctor. But then an eagle descends to the ground, carrying Aibolit, and Aibolit waves his hat to everyone. And all the children are happy, and the parents are happy. And Aibolit feels the bellies of hippos and gives them all a chocolate bar and puts thermometers on them. And he treats tiger cubs and camels with mogul. For ten consecutive nights the good doctor does not eat, drink or sleep. He treats sick animals and puts thermometers on them. And so he cured them all. Everyone is healthy, everyone is happy, everyone is laughing and dancing. And the hippos grabbed their tummies and laughed so hard that the trees shook, And the Hippopotamus sings: "Glory, glory to Aibolit! / Glory to the good doctors!" M. L. Soboleva Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1882-1945) Hyperboloid engineer Garin Roman (1925-1927) At the beginning of May 192 ... a murder takes place in an abandoned dacha on the Krestovka River in Leningrad. An employee of the criminal investigation department, Vasily Vitalyevich Shelga, discovers a stabbed man with signs of torture. Some physical and chemical experiments were carried out in the spacious basement of the dacha. It is suggested that the victim is a certain engineer Pyotr Petrovich Garin. Meanwhile, the real engineer Garin, a vain and immoral type, but an extraordinarily talented scientist who developed a miracle thermal beam (similar to the current laser), escapes from foreign assassins, and his employee, Garin's double, dies. Vasily Shelga, who accidentally ran into the living Garin at the post office, takes him precisely for a double. Garin is in no hurry to convince Shelga, introducing himself as a certain Pyankov-Pitkevich; they enter into an oral pact of mutual assistance. Shelga soon realizes that he was fooled, but too late: Garin slipped away abroad, to Paris. At this time, the American chemical king, the billionaire Rolling, is in Paris, buying up the chemical industry of old Europe. He and his mistress of Russian origin, the chic Zoya Monrose, have long shown interest in the invention of the engineer Garin. It was their people who committed the murder in Leningrad, unsuccessfully trying to take possession of the miracle device. In Paris, Garin meets with his collaborator Victor Lenoir, who has just completed work on efficient fuel (compressed into small pyramids) for Garin's hyperboloid. Fearing for his life, Garin persuades Lenoir, disguised, to become his double. At this time, a homeless boy Vanya appears in Leningrad, having arrived here from Siberia; on his back he has a letter written with an ink pencil for Garin from the scientist Nikolai Mantsev, who even before the revolution went on an expedition to Kamchatka to find confirmation of Garin's theoretical conjecture about the existence of the so-called Olivine belt in the depths of the Earth, in which metals are in a molten state, in including the coveted gold. Garin needs gold to rule the world. To break through to gold, you need a hyperboloid. To build a huge hyperboloid and a shaft, you need a lot of money, that is, Rolling. Therefore, introducing himself as the same Pyankov-Pitkevich, Garin goes straight to the billionaire, offering him cooperation on behalf of the engineer Garin, but the self-satisfied Rolling does not take the stranger seriously and eventually kicks him out of the office. Having received an alarming telegram from Garin, who is afraid of hired killers, the brave Shelga leaves directly for Paris, hoping to interest the brilliant adventurer with information from Mantsev. Meanwhile, in Paris, the restless Zoya Monrose orders another murder of Garin, this time a duck nose to the gangster Gaston; but the double dies again - this time Victor Lenoir. Zoya becomes a friend and ally of Garin, who promises her in the future the possession of the Olivine Belt and power over the world. Rolling and Gaston duck-nosed, both blinded by jealousy and greed, attempt to finally kill Garin; it is defended by a small hyperboloid. And after some time, the powerful Rolling becomes a prisoner and forced partner of Garin and Zoya on the Arizona yacht. Here, on the yacht, Garin also brings another captive and temporary ally - Shelga. Guided by the principle: what is good is what is useful for establishing Soviet power throughout the world, the noble officer of the criminal investigation department still hopes to return Garin's invention to the USSR. Garin blows up the German chemical plants with a hyperboloid, opening the way for Rolling's monopoly in Europe. Rolling's money is used to purchase the necessary equipment around the world. The expedition sent by Garin discovers Mantsev's camp in Kamchatka. Mantsev dies, but his documents about the Olivine Belt are forwarded to Garin. Garin, Zoya and Rolling take over an island in the South Pacific. A large mine is being built here with a hyperboloid for drilling. Workers and employees are recruited from all over the world. The police force is made up of former white officers. The Americans send a squadron to destroy Garin. Garin destroys the squadron with a large hyperboloid. Having reached the Olivine Belt, that is, unlimited reserves of cheap gold, Garin begins to sell gold bars at ridiculous prices. The financial and economic catastrophe of the capitalist world is coming. But Garin is not going to destroy capitalism. He negotiates power with the most influential capitalists in exchange for the stabilization of society. The US Senate proclaims Garin a dictator. Zoya Monrose becomes queen of the Golden Isle. But against the expectation, the "romantic of absolute power" himself falls into the power of "bourgeois boredom." Fortunately, a workers' uprising breaks out on the Golden Island, led by the "communist" Shelga. Temporarily transferring power to his next double, Garin wants to master a large hyperboloid and mine. The yacht "Arizona" sails to the Golden Island, but gets caught in a typhoon. Garin and Zoya are stranded on an uninhabited coral island. The months drag on. In the shade of a palm-leaf hut, Zoya leafs through a surviving book with plans for palaces on the Golden Island. After collecting the shells and catching fish with his shirt, Garin, covering himself with a decayed jacket, lies down to sleep on the sand, apparently experiencing various entertaining stories in his sleep. A. V. Vasilevsky The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio Fairy Tale (1936) A long time ago, in a certain town on the Mediterranean coast, the carpenter Giuseppe gives his friend the organ-grinder Carlo a talking log, which, you see, does not want to be hewn. In a poor closet under the stairs, where even the hearth was painted on a piece of old canvas, Carlo cuts out a boy with a long nose from a log and gives him the name Pinocchio. He sells his jacket and buys the alphabet for his wooden son so that he can study. But on the first day on the way to school, the boy sees a puppet theater and sells the alphabet to buy a ticket. During the performance in the booth, the sad Pierrot, the perky Harlequin and other puppets suddenly recognize Pinocchio. Presentation of the comedy "Girl with blue hair, or Thirty-three slaps" disrupted. The owner of the theater, who is also a playwright and director Karabas Barabas, who looks like a bearded crocodile, wants to burn a wooden troublemaker. Here the simple-hearted Pinocchio, by chance, tells about the painted hearth at Papa Carlo, and Karabas, who suddenly cheered up, gives Pinocchio five gold coins. The main thing, he asks, is not to move anywhere from this closet. On the way back Pinocchio meets two beggars - the fox Alice and the cat Basilio. Having learned about the coins, they offer Pinocchio to go to the beautiful Land of Fools. From the money buried there on the Field of Miracles, a whole money tree seems to grow by morning. On the way to the Land of Fools, Pinocchio loses his companions, and robbers attack him in the night forest, suspiciously resembling a fox and a cat. Pinocchio hides the coins in his mouth, and in order to shake them out, the robbers hang the boy upside down on a tree and leave. In the morning, he is discovered by Malvina, a girl with blue hair, who, together with the poodle Artemon, escaped from Karabas Barabas, who oppressed poor puppet actors. With purely girlish enthusiasm, she takes up the education of an uncouth boy, which ends with his placement in a dark closet. From there, a bat takes him out, and, having met with a fox and a cat, the gullible Pinocchio finally gets to the Field of Miracles, which for some reason looks like a dump, digs in coins and sits down to wait for the harvest, but Alice and Basilio treacherously set the local police bulldogs on him, and they throw the brainless wooden boy into the river. But a man made of logs cannot drown. The elderly turtle Tortila opens Pinocchio's eyes to the greed of his friends and gives him a golden key that a man with a long beard once dropped into the river. The key should open some kind of door, and this will bring happiness. Returning from the Land of Fools, Pinocchio saves the frightened Pierrot, who also fled from Karabas, and brings him to Malvina. While the enamored Piero unsuccessfully tries to console Malvina with his poems, a terrible battle begins at the edge of the forest. The brave poodle Artemon, along with forest birds, animals and insects, beat the hated police dogs. Trying to grab Pinocchio, Karabas sticks his beard to a resinous pine tree. Enemies retreat. Pinocchio overhears Karabas's conversation with the leech dealer Duremar in a tavern and learns a great secret: a golden key opens a door hidden behind a painted hearth in Carlo's closet. The friends rush home, unlock the door and just manage to slam it shut behind them, as the policemen burst into the closet with Karabaoom Barabas. An underground passage leads our heroes to a treasure - this is an amazingly beautiful ... theater. It will be a new theater, without a director with a seven-tailed whip, a theater in which puppets become real actors. Everyone who has not yet escaped from Karabas runs to the Pinocchio theater, where music plays merrily, and hot lamb stew with garlic awaits behind the scenes for hungry artists. Doctor of puppet science Karabas Barabas remains sitting in a puddle in the rain. A. V. Vasilevsky Walking through the torture Trilogy (Book 1 - 1922; book 2 - 1927-1928; book 3 - 1940-1941) Book one. SISTERSEarly 1914 St. Petersburg, "tormented by sleepless nights, deafening its melancholy with wine, gold, loveless love, tearing and powerlessly sensual sounds of tango - a death hymn <...> lived as if in anticipation of a fatal and terrible day." A young clean girl, Daria Dmitrievna Bulavina, comes to St. Petersburg for legal courses from Samara and stays with her older sister, Ekaterina Dmitrievna, who is married to the famous lawyer Nikolai Ivanovich Smokovnikov. The Smokovnikovs have a salon at home, it is visited by various progressive personalities who talk about the democratic revolution, and fashionable people of art, among them the poet Alexei Alekseevich Bessonov. "Everything died a long time ago - both people and art," Bessonov muffledly broadcasts. "And Russia is carrion ... And those who write poetry will all be in hell." The pure and straightforward Darya Dmitrievna is drawn to the vicious poet, but she does not suspect that her beloved sister Katya has already cheated on her husband with Bessonov. The deceived Smokovnikov guesses, tells Dasha about this, accuses his wife, but Katya convinces both that everything is not true. Finally, Dasha finds out that this is still true, and with all the ardor and spontaneity of youth, she persuades her sister to obey her husband. As a result, the spouses leave: Ekaterina Dmitrievna - to France, Nikolai Ivanovich - to the Crimea. And Ivan Ilyich Telegin, a kind and honest engineer from the Baltic Plant, lives on Vasilyevsky Island and rents part of his apartment to strange young people who arrange "futuristic" evenings at home. Darya Dmitrievna gets to one of these evenings called "Magnificent Blasphemy"; she does not like "blasphemy" at all, but immediately she liked Ivan Ilyich. In the summer, Dasha, on her way to Samara to visit her father, Dr. Dmitry Stepanovich Bulavin, unexpectedly meets Ivan Ilyich on the Volga steamer, who had already been dismissed by that time after labor unrest at the factory; their mutual sympathy grows stronger. On the advice of her father, Dasha goes to the Crimea to persuade Smokovnikov to make peace with his wife; Bessonov wanders in the Crimea; Telegin suddenly appears there, but only in order to declare his love to Dasha and say goodbye to her before leaving for the front, the First World War begins. "In a few months the war completed the work of a century." At the front, the mobilized Bessonov perishes absurdly. Darya Dmitrievna and Ekaterina Dmitrievna, who returned from France, work in Moscow in the infirmary. Smokovnikov, reunited with his wife, brings to the house a thin captain with a shaved skull, Vadim Petrovich Roshchin, who was seconded to Moscow to receive equipment. Vadim Petrovich is in love with Ekaterina Dmitrievna, he is trying to explain himself, but so far without reciprocity. The sisters read in the newspaper that ensign I. I. Telegin has gone missing; Dasha is in despair, she still does not know that Ivan Ilyich escaped from the concentration camp, was caught, transferred to the fortress, alone, then to another camp; when he is threatened with execution, Telegin and his comrades again decide to escape, this time successful. Ivan Ilyich safely reaches Moscow, but meetings with Dasha do not last long, he receives an order to go to Petrograd to the Baltic Shipyard. In St. Petersburg, he witnesses how the Conspirators throw the body of Grigory Rasputin, who they killed, into the water. The February revolution begins before his eyes. Telegin goes to Moscow for Dasha, then the young spouses again move to Petrograd. Commissar of the Provisional Government, Nikolai Ivanovich Smokovnikov, enthusiastically leaves for the front, where he is killed by indignant soldiers who do not want to die in the trenches; his shocked widow is comforted by the faithful Vadim Roshchin. The Russian army is no more. there is no front. The people want to divide the land, not fight the Germans. “Great Russia now is manure for arable land,” says career officer Roshchin. “Everything needs to be done anew: the army, the state, the soul must be squeezed into us differently ...” Ivan Ilyich objects: “The county will remain from us, and the Russian land will go from there ... " On a summer evening in 1917, Katya and Vadim are walking along Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt in Petrograd. “Ekaterina Dmitrievna,” Roshchin said, taking her thin hand in his hands ... “years will pass, wars will subside, revolutions will make a noise, and only one thing will remain incorruptible - your meek, tender, beloved heart ...” They are just passing by the former mansion of the famous ballerina, where the headquarters of the Bolsheviks, preparing to seize power, is located. Book two. EIGHTEEN YEAR"Petersburg was terrible at the end of the seventeenth year. Terrible, incomprehensible, incomprehensible." In a cold and hungry city, Dasha (after a night attack by robbers) gave birth prematurely, the boy died on the third day. Family life goes wrong, non-party Ivan Ilyich leaves for the Red Army. And Vadim Petrovich Roshchin - in Moscow, during the October battles with the Bolsheviks he was shell-shocked, he goes with Ekaterina Dmitrievna first to the Volga to Dr. Bulavin to wait out the revolution (the Bolsheviks should fall by spring), and then to Rostov, where the White Volunteer Army is being formed. They do not have time - the volunteers are forced to leave the city for their legendary "ice campaign". Unexpectedly, Ekaterina Dmitrievna and Vadim Petrovich quarrel on ideological grounds, she remains in the city, he follows the volunteers south. Bely Roshchin is forced to join the Red Guard unit, get with it to the area of fighting with the Volunteer Army, and at the first opportunity runs over to his own. He fights bravely, but is not pleased with himself, suffers from a break with Katya. Ekaterina Dmitrievna, having received (obviously false) news of Vadim's death, leaves Rostov for Yekaterinoslav, but does not reach it - the Makhnovists attack the train. At Makhno's, she would have had a bad time, but Roshchin's former orderly Alexey Krasilnikov recognizes her and undertakes to take care of her. Roshchin, having received leave, rushes after Katya to Rostov, but no one knows where she is. At the Rostov railway station, he sees Ivan Ilyich in a White Guard uniform and, knowing that Telegin is red (which means a scout), still does not betray him. "Thank you, Vadim," Telegin whispers softly and disappears. And Darya Dmitrievna lives alone in red Petrograd, an old acquaintance - Denikin's officer Kulichek - comes to her and brings a letter from her sister with false news of Vadim's death. Kulichek, sent to St. Petersburg for reconnaissance and recruitment, draws Dasha into underground work, she moves to Moscow and participates in Boris Savinkov's Union for the Defense of the Homeland and Freedom, and spends time in the company of anarchists from the Mammoth Dalsky detachment for cover; on the instructions of the Savinkovites, she goes to work meetings, follows the speeches of Lenin (who is being assassinated), but the speeches of the leader of the world revolution make a strong impression on her, Dasha breaks with both anarchists and conspirators, goes to her father in Samara. Telegin, in the same White Guard uniform, illegally gets to Samara, he risks turning to Dr. Bulavin for some news from Dasha. Dmitry Stepanovich guesses that in front of him is a "red reptile", diverts his attention with an old Dasha's letter and calls counterintelligence by phone. They try to arrest Ivan Ilyich, he flees and unexpectedly stumbles upon Data (who, suspecting nothing, was here all the time in the house); the spouses manage to explain themselves, and Telegin disappears. Some time later, when Ivan Ilyich, commanding a regiment, was one of the first to break into Samara, Dr. Bulavin's apartment was already empty, the windows were broken ... Where is Dasha? .. Book three. gloomy morningNight bonfire in the steppe. Darya Dmitrievna and her random companion are baking potatoes; they were on a train that was attacked by white Cossacks. The travelers go across the steppe towards Tsaritsyn and end up in the location of the Reds, who suspect them of espionage (especially since Dasha's father, Dr. Bulavin, is a former minister of the White Samara government), but it suddenly turns out that the regiment commander Melshin knows Dasha's husband Telegin well and on the German war, and on the Red Army. Ivan Ilyich himself at that time was carrying cannons and ammunition along the Volga to Tsaritsyn, which was defending itself from the Whites. During the defense of the city, Telegin was seriously wounded, he lies in the infirmary and does not recognize anyone, and when he comes to, it turns out that the nurse sitting by the bed is his beloved Dasha. Meanwhile, honest Roshchin, already completely disappointed in the white movement, is seriously thinking about desertion, and suddenly in Yekaterinoslav he accidentally learns that the train in which Katya was traveling was captured by the Makhnovists. Leaving his suitcase in the hotel, tearing off his epaulettes and stripes, he gets to Gulyaipol, where Makhno's headquarters is located, and falls into the hands of the head of the Makhnovist counterintelligence Levka Zadov, Roshchin is tortured, but Makhno himself, who is to negotiate with the Bolsheviks, takes him to his headquarters to the reds thought he was flirting with the whites at the same time. Roshchin manages to visit the farm where Aleksey Krasilnikov and Katya lived, but they have already left for no one knows where. Makhno concludes a temporary alliance with the Bolsheviks for the joint capture of Yekaterinoslav, controlled by the Petliurists. The brave Roshchin takes part in the assault on the city, but the Petliurists gain the upper hand, the wounded Roshchin is taken away by the Reds, and he ends up in the Kharkov hospital. (At this time, Ekaterina Dmitrievna, freed from Alexei Krasilnikov, who forced her to marry, teaches at a rural school.) After being discharged from the hospital, Vadim Petrovich is assigned to Kyiv, to the headquarters of the cadet brigade, to Commissar Chugai, who was familiar from the battles in Yekaterinoslav. He participates in the defeat of the Zeleny gang, kills Alexei Krasilnikov and is looking for Katya everywhere, but to no avail. Once Ivan Ilyich, already a brigade commander, meets his new chief of staff, recognizes in him an old acquaintance Roshchin and, thinking that Vadim Petrovich is a white intelligence officer, wants to arrest him, but everything is explained. And Ekaterina Dmitrievna returns to hungry Moscow in the old Arbat (now communal) apartment, where she once buried her husband and explained to Vadim. She is still teaching. At one of the meetings, in a front-line soldier speaking to the people, she recognizes Roshchin, whom she considered dead, and faints. Dasha and Telegin come to see their sister. And here they are all together - in the cold, crowded hall of the Bolshoi Theater, where Krzhizhanovsky makes a report on the electrification of Russia. From the height of the fifth tier, Roshchin points out to Katya Lenin and Stalin present here ("... the one who defeated Denikin ..."). Ivan Ilyich whispers to Dasha: "A practical report ... I really want to work, Dashenka ..." Vadim Petrovich whispers to Katya: "You understand what meaning all our efforts acquire, the blood shed, all the unknown and silent torments ... The world will be rebuilt by us for good ... Everything in this hall they are ready to give their lives for this... This is not fiction - they will show you scars and bluish spots from bullets... And this is in my homeland, and this is Russia ... " A. V. Vasilevsky Peter the Great Roman (Book 1 - 1929-1930, book 2 - 1933-1934, book 3 - 1944-1945) By the end of the XVII century. after the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, a struggle for power begins in Russia. The archers rebel, instigated by Tsarevna Sophia and her lover, the ambitious Prince Vasily Golitsyn. There were two tsars in Moscow - the juvenile Ivan Alekseevich and Pyotr Alekseevich, and above them - the ruler Sophia. "And everything went on as before. Nothing happened. Over Moscow, over the cities, over hundreds of counties, spread over the vast land, centenary twilight sour - poverty, servility, homelessness." In those same years, in the village, on the lands of the nobleman Vasily Volkov, the peasant family of the Brovkins lived. The eldest, Ivashka Brovkin, takes his son Alyoshka with him to Moscow; in the capital, afraid of punishment for the missing harness, Alyosha runs away and, having met his peer Aleksashka Menshikov, begins an independent life, settles down to sell pies. Once Aleksashka Menshikov is fishing on the Yauza near Losiny Island and meets a boy in a green non-Russian caftan. Aleksashka shows Tsar Peter (and it is he) a trick, pierces his cheek with a needle without blood. They immediately part, not knowing that they will meet again and will not part until death ... In Preobrazhensky, where the growing Peter and his mother Natalya Kirillovna live, it is quiet and boring. The young tsar languishes and finds an outlet in the German Quarter, where he meets foreigners living in Russia, and among them the charming captain Franz Lefort (in whose service Aleksashka Menshikov is by that time) and, in addition, falls in love with Ankhen, the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant Mons. To settle down Petrusha, his mother Natalya Kirillovna marries him to Evdokia Lopukhina. In Preobrazhensky, Peter devoted himself entirely to exercises with a funny army, a prototype of the future Russian army. Captain Fyodor Sommer and other foreigners strongly support his undertakings. The tsar takes Aleksashka to his bed, and the dexterous, agile and thieving Aleksashka becomes an influential mediator between the tsar and foreigners. He arranges his friend Alyosha Brovkin in the "amusing" army as a drummer, and helps him in the future. Having accidentally met his father in Moscow, Alyosha gives him money. From this small capital, the economic peasant Ivan Brovkin's business immediately goes uphill, he redeems himself from serfdom, becomes a merchant, the tsar himself knows him - through Aleksashka and Alyosha. Brovkin's daughter, Sanka, Peter passes off as Vasily Volkov, the former master of the Brovkins. This is already a harbinger of great changes in the state (“From now on, nobility is counted according to suitability” - the future motto of Tsar Peter). A new streltsy rebellion begins in favor of Sophia, but Peter, with his family and close associates, leaves Preobrazhensky under the protection of the walls of the Trinity Monastery. The rebellion is dying down, the archery leaders are terribly tortured and executed, Vasily Golitsyn is sent with his family to eternal exile in Kargopol, Sophia is locked up in the Novodevichy Convent. Peter gives himself up to revelry, and his pregnant wife Evdokia, tormented by jealousy, is engaged in divination, trying to exterminate the damned lovebird Monsikha. Peter's heir is born - Alexei Petrovich, his mother Natalya Kirillovna dies, but the crack between Peter and Evdokia does not disappear. Among foreigners, there are various rumors about Peter, they have high hopes for him. "Russia - a gold mine - lay under the age-old mud ... If not a new tsar will raise life, then who will?" Franz Lefort becomes necessary to Peter, like a smart mother to a child. Peter begins a campaign to the Crimea (the previous one - Vasily Golitsyn - ended in shameful failure); and part of the army goes to war against the Turkish fortress of Azov. And this campaign ended ingloriously, but time goes by, Peter carries out his reforms, it is difficult to give birth to a new, XVIII century. From exorbitant hardships, the people begin to rob or go into the forests to the schismatics, but even there they are overtaken by the sovereign's servants, and people burn themselves in huts or churches so as not to fall into the hands of Antichrist. "Western contagion irresistibly penetrated into a drowsy being... The boyars and the local nobility, the clergy and archers were afraid of change (new things, new people), hated the speed and cruelty of everything that was being introduced... But those, rootless, quick, who wanted change, who were fascinated by Europe ... - these said that they were not mistaken in the young king. Peter begins to build ships in Voronezh, and with the help of the fleet, Azov is nevertheless taken, but this leads to a clash with the mighty Turkish Empire. We have to look for allies in Europe, and the tsar (under the name of the constable of the Preobrazhensky regiment Pyotr Mikhailov) goes with an embassy to Konigsberg, to Berlin, and then to Holland, to England, which he desires in his heart. There he lives as a simple artisan, mastering the necessary crafts. In his absence, fermentation begins in Russia: the tsar, they say, has died, foreigners have replaced the tsar. The indomitable Sophia again incites the archers to rebellion, but this rebellion is also suppressed, and upon Peter's return to Moscow, torture and executions begin. “The whole country was engulfed in horror. Tsarina Evdokia Fedorovna is sent to Suzdal, to a monastery, and her place is taken by the lawless "Qukui queen" Anna Mons; her house is called that in Moscow - the Tsaritsyn Palace. Franz Lefort is dying, but his work lives on. More and more new ships are being laid down in Voronezh, and now a whole flotilla is sailing to the Crimea, then to the Bosporus, and the Turks cannot do anything with the new Russian naval force that has come from nowhere, the rich man Ivan Artemyich Brovkin is engaged in deliveries to the army, he has a big house, many eminent merchants are his clerks, his son Yakov is in the navy, his son Gavril is in Holland, the younger, who received an excellent education, Artamon, is with his father. Alexandra, Sanka, now a noble lady and dreams of Paris. And Alexei Brovkin falls in love with Princess Natalya Alekseevna, Peter's sister, and she is not indifferent to him. In 1700, the young and brave Swedish king Charles XII defeated Russian troops near Narva; he has the strongest army, and his head is already spinning in anticipation of the glory of the second Caesar. Charles occupies Livonia and Poland, wants to rush after Peter into the depths of Muscovy, but the generals dissuade him. And Peter rushes between Moscow, Novgorod and Voronezh, re-creating the army; ships are built, new cannons are cast (from monastery bells). The noble irregular army is unreliable, now everyone who wants to take its place is recruited, and there are many who want from bondage and peasant captivity. Under the command of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, Russian troops captured the fortress of Marienburg; among the prisoners and soldiers, the field marshal notices a pretty girl with straw in her hair ("... apparently, they were already attached to the wagon train to roll her under the carts ...") and takes her as a housekeeper, but the influential Alexander Menshikov takes the beautiful Katerina to himself. When Peter learns about the betrayal of Anna Mons with the Saxon envoy Kengisek, Menshikov slips him Katerina, who is the king’s heart (this is the future Empress Catherine I). "The embarrassment near Narva was of great benefit to us," says Peter. He begins the siege of Narva, its defender, General Gorn, does not want to surrender the city, which leads to senseless suffering of its inhabitants. Narva was taken by a furious storm, in the midst of the battle one can see the fearless Menshikov with a sword. General Horn surrenders. But: "You will not be honored from me," he hears from Peter. "Take him to prison, on foot, through the whole city, so that he can see the sad work of his hands ..." A. V. Vasilevsky Evgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin (1884-1937) county Tale (1912) County small Anfim Baryba is called "iron". He has heavy iron jaws, a wide square mouth and a narrow forehead. Yes, and the whole of Baryba is made of hard straight lines and corners. And some kind of terrible harmony comes out of all this. The district boys are afraid of Baryba: the beast, under a heavy hand, will drive it into the ground. And at the same time, for their amusement, he gnaws pebbles, for a bun. The shoemaker's father warns: he will drive him out of the yard if his son does not pass the final exams at the school. Anfim fails at the very first - according to the Law of God, and, fearing his father, does not return home. He settles in the courtyard of the abandoned house of the merchants Balkashins. In the gardens of Streltsy Sloboda and in the bazaar, everything that is possible is stolen. Somehow Anfim steals a chicken from the yard of a rich widow of a leather manufacturer Chebotarikha. It was then that the coachman Urvank tracks him down and drags him to the mistress. Chebotarikha wants to punish Baryba, but, looking at his animal-strong body, he takes him to his bedroom, supposedly to force him to repent of his sin. However, Chebotarikha, who has spread like dough, decides to sin herself - for an orphan. Now in the house of Chebotarikha Baryba lives in peace, with everything ready And wanders in sweet idleness. Chebotarikha in him day by day more and more does not like the soul. Here Baryba is already setting up routines in the Chebotarev yard: he commands the peasants, he fines those who are guilty. In the Churilov tavern, Anfim meets Timosha the tailor, small, sharp-nosed, like a sparrow, with a smile like a warm lamp. And Timosha becomes his friend. One day he sees Baryb in the kitchen, how a young maid Polka, a barefoot fool, is pouring soup on an orange tree. This tree has been growing for half a year, it protects and cares. Anfim grabs a tree by the roots - yes, out of the window. The polka roars, and Baryba kicks her into the cellar. It was then that a millstone turned in his head. He - behind her, lightly leans on Polka, she immediately falls. Obediently moves, only whines more often. And this is Barybe's special sweetness. "What, old featherbed, did you eat, huh?" - he says aloud to Chebotarikha and shows the fig. She comes out of the cellar, and under the barn Urvanka is swarming. The lady is sitting in a tavern with Timosha for tea. He starts his favorite - about God: He does not exist, but still one must live in God's way. Moreover, he tells how, sick with consumption, he eats with his children from the same bowl to find out if this disease will stick to them, if God will raise a hand against the unintelligent children. On Ilyin's Day, Chebotarikha Baryba arranges an interrogation - about Polka. Anfim is silent. Then Chebotarikha splashes with saliva, stamps her feet: "Get out, get out of the house! Podkolodny snake!" Baryba goes first to Timosha, then to the monastery to the monk Yevsey, Anfim has known since childhood. Fathers Yevsey and Innokenty, as well as Savka the novice, treat the guest with wine. Then Yevsey, having borrowed money from Anfim, sets off with him and Savka for a walk further, to Streltsy. The next day, Yevsey and Baryba go to Ilyinsky Church, where Yevsey's money is kept, and the monk returns Anfim's debt. Since then, Baryba has been spinning near the church, and one night, after a festive service, he goes to the altar for Yevsey's money: why the hell are they to a monk? Now Baryba is renting a room in the Streltsy Sloboda from the Aprosi-Saldatka. Anfim reads popular prints. He walks in the field, they mow there. That would be so for Baryba! No, it’s not for him to go to the men. And he submits a petition to the treasury: maybe they will take a scribe. Yevsey finds out about the missing money and realizes that Baryba stole it. The monks decide to make Anfimka the thief drink tea on the charmed water - perhaps he confesses. Baryba sips from a glass, and one wants to say: "I stole it," but he is silent and only smiles like an animal. And the deacon, exiled to this monastery, jumps up to Baryba: "No, brother, you can't get through any gap-grass. Strong, cast." Baryba can't. On the third day, it just got better. Thanks to Aprosa, Anfima came out and has since become his sudarushka. Autumn this year is somehow awkward: the snow is falling and melting, and with it the Barybin-Evseeva money is melting. Refusal comes from the Treasury. It was then that Timosha introduced Anfim to the lawyer Semyon Semenovich, nicknamed Morgunov. He conducts all their dark dealings with merchants and never talks about God. Baryba begins to walk in his witnesses: he stipulates who Morgunov orders. Everything in the country is on fire, the alarm is sounded, so the minister was slammed. Timosha and Baryba with friends are sitting in a tavern before Easter dinner. The tailor coughs into his handkerchief. They go out into the street, and Timosha returns: he dropped his handkerchief in a tavern. Upstairs, noise, shots, Timosha rolls out head over heels, followed by someone with an arrow and - into the alley. And the other, his accomplice - a black-haired boy, lies on the ground, and the owner of the tavern, old man Churilov, kicks him in the side: "They took him away! He ran away alone, ran away with a hundred rubles!" Suddenly an angry Timosha jumps up: "What are you, you bastard, do you want to kill a boy for a hundred rubles?" According to Timosha, Churilova will not lose a hundred, and they may not have eaten for two days. "A manger would have reached our sleepy lake, it would have climbed into the very pool!" - tells Timosha's friends about the revolutionary events. They came in large numbers from the province, a military court. Churilov, during interrogation, complains about Timoshka the audacious. Baryba suddenly says to the prosecutor: "There was no headscarf. Timosha said: there is business upstairs." Timosha is arrested. Police officer Ivan Arefyich and Morgunov decide to bribe Baryba so that he will testify against a friend in court. Six quarters and a sergeant's place - not a little, after all! On the night before the trial, some kind of annoying goosebumps annoys Baryba inside. To refuse, my friend, after all, is somehow wonderful. But life is only half an inch in Timosh. Exams are dreaming, pop. Anfim will fail again, for the second time. And he was brainy, Timosha. "Was?" Why "was"? Baryba speaks confidently in court. And in the morning on a merry market day, Timosha and the black-haired boy are executed. Someone's voice says: "Gallows, devils!" And another: "Timoshka forgot God ... The old life in the village ended, they stirred up, yes." White brand new tunic, shoulder straps. Baryba, joyful and proud, goes to his father: let him take a look now. The aged father grunts: "What do you need?" - "Did you hear? They did it for three days." - "I heard about you, of course. And about the monk Yevsey. And about the tailor, too." And suddenly the old man began to shake, spattered with saliva: "Here he is from my house, scoundrel! He is!" Crazy, Baryba goes to the Churilovsky tavern. The attendants are having fun there. Already heavily loaded, Baryba moves towards the clerks: “Now we s-strictly d-are not allowed to laugh ...” A huge, quadrangular, crushing woman sways, as if not a person, but an old resurrected kurgan woman, an absurd Russian stone woman. T. T. Davydova Мы Novel (1920-1921, publ. 1952) Distant future. D-503, a talented engineer, builder of the Integral spacecraft, keeps notes for posterity, tells them about the "highest peaks in human history" - the life of the United State and its head, the Benefactor. The title of the manuscript is "We". D-503 admires the fact that citizens of the One State, numbers, lead a life calculated according to the Taylor system, strictly regulated by the Tablet of Hours: they get up at the same time, start and finish work, go for a walk, go to the auditorium, go to bed. For numbers, a suitable report card of sexual days is determined and a pink coupon book is issued. D-503 is sure: "We" are from God, and "I" are from the devil. One spring day, with his sweet, round-turned girlfriend, recorded on him 0-90, D-503, along with other identically dressed numbers, walks to the march of the Musical Factory trumpets. A stranger is talking to him with very white and sharp teeth, with some kind of annoying X in her eyes or eyebrows. 1-330, thin, sharp, stubbornly flexible, like a whip, reads the thoughts of D-503. A few days later, 1-330 invites D-503 to the Ancient House (they fly there by air). In the apartment-museum there is a grand piano, a chaos of colors and shapes, a statue of Pushkin. D-503 is trapped in a wild whirlwind of ancient life. But when 1-330 asks him to break the routine and stay with her, D-503 intends to go to the Guardian Bureau and denounce her. However, the next day he goes to the Medical Bureau: it seems to him that the irrational No. 1 has grown into him and that he is clearly sick. He is released from work. D-503, along with other numbers, is present on Cuba Square during the execution of one poet who wrote blasphemous verses about the Benefactor. The poetic sentence is read with trembling gray lips by D-503's friend, State Poet R-13. The criminal is executed by the Benefactor himself, heavy, stone, like fate. The sharp blade of the beam of his Machine sparkles, and instead of a number - a puddle of chemically pure water. Soon the builder of the "Integral" receives a notification that 1-330 has signed up for him. D-503 comes to her at the appointed hour. 1-330 teases him: smokes ancient "cigarettes", drinks liquor, makes D-503 also take a sip in a kiss. The use of these poisons is prohibited in the One State, and D-503 must report it, but cannot. Now he is different. In the tenth entry, he admits that he is dying and can no longer fulfill his duties to the One State, and in the eleventh - that he now has two "I" - he is both the former, innocent, like Adam, and the new - wild, loving and jealous, just like in the idiotic old books. If only I knew which of these "I" is real! D-503 cannot live without 1-330, but she is nowhere to be found. In the Medical Bureau, where he is helped by the double-curved Guardian S-4711, friend I, it turns out that the builder of the "Integral" is terminally ill: he, like some other numbers, has a soul. D-503 comes to the Ancient House, to "their" apartment, opens the closet door, and suddenly ... the floor leaves from under his feet, he descends into some kind of dungeon, reaches the door, behind which there is a rumble. From there, his friend, the doctor, appears. "I thought she, 1-330..." - "Stand there!" the doctor disappears. Finally! Finally she is there. D and I leave - two-one ... She walks, like him, with her eyes closed, throwing her head up, biting her lips ... The builder of the "Integral" is now in a new world: something clumsy, shaggy, irrational is all around. 0-90 understands: D-503 loves another, so she removes her record on him. Having come to say goodbye to him, she asks: "I want - I owe a child from you - and I will leave, I will leave!" - "What? I wanted the Car of the Benefactor? You are ten centimeters shorter than the Maternal Norm!" - "Let it! But I'll feel it in myself. And at least a few days ..." How to refuse her? .. And D-503 fulfills her request - as if rushing down from the battery tower. 1-330 finally appears at his beloved. "Why did you torture me, why didn't you come?" - "Maybe I needed to test you, I need to know that you will do whatever I want, that you are already completely mine?" - "Yes, absolutely!" Sweet, sharp teeth; a smile, it is in a cup of an armchair - like a bee: it has a sting and honey. And then - bees - lips, the sweet pain of flowering, the pain of love ... "I can't do this, I. You always keep something back," - "Are you not afraid to follow me everywhere?" - "No, I'm not afraid!" “Then after the Day of Unanimity, you will know everything, unless…” The great Day of Unanimity is coming, something like ancient Easter, as D-503 writes; the annual election of the Benefactor, the triumph of the will of the one "We". A cast-iron, slow voice: "Who is in favor, please raise your hands." The rustle of millions of hands, with an effort raises his own and D-503. "Who is "against"?" Thousands of hands shot up, and among them - the hand 1-330. And then - a whirlwind of robes fluttered by the run, confused figures of the Guardians, R-13, carrying 1-330 in his arms. Like a battering ram, D-503 rips through the crowd, snatches I, covered in blood, from R-13, presses it tightly to itself and takes it away. If only to carry it like this, carry it, carry it ... And the next day in the United State Newspaper: "For the 48th time, the same Benefactor was unanimously elected." And in the city, leaflets with the inscription "Mephi" are pasted everywhere. D-503 from 1-330 along the corridors under the Ancient House leave the city behind the Green Wall, into the lower world. Unbearably colorful din, whistle, light. D-503's head is spinning. D-503 sees wild people, overgrown with wool, cheerful, cheerful. 1-330 introduces them to the builder of the Integral and tells them that he will help capture the ship, and then it will be possible to destroy the Wall between the city and the wild world. And on the stone are huge letters "Mephi". D-503 clear: wild people - half that the townspeople lost, alone2, and others O, but to get H2Oh, you need the halves to come together. I appoints D a date at the Ancient House and reveals to him Mephi's plan: capture the Integral during a test flight and, making it a weapon against the One State, end everything at once, quickly, without pain. "What an absurdity, I! After all, our revolution was the last!" - "The last - no, revolutions are endless, otherwise - entropy, blissful peace, balance. But it is necessary to break it for the sake of endless movement." D-503 cannot betray the conspirators, because among them ... But suddenly he thinks: what if she is with him only because of ... The next morning, a decree on the Great Operation appears in the State Gazette. The goal is to destroy fantasy. All numbers must undergo operations in order to become perfect, machine-equal. Maybe do surgery D and be cured from the soul, from I? But he can't live without her. Doesn't want to be saved... At the corner, in the auditorium, the door was wide open, and from there - a slow column of the operated ones. Now they are not people, but some kind of humanoid tractors. They uncontrollably plow through the crowd and suddenly surround it with a ring. Someone's piercing cry: "They're chasing, run!" And everyone runs away. D-503 runs into some entrance to rest, and immediately 0-90 is there. She also does not want the operation and asks to save her and their unborn child. D-503 gives her a note for 1-330: she will help. And here is the long-awaited flight of "Integral". Among the numbers on the ship are Mephi members. "Up - 45°!" - commands D-503. A deaf explosion - a push, then an instant curtain of clouds - a ship through it. And the sun, the blue sky. In the radiotelephone D-503 finds 1-330 - in a hearing winged helmet, sparkling, flying like ancient Valkyries. “Last night she comes to me with your note,” she says to D. “And I sent it - she is already there, behind the Wall. She will live ...” Lunch hour. Everything is in the dining room. And suddenly someone declares: "On behalf of the Guardians ... We know everything. To you - to whom I speak, they hear ... The test will be brought to the end, you will not dare to disrupt it. And then ... " I - mad, blue sparks. In D's ear: "Ah, so it's you? You - "fulfilled your duty"?" And he suddenly realizes with horror: this is the duty Yu, who has been in his room more than once, it was she who read his notes. The builder of the "Integral" is in the command cabin. He orders firmly: "Down! Stop engines. End of everything." Clouds - and then a distant green spot rushes towards the ship like a whirlwind. The warped face of the Second Builder. He pushes D-503 with all his might, and he, already falling, vaguely hears: "Aft - full speed!" A sharp jump up. D-503 summons the Benefactor and tells him that now the ancient dream of paradise is coming true - a place where the blessed with an operated fantasy, and that D-503 was needed by the conspirators only as the builder of the "Integral". "We don't know their names yet, but I'm sure we'll find out from you." The next day, it turns out that the Wall has been blown up and flocks of birds are flying in the city. There are rebels on the streets. Swallowing the storm with open mouths, they move west. Through the glass of the walls you can see: female and male numbers are copulating, without even lowering the curtains, without any coupons ... D-503 runs to the Guardian Bureau and tells S-4711 everything he knows about Mephi. He, like the ancient Abraham, sacrifices Isaac - himself. And suddenly it becomes clear to the builder of "Integral": S is one of those ... D-503 - from the Bureau of Guardians and - to one of the public lavatories. There, his neighbor, who occupies a seat on the left, shares his discovery with him: "There is no infinity! Everything is finite, everything is simple, everything is computable; and then we will win philosophically ..." - "And where does your finite universe end? What is there - further ?" The neighbor does not have time to answer. D-503 and all who were there are seized and in auditorium 112 are subjected to the Great Operation. D-503's head is now empty, easy ... The next day he comes to the Benefactor and tells everything he knows about the enemies of happiness. And here he is at the same table with the Benefactor in the famous Gas room. They bring that woman. She has to give her testimony, but only keeps silent and smiles. Then she is led under the bell. When air is pumped out from under the bell, she throws her head back, her eyes are half closed, her lips are clenched - this reminds D-503 of something. She stares at him, clutching the arms of the chair tightly, staring until her eyes close completely. Then they pull her out, quickly bring her to life with the help of electrodes and put her under the bell again. This is repeated three times - and still she does not say a word. Tomorrow she and others brought with her will climb the steps of the Benefactor's Machine. D-503 ends his notes like this: "A temporary wall of high-voltage waves has been constructed in the city. I am sure that we will win. Because the mind must win." T. T. Davydova Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884-1942) Professor Dowell's Head Novel (1925, new edition 1937) Marie Laurent, a young doctor, receives an offer to work in Professor Kern's laboratory. The office in which Kern receives her makes a very gloomy impression. But a visit to the laboratory turns out to be much more gloomy: there Marie sees a human head separated from the body. The head is fixed on a square glass board, from which tubes run to various cylinders and cylinders. The head bears a striking resemblance to Marie of the recently deceased Professor Dowell, a renowned surgical scientist. This is indeed his head. According to Kern, he managed to "resurrect" only the head of Dowell, who suffered from an incurable disease. ("I would prefer death to such a resurrection," Marie Doran reacts to this.) Marie goes to work in Kern's laboratory. Her duties include monitoring the state of the head, which "hears, understands and can respond with facial expressions." Besides. Marie brings a pile of medical journals to her head every day, and they "look through" them together. Some semblance of communication is established between the head and Marie, and one day Professor Dowell's head asks the girl to turn off the tap on the tube connected to his throat (Kern strictly forbade Marie to touch the tap, saying that this would lead to immediate death of the head). The head manages to explain to Marie: this will not happen. The girl hesitates, but eventually complies with the request and hears a hiss and a weak cracked voice - the head can speak! In secret conversations between Marie Laurent and the professor's head, the monstrous details of the resurrection are revealed. Kern was an assistant professor. He is a talented surgeon. During their joint work with Professor Dowell, an asthma attack occurred, and, waking up, he saw that he had lost his body. Kern needed to keep the professor's brain active in order to continue his research. Dowell refused to cooperate with him, although Kern forced him by the most rude methods (passing an electric current through the professor's head, mixing irritants with nutrient solutions). But when Kern, conducting experiments in front of his head, made several mistakes that could ruin the results of their efforts, Professor Dowell could not stand it and agreed to continue the work. With Dowell's help, Kern revives two more heads, a male and a female (Thoma Bush, a worker who was hit by a car, and Briquet, a bar singer who took a bullet that wasn't meant for her). The operation is successful, but the heads of Tom and Briquet, unlike Dowell, who are not accustomed to intellectual activity, languish without a body. Marie Laurent has more work to do. She not only monitors the condition of all three heads, but also shows Tom and Brike films, turns on music for them. But everything reminds them of their former life and only upsets them. Persistent Brique manages to persuade Kern to try to sew her a new body. Meanwhile, Kern learns of Marie's conversations with Professor Dowell's head. The girl is ready to expose him, telling the whole world his terrible secret, and Kern forbids Marie from returning home. Marie tries to protest. Kern turns off one of the taps before her eyes, depriving Dowell's head of air. Marie agrees to his terms and the lab becomes her prison. At the scene of a train accident, Kern finds a body suitable for Briquet and kidnaps him. The recruitment is going well. Brique is soon allowed to speak. She tries to sing, and some strangeness is revealed: in the upper register, Briquet's voice is rather squeaky and not very pleasant, and in the lower register she has an excellent chest contralto. Marie looks through the newspapers to understand who owned this young, graceful body, now inherited by Briquet. She comes across a note that the corpse of the famous Italian artist Angelica Guy, who was on the train that crashed, disappeared without a trace. Brika is allowed to get up, she begins to walk, sometimes amazing grace is noticeable in her gestures. Briquet is at war with Kern: she wants to return home and appear before her friends in a new guise, but the surgeon's intentions are not to let her out of the laboratory. Realizing this, Briquet runs, descending from the second floor on the bound sheets. She does not reveal the secrets of her return to her friends. Briquet, along with her friend Red Martha and her husband Jean (a safecracker), leave together to hide from possible police pursuit. Jean is interested in this no less than Briquet. They find themselves on one of the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, where they accidentally meet Armand Lare, an artist, and Arthur Dowell, the son of a professor. Armand Loret cannot forget Angelique Gay, he was "not only an admirer of the singer's talent, but also her friend, her knight." Lare, with a sharp look from the artist, catches the resemblance of an unfamiliar young woman to the missing singer: her figure "looks like two drops of water on the figure of Angelica Guy." She has the same mole on her shoulder as Angelica, the same gestures, Armand Lare and Arthur Dowell decide to find out the secret. Lare invites a stranger and her friends to take a trip on a yacht and there, left alone with Briquet, forces her to tell her story. She openly answers questions first from Lara, then from Arthur Dowell. When Briquet mentions the third head in the laboratory, Arthur guesses who he is talking about. He shows Brike a photograph of his father, and it confirms his hunch. Friends take Briquet to Paris to find Professor Dowell's head with her help. Armand Larais is in some confusion: he feels sympathy - and maybe something more - for Briquet, but he cannot understand what exactly attracts him, Angelique's body or the personality of Briquet herself. Briquet feels that something completely new has entered her life as a bar singer. A miracle of "reincarnation" is being performed - the pure body of Angelica Guy not only rejuvenates Briquet's head, it changes the course of her thoughts. But the small wound that was on Angelica's foot suddenly makes itself felt: Briquet starts to hurt, his leg turns red and swells. Lare and Dowell want to take Briquet to the doctors, but she objects to this, fearing that her entire story will be made public. Trusting only Kern, Brike secretly goes to his laboratory. Meanwhile, Dowell, looking for Marie Laurent, learns that the girl was imprisoned in a hospital for the mentally ill. As the friends struggle to free Marie, Kern tries unsuccessfully to save Briquet's leg. In the end, he is forced to again separate Briquet's head from the torso. Kern, realizing that it is impossible to hide his experiments in the future, demonstrates to the public Briquet's living head (Tom's head is dying by this time). During this demonstration, Marie Laurent, burning with anger and hatred, denounces Kern as a murderer and a thief who appropriated other people's works. To hide the traces of the crime, Kern uses paraffin injections to change the appearance of Professor Dowell's head. Arthur Dowell, having come to the chief of police, asks for a search of Kern. He himself, along with Marie Laurent and Armand Lare, is present at the same time. They see the last minutes of Professor Dowell's head. The police are going to interrogate Kern. Kern heads to his office, and soon a shot is heard from there. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (1887-1964) Twelvemonth dramatic tale (1943) In the winter forest, the wolf is talking with the raven, the squirrels are playing with the hare in the burners. They are seen by the Stepdaughter, who came to the forest for brushwood and firewood (her cruel Stepmother sent her). The stepdaughter meets the Soldier in the forest, tells him about the game of animals. He explains that on New Year's Eve all sorts of miracles happen, and helps the girl to collect a bundle. And the Soldier himself came to the forest for a Christmas tree for the Queen. When he leaves, twelve months gather in the forest to build a fire. The fourteen-year-old Queen, the same age as the Stepdaughter, an orphan. The gray-bearded Professor teaches the wayward girl calligraphy and mathematics, but not very successfully, because the Queen does not like to be contradicted. She wants April to come tomorrow, and issues an order: promises a great reward to someone who brings a basket of snowdrops to the palace. Heralds announce the beginning of spring and royal order. The Stepmother and her Daughter dream of a reward. As soon as the Stepdaughter returns with brushwood, she is immediately sent back to the forest - for snowdrops. The frozen stepdaughter wanders through the forest. He comes out into a clearing where a fire is burning, and twelve brothers-months are warming around it. The girl tells them her story. April asks the brothers to give him an hour to help Stepdaughter. They agree. Snowdrops bloom all around, the girl collects them. April gives her her ring: if trouble happens, you need to throw a ring, say magic words - and all the months will come to the rescue. The brothers punish the Stepdaughter not to tell anyone about meeting them. Stepdaughter brings snowdrops home. Stepmother's Daughter steals April's ring from her sleeping Stepdaughter. She immediately guesses about it, begs to return the ring to her, but the old woman and her evil Daughter do not even want to listen. They go with the snowdrops to the royal palace, leaving the Stepdaughter at home. Solemn reception in the royal palace. The Queen announces that the New Year will not come until a full basket of snowdrops is brought. Gardeners appear with greenhouse flowers, but there are no snowdrops among them. Only when the Stepmother and Daughter bring Snowdrops, the Queen admits that the New Year has come. She orders "two persons" to tell where they found the flowers. They weave a fairy tale about a wonderful place where flowers, mushrooms, and berries grow in winter. The queen decides to send them for nuts and berries, but then she has the idea to go there herself along with the courtiers. Then the Stepmother and Daughter say that the wonderful place is already covered with snow. The queen threatens them with execution for deception, and the liars admit that the flowers were torn by the Stepdaughter. The Queen rides into the forest, having ordered "two persons" to accompany her along with her Stepdaughter. In the forest, the soldiers clear the way for the Queen. They are hot, but the courtiers are cold. The queen orders everyone to work and takes the broom herself. Stepmother, Daughter and Stepdaughter appear. The Queen commands to give the Stepdaughter a fur coat. The stepdaughter complains that her ring was taken from her. The Queen orders her stepmother's Daughter to return the ring, and she obeys. The Queen then demands that the Stepdaughter tell her where she found the snowdrops. The girl refuses, and then the enraged Queen orders to take off her fur coat, threatens with execution and throws her ring into the hole. The stepdaughter finally utters the magic words and disappears somewhere. Spring comes right away. Then summer. A bear appears next to the Queen. Everyone runs away, only the Professor and the old Soldier protect her. The bear leaves. Autumn is coming. Hurricane, rain. The courtiers, leaving the Queen, run back to the palace. The Queen stays with the Professor, the old Soldier, the Stepmother and her Daughter. Winter is returning, severe cold. There is a sleigh, but you can’t go: the courtiers galloped away on horseback. The queen is cold. How to get out of the forest? An old man in a white coat appears and invites everyone to make one wish. The Queen wants to go home, the Professor wants the seasons to return to their places, the Soldier wants to warm up by the fire, the Stepmother and Daughter want fur coats, even dog ones. The old man gives them fur coats, they scold each other for not asking for sables. And then they turn into dogs. They are harnessed to the sled. Twelve months and Stepdaughter are sitting by the fire. Months give the girl a chest with new clothes and a wonderful sleigh harnessed by two horses. The king's sleigh in a dog sled appears. Months allow everyone to warm themselves by the fire. Of course, you can't go far with dogs. You should ask the Stepdaughter to give you a ride, but the arrogant Queen does not want to ask and does not know how. The soldier explains to her how it's done. The Queen finally kindly asks the Stepdaughter, she puts everyone in a sleigh and gives everyone a fur coat. And in three years she will lead the dogs to the New Year's fire, and if they improve, they will be turned into people again. Everyone is leaving. Months remain at the New Year's fire. O. V. Butkova Anna Andreevna Akhmatova (1889-1966) A poem without a hero Triptych (1940-1965) The author hears Chopin's Funeral March and the whisper of a warm downpour in the ivy. She dreams of youth, HIS past bowl. She is waiting for a man with whom she is destined to deserve something that will embarrass the Twentieth Century. But instead of the one she was waiting for, on New Year's Eve, shadows from the thirteenth year come to the author in the fountain House under the guise of mummers. One is dressed up as Faust, the other as Don Giovanni. Dapertutto arrives, Iokanaan, northern Glan, the slayer Dorian. The author is not afraid of his unexpected guests, but is confused, not understanding: how could it happen that only she, one of all, survived? It suddenly seems to her that she herself - such as she was in the thirteenth year and with whom she would not want to meet before the Last Judgment - will now enter the White Hall. She forgot the lessons of the talkers and false prophets, but they did not forget her: as the future ripens in the past, so the past smolders in the future. The only one who did not appear at this terrible festival of dead leaves is the Guest from the Future. But the Poet comes, dressed up with a striped verst, - the same age as the oak of Mamre, the century-old interlocutor of the moon. He does not wait for magnificent jubilee chairs for himself, sins do not stick to him. But this is best told by his poems. Among the guests is the same demon who sent a black rose in a glass in a crowded hall and who met with the Commander. In careless, spicy, shameless masquerade chatter, the author hears familiar voices. They talk about Casanova, about the Stray Dog cafe. Someone is dragging a goat-legged into the White Hall. She is full of cursed dancing and ceremonially naked. After shouting: "Hero to the fore!" the ghosts are running away. Left alone, the author sees his looking-glass guest with a pale forehead and open eyes - and understands that gravestones are fragile and granite is softer than wax. The guest whispers that he will leave her alive, but she will forever be his widow. Then his clear voice is heard in the distance: "I am ready for death." The wind, either remembering or prophesying, mumbles about St. Petersburg in 1913. In that year, the silver month froze brightly over the silver age. The city went into the fog, in the pre-war frosty closeness there lived some kind of future rumble. But then he almost did not disturb the soul and drowned in the Neva snowdrifts. And along the legendary embankment, not a calendar one was approaching - the real Twentieth Century. In that year, an unforgettable and tender friend rose above the rebellious youth of the author - a dream that had only once occurred. Forever his grave is forgotten, as if he did not live at all. But she believes that he will come to tell her again the word that conquered death and the clue to her life. The infernal harlequinade of the thirteenth year rushes by. The author remains at the Fountain House on January 5, 1941. The ghost of a snow-covered maple is visible in the window. In the howl of the wind, fragments of the Requiem are heard very deeply and very skillfully hidden. The editor of the poem is dissatisfied with the author'. He says that it is impossible to understand who is in love with whom, who, when and why he met, who died and who remained alive, and who is the author, and who is the hero. The editor is sure that today there is no point in talking about a poet and a swarm of ghosts. The author objects: she herself would be glad not to see the infernal harlequinade and not to sing in the midst of the horror of torture, exile and executions. Together with her contemporaries - convicts, "stoppers", captives - she is ready to tell how they lived in fear on the other side of hell, raised children for the chopping block, dungeon and prison. But she cannot leave the road she miraculously stumbled upon and not complete her poem. On the white night of June 24, 1942, fires burn out in the ruins of Leningrad. In the Sheremetev Garden, lindens are blooming and a nightingale is singing. A crippled maple grows under the window of the fountain House. The author, who is seven thousand kilometers away, knows that the maple foresaw separation at the beginning of the war. She sees her double, going for interrogation behind barbed wire, in the very heart of the dense taiga, and hears her own voice from the lips of a double: I paid for you with a chisel, for exactly ten years I went under a revolver ... The author understands that it is impossible to separate her from the seditious, disgraced, sweet city, on the walls of which is her shadow. She remembers the day when she left her city at the beginning of the war, in the belly of a flying fish to escape the evil chase. Below, the road opened up for her, along which her son and many other people were taken away. And, knowing the term of revenge, possessed by mortal fear, lowering her dry eyes and wringing her hands, Russia walked before her to the east. T. A. Sotnikova Sergei Antonovich Klychkov (1889-1937) Sugar German Roman (1925) World War I. The soldiers of the twelfth company are yesterday's men from the village of Chertukhino. Mikolaj Mitrich Zaytsev, the son of a Chertukhin shopkeeper, a young fellow, recently promoted to ensign. Everyone calls him Bunny. He is a songwriter. Bunny is a kind and unrequited person: everyone (and even sergeant major Ivan Palych) treats him unceremoniously. Once, during a review, the commander yelled at Zaichik - because Penkin Prokhor Akimych, red and pockmarked, was his platoon. Out of confusion, Zaichik slapped Corporal Penkin, and in the evening threw himself at his feet and asked for forgiveness. Rote receives instructions. It says that the soldiers will be landed from the ships so that they will attack the Germans directly "from the sea". Everyone is horrified. The company takes communion before certain death. But the operation is cancelled. The soldiers believe that the war will end soon. However, a company from the reserve is again sent to the front line, to the Dvina River. In the dugout, Corporal Penkin tells a tale about the ugly Tsar Ahlamon, who renounced wealth, began to walk the earth as a beggar and became handsome. The life of the company goes on as usual. At the window in the observation post, one of the devils, Vasily Morkovkin, was killed. In the latrine, Zaichik's orderly, Anuchkin, was shot dead. And the company commander, Palon Palonych, kicks Zaichik for his poetry. Bunny, one of the entire company, is allowed to go home on a visit. On the way, the Germans fired on him. He does not show up at the headquarters, where he has to straighten his leave papers, and he is considered missing. Company officer Palon Palonych (drunk as always) orders the batman Senka to bring a piece of German barbed wire from the other side of the Dvina. He boasts to everyone that he deceived the commander (brought wire, but not German) and received an order for this. The Dvina overflows and floods the trenches. Chertukhins (unlike many others) manage to escape. The bunny just got lost and, without going to the headquarters, went home. His Old Believers-parents, Mitriy Semenych and Fyokla Spiridonovna, joyfully meet him. But bad news awaits him. Klasha, the daughter of Father Nikanor, whom Zaichik loved and married in the Old Believer chapel "in spirit and light", married another rich man. Zaichik also learns the terrible story of Pelageya, the wife of Prokhor Penkin, The husband went to war, and the blood raged in his young wife. She tried to seduce the old father-in-law. The father-in-law dies, and Pelageya, having sinned with the shepherd Ignatka, is expecting a child. Then she ends herself. The drunken deacon Athanasius stumbles upon her body in the forest at night and tells stories about a terrible woman with a rope. Bunny, entering the forest, also sees the body of Pelageya. There he meets a gypsy who advises him to beware of water. The coachman Pyotr Yeremeich decides to run away from Chertukhin: he does not want to give his horses to the front. Pyotr Eremeich gives Zaichik a lift to the city of Chagoduya. There they drink with the deacon Athanasius, who is going to go to the king and say that he, the deacon, does not believe in God. In the city, Zaichik meets Klasha, She leads him to her bedroom. But her father-in-law comes and Bunny is forced to run through the window. Mikolaj Mitrich finds himself in the carriage with Deacon Athanasius. He says that there is no more God, but only divine children - each nation has its own. The train comes to St. Petersburg. The deacon disappears somewhere. And Zaichik meets in St. Petersburg with a gray-haired woman who looks like Klasha. The woman leads the Bunny home, but he runs away and goes straight from there to the station - to the front. Bunny does not tell anyone that he has been at home, so as not to tell the terrible news to Penkin. Mikolaj Mitrich gives the clerk Pek Pekych a bribe and learns that the company commander is now under investigation (“half a company was swept away by water!”), And he, Zaychik, has been promoted. Company commander Palon Palonych almost lost his mind: strange devils began to speak. And Zaichik came to him drunk and started arguing about faith (in the words of deacon Athanasius). The company commander is then taken to the hospital, and Zaichik becomes the commander instead of him. The soldiers are transferred to new positions. Opposite them, in the middle of the Dvina, is an island on which the Germans managed to gain a foothold. Senka, Palon Palonych's former batman, comes up with an ingenious device that blows up the "island" Germans. On the Feast of the Intercession, gifts are brought to the soldiers. They drink tea with the commander. The bunny goes to the river for water, and the Germans, oddly enough, do not shoot at him. On the other side, the German also goes out for water. Bunny grabs a rifle and kills him. After this incident, the Bunny lies in the dugout, not himself. He imagines a little sugar German who aims at him. And the Germans really open heavy fire. All soldiers consider this to be retribution for the commander's deed. Ivan Palych, after a night spent under fire, finds a dugout destroyed by Zaichik. He pulls out a half-dead commander, hoping that he will receive an order for this. O. V. Butkova Chertukhinsky Balakir Roman (1926) It happened in Chertukhino a long time ago, "when the coachman Pyotr Eremeich was still young." There lived two brothers, Akim and Petr Kirilychi Penkin. Akim married early, he had many children, and he worked day and night. But Peter was lazy, lived with his brother, did nothing, but knew how to tell different stories, for which he was nicknamed Balakir. This story is also known from his words - who knows whether it really was or not. Maura, the wife of Akim, began to get angry with Peter, reproached with a piece. She wanted Peter to get married and start his own household. He himself was not averse, but the girls did not like him: a lazy person and a balakir. Offended by Mavra, Pyotr Kirilych went into the forest and met the goblin Antiutik there. He promised to marry Peter to a water girl, and instead showed a bathing fekolka, the daughter of the miller Spiridon Yemelyanych. Melnik was not a simple man. In his youth, he and his brother Andrei went to the monastery. The brothers lived on Athos, but they overcame their temptations: Spiridon dreamed of a red-haired girl in his cell, and Andrei in the church some faceless monk. Moreover, the demon told Andrei that peasants are not saints, and embarrassed him. The brothers fled from Athos, taking with them an Armenian coat, which, according to legend, belonged to the holy peasant Ivan Nedotyapa. They returned to their native village. Andrei was shaved into soldiers, and he went missing. And Spiridon married a beautiful Old Believer and for three years, by vow, did not touch his wife. Three years later, she died, and Spiridon married ... a beggar she met by chance. She soon gave birth to two girls and also died - in the year when Spiridon caught a bear for the master Mahal Mahalich Bachurin. The master was selling the mill and wanted to have a live bear. So they agreed - a mill for a bear with cubs. Yes, while they were arguing, the bear ran away. And in addition to the cubs, Spiridon gave the master a wonderful wise book "Golden Mouth", which Andrei found in the forest. And in the mill cellar, Spiridon set up a church, where he served instead of a priest. He had his own faith - like the Old Believers, but special. One Spiridon's daughter, Fekolka, was a beauty, the second, Masha, was plain, Fekolka got married early, and Spiridon imposed a ban on her: not to live with her husband for three years after the wedding. It ended with the fact that Fekolkin's husband, Mitri Semyonitch, got himself a mistress. When these three years had passed, Fekolka came to visit her father. It was then that Pyotr Kirilych saw her. The next day he again came to this place. But Fekolka had already left, and Pyotr saw instead of her an ugly Masha. He decided that Masha was no worse than the others, got married and received consent. And Spiridon accepted Peter Kirilych into his faith. One misfortune - the sorceress Ustinya became attached to Pyotr Kirilych, she fell in love with him. Ustinya came to Masha in the guise of an old woman and gave a magic root: if you eat after the wedding, you will get prettier. And the spine was sleepy. They played a wedding, the bride swallowed the root and became as dead. They buried her. Pyotr Kirilych grieved - he managed to fall in love with Masha. He began to live with Spiridon Emelyanych. It seemed to the miller that the deceased - the first wife - came to him at night. And one day he saw instead of her in bed ... the sorceress Ulyana. From that day on, she also began to live at the mill and said that Masha was not dead, but asleep. Spiridon stole the sleeping Masha from the cemetery. And he got angry with Ulyana and drove her away. During the service, the mill caught fire. Maybe it was Uliana taking revenge, but it seemed to Pyotr Kirilych that the fire was from the image of the Burning Bush. Both the miller and Masha burned down... And Pyotr Kirilych, as if mad, rushed to run into the forest. O. V. Butkova Prince of Peace Roman (1927) "It will be many years ago" lived in Chertukhino, a peasant Mikhail Ivanovich Bachura, nicknamed the Saint. In his old age, his wife died, and he began to live on alms. Once on the way he met a beggar girl, brought her home and married her. Marya turned out to be a "efficient woman" and put the household in order. Yes, only Mikhail was already old, so they did not have children. Michael went to the sorcerer, and he said: if you go around the earth, it will help you. The old man set off on his journey and met a soldier along the way. The soldier frightened Mihaila and forced him to change his appearance: he took away his beard, his stick, the ruble with a checked hole, and gave away his mustache. A soldier came to Mikhail's house and began to live with his wife (they say that even before that, Marya had cheated on her husband with the sacristan). False Mikhail and Marya lived richly and amicably. Neighbors said that Mikhaila had the devil in his laborers, because he lives so well. However, Marya, who soon became heavy, died in childbirth. And the imaginary Mikhail (or the real one, who knows?) strangled himself in the forest on an aspen. The body strangely disappeared from the loop. In the house, the neighbors saw the lifeless Mary and a newborn boy. We decided to feed him with the whole world in turn, then let him be a shepherd boy. A chain was found around the child's neck, and on it - a ruble with a hole. They didn’t have time to bury Marya - the house with her body burned down, and on the threshold of the burning house people saw the devil ... When the orphan Mishutka grew up a little, he was given as a shepherd to the drunkard and fighter, the shepherd Nile. One day, Neil brutally beat the boy and the next day was found dead. Mishutka, half asleep, saw that a man with a beard and a wand had killed Nile. Mishutka became a shepherd. Everything would be fine, but the cows began to lose half a day's milk. The devils thought of drowning the shepherdess. But one day he saw Mishutka sleeping on the shore of a huge catfish. The deacon Porfiry Prokopyich helped him cope with the fish. When the belly of the catfish was torn open, milk poured out: the fish sucked milk from cows wandering into the water. To the surprise of the devils, he returned to the village of Mikhail (or the imaginary Mikhail). He took Mishutka with him, they began to walk around the world together, collect alms. At that time, the lady Raisa Vasilievna Rysakova, or Rysachikha, lived nearby. She owned the village of Skudilishche and severely flogged the peasants. Almost ruined to death the most humble - Ivan Nedotyapa. Ivan ran away, and after a while appeared to the headman Nikita Mironych and brought quitrent to the mistress - from the alms he collected. It seemed to the headman that Ivan had a radiance over his head. Nikita Mironych brought money to the mistress, she took it and said that a peasant cannot be a saint, but perhaps a devil. She decided that the people should be released from corvée for quitrent - let them collect alms, and from that money they pay quitrent. Rysachikha's husband, a major general, died long ago, and there was no end to her from matchmakers: Rysachikha was a beauty. Prince Kopyto-Nalivaiko often went to see her and wooed her. And to the poor one, it seemed that this was a major general coming from the other world, she was being "tilisked". Alenka became pregnant, and the mistress ordered her to be married off to the freak Khomka, who served instead of the executioner. Then Alyonushka strangled herself under the mistress's window, Khomka ruined to death the housekeeper Savishna, the lady's earpiece, and the blacksmith Burkan, who loved Alyonushka, killed Khomka. The trotter gave her consent to Prince Kopyto-Nalivaiko. He explained to her that it was necessary to flog the peasants not one by one, but all at once. But Skudilishche did not have time to live under his rule: the peasants "released for quitrent" became robbers, and Burkan became their chieftain. They killed the prince. Rysachikha's money affairs were in disorder. The day came - they described her property, a lot was sold under the hammer, then there were no matchmakers. The trotter met with the seedy master Bodyaga, cheerful and roguish. But he disappeared three years later. Then, they said, she lived with the sexton (or it was unclean in the guise of a sexton). The lady began to flog the peasants less often, She stuffed herself into godmothers for everyone, and her godchildren turned out to be blind: the fact is that she touched their eyes with a magic ring. And Ivan Nedotyapa again came to Nikita Mironych and brought a quitrent. They told him the whole truth about the mistress, then he left the money to the headman and his wife, And he revealed the secret: he owns a fiat ruble, which returns to its owner from everywhere. Ivan decided to get rid of this ruble, asked him to bake it into a pie and served it to Mikhayla, who was passing by. The headman redeemed himself for Nedotyapin's money to freedom. But ... on the same day, the king granted freedom to all the peasants. And Rysachikha managed to blind the last son of the headman. What was the former Rysachikha peasants to do? Nikita Mironych started an inn and organized a "poor business", which fed yesterday's peasants. He supplied them with clothes suitable for begging and received a share of the proceeds. Mikhail and Mishutka also stopped in his yard. Sekletinya, a midwife from Chertukhino, was also there. She found out about the fiat ruble - the same one that was found around Mishutka's neck. The horned "prince of this world" is depicted on this coin. Sekletinha wanted to take possession of the ruble. At night, the robber crept up to Mikhail and killed him, but he did not have time to deal with Mishutka: Sekletinya hit the villain with a log. And the dead Mikhaila suddenly grew a huge mustache. Sekletinya went on with Mishutka. She tried to take a ruble from the boy, but Mishutka ran away from her. When Sekletinya returned to Chertukhino, she met a troika, and on it was Mishutka and a terrible "Turkish anaral" with a mustache, like the dead Mikhaila. "Anaral" ordered Sekletinya to keep quiet. However, she blabbed everything in Chertukhin at gatherings. Soon the talkative woman's tongue swelled up and she died. And Mishutka then married Rysachikha's daughter and became a gentleman, but that's another story. O. V. Butkova Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) Childhood Auvers Tale (1918, published 1922) Zhenya Luvers was born and raised in Perm. In the summer they lived on the banks of the Kama in the country. Once, waking up in the middle of the night, Zhenya was frightened by the lights and sounds on the other side of the river and burst into tears. Her father, entering the nursery, shamed her and briefly explained: this is Motovilikha. The next morning, the girl found out that Motovilikha was a state-owned plant and cast iron was being made there ... She deliberately did not ask the most significant questions that bothered her. That morning she came out of infancy, in which she had been still at night, for the first time suspecting the phenomenon of something such that the phenomenon remains to itself or reveals only to adults. Years passed. For Zhenya, these were years of loneliness. My father was constantly away, rarely had lunch and never had dinner. When he got irritated and lost his self-control, he became a complete stranger. The mother, appearing, showered the children with caresses, spent whole hours with them when they least wanted it, but more often they saw the mother aloof, quick-tempered for no reason. In Yekaterinburg, life began in a new way. Seryozha and Zhenya entered the gymnasium. A friend appeared - Lisa Defendova, the daughter of a psalmist. Serezha became friends with the Akhmedyanov brothers. Among his father's colleagues was the handsome Belgian Negarat, who was soon forced to return to his homeland. Before leaving, he said that he left part of his books with Tsvetkov. If desired, Luvers can use them. Once in August, Zhenya climbed onto a woodpile and saw someone else's garden. Three strangers in the garden looked at something. After a while they proceeded through the gate, and a short lame man carried behind them a large album or atlas. The limping young man continued to occupy her in the following days. She saw him with her tutor Dikikh leaving the bookstore, where a minute later she and Seryozha went to fetch Turgenev. It turns out that the lame man was the same Tsvetkov that Negarat was talking about. One day, the parents gathered at the theater, and Zhenya sat down at the adult edition of "Tales of Purring Cat". At twelve o'clock suddenly voices were heard, trampling and a loud, slashing cry of mother. The children were locked in their rooms, and in the morning Zhenya was sent to the Defendovs, and Seryozha to the Akhmedyanovs. Living with strangers, Zhenya for the first time measured the depth of her affection for her mother. She suddenly felt that she was terribly like her. It was the feeling of a woman feeling her appearance and beauty. She left the room allotted to her, not with her changed, new gait. At night, at the Defendovs, she again saw Tsvetkov, Khromoy moving away from the window with a lamp raised in his hand. Behind him moved, warping, long shadows, and behind them the sleigh, which quickly flared up and dipped into the darkness. Upon returning home, she was explained the reason for her mother's illness. At the end of the performance, their stallion, at the moment of the appearance of his parents, began to fight, reared up and crushed a passerby to death, and mother fell ill with a nervous breakdown. "Then the dead brother was born?" - Zhenya asked, having heard about it from the Defendovs. In the evening, a dejected tutor came. His friend, Tsvetkov, died. Zhenya screamed and rushed out of the room. "How to explain this surge of sensitivity?" thought Dikikh. "Obviously, the deceased made a particularly deep impression on this little woman, who has her own name." Here he was wrong. The impression was really vital and significant, but its meaning was that another person entered her life, a third person, the one that the Gospel commandments mean when they talk about love for one's neighbor. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Doctor Zhivago Roman (1955, publ. 1957, in the USSR - 1988) When Yurin's uncle Nikolai Nikolaevich moved to Petersburg, other relatives, Gromeko, took care of him, orphaned at the age of ten, in whose house on Sivtsev Vrazhka there were interesting people and where the atmosphere of a professorial family was quite conducive to the development of Yuri's talents. The daughter of Alexander Alexandrovich and Anna Ivanovna (nee Kruger) Tonya was a good friend to him, and a classmate at the gymnasium Misha Gordon was a close friend, so he did not suffer from loneliness. Once, during a home concert, Alexander Alexandrovich had to accompany one of the invited musicians on an urgent call to the rooms, where his good friend Amalia Karlovna Guichard had just tried to commit suicide. The professor yielded to the request of Yura and Misha and took them with him. While the boys stood in the hallway and listened to the complaints of the victim that she was driven to such a step by terrible suspicions, which fortunately turned out to be only the fruit of her frustrated imagination, a middle-aged man came out from behind the partition into the next room, waking up the sleeping girl in the armchair. At the mocking glances of the man, she answered with a wink of an accomplice, pleased that everything worked out and their secret was not revealed. There was something frighteningly magical about this silent communication, as if he were a puppeteer and she a puppet. Yura's heart sank from the contemplation of this enslavement. On the street, Misha told a friend that he had met this man. A few years ago, he and dad rode with him on the train and he soldered Yuri's father on the road, who then rushed off the platform onto the rails. The girl Yura saw turned out to be the daughter of Madame Guichard. Larisa - Lara - was a schoolgirl. At sixteen, she looked eighteen and was somewhat weighed down by the position of a child - the same as her friends. This feeling intensified when she succumbed to the courtship of Viktor Ippolitovich Komarovsky, whose role under her mother was not limited to the role of an adviser in business and a friend at home. He became her nightmare, he enslaved her. A few years later, already a medical student, Yuri Zhivago met Lara again under unusual circumstances. Together with Tonya Gromeko, on the eve of Christmas, they went to the Christmas tree to the Sventsitskys along Kamergersky Lane. Recently, Anna Ivanovna, who was seriously ill for a long time, joined their hands, saying that they were made for each other. Tonya really was a close and understanding person. At that moment, she caught his mood and did not interfere with admiring the frosty, glowing windows from the inside, in one of which Yuri noticed a black thaw hole, through which the candle fire was visible, facing the street with almost a conscious look. At that moment, the lines of poems that had not yet taken shape were born: "The candle was burning on the table, the candle was burning ..." He did not even suspect that outside the window Lara Guichard was saying at that moment to Pasha Antipov, who had not hidden his adoration since childhood, that if he loves her and wants to keep her from death, they should immediately get married. After that, Lara went to the Sventsitskys, where Yura and Tonya were having fun in the hall and where Komarovsky was sitting at the cards. At about two o'clock in the morning, a shot suddenly rang out in the house. Lara, shooting at Komarovsky, missed, but the bullet hit a fellow prosecutor of the Moscow Court of Justice. When Lara was led through the hall, Yura was stunned - she was the one! And again the same grey-haired one that was related to the death of his father! To crown it all, having returned home, Tonya and Yura no longer found Anna Ivanovna alive. Through the efforts of Komarovsky, Lara was saved from trial, but she fell ill, and Pasha was not allowed to see her yet. However, Kologrivov came, brought "premium". More than three years ago, Lara, in order to get rid of Komarovsky, became the tutor of his youngest daughter. Everything was going well, but then her empty brother Rodya lost the public money. He was going to shoot himself if his sister didn't help him. The Kologrivovs helped out with money, and Lara handed them over to Roda, taking away the revolver from which he wanted to shoot himself. Kologrivov could not repay the debt. Lara, secretly from Pasha, sent money to his exiled father and paid extra money to the owners of the room in Kamergersky. The girl considered her position with the Kologrivovs to be false, she saw no way out of it, except to ask Komarovsky for money. Life disgusted her. At the ball at the Sventsitskys, Viktor Ippolitovich pretended to be busy with cards and did not notice Lara. He turned to the girl who entered the hall with a smile, the meaning of which Lara understood so well ... When Lara got better, she and Pasha got married and left for Yuryatin, in the Urals. After the wedding, the young people talked until the morning. His guesses alternated with Larina's confessions, after which his heart sank ... In the new place, Larisa taught at the gymnasium and was happy, although she had a house and a three-year-old Katenka. Pasha taught Latin and ancient history. The wedding was celebrated by Yura and Tonya. Meanwhile, the war broke out. Yuri Andreevich ended up at the front, not having time to really see his son who was born. In another way, Pavel Pavlovich Antipov fell into the heat of battle. Relations with his wife were not easy. He doubted her love for him. In order to free everyone from this fake family life, he completed officer courses and ended up at the front, where he was captured in one of the battles. Larisa Fedorovna entered the hospital train as a sister and went to look for her husband. Lieutenant Galiullin, who knew Pasha from childhood, claimed to have seen him die. Zhivago witnessed the collapse of the army, the excesses of the anarchist deserters, and when he returned to Moscow, he found even more terrible devastation. What he saw and experienced made the doctor reconsider a lot in his attitude to the revolution. In order to survive, the family moved to the Urals, to the former estate of the Krugers Varykino, not far from the city of Yuriatin. The path ran through snow-covered expanses dominated by armed gangs, through areas of recently pacified uprisings, repeating with horror the name of Strelnikov, who was pushing the whites under the command of Colonel Galiullin. In Varykino, they stopped first at the former manager of the Krugers, Mikulitsyn, and then in an annex for servants. They planted potatoes and cabbage, put the house in order, the doctor sometimes received patients. The half-brother Evgraf, who suddenly appeared, energetic, mysterious, very influential, helped to strengthen their position. Antonina Alexandrovna, it seems, was expecting a child. Over time, Yuri Andreevich got the opportunity to visit Yuriatin in the library, where he saw Larisa Fedorovna Antipova. She told him about herself, that Strelnikov was her husband Pavel Antipov, who returned from captivity, but disappeared under a different surname and did not maintain relations with his family. When he took Yuryatin, he bombarded the city with shells and never once inquired whether his wife and daughter were alive. Two months later, Yuri Andreevich once again returned from the city to Varykino. He deceived Tonya, continuing to love her, and was tormented by this. On that day, he was driving home with the intention of confessing everything to his wife and not seeing Lara again. Suddenly, three armed men blocked his path and announced that the doctor had been mobilized into the detachment of Aivery Mikulitsyn from that moment on. The doctor's work was up to his neck: in winter - typhus, in summer - dysentery, and in all seasons - the wounded. Before Livery, Yuri Andreevich made no secret of the fact that the ideas of October did not inflame him, that they were still so far from being realized, and that only rumors about this were paid for with seas of blood, so that the end does not justify the means. And the very idea of remaking life was born by people who did not feel its spirit. Two years of captivity, separation from the family, deprivation and danger ended with an escape. In Yuriatin, the doctor appeared at the moment when the whites left the city, handing it over to the reds. He looked wild, unwashed, hungry and weak. Larisa Fyodorovna and Katenka were not at home. In the key cache, he found a note. Aarisa and her daughter went to Varykino, hoping to find him there. His thoughts were confused, fatigue drove him to sleep. He kindled the stove, ate a little and, without undressing, fell sound asleep. When he woke up, he realized that he was undressed, washed and lying in a clean bed, that he had been ill for a long time, but was quickly recovering thanks to the cares of Lara, although there was nothing to think about returning to Moscow until he was fully recovered. Zhivago went to serve in the Gubernia Health Service, and Larisa Fyodorovna - in Gubono. However, clouds were gathering over them. The doctor was seen as a social alien, under Strelnikov the ground began to tremble. An emergency was raging in the city. At this time, a letter came from Tony: the family was in Moscow, but Professor Gromeko, and with him her and her children (now they have a daughter, Masha, in addition to their son), are being sent abroad. Woe is that she loves him, but he does not love her. Let him build life according to his own understanding. Komarovsky unexpectedly showed up. He is invited by the government of the Far Eastern Republic and is ready to take them with him: they are both in mortal danger. Yuri Andreevich immediately rejected this proposal. Lara had long told him about the fatal role that this man played in her life, and he told her that Viktor Ippolitovich was responsible for his father's suicide. It was decided to take refuge in Barykino. The village was long abandoned by the inhabitants, wolves howled around at night, but the appearance of people would have been worse, but they did not take weapons with them. In addition, recently Lara said that she seems to be pregnant. I had to think about myself. Just then Komarovsky arrived again. He brought the news that Strelnikov had been sentenced to death and that Katenka had to be rescued if Lara was not thinking about herself. The doctor told Lara to go with Komarovsky. In the snowy, forest solitude, Yuri Andreevich was slowly losing his mind. He drank and wrote poems dedicated to Lara. Lamentation for the lost beloved grew into generalized thoughts about history and man, about the revolution as a lost and lamented ideal. One evening the doctor heard the crunch of footsteps, and a man appeared at the door. Yuri Andreevich did not immediately recognize Strelnikov. It turned out that Komarovsky had deceived them! They talked almost all night. About the revolution, about Lara, about childhood on Tverskaya-Yamskaya. They lay down in the morning, but, waking up and going out for water, the doctor found his interlocutor shot dead. ... Zhivago appeared in Moscow already at the beginning of the New Economic Policy, emaciated, overgrown and run wild. He traveled most of the way on foot. Over the next eight or nine years of his life, he lost his medical skills and lost writing, but still took up the pen and wrote thin little books. The fans appreciated them. The daughter of the former janitor Marina helped him with the housework, she served in the telegraph on the foreign communication line. In time, she became the doctor's wife and they had two daughters. But one summer day, Yuri Andreevich suddenly disappeared. Marina received a letter from him that he wants to live alone for a while and not be looked for. He did not say that brother Evgraf, who had appeared again from nowhere, had rented a room for him in Kamergersky, provided him with money, and began to fuss about a good job. However, on a stuffy August day, Yuri Andreevich died of a heart attack. Unexpectedly, a lot of people came to Kamergersky to say goodbye to him. Among those saying goodbye was Larisa Fedorovna. She went into this apartment out of old memory. Her first husband, Pavel Antipov, once lived here. A few days after the funeral, she suddenly disappeared: she left home and did not return. Apparently she was arrested. Already in the forty-third year, at the front, Major General Evgraf Andreyevich Zhivago, asking the underwear maker Tanka Bezcheredova about her heroic friend, intelligence officer Khristina Orletsova, also took an interest in her, Tanina, fate. He quickly realized that this was the daughter of Larisa and brother Yuri. Fleeing with Komarovsky to Mongolia, when the Reds were approaching Primorye, Lara left the girl at the railway siding with the watchman Marfa, who ended her days in a madhouse. Then homelessness, wanderings ... By the way, Evgraf Andreevich not only took care of Tatyana, but also collected everything written by his brother. Among his poems was the poem "Winter Night": "It is snowy, snowy all over the earth / To all limits. / The candle burned on the table, / The candle burned ..." V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Osip Emilievich Mandelstam (1891-1938) fourth prose Essay (1929-1938) Some people are trying to save others from being shot. But they act in different ways. The wise prudence of the Odessa Newton mathematician, with which Venyamin Fedorovich approached the matter, differs from the stupid troublesomeness of Isai Benediktovich. Isai Benediktovich behaves as if execution is a contagious and sticky disease, and therefore he can also be shot. He always remembers that he left his wife in St. Petersburg. Busy, turning to influential people, Isai Benediktovich seems to be inoculating himself against execution. Animal fear controls people, scribbles denunciations, beats the bedridden, demands execution for captives. People demand murder for a body kit in the market, a random signature, stashed rye. the black horse blood of the epoch spurts like a fountain. The author lived for some time in the building of the Tsekubu (Central Commission for the Improvement of the Life of Scientists). The servants there hated him because he was not a professor. People who came to Tsekuba took him for their own and consulted on which republic it would be better to escape from Kharkov and Voronezh. When the author finally left the Tsekubu building, his fur coat lay across the cab, like a man leaving a hospital or prison. In the craft of words, the author appreciates only "wild meat, crazy growth", and divides works of world literature into permitted and written without permission. "The first is scum, the second is stolen air." Writers who write permitted things should be prohibited from having children. After all, the children will have to prove the most important thing for their fathers, while the fathers are sold to the pockmarked devil for three generations to come. The author has no manuscripts, no notebooks, not even handwriting: he is the only one in Russia who works with his voice, and does not write like a "busy bastard". He feels like a Chinese that no one understands. His patron, People's Commissar Mravyan-Muravyan, "naive and curious, like a priest from a Turkish village," died. And never again go to Erivan, taking with him courage in a yellow straw basket and an old man's stick - a Jewish staff. In Moscow dog nights, the author does not get tired of repeating a beautiful Russian verse: "... he did not shoot the unfortunate in dungeons ..." "Here is a symbol of faith, here is the true canon of a real writer, a mortal enemy of literature." Looking at the literary critic Mitka Blagoy, allowed by the Bolsheviks, a dairy vegetarian from the House of Herzen, who guards the rope of the strangled Serezha Yesenin in a special museum, the author thinks: “What was mother philology and what has she become ... There was all the blood, all the intransigence, but it became psyakrev, became all-tolerance ... " The list of killers of Russian poets is growing. On the foreheads of these people, the Cain seal of literary murderers is visible - like, for example, Gornfeld, who called his book “Torments of the Word” ... The author met Gornfeld at a time when there was no ideology and there was no one to complain if someone offends you. In the twenty-ninth Soviet year, Gornfeld went to complain about the author to Vechernyaya Krasnaya Gazeta. The author comes to complain to Nikolai Ivanovich's waiting room, where a frightened and compassionate squirrel-secretary sits on the threshold of power as a nurse, guarding the bearer of power as a seriously ill person. He wants to sue for his honor. But one can only turn to Alexander Ivanovich Herzen ... Writing in the form in which it has developed in Europe and especially in Russia is incompatible with the honorary title of a Jew, which the author is proud of. His blood, weighed down by the inheritance of sheep breeders, patriarchs and kings, rebels against the thieving gypsies of the writers' tribe, to whom the authorities allocate places in the yellow quarters, like prostitutes. "For literature, everywhere and everywhere, fulfills one purpose: it helps the commanders to keep the soldiers in subjection and helps the judges to carry out reprisals against the doomed." The author is ready to bear responsibility for the ZIF publishing house, which did not agree with the translators Gornfeld and Karyakin. But he does not want to wear a solid literary coat. It’s better to run around the boulevard rings of winter Moscow in one jacket, just not to see the Judas-lit windows of the writers’ house on Tverskoy Boulevard and not to hear the ringing of pieces of silver and the counting of printed sheets. For the author, a hole is valuable in a bagel, and Brussels lace is valuable in labor, because the main thing in Brussels lace is the air on which the pattern is held. Therefore, his poetic work is perceived by everyone as mischief. But he agrees to it. He considers the stories of Zoshchenko, the only person who showed the worker and who was trampled into the mud, to be the bible of labor. That's who Brussels lace lives on! At night, jokes go around Ilyinka: Lenin and Trotsky, two Jews, a German organ grinder, Armenians from the city of Erivan... "And in Armavir, on the city coat of arms it is written: the dog barks, the wind carries." T. A. Sotnikova Ilya Grigorievich Ehrenburg (1891-1967) Julio Jurenito Roman (1921) The appearance of Julio Jurenito to the peoples of Europe and to his first and most devoted disciple Ehrenburg takes place on March 26, 1913, in the Rotonde cafe on the Montparnasse Boulevard in Paris, at the very hour when the author is despondent over a cup of long-drunk coffee, waiting in vain for someone who free him by paying the patient waiter six sous. Taken by Ehrenburg and other regulars of the Rotunda for a trait, the stranger turns out to be a much more remarkable person - a hero of the Mexican Civil War, a successful gold digger, an encyclopedic scientist and a connoisseur of dozens of living and dead languages and dialects. But the main vocation of Julio Jurenito, referred to in the novel as the Teacher, is to be the Great Provocateur in the fatal years for mankind. Following Ehrenburg, Jurenito's disciples and companions in wanderings become people who, in other circumstances, are absolutely not able to get together. Mr. Cool, an American missionary repaying a debt to Europe, which once brought the blessings of civilization to the New World: the two mighty levers of history, in his opinion, are the Bible and the dollar. Mr. Cool's projects include such truly ingenious ones as illuminated advertisements over bakeries: "Man does not live by bread alone", equipping shopping pavilions next to the scaffolds so that the death penalty turns from low-grade spectacles into popular celebrations, and the expanded production of vending machines for hygiene products in brothels (and on each bag there should be an instructive inscription like this: "Dear friend, do not forget about your innocent bride!"). The direct opposite of the enterprising Catholic Mr. Cool is the idolater Negro Aisha, who inspires the Teacher to various arguments about the place of religion in a world mired in hypocrisy and hypocrisy. "Look at the children more often," he advises his biographer Ehrenburg. "As long as a person is wild, empty and ignorant, he is beautiful. In him is a prototype of the coming age!" The fourth student of Julio Jurenito turns out to be Alexei Spiridonovich Tishin, the son of a retired general - a drunkard and a debauchee, who spent his youth in a painful choice between marrying the postmaster's daughter and answering the question: "Is it a sin or not a sin to kill the governor?"; now the search for truth has led him to Antwerp, where he, who considers himself a political emigrant, torments his drinking buddies with tragic cries: "Everything is a fiction, but tell me, my brother, am I a man or not a man?" - realizing the gap between reality and aphorisms about the high vocation of a person V. Korolenko and M. Gorky. Another companion of Jurenito is Ercole Bambuchi, an unsurpassed master of spitting length and height to the nearest millimeter, found by him on the dusty pavement of the eternal city of Rome; his occupation is "nothing", but if he had to choose, he, by his own admission, would do braces ("It's an amazing thing!"). To perplexed questions - why does he need this tramp? - The teacher answers: “What should I love if not dynamite? He does everything the other way around, he prefers to spit, because he hates every position and every organization. Clownery? " The last of the seven apostles of Jurenito are the funeral master with a universal swing, Monsieur Dele, and the student Karl Schmidt, who built life according to the most complex schedules, which take into account every hour, step and pfennig. Bringing them closer to his person, the Teacher sees both their near future and the fate of mankind: Dele will become fantastically rich on the victims of the world war, and Schmidt will take a high post in Bolshevik Russia ... The battle of nations scatters the company over the face of the earth. Some are drafted into the army - like, for example, Aisha, who loses his arm at the front; others in a grandiose mystery get a completely unheard-of role - like Ercole Bambuchy, head of the economic department in the Vatican, bringing income to the Holy See from the sale of miraculous images and amulets; still others mourn a dying civilization - like Alexei Spiridonovich, rereading Crime and Punishment for the tenth time and falling on the sidewalk in Paris at the exit of the Opera Square metro station with a cry: "Knit me! Judge me! I killed a man!" Only Jurenito remains imperturbable: what must be done is being done. "People did not adapt to war, but war adapted to people. It will end only when it destroys what it started in the name of: culture and the state." Neither the Vatican, which blesses new models of machine guns, nor the intelligentsia, fooling the public, nor members of the "International Society of Friends and Admirers of the World", studying the bayonets and poisonous gases of the belligerents, in order to establish whether there is anything contrary to the generally accepted rules of "humane slaughter of people". In the incredible adventures of the Teacher and his seven disciples, only the reader tends to discover absurdities and exaggerations; only to an outside observer it may seem that there are too many "suddenly" and "but" in this story. What in an adventure novel is a clever fiction, in the fateful hours of history is a fact of the biography of an inhabitant. Having avoided execution on charges of espionage in turn in France and on the German sector of the front, having visited the Hague at the Congress of Social Democrats and on the high seas on a fragile boat, after sinking the ship with an enemy mine, having rested in Senegal, in the homeland of Aisha, and taking part in the revolutionary rally in Petrograd, in the Cinizelli circus (where else to hold such rallies, if not in a circus?), our heroes undergo a new series of adventures in the vast expanses of Russia - it seems that it is here that the prophecies of the Teacher are finally embodied, the utopias of each of his companions become flesh. Alas: here there is no protection from fate, and in the revolutionary furnace all the same vulgarity, stupidity and game are forged, from which they fled for seven years, the disappearance of which they so desired, in their own way. Ehrenburg is confused: are these Pugach’s grandchildren, these bearded men, who believe that for general happiness it is necessary, firstly, to cut the Jews, and secondly, the princes and the bar (“they were not cut enough yet”), and it doesn’t hurt to cut out the communists either , and most importantly - to burn the cities, because all evil comes from them - are they really the true apostles of the organization of mankind? “Dear little boy,” Julio Jurenito answers his beloved student with a smile, “have you just now realized that I am a scoundrel, a traitor, a provocateur, a renegade, and so on and so forth? No revolution is revolutionary if it craves order. As for the peasants - they themselves do not know what they want: either to burn cities, or to grow peacefully as oaks on their hillocks. But, bound by a strong hand, they eventually fly into the furnace, giving strength to the locomotive they hate ... " Everything again - after a formidable storm - is "bound by a strong hand." Ercole Bambuchi, as a descendant of the ancient Romans, is taken under the protection of the Department of Preservation of Antiquities. Monsieur Delais is going crazy. Aisha is in charge of the Negro section of the Comintern. Alexei Spiridonovich rereads Dostoevsky in depression. Mr. Cool serves on the anti-prostitution commission. Ehrenburg helps grandfather Durov train guinea pigs. The big boss in the Economic Council, Schmidt, straightens out passports for an honest company to leave for Europe - so that everyone can return to their own circles. To return - in ignorance and bewilderment to peer into the future, not knowing and not understanding what new times promise each of them. To vegetate and groan in the absence of the Teacher, who, in fulfillment of the last of the prophecies, was killed because of a pair of boots on March 12, 1921 at 8:20 pm in the city of Konotop. M. K. Pozdnyaev Thaw Tale (1953-1955) In the club of a large industrial city - a full house. The hall is packed, people stand in the aisles. An extraordinary event: a novel by a young local writer is published. Participants of the reader's conference praise the debutant: everyday work is reflected accurately and vividly. The heroes of the book are truly the heroes of our time. But one can argue about their "personal life", says one of the leading engineers of the plant, Dmitry Koroteev. Not a penny is typical here: a serious and honest agronomist could not fall in love with a windy and flirtatious woman, with whom he does not have common spiritual interests, in addition - the wife of his comrade! The love described in the novel seems to be mechanically transferred from the pages of bourgeois literature! Koroteev's speech causes a heated debate. More discouraged than others - although they do not express it aloud - are his closest friends: the young engineer Grisha Savchenko and the teacher Lena Zhuravleva (her husband is the director of the plant, sitting on the presidium of the conference and frankly pleased with the sharpness of Koroteev's criticism). The dispute about the book continues at Sonya Pukhova's birthday party, where she comes straight from Savchenko's club. "A smart person, but he spoke according to a stencil! - Grisha gets excited. - It turns out that the personal has no place in literature. And the book touched everyone to the quick: too often we still say one thing, but in our personal lives we act differently. The reader yearned for such books !" - "You're right," one of the guests, artist Saburov, nods. "It's time to remember what art is!" - "And in my opinion, Koroteev is right," Sonya objects. "Soviet people have learned to control nature, but they must learn to control their feelings too..." Lena Zhuravleva has no one to exchange opinions with about what she heard at the conference: she has long lost interest in her husband, it seems, from the day when, in the midst of the "doctors' case," she heard from him: "You cannot trust them too much, this is indisputable." The scornful and merciless "him" shocked Lena. And when, after a fire at the factory, where Zhuravlev had shown himself to be a fine fellow, Koroteev spoke of him with praise, she wanted to shout: "You don't know anything about him. He's a soulless man!" That is also why Koroteev’s performance at the club upset her: he seemed to her so whole, extremely honest both in public, and in a conversation face to face, and alone with his own conscience ... The choice between truth and lies, the ability to distinguish one from the other - this calls for all the heroes without exception to lead the time of the "thaw". The thaw is not only in the social climate (Koroteev’s stepfather returns after seventeen years of imprisonment; relations with the West are openly discussed at the feast, the opportunity to meet with foreigners; there are always brave souls at the meeting, ready to contradict the authorities, the opinion of the majority). This is the thaw of everything "personal", which for so long it was customary to conceal from people, not to let out of the door of one's house. Koroteev is a front-line soldier, there was a lot of bitterness in his life, but this choice is painful for him too. At the party bureau, he did not find the courage to stand up for the leading engineer Sokolovsky, to whom Zhuravlev feels hostility. And although after the ill-fated party bureau, Koroteev changed his mind and directly declared this to the head of the department of the city committee of the CPSU, his conscience did not calm down: “I have no right to judge Zhuravlev, I am the same as him. I say one thing, but I live differently. Probably today we need other, new people - romantics like Savchenko. Where to get them? Gorky once said that we need our, Soviet humanism. And Gorky is long gone, and the word "humanism" has disappeared from circulation - but the task remains. And to solve it - Today". The reason for the conflict between Zhuravlev and Sokolovsky is that the director is disrupting the housing construction plan. The storm that swept over the city in the first days of spring, destroying several dilapidated barracks, causes a response storm - in Moscow. Zhuravlev goes to Moscow on an urgent call for a new appointment (of course, with a demotion). In the collapse of his career, he blames not the storm, and even more so not himself - Lena who left him: the departure of his wife is immoral! In the old days for this ... And Sokolovsky is also to blame for what happened (he was almost in a hurry to report the storm to the capital): “It’s a pity, after all, that I didn’t kill him ...” There was a storm - and it was gone. Who will remember her? Who will remember director Ivan Vasilyevich Zhuravlev? Who remembers the past winter, when loud drops fall from icicles, until spring is just a stone's throw away?.. Difficult and long was - like the path through the snowy winter to the thaw - the path to the happiness of Sokolovsky and the "pestician" Vera Grigorievna, Savchenko and Sonya Pukhova, drama theater actress Tanechka and Sonya's brother artist Volodya. Volodya overcomes his temptation with lies and cowardice: at a discussion of an art exhibition, he falls upon his childhood friend Saburov - "for formalism." Repenting of his meanness, asking for forgiveness from Saburov, Volodya admits to himself the main thing that he did not realize for too long: he has no talent. In art, as in life, the main thing is talent, and not loud words about ideology and popular demands. Lena is now striving to be needed by people, having found herself again with Koroteev. Sonya Pukhova also experiences this feeling - she confesses to herself that she loves Savchenko. In love, conquering trials in both time and space: they barely managed to get used to one separation from Grisha (after the institute, Sonya was assigned to a plant in Penza) - and here Grisha has a long way to go, to Paris, for an internship, in a group of young specialists. Spring. Thaw. She is felt everywhere, everyone feels her: both those who did not believe in her, and those who were waiting for her - like Sokolovsky, going to Moscow, to meet his daughter Masha, Mary, a ballerina from Brussels, completely unknown to him and very dear, with whom he dreamed of seeing all his life. M. K. Pozdnyaev Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891-1940) The White Guard Roman (1923-1924) The action of the novel takes place in the winter of 1918/19 in a certain City, in which Kyiv is clearly guessed. The city is occupied by the German occupation troops, the hetman of "all Ukraine" is in power. However, Petliura's army may enter the City from day to day - fighting is already going on twelve kilometers from the City. The city lives a strange, unnatural life: it is full of visitors from Moscow and St. Petersburg - bankers, businessmen, journalists, lawyers, poets - who rushed there from the moment the hetman was elected, from the spring of 1918. In the dining room of the Turbins' house at dinner, Alexei Turbin, a doctor, his younger brother Nikolka, a non-commissioned officer, their sister Elena and family friends - lieutenant Myshlaevsky, second lieutenant Stepanov, nicknamed Karas and lieutenant Shervinsky, adjutant in the headquarters of Prince Belorukov, commander of all the military forces of Ukraine - excitedly discussing the fate of their beloved City. Senior Turbin believes that the hetman is to blame for everything with his Ukrainization: until the very last moment he did not allow the formation of the Russian army, and if this happened on time, a select army of junkers, students, high school students and officers, of which there are thousands, would be formed, and not only would they have defended the City, but Petliura would not have had a spirit in Little Russia, moreover, they would have gone to Moscow and saved Russia. Elena's husband, Captain of the General Staff Sergei Ivanovich Talberg, announces to his wife that the Germans are leaving the City and Talberg is being taken on the staff train departing tonight. Talberg is sure that in less than three months he will return to the City with Denikin's army, which is now being formed on the Don. Until then, he can't take Elena into the unknown and she'll have to stay in the City. To protect against the advancing troops of Petlyura, the formation of Russian military formations begins in the City. Karas, Myshlaevsky and Alexei Turbin come to the commander of the emerging mortar division, Colonel Malyshev, and enter the service: Karas and Myshlaevsky - as officers, Turbin - as a divisional doctor. However, the next night - from December 13 to 14 - the hetman and General Belorukov flee from the City in a German train, and Colonel Malyshev disbands the newly formed division: he has no one to defend, there is no legal authority in the City. Colonel Nai-Tours by December 10 completes the formation of the second department of the first squad. Considering the conduct of the war without winter equipment for soldiers impossible, Colonel Nai-Tours, threatening the head of the supply department with a colt, receives felt boots and hats for his one hundred and fifty junkers. On the morning of December 14, Petliura attacks the City; Nai-Tours receives an order to guard the Polytechnic Highway and, in the event of the appearance of the enemy, to take the fight. Nai-Turs, having entered into battle with the advanced detachments of the enemy, sends three cadets to find out where the hetman's units are. The sent ones return with a message that there are no units anywhere, machine-gun fire is in the rear, and the enemy cavalry is entering the City. Nye realizes that they are trapped. An hour earlier, Nikolai Turbin, corporal of the third division of the first infantry squad, receives an order to lead the team along the route. Arriving at the appointed place, Nikolka sees with horror the running junkers and hears the command of Colonel Nai-Tours, ordering all the junkers - both his own and from Nikolka's team - to tear off shoulder straps, cockades, throw weapons, tear documents, run and hide. The colonel himself covers the withdrawal of the junkers. In front of Nikolka's eyes, the mortally wounded colonel dies. Shocked, Nikolka, leaving Nai-Turs, makes his way to the house through courtyards and lanes. In the meantime, Alexei, who was not informed about the dissolution of the division, having appeared, as he was ordered, at two o'clock, finds an empty building with abandoned guns. Having found Colonel Malyshev, he gets an explanation of what is happening: the city is taken by Petliura's troops. Aleksey, tearing off his shoulder straps, goes home, but runs into Petliura's soldiers, who, recognizing him as an officer (in his haste he forgot to tear off the cockade from his hat), pursue him. Wounded in the arm, Alexei is sheltered in her house by a woman unknown to him named Yulia Reise. On the. the next day, having changed Alexei into a civilian dress, Yulia takes him home in a cab. Simultaneously with Aleksey, Larion, Talberg's cousin, comes from Zhytomyr to the Turbins, who has experienced a personal drama: his wife left him. Larion really likes being in the Turbins' house, and all the Turbins find him very nice. Vasily Ivanovich Lisovich, nicknamed Vasilisa, the owner of the house in which the Turbins live, occupies the first floor in the same house, while the Turbins live in the second. On the eve of the day when Petliura entered the City, Vasilisa builds a hiding place in which she hides money and jewelry. However, through a gap in a loosely curtained window, an unknown person is watching Vasilisa's actions. The next day, three armed men come to Vasilisa with a search warrant. First of all, they open the cache, and then they take Vasilisa's watch, suit and shoes. After the departure of the "guests" Vasilisa and his wife guess that they were bandits. Vasilisa runs to the Turbins, and Karas is sent to protect them from a possible new attack. The usually stingy Vanda Mikhailovna, Vasilisa's wife, does not skimp here: there is cognac, veal, and pickled mushrooms on the table. Happy Karas is dozing, listening to Vasilisa's plaintive speeches. Three days later, Nikolka, having learned the address of the Nai-Tours family, goes to the colonel's relatives. He tells Nye's mother and sister the details of his death. Together with the colonel's sister, Irina, Nikolka finds the body of Nai-Turs in the morgue, and on the same night, a funeral service is held in the chapel at the anatomical theater of Nai-Turs. A few days later, Alexei's wound becomes inflamed, and in addition, he has typhus: high fever, delirium. According to the conclusion of the council, the patient is hopeless; On December 22, the agony begins. Elena locks herself in the bedroom and passionately prays to the Most Holy Theotokos, begging to save her brother from death. "Let Sergei not return," she whispers, "but don't punish him with death." To the amazement of the doctor on duty with him, Alexei regains consciousness - the crisis has passed. A month and a half later, the finally recovered Alexei goes to Yulia Reisa, who saved him from death, and gives her the bracelet of his deceased mother. Alexei asks Yulia for permission to visit her. After leaving Yulia, he meets Nikolka, who is returning from Irina Nai-Tours. Elena receives a letter from a friend from Warsaw, in which she informs her about Thalberg's upcoming marriage to their mutual friend. Elena, sobbing, remembers her prayer. On the night of February 2-3, Petliura's troops begin to leave the City. The roar of the guns of the Bolsheviks approaching the City is heard. N. B. Soboleva Fatal eggs Tale (1924) The action takes place in the USSR in the summer of 1928. Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov, professor of zoology at the IV State University and director of the Moscow Zoo Institute, quite unexpectedly makes a scientific discovery of great importance: in the eyepiece of a microscope, with a random movement of the mirror and lens, he sees an extraordinary ray - the "ray of life" , as the professor's assistant, Privatdozent Pyotr Stepanovich Ivanov, later calls him. Under the influence of this ray, ordinary amoeba behave in the strangest way: there is a frenzied reproduction, overturning all the laws of natural science; the newly born amoebas furiously pounce on each other, tear to shreds and swallow; the best and strongest win, and these best are terrible: they are twice the size of ordinary specimens and, in addition, they are distinguished by some special malice and agility. With the help of a system of lenses and mirrors, Privatdozent Ivanov builds several chambers in which, in an enlarged form, outside the microscope, he receives the same, but more powerful beam, and scientists experiment with frog eggs. Within two days, thousands of tadpoles hatch from the eggs, and in a day they grow into such evil and voracious frogs that one half immediately devours the other, and the survivors in two days, without any beam, breed a new, completely countless offspring. Rumors about the experiments of Professor Persikov seep into the press. At the same time, a strange chicken disease, unknown to science, begins in the country: having become infected with this disease, the chicken dies within a few hours. Professor Persikov is a member of the emergency commission for the fight against chicken plague. Nevertheless, after two weeks on the territory of the Soviet Union, all chickens die out to one. Alexander Semyonovich Rokk, who had just been appointed head of the Krasny Luch demonstrative state farm, appears in Professor Persikov's office with a "paper from the Kremlin", in which the professor is invited to provide the cameras he designed at the disposal of Rokk "to raise chicken breeding in the country." The professor warns Rokk, saying that the properties of the beam are not yet well understood, but Rokk is absolutely sure that everything will be in order and he will quickly breed beautiful chickens. Rocca's men take away the three large cells, leaving the Professor with his first, small cell. Professor Persikov, for his experiments, writes out from abroad the eggs of tropical animals - anacondas, pythons, ostriches, crocodiles. At the same time, Rokk also orders chicken eggs from abroad to revive chicken breeding. And a terrible thing happens: orders are mixed up, and a parcel with snake, crocodile and ostrich eggs arrives at the Smolensk state farm. The unsuspecting Rokk places unusually large and some strange-looking eggs in the chambers, and right there all the frogs in the vicinity of the state farm fall silent, all the birds, including sparrows, take off and fly away, and in the neighboring village dogs begin to howl drearily . After a few days, crocodiles and snakes begin to hatch from the eggs. One of the snakes, which has grown to an incredible size by evening, attacks Rocca Manya's wife, who becomes the first victim of this monstrous misunderstanding. Instantly gray-haired Rokk, in whose eyes this misfortune happened, appeared at the GPU administration, tells about the monstrous incident at the state farm, but the GPU employees consider his story to be the fruit of a hallucination. However, when they arrive at the state farm, they are horrified to see a huge number of giant snakes, as well as crocodiles and ostriches. Both authorized GPUs perish. Terrible events are taking place in the country: artillery is shelling the Mozhaisk forest, destroying deposits of crocodile eggs, in the vicinity of Mozhaisk there are battles with ostrich flocks, huge hordes of reptiles from the west, southwest and south are approaching Moscow. The human toll is incalculable. The evacuation of the population from Moscow begins, the city is full of refugees from the Smolensk province, martial law is introduced in the capital. Poor Professor Persikov dies at the hands of an angry crowd, who consider him the culprit of all the misfortunes that have befallen the country. On the night of August 19-20, an unexpected and unheard of frost, reaching -18 degrees, lasts for two days and saves the capital from a terrible invasion. Forests, fields, swamps are littered with multi-colored eggs, covered with a strange pattern, but already completely harmless: the frost killed the embryos. In the vast expanses of the earth, countless corpses of crocodiles, snakes, and ostriches of incredible size rot. However, by the spring of 1929, the army puts everything in order, clears forests and fields, and burns the corpses. The whole world is still talking and writing about the extraordinary ray and catastrophe for a long time, nevertheless, no one succeeds in getting the magic ray again, not excluding Privatdozent Ivanov. N. V. Soboleva dog's heart Monstrous story Tale (1925) The action takes place in Moscow in the winter of 1924/25. Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazhensky discovered a way to rejuvenate the body by transplanting animal endocrine glands into humans. In his seven-room apartment in a large building on Prechistenka, he sees patients. The house is undergoing a “compaction”: new residents are being moved into the apartments of the former tenants - “residential comrades”. The chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, comes to Preobrazhensky with a demand to vacate two rooms in his apartment. However, the professor, having called one of his high-ranking patients by phone, receives armor for his apartment, and Shvonder leaves with nothing. Professor Preobrazhensky and his assistant, Dr. Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental, are having lunch in the professor's dining room. From somewhere above, choral singing is heard - this is a general meeting of "residential comrades". The professor is outraged by what is happening in the house: the carpet was stolen from the main staircase, the front door was boarded up and now they go through the back door, in April 1917 all the galoshes disappeared from the galoshes in the entrance. "Devastation," remarks Bormental, and receives in response: "If, instead of operating, I start singing in chorus in my apartment, I will be devastated!" Professor Preobrazhensky picks up a mongrel dog on the street, sick and with stripped hair, brings him home, instructs the housekeeper Zina to feed him and take care of him. After a week, a clean and well-fed Sharik becomes an affectionate, charming and beautiful dog. The professor performs an operation - he transplants the endocrine glands to Sharik of Klim Chugunkin, 25 years old, convicted three times for theft, playing the balalaika in taverns, who died from a stab. The experiment was a success - the dog does not die, but, on the contrary, gradually turns into a man: he gains height and weight, his hair falls out, he begins to speak. Three weeks later, this is already a man of small stature, unsympathetic appearance, who enthusiastically plays the balalaika, smokes and swears. After some time, he demands from Philip Philipovich that he register it, for which he needs a document, and he has already chosen his first and last name: Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. From the former life of a dog, Sharikov still has a hatred for cats. One day, chasing a cat that ran into the bathroom, Sharikov snaps the lock into the bathroom, accidentally turns off the water tap, and floods the entire apartment with water. The professor is forced to cancel the appointment. The janitor Fyodor, called to repair the tap, embarrassedly asks Philipp Filippovich to pay for Sharikov's broken window: he tried to hug the cook from the seventh apartment, the owner began to drive him. Sharikov, in response, began to throw stones at him. Philip Philipovich, Bormental and Sharikov are having lunch; again and again, Bormental unsuccessfully teaches Sharikov good manners. To Philipp Filippovich's question about what Sharikov is reading now, he answers: "Engels' correspondence with Kautsky" - and adds that he does not agree with both, but in general "everything must be divided", otherwise "one of them sat down in seven rooms, and the other is looking for food in weed boxes. The indignant professor announces to Sharikov that he is at the lowest level of development and nevertheless allows himself to give advice on a cosmic scale. The professor orders the harmful book to be thrown into the oven. A week later, Sharikov presents the professor with a document from which it follows that he, Sharikov, is a member of the housing association and is entitled to a room in the professor's apartment. On the same evening, in Professor Sharikov's office, he appropriated two ducats and returned at night completely drunk, accompanied by two unknown persons, who left only after calling the police, taking, however, Philip Philipovich's malachite ashtray, cane and beaver hat. That same night, in his office, Professor Preobrazhensky talks with Bormental. Analyzing what is happening, the scientist despairs that he has received such scum from the cutest dog. And the whole horror is that he no longer has a canine, but a human heart, and the lousiest of all that exist in nature. He is sure that in front of them is Klim Chugunkin with all his thefts and convictions. One day, having come home, Sharikov presents Philipp Filippovich with a certificate, from which it is clear that he, Sharikov, is the head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals (cats, etc.). A few days later, Sharikov brings home a young lady, with whom, according to him, he is going to sign and live in Preobrazhensky's apartment. The professor tells the young lady about Sharikov's past; she sobs, saying that he passed off the scar from the operation as a battle wound. The next day, one of the professor's high-ranking patients brings him a denunciation written against him by Sharikov, which mentions both Engels thrown into the oven and the professor's "counter-revolutionary speeches". Philipp Philippovich suggests Sharikov to pack his things and get out of the apartment immediately. In response to this, Sharikov shows the professor a shish with one hand, and takes a revolver from his pocket with the other ... A few minutes later, the pale Bormental cuts the bell wire, locks the front door and the back door and hides with the professor in the examination room. Ten days later, an investigator appears in the apartment with a search warrant and the arrest of Professor Preobrazhensky and Dr. Bormental on charges of murdering the head of the purification subdepartment, P. P. Sharikov. And he introduces a strange-looking dog to the visitors: in some places bald, in some places with spots of growing hair, he goes out on his hind legs, then gets up on all fours, then again rises on his hind legs and sits in a chair. The investigator collapses. Two months pass. In the evenings, the dog naps peacefully on the carpet in the professor's office, and life in the apartment goes on as usual. N. V. Soboleva Zoya's apartment Play (1926) The action takes place in the 1920s. in Moscow. May evening. Zoya Denisovna Peltz, a thirty-five-year-old widow, dresses in front of a mirror. Hallelujah, chairman of the house committee, comes to K'nei on business. He warns Zoya that they decided to compact her - she has six rooms. After long conversations, Zoya shows Alleluia permission to open a sewing workshop and a school. Additional area - sixteen fathoms. Zoya gives Alleluia a bribe, and he says that perhaps he will defend the rest of the rooms, after which he leaves. Enter Pavel Fyodorovich Obolyaninov, Zoya's lover. He does not feel well, and Zoya sends the maid Manyushka for morphine to the Chinese, who often sells it to Obolyaninov. Chinese Gasoline and his assistant Cherub are drug dealers. Manyushka tells Gasolin, a well-known swindler, to go with her and dilute the morphine in the right proportion in Zoya's presence - he makes it liquid at home. Gasolin sends with her his assistant, the handsome Chinese Cherubim. Zoya gives Obolyaninov an injection, and he comes to life. The cherub announces a higher price than the price of Gasoline, but Pavel gives him another tip and agrees with the "honest" Chinese that he will bring morphine daily. Zoya, in turn, hires him to iron in the workshop. Delighted Cherub leaves. Zoya tells Pavel about her plans, Manyushka, already privy to all of Zoya's affairs, leaves to get a beer and forgets to close the door, into which Amethistov, Zoya's cousin, a cheater and swindler, immediately enters. He overhears a conversation between Zoya and Pavel about a "workshop" that needs an administrator, and instantly guesses what's going on. Manyushka comes running, calling Zoya. She turns to stone at the sight of her cousin. Pavel leaves them alone, and Zoya is surprised that she herself read how he was shot in Baku, to which Ametistov assures her that this is a mistake. Zoya obviously does not want to accept him, but her cousin, who has nowhere to live, blackmails her with a conversation she heard. Zoya, deciding that this is fate, gives him a place as an administrator in her business, registers at her place and introduces him to Pavel. He immediately understands what an outstanding person is in front of him and how he will put the case. Autumn. Zoe's apartment has been turned into a studio, a portrait of Marx on the wall. A seamstress is sewing on a typewriter, three ladies are trying on sewn clothes, a cutter is busy. When everyone disperses, only Amethyst and Zoya remain. They talk about a certain beauty Alla Vadimovna, who is needed for a night enterprise. Alla owes Zoya about 500 rubles, she needs money, and Ametistov is convinced that she will agree. Zoya doubts. Ametistov insists, but then Manyushka enters and announces the arrival of Alla. Amethyst disappears after a few compliments made to Alla. Alla, left alone with Zoya, says that she is very ashamed of not paying her debt and that she is very bad with money. Zoya sympathizes with her and offers her a job. Zoya promises to pay Alla 60 chervonets a month, cancel the debt and get a visa if Alla will work for Zoya in the evenings as a fashion model for only four months, and Zoya guarantees that no one will know about this. Alla agrees to start working in three days, as she needs money to leave for Paris - she has a fiancé there. As a sign of friendship, Zoya gives her a Parisian dress, after which Alla leaves. Zoya leaves to change, and Amethystov and Manyushka prepare for the arrival of Gus, a wealthy commercial director of a trust of refractory metals, to whom the "studio" owes its existence. Ametistov removes the portrait of Marx and hangs up a picture of a nude. Under the hands of Manyushka and Amethyst, the room is transformed. Pavel comes, who plays the piano in the evenings (and is burdened by this), and goes into Zoya's room. Then - Cherubim, who brought cocaine for Ametistov, and while he sniffs, changes into a Chinese outfit. The ladies of the night "studio" appear in turn. Finally, Goose appears and is greeted by a luxuriously dressed Zoya. Goose asks Zoya to show him Parisian models, as he needs a present for his beloved woman. Zoya introduces him to Ametistov, who, after greetings, calls Cherubim and orders champagne. Models demonstrate to the music. Goose is delighted with the way the matter is set. Three days later, Alleluia comes, says that people go to their apartment at night and music plays, but Ametistov gives him a bribe, and he leaves. After a call from Gus, who announces his imminent arrival, a satisfied Ametistov calls Pavel to the pub. After their departure, Cherubim and Manyushka are left alone. Cherub invites Manyushka to go to Shanghai, promising to get a lot of money, she refuses, teases him (she likes Cherub) and says that maybe she will marry another; the Chinese tries to stab her, and then, releasing her, announces that he has made an offer. He runs away to the kitchen, and then Gasolin comes - to propose to Manyushka, Cherubim comes running from the kitchen, the Chinese are quarreling. Escaping, Gasolin throws himself into the closet. They ring the doorbell. The cherub runs away. It was a commission from the People's Commissariat for Education. They look around, find a picture of a naked woman and Gasoline in the closet, who says that in this apartment they smoke opium and dance at night, and complains that Cherubimka is killing him. The commission releases Gasoline and leaves, assuring Manyushka that everything is in order. Night. All the guests are having a great time, and in the next room, Goose is yearning alone and talking to himself. Zoya appears. Goose tells her that he understands what rubbish his mistress is. Zoya comforts him. The goose, on the other hand, finds consolation in the fact that he calls everyone and distributes money. The model show begins. Allah comes out. The goose is horrified to see ... his mistress! A scandal begins. Goose announces to everyone that his fiancee, with whom he lives, for whom he leaves his family, works in a brothel. Zoya takes all the guests into the hall, leaving them alone. Alla explains to Gus that she does not love him and wants to go abroad. The goose calls her a liar and a prostitute. Allah is running away. The goose is in despair - he loves Alla. Cherubim appears, calms the Goose and suddenly strikes him under the shoulder blade with a knife. The goose is dying. The Chinese man puts Gus in an armchair, hangs up the phone, calls Manyushka and takes the money. Manyushka is horrified, but the Cherub threatens her, and they run away together. Amethystov comes, discovers the corpse, understands everything and hides, having broken Zoya's casket with money. Zoya enters, sees the corpse, calls Pavel and goes for the money in order to run away as soon as possible, but the casket is broken open. She grabs Pavel's hand and runs to the door, but a commission from the People's Commissariat for Education and Gasoline block their way. Zoya explains that Goose was killed by a Chinese with Ametistov. Drunk guests fall out of the hall. Hallelujah enters; when he sees the commission, he says in horror that he has known everything about this dark apartment for a long time, and Zoya screams that he has a ten in his pocket, which she gave him a bribe, she knows the number. Everyone is taken. Zoya says sadly: "Goodbye, goodbye, my apartment!" M. L. Soboleva Theatrical novel Dead Man's Notes (1936-1937) The action takes place in Moscow in the mid-20s. In the preface, the author informs the reader that these notes belong to the pen of his friend Maksudov, who committed suicide and bequeathed to him to straighten them, sign with his name and release them to the public. The author warns that the suicide had nothing to do with the theater, so these notes are the fruit of his sick fantasy. The story is told on behalf of Maksudov. Sergei Leontievich Maksudov, an employee of the newspaper Vestnik Shipping Company, having dreamed of his hometown, snow, civil war, begins to write a novel about it. Having finished, he reads it to his friends, who claim that he will not be able to publish this novel. Having sent excerpts from the novel to two thick magazines, Maksudov receives them back with a resolution "not suitable." Convinced that the novel is bad, Maksudov decides that his life has come to an end. Having stolen a revolver from a friend, Maksudov is preparing to commit suicide, but suddenly there is a knock on the door, and Rudolfi, the editor-publisher of Rodina, the only private magazine in Moscow, appears in the room. Rudolfi reads Maksudov's novel and offers to publish it. Maksudov quietly returns the stolen revolver, quits his service in the Shipping Company and plunges into another world: visiting Rudolph, he meets writers and publishers. Finally, the novel is printed, and Maksudov receives several author's copies of the magazine. That same night, Maksudov gets the flu, and when, after being ill for ten days, he goes to Rudolphi, it turns out that Rudolfi left for America a week ago, and the entire circulation of the magazine has disappeared. Maksudov returns to the "Shipping Company" and decides to write a new novel, but does not understand what this novel will be about. And again one night he sees in a dream the same people, the same distant city, the snow, the side of the piano. Taking a book of the novel out of the drawer, Maksudov, looking closely, sees a magical chamber that has grown out of a white page, and a piano sounds in the chamber, people described in the novel are moving. Maksudov decides to write what he sees, and, having started, he realizes that he is writing a play. Unexpectedly, Maksudov receives an invitation from Ilchin, director of the Independent Theater - one of the outstanding Moscow theaters. Ilchin informs Maksudov that he has read his novel and suggests that Maksudov write a play. Maksudov admits that he is already writing the play, and concludes a contract for its production by the Independent Theatre, and in the contract each clause begins with the words "the author has no right" or "the author undertakes." Maksudov meets the actor Bombardov, who shows him the theater's portrait gallery with portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, Moliere, Shakespeare, Nero, Griboyedov, Goldoni and others, interspersed with portraits of actors and theater employees. A few days later, heading to the theater, Maksudov sees a poster at the door, on which, after the names of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Lope de Vega, Schiller and Ostrovsky, stands: Maksudov "Black Snow". Bombardov explains to Maksudov that there are two directors at the head of the Independent Theatre: Ivan Vasilievich, who lives on Sivtsev Vrazhek, and Aristarkh Platonovich, who is currently traveling around India. Each of them has his own office and his own secretary. Directors have not spoken to each other since 1885, delimiting areas of activity, but this does not interfere with the work of the theater. Aristarkh Platonovich's secretary, Poliksena Toropetskaya, under Maksudov's dictation, reprints his play. Maksudov looks with amazement at the photographs hung on the walls of his office, in which Aristarkh Platonovich is captured in the company of either Turgenev, or Pisemsky, or Tolstoy, or Gogol. During breaks in dictation, Maksudov walks around the theater building, entering the room where the scenery is stored, the tea buffet, and the office where Philip Philippovich, the head of internal order, sits. Maksudov was struck by the perspicacity of Philip Philipovich, who has a perfect knowledge of people, who understands to whom and what ticket to give, and to whom not to give at all, and instantly settles all misunderstandings. Ivan Vasilyevich invites Maksudov to Sivtsev Vrazhek to read the play, Bombardov gives Maksudov instructions on how to behave, what to say, and most importantly, not to object to Ivan Vasilyevich's statements regarding the play. Maksudov reads the play to Ivan Vasilyevich, and he proposes to thoroughly remake it: the hero’s sister must be turned into his mother, the hero should not shoot himself, but stab himself with a dagger, etc., while he calls Maksudov either Sergey Pafnutevich, or Leonty Sergeyevich. Maksudov is trying to object, causing Ivan Vasilyevich's obvious displeasure. Bombardov explains to Maksudov how he should have behaved with Ivan Vasilyevich: not to argue, but to answer everything “thank you very much”, because no one ever objects to Ivan Vasilyevich, no matter what he says. Maksudov is confused, he believes that everything is lost. Unexpectedly, he is invited to a meeting of the elders of the theater - the "founders" - to discuss his play. From the feedback of the elders, Maksudov understands that they do not like the play and do not want to play it. Bombardov explains to the grief-stricken Maksudov that, on the contrary, the founders really liked the play and they would like to play in it, but there are no roles for them: the youngest of them is twenty-eight years old, and the oldest hero of the play is sixty-two years old. For several months, Maksudov lives a monotonous boring life: he goes to the "Vestnik Shipping Company" every day, tries to compose a new play in the evenings, but does not write anything down. Finally, he receives a message that director Foma Strizh is starting to rehearse his Black Snow. Maksudov returns to the theater, feeling that he can no longer live without him, like a morphine addict without morphine. Rehearsals of the play begin, at which Ivan Vasilyevich is present. Maksudov tries very hard to please him: he gives his suit to be ironed every other day, buys six new shirts and eight ties. But all in vain: Maksudov feels that every day Ivan Vasilyevich likes him less and less. And Maksudov understands that this is happening because he himself does not like Ivan Vasilievich at all. At rehearsals, Ivan Vasilievich invites the actors to play various sketches, which, according to Maksudov, are completely meaningless and not directly related to the production of his play: for example, the entire troupe either takes out invisible wallets from their pockets and counts invisible money, or writes an invisible letter, then Ivan Vasilyevich invites the hero to ride a bicycle so that it can be seen that he is in love. Sinister suspicions creep into Maksudov’s soul: the fact is that Ivan Vasilievich, who has been directing for 55 years, invented a widely known and, by all accounts, brilliant theory of how an actor prepares his role, but Maksudov is horrified to understand that this theory is not applicable to his play. At this point, the notes of Sergei Leontyevich Maksudov break off. N. V. Soboleva Running - eight dreams Play (1937) Dream 1 - in Northern Tavria in October 1920 Dream 2, 3, 4 - at the beginning of November 1920 in the Crimea Dream 5 and 6 - in Constantinople in the summer of 1921 Dream 7 - in Paris in the autumn of 1921 Dream 8 - in the fall 1921 in Constantinople 1. There is a conversation going on in the cell of the monastery church. The Budennovites have just come and checked the documents. Golubkov, a young Petersburg intellectual, wonders where the Reds came from when the area is in the hands of the Whites. Barabanchikova, pregnant, lying right there, explains that the general, who was sent a dispatch that the Reds were in the rear, postponed the decryption. When asked where the headquarters of General Charnota, Barabanchikov does not give a direct answer. Serafima Korzukhina, a young lady from St. Petersburg who fled with Golubkov to the Crimea to meet her husband, offers to call the midwife, but Madame refuses. The clatter of hooves and the voice of the white commander de Brizard are heard. Upon recognizing him, Barabanchikova throws off her rags and appears in the form of General Charnota. He explains to de Brizar and his wife Lyuska, who ran in, that his friend Barabanchikov in a hurry gave him documents not of his own, but of his pregnant wife. Charnota proposes an escape plan. Here Seraphim begins to have a fever - this is typhus. Golubkov leads Serafima into a gig. Everyone is leaving. 2. The station hall has been turned into the headquarters of the whites. Where there was a buffet, General Khludov is sitting. He is sick, twitching. Korzukhin, Deputy Minister of Trade, Serafima's husband, asks to push wagons with valuable fur goods into Sevastopol. Khludov orders these trains to be burned. Korzukhin asks about the situation at the front. Khludov hisses that the Reds will be here tomorrow. Korzukhin thanks and leaves. A convoy appears, followed by the white commander-in-chief and Archbishop Africanus. Khludov informs the commander-in-chief that the Bolsheviks are in the Crimea. The African prays, but Khludov believes that God has abandoned the whites. Commander-in-Chief leaves. Seraphim runs in, followed by Golubkov and messenger Charnoty Krapilin. Serafima shouts that Khludov does nothing but hangs him. Staff whisper that this is a communist. Golubkov says she is delirious, she has typhus. Khludov calls Korzukhin, but he, smelling a trap, renounces Seraphim. Serafima and Golubkov are taken away, and Krapilin, in oblivion, calls Khludov a world beast and speaks of a war that Khludov does not know. He objects that he went to Chongar and was wounded there twice. Krapilin, waking up, begs for mercy, but Khludov orders him to be hanged for "beginning well, ending badly." 3. The head of counterintelligence, Quiet, threatening with a deadly needle, forces Golubkov to show that Serafima Korzukhina is a member of the Communist Party and has come for the purpose of propaganda. Having forced him to write a statement, Tikhy lets him go. Counterintelligence officer Skunsky estimates that Korzukhin will give $10 to pay off. Quiet shows that Skunsky's share is 000. Serafima is brought in, she is in the heat. Quiet gives her a statement. Outside the window with music is the cavalry of Charnota. Seraphim, having read the paper, knocks out the window glass with his elbow and calls Charnot for help. He runs in and defends Seraphim with a revolver. 4. The Commander-in-Chief says that Khludov has been covering up his hatred for him for a year now. Khludov admits that he hates the commander-in-chief because he was involved in this, that it is impossible to work, knowing that everything is in vain. Commander-in-Chief leaves. Khludov alone speaks with the ghost, wants to crush him ... Golubkov enters, he has come to complain about the crime committed by Khludov. He turns around. Golubkov is in a panic. He came to tell the commander-in-chief about the arrest of Seraphim and wants to know her fate. Khludov asks the captain to deliver her to the palace if she is not shot. Golubkov is horrified by these words. Khludov justifies himself before the messenger ghost and asks him to leave his soul. To Khludov's question who Seraphim is to him, Golubkov replies that she is a random counter, but he loves her. Khludov says that she was shot. Golubkov is furious, Khludov throws a revolver at him and tells someone that his soul is doubled. The captain enters with a report that Seraphim is alive, but today Charnota recaptured her with weapons and took her to Constantinople. Khludov is expected on the ship. Golubkov asks to be taken to Constantinople, Khludov is ill, speaks with the messenger, they leave. Dark. 5. Street of Constantinople. There is an advertisement for cockroach races. Charnota, drunk and gloomy, approaches the cashier of the cockroach race and wants to bet on credit, but Arthur, the "cockroach king", refuses him. Charnota yearns, remembers Russia. He sells for 2 lira 50 piastres silver gazyri and a box of his toys, puts all the money received on Janissary's favorite. The people are gathering. Cockroaches living in a box "under the supervision of a professor" run with paper riders. Shout: "Janissary fails!" It turns out that Arthur got the cockroach drunk. All those who bet on the Janissary rush to Arthur, he calls the police. A beautiful prostitute cheers on the Italians, who are beating the English, who bet on another cockroach. Dark. 6. Charnota quarrels with Lucy, lies to her that the box and gas were stolen, she understands that Charnota lost money, and admits that she is a prostitute. She reproaches him that he, the general, defeated counterintelligence and was forced to flee the army, and now he is begging. Charnota objects: he saved Seraphim from death. Lusya reproaches Seraphim for inaction and goes into the house. Golubkov enters the yard, playing the hurdy-gurdy. Charnota assures him that Serafima is alive and explains that she went to the panel. Seraphim arrives with a Greek, hung with purchases. Golubkov and Charnota rush at him, he runs away. Golubkov tells Seraphim about love, but she leaves with the words that she will die alone. Lyusya, who came out, wants to open the bundle of the Greek, but Charnota does not give it. Lucy takes the hat and announces that she is leaving for Paris. Khludov enters in civilian clothes - he has been demoted from the army. Golubkov explains that he found her, she left, and he will go to Paris to Korzukhin - he is obliged to help her. They will help him cross the border. He asks Khludov to take care of her, not to let her go to the panel, Khludov promises and gives 2 lira and a medallion. Charnota travels with Golubkov to Paris. They are going away. Dark. 7. Golubkov asks Korzukhin for a $1000 loan for Serafima. Korzukhin does not give, says that he was not married and wants to marry his Russian secretary. Golubkov calls him a terrible soulless person and wants to leave, but Charnota arrives, who says that he would sign up for the Bolsheviks to shoot him, and having shot him, he would sign out. Seeing the cards, he invites Korzukhin to play and sells him Khludov's medallion for $10. As a result, Charnota wins $20 and redeems the medallion for $000. Korzukhin wants to return the money, Lucy runs to his cry. Charnota is startled, but doesn't give it away. Lyusya despises Korzukhin. She assures him that he lost the money himself and cannot get it back. Everyone disperses. Lusya quietly shouts out the window to Golubkov to take care of Seraphim, and Charnota to buy his pants. Dark. 8. Khludov alone talks with the ghost of the orderly. He is suffering. Serafima enters, tells him that he is ill, and is executed because she let Golubkov go. She is going to return to Peter. Khludov says that he will also return, and under his own name. Seraphim is horrified, it seems to her that he will be shot. Khludov is happy about this. They are interrupted by a knock on the door. This is Charnota and Golubkov. Khludov and Charnota leave, Serafima and Golubkov confess their love to each other. Khludov and Charnota return. Charnota says that he will stay here, Khludov wants to return. Everyone answers him. He invites Charnota with him, but he refuses: he has no hatred for the Bolsheviks. He's leaving. Golubkov wants to return the locket to Khludov, but he gives it to the couple, and they leave. Khludov alone writes something, rejoices that the ghost has disappeared. He goes to the window and shoots himself in the head. Dark. M. A. Soboleva The Master and Margarita Novel (1929-1940, published 1966-1967) In the work - two storylines, each of which develops independently. The action of the first takes place in Moscow during several May days (days of the spring full moon) in the 30s. of our century, the action of the second takes place also in May, but in the city of Yershalaim (Jerusalem) almost two thousand years ago - at the very beginning of a new era. The novel is structured in such a way that the chapters of the main storyline are interspersed with chapters that make up the second storyline, and these inserted chapters are either chapters from the master's novel, or an eyewitness account of Woland's events. On one of the hot days in May, a certain Woland appears in Moscow, posing as a specialist in black magic, but in fact he is Satan. He is accompanied by a strange retinue: the pretty witch Hella, the cheeky type of Koroviev or the bassoon, the gloomy and sinister Azazello, and the cheerful fat Behemoth, who for the most part appears before the reader in the guise of a black cat of incredible size. The first to meet Woland at Patriarch's Ponds is the editor of a thick art magazine, Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz, and the poet Ivan Bezdomny, who wrote an anti-religious poem about Jesus Christ. Woland intervenes in their conversation, arguing that Christ really existed. As proof that there is something beyond the control of man, Woland predicts a terrible death for Berlioz under the wheels of a tram. In front of the shocked Ivan, Berlioz immediately falls under a tram, Ivan unsuccessfully tries to pursue Woland, and then, having appeared at the Massolit (Moscow Literary Association), he recounts the sequence of events so intricately that he is taken to the suburban psychiatric clinic of Professor Stravinsky, where he meets the chief the hero of the novel is a master. Woland, having appeared in apartment No. 50 of house 302 bis on Sadovaya Street, which the late Berlioz occupied with the director of the Variety Theater Stepan Likhodeev, and finding the latter in a state of severe hangover, presents him with a contract signed by him, Likhodeev, for Woland's performance in the theater, and then escorts him out of the apartment, and Styopa inexplicably ends up in Yalta. Koroviev comes to Nikanor Ivanovich Bosom, the chairman of the housing association of house No. 302-bis, and asks to rent apartment No. 50 to Woland, since Berlioz died, and Likhodeev is in Yalta. Nikanor Ivanovich, after much persuasion, agrees and receives from Koroviev, in addition to the payment stipulated by the contract, 400 rubles, which he hides in the ventilation. On the same day, they come to Nikanor Ivanovich with an arrest warrant for possession of currency, since these rubles have turned into dollars. Stunned, Nikanor Ivanovich ends up in the same clinic of Professor Stravinsky. At this time, the financial director of the Variety Rimsky and the administrator Varenukha unsuccessfully try to find the disappeared Likhodeev by phone and are perplexed, receiving telegrams from Yalta one after another with a request to send money and confirm his identity, since he was abandoned in Yalta by the hypnotist Woland. Deciding that this is Likhodeev's stupid joke, Rimsky, having collected telegrams, sends Varenukh to take them "where necessary", but Varenukha fails to do this: Azazello and Koroviev, grabbing him by the arms, deliver Varenukh to apartment No. 50, and from a kiss naked witch Gella Varenukha loses consciousness. In the evening, on the stage of the Variety Theater, a performance begins with the participation of the great magician Woland and his retinue, the bassoon fires a pistol in the theater to rain money, and the whole hall catches falling gold pieces. Then a "ladies' shop" opens on the stage, where any woman from among those sitting in the hall can dress from head to toe for free. Immediately, a line forms in the store, but at the end of the performance, the gold pieces turn into pieces of paper, and everything purchased in the "ladies' store" disappears without a trace, forcing gullible women to rush through the streets in their underwear. After the performance, Rimsky lingers in his office, and Varenukh, turned into a vampire by the kiss of Gella, appears to him. Seeing that he does not cast a shadow, mortally frightened, instantly gray-haired, Rimsky rushes to the station in a taxi and leaves for Leningrad by courier train. Meanwhile, Ivan Bezdomny, having met the master, tells him about how he met with a strange foreigner who killed Misha Berlioz; the master explains to Ivan that he met with Satan at the Patriarchs, and tells Ivan about himself. His beloved Margarita called him a master. Being a historian by education, he worked in one of the museums, when he suddenly won a huge sum - one hundred thousand rubles. He left his job at the museum, rented two rooms in a small house in one of the Arbat lanes and began to write a novel about Pontius Pilate. The novel was already almost finished when he accidentally met Margarita on the street, and love struck them both instantly. Margarita was married to a worthy man, lived with him in a mansion on the Arbat, but did not love him. Every day she came to the master, the romance was coming to an end, and they were happy. Finally, the novel was finished, and the master took it to the magazine, but they refused to print it there, but several devastating articles about the novel appeared in the newspapers, signed by critics Ariman, Latunsky and Lavrovich. And then the master felt that he was ill. One night he threw the novel into the oven, but the alarmed Margarita ran up and snatched the last stack of sheets from the fire. She left, taking the manuscript with her in order to say goodbye to her husband with dignity and return to her beloved forever in the morning, but a quarter of an hour after she left, they knocked on his window - telling Ivan his story, at this point he lowers his voice to a whisper, - and now a few months later, on a winter night, having come to his home, he found his rooms occupied and went to a new country clinic, where he has been living for the fourth month, without a name and surname, just a patient from room No. 118. This morning Margarita wakes up with the feeling that something is about to happen. Wiping her tears, she sorts through the sheets of the burnt manuscript, looks at the master's photograph, and then goes for a walk in the Alexander Garden. Here Azazello sits next to her and gives her Woland's invitation - she is assigned the role of the queen at the annual ball with Satan. In the evening of the same day, Margarita, having stripped naked, rubs her body with the cream that Azazello gave her, becomes invisible and flies out the window. Flying past the writers' house, Margarita arranges a rout in the apartment of the critic Latunsky, who, in her opinion, killed the master. Then Margarita meets Azazello and brings her to apartment number 50, where she meets Woland and the rest of his retinue. At midnight, the full moon spring ball begins - the great ball of Satan, to which scammers, executioners, molesters, murderers - criminals of all times and peoples are invited; men are in tailcoats, women are naked. For several hours, naked Margarita welcomes guests, substituting her knee for a kiss. Finally, the ball is over, and Woland asks Margarita what she wants as a reward for being the hostess of the ball. And Margarita asks to immediately return the master to her. Immediately the master appears in a hospital gown, and Margarita, after conferring with him, asks Woland to return them to a small house on the Arbat, where they were happy. Meanwhile, one Moscow institution begins to take an interest in the strange events taking place in the city, and they all line up in a logically clear whole: the mysterious foreigner Ivan Bezdomny, and the black magic session in the Variety, and Nickor Ivanovich's dollars, and the disappearance of Rimsky and Likhodeev. It becomes clear that all this is the work of the same gang, led by a mysterious magician, and all traces of this gang lead to apartment number 50. Let us now turn to the second storyline of the novel. In the palace of Herod the Great, the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, interrogates the arrested Yeshua Ha-Nozri, who was sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin for insulting the authority of Caesar, and this sentence was sent to Pilate for approval. Interrogating the arrested man, Pilate realizes that before him is not a robber who incited the people to disobedience, but a wandering philosopher who preaches the kingdom of truth and justice. However, the Roman procurator cannot release the man who is accused of a crime against Caesar, and approves the death sentence. Then he turns to the Jewish high priest Kaifa, who, in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, can release one of the four criminals sentenced to death; Pilate asks that it be Ha-Nozri. However, Kaifa refuses him and releases the robber Bar-Rabban. At the top of Bald Mountain there are three crosses on which the condemned are crucified. After the crowd of onlookers who accompanied the procession to the place of execution returned to the city, only Yeshua's disciple Levi Matvei, a former tax collector, remains on Bald Mountain. The executioner stabs the exhausted convicts, and a sudden downpour falls on the mountain. The procurator summons Aphranius, the head of his secret service, and instructs him to kill Judas from Kiriath, who received money from the Sanhedrin for allowing Yeshua Ha-Nozri to be arrested in his house. Soon, a young woman named Niza allegedly accidentally meets Judas in the city and appoints him a date outside the city in the Garden of Gethsemane, where unknown people attack him, stab him with a knife and take away a purse of money. After some time, Aphranius reports to Pilate that Judas was stabbed to death, and a bag of money - thirty tetradrachms - was thrown into the high priest's house. Levi Matthew is brought to Pilate, who shows the procurator a parchment with the sermons of Ha-Nozri recorded by him. "The gravest vice is cowardice," reads the procurator. But back to Moscow. At sunset, on the terrace of one of the Moscow buildings, they say goodbye to the city of Woland and his retinue. Suddenly, Matvey Levi appears, who offers Woland to take the master to himself and reward him with peace. "Why don't you take him to your place, into the world?" Woland asks. "He didn't deserve the light, he deserved peace," Levi Matvey replies. After some time, Azazello appears in the house to Margarita and the master and brings a bottle of wine - Woland's gift. After drinking wine, the master and Margarita fall unconscious; at the same moment, turmoil begins in the house of sorrow: the patient from room No. 118 has died; and at the same moment, in a mansion on the Arbat, a young woman suddenly turns pale, clutching her heart, and falls to the floor. Magic black horses carry away Woland, his retinue, Margarita and the master. “Your novel has been read,” Woland says to the master, “and I would like to show you your hero. For about two thousand years he has been sitting on this site and dreaming of a lunar road and wants to walk along it and talk with a wandering philosopher. Now you can finish novel in one sentence. "Free! He's waiting for you!" - shouts the master, and over the black abyss, an immense city with a garden lights up, to which the lunar road stretches, and the procurator runs swiftly along this road. "Farewell!" - shouts Woland; Margarita and the master walk across the bridge over the stream, and Margarita says: "Here is your eternal home, in the evening those you love will come to you, and at night I will take care of your sleep." And in Moscow, after Woland left her, the investigation into the case of a criminal gang continues for a long time, but the measures taken to capture her do not give results. Experienced psychiatrists come to the conclusion that the members of the gang were hypnotists of unprecedented power. Several years pass, the events of those May days begin to be forgotten, and only Professor Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrev, the former poet Bezdomny, every year, as soon as the spring festive full moon arrives, appears at the Patriarch's Ponds and sits down on the same bench where he first met Woland, and then, having walked along the Arbat, he returns home and sees the same dream in which Margarita, and the master, and Yeshua Ha-Nozri, and the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, horseman Pontius Pilate, come to him. N. V. Soboleva Dmitry Andreevich Furmanov (1891-1926) Chapaev Roman (1923) On a frosty January midnight in XNUMX, a work detachment assembled by Frunze was sent from the Ivanovo-Voznesensk railway station to the Kolchak front. Workers from all factories and plants come to see off their comrades. Orators make short speeches before a crowded crowd. On behalf of the detachment, Fyodor Klychkov says goodbye to the weavers. He is one of the former students, "during the revolution he quickly found a good organizer in himself." The workers know him intimately and regard him as one of their own. The train travels to Samara for at least two weeks. In the Revolutionary Military Council, Klychkov receives a note left for him by the commander of the 4th Army, in which Frunze orders the commissars to immediately follow him to Uralsk, ahead of the detachment, which, due to the devastation on the railway, is moving slowly. On the messenger, in a sleigh, political workers set off. Finally they meet in Uralsk with Frunze. While on the road, Klychkov listens to the drivers' stories about Chapaev as a folk hero. In Uralsk, Fedor Klychkov, after temporary work in the party committee, receives a new appointment - a commissar in a military group, the head of which is Chapaev. The continuous battles being waged by the Red Army make it impossible to organize organizational and political work. The structure of military units is often so confusing that it is not clear how far the power of one or another commander extends. Klychkov looks at the military experts who have gone over to the side of the Red Army, sometimes wondering if these people honestly serve the new government? Fyodor is waiting for Chapaev's arrival: this visit should, to a certain extent, clarify the ambiguity of the situation that has arisen. Klychkov keeps a diary in which he describes his impressions of the first meeting with Chapaev. He struck him with his ordinary appearance of a man of medium height, apparently of little physical strength, but with the ability to attract the attention of others. In Chapaev, one feels an inner strength that unites people around him. At the first meeting of the commanders, he listens to all opinions and makes his own, unexpected and accurate, conclusion. Klychkov understands how much Chapaev is spontaneous, unstoppable, and sees his role in further exerting an ideological influence on the truly popular commander. In his first battle for the village of Slomikhinskaya, Klychkov sees how Chapaev rushes on a horse along the entire front line, giving the necessary orders, encouraging the fighters, keeping up with the hottest spots at the right time. The commissar admires the commander, especially since, due to his inexperience, he lags behind the Red Army soldiers who burst into the village. Robbery begins in Slomihinskaya, which Chapaev stops with one of his speeches to the Red Army: "I order you never to rob again. Only scoundrels rob. Do you understand?!" And they unquestioningly obey him - however, returning the loot only to the poor. What is taken from the rich is divided for sale so that there is money for salaries. Frunze summons Chapaev and Klychkov to Samara by direct wire. There he appoints Chapaev the head of the division, having previously ordered Klychkov to cool the partisan ardor of his commander. Fedor explains to Frunze that it is precisely in this direction that he is conducting his work. Chapaev tells Klychkov his biography. He says that he was born to the daughter of the Kazan governor from a gypsy artist, which Klychkov somewhat doubts, attributing this fact to the excessive fantasy of a folk hero. Otherwise, the biography is quite ordinary: Chapaev grazed cattle as a child, worked as a carpenter, traded in a merchant's shop, where he began to hate deceitful merchants, walked along the Volga with a hurdy-gurdy. When the war began, he went to serve in the army. Because of the betrayal of his wife, he left her, taking away the children who now live with a widow. All his life he wanted to study, he tried to read as much as possible - and he painfully feels the lack of education, saying about himself: "How there is a dark person!" Chapaev's division is fighting against Kolchak. Victories alternate with temporary setbacks, after which Klychkov urges Chapaev to learn strategy. In disputes, sometimes very sharp, Chapaev increasingly listens to his commissar. Buguruslan, Belebey, Ufa, Uralsk - these are the milestones of the division's heroic path. Klychkov, approaching Chapaev, observes the formation of his military leadership talent. The authority of the legendary commander in the army is enormous. The division goes to Lbischensk, from which to Uralsk more than a hundred miles. Around - the steppes. The population meets the red regiments with hostility. More and more scouts are sent to the Chapaevs, who inform the Kolchaks about the poor supply of the Red Guards. Not enough shells, ammunition, bread. The Whites take by surprise the exhausted and hungry detachments of the Red Army. Chapaev is forced to roam the steppe in a car, on horseback, in order to more quickly lead disparate units. Klychkov is recalled from the division to Samara, no matter how he asked to be left to work next to Chapaev, given the emerging difficulties. The headquarters of the division is located in Lbishensk, from here Chapaev continues to go around the brigades every day. Intelligence reports that no large Cossack forces were found near the village. At night, on someone's orders, a reinforced guard is removed; Chapaev did not give such an order. At dawn, the Cossacks take the Chapaevs by surprise. In a short and terrible battle, almost everyone dies. Chapaev is wounded in the arm. Next to him is constantly faithful messenger Petka Isaev, who heroically dies on the banks of the Urals. They try to send Chapaev across the river. When Chapaev almost reaches the opposite bank, a bullet hits him in the head. The remaining units of the division are fighting their way out of the encirclement, remembering those "who with selfless courage gave their lives on the banks and in the waves of the troubled Urals." V. M. Sotnikov Konstantin Alexandrovich Fedin (1892-1977) Cities and years Roman (1922-1924) In the autumn of 1919 Andrey Startsov arrives from the Mordovian city of Semidol to Petrograd. He was mobilized into the army and arrived at the place of service. But instead of the expected dispatch to the front, Andrei is left as a clerk at the headquarters. Soon Rita comes to him - a woman with whom he was close in Semidol and who is now expecting a child from him. At the same time, in Moscow, a man calling himself Corporal Konrad Stein appeared in the German Council of Soldiers' Deputies. He wants to return to his homeland, to Germany. Checking Stein's documents, the employee asks if he knows a certain von zur Mühlen-Schönau. Sensing something was wrong, the imaginary Konrad Stein quietly hides. He makes his way to Petrograd and, having found his old acquaintance Andrei Startsov there, asks for help to return to Germany. Meeting this man makes Andrey think: "If you could start living again ... Roll out the ball, walk along the thread to the damned hour and do things differently." In 1914, student Andrei Startsov met in Germany, in Nuremberg. He was friends with the artist Kurt Wang, a person spiritually close to him. Kurt's creative fate was not easy: he was forced to give his paintings to the collection of the Margrave von zur Mühlen-Schönau, who generously paid him - on the condition that the artist would never exhibit his work. Kurt hated the "benefactor". Upon learning of the outbreak of the First World War, Kurt recoiled from his bosom friend Andrei, saying that now they had nothing to talk about. Andrei was exiled to the town of Bischofsberg. From the beginning of the war, he felt like "a mote among the huge masses of inevitables moving like a machine." In the burghers of Bischofsberg, he was seized with melancholy. Marie Urbach was born in a villa near Bischofsberg, next to the family castle of the margraves von zur Mühlen-Schönau. The marriage of her parents was considered a misalliance: her mother came from an old family of von Freuleben, while her father was a landowner and spent his time drawing incomprehensible projects. Marie Urbach grew up as a strange girl. Her appearance in a peasant yard or near a rural church has always been a harbinger of misfortune. Once Marie slaughtered a goose with her own hands, another time she tried to hang a cat to see how it would die. In addition, she was the ringleader of dangerous games - for example, searching for treasure in the dungeons of a neighboring castle. With her older brother Heinrich-Adolf, a born aristocrat, Marie lived discordantly and hostilely. Mother did not like Marie for her disgusting antics. After the incident with the cat, she insisted that the girl be sent to Miss Roni's boarding house in Weimar. Shortly before her departure, Marie met her neighbor, Junker von zur Mühlen-Schönau. Morals in the boarding house were strict. Miss Roney listened suspiciously even to the talk about pollination in science class. Her educational system was recognized by society and high society as impeccable. Once in the boarding house, Marie felt as if she were being set into an iron corset; she had to obey. Two years later, Marie met a young lieutenant von zur Mühlen-Schönau on the streets of Weimar. The lieutenant took the girl by the arm, and, despite Miss Roni's loud indignation, Marie went with him. She was gone for three days. After that, Lieutenant von zur Mühlen-Schönau came with her to the Villa Urbach and proposed in the presence of her parents. The betrothal was to take place two years later, in 1916, when Marie came of age. During the war, mother Marie Urbach was the patroness of the food station at the station. Marie helped her mother. After two years of war, she felt bored. Once, during a walk in the vicinity of Bischofsberg, she met the exiled Andrei Startsov. Soon Marie began to secretly come to his room. Of everything they talked about at night, Andrei and Marie remembered only that they love each other. Before leaving for the eastern front, Margrave von zur Mühlen-Schönau drove home to see his bride. But Marie greeted him coldly. At this time, she was busy with an escape plan for Andrey. Trying to cross the border, Andrei went to the park of Schönau Castle, where he was captured by the margrave. In the castle, Andrei saw the paintings of his friend Kurt Van. After a conversation about German art and the human fate, von zur Mühlen-Schönau wrote out to Startsov a document confirming that the exile had not been on the run for several days, but in Schönau Castle. Marie found out about the margrave's noble deed, but did not tell Andrei about her relationship with him. Soon von zur Mühlen-Schönau was taken prisoner by the Russians. In 1918, the German authorities announced to Startsov that he could return to Russia. Leaving, he promised to call Marie as soon as he was in his homeland. While waiting for news from Andrei, Marie took part in the organization of the soldiers' council in Bischofsberg and helped the Russian prisoners. In Moscow, Andrey met Kurt Van, who became a Bolshevik. Kurt was going to Mordovia, to the city of Semidol, to evacuate German prisoners and form a soldier's council among them. Andrew went with him. In Semidol, he met Semyon Golosov, chairman of the executive committee, Rita Tveretskaya, clerk, and Pokisen, chairman of the special department. Golosov often scolded Startsov for his intellectual attempts to reconcile the ideal with the real. Rita Tveretskaya fell in love with Andrei. The peasants of the village of Old Ruchii, Semidolsky district, demanded the abolition of the surplus appraisal. They came to the aid of a detachment of former captured Germans under the command of von zur Mühlen-Schönau. The soldiers of the Semidolsky garrison brutally suppressed the peasant uprising, hanged a disabled person, who was considered the instigator. Andrei managed to agitate most of the captured Germans to go over to the side of the Bolsheviks. Among the prisoners scheduled to be sent to Germany, he recognized the disguised Margrave von zur Mühlen-Schönau, who was wanted by the authorities. The margrave asked Startsov for help. After much hesitation, Andrey stole documents for him in the name of Konrad Stein and asked, upon arrival in Bischofsbaer, to hand over the letter to his fiancee Marie Urbach. The margrave promised to do so, concealing from Andrei that Marie was his bride. Back in Bischofsberg, von zur Mühlen-Schönau destroys the Kurt Wang paintings he had collected. Having met with Marie, he informs her that Startsov has a wife who is expecting a child. Not believing this, Marie decides to go to Russia. To qualify for entry, she marries a Russian soldier. The margrave writes to Andrey about all this. Arriving to her fiancé in Moscow, Marie sees a pregnant Rita and runs away. Andrei is in despair, he understands that life has not accepted him, despite all his efforts to be in the center of the main events. He can no longer remain in revolutionary Russia and wants to go to Germany, to Marie. Andrei turns to Kurt Wang for help, honestly tells him the whole story with the margrave and forged documents. Filled with hatred for a former friend, Kurt Van kills him. Shortly before his death, Andrei writes to Marie that all his life he tried to make everything in the world happen around him, but he was always washed away, taken aside. And people who only wanted to eat and drink were always in the center of the circle. "My fault is that I am not wiry," he concludes his letter. The Revolutionary Committee recognizes Comrade Wang's actions as correct. T. A. Sotnikova Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky (1892-1968) Romantics Roman (1916-1923) Maximov with Stashevsky, Alexei and Winkler were driven into this port by a fierce autumn storm. Young people lived in a shabby hotel full of sailors and prostitutes, spent their time in cheap taverns. Stashevsky smashed Russian literature, argued with Alexei about the fate of Russia. They remembered the recently deceased Oscar. The old man taught them German at the gymnasium, but devoted his leisure time to music and often said: "Wander, be vagabonds, write poetry, love women ..." Once, in a Greek coffee house, Maximov, having already thoroughly tasted the Santurino and oily "mastic", suddenly said to the fair-haired beauty at the next table that she was beautiful, and put his glass next to him: "Let's change!" "You didn't recognize me?" she asked. It was Hatice. Maksimov met her a few years ago on vacation. She was in the sixth grade at the gymnasium. He lied to her about steamboats, sailors, and Alexandria—everything he writes about now. Hatice was born in Bakhchisarai, but was Russian. The Tatar name was called her in childhood by those around her. After high school she lived in Paris and studied at the Sorbonne. Here she is visiting relatives and hopes that now they will see each other often. After several meetings, Maximov and Hatice spent the evening in the company of his friends. There was music, poetry, "the anthem of the four", "their" anthem: "We live from the tavern to the sea, From the sea to new ports" ... Stashevsky said that now it is "the anthem of five." On the way home, the girl admitted that she loved Maksimov. From that moment on, the feeling of power never left him. Love filled everything inside and around with meaning. Quite different moods possessed Winkler. It suddenly seemed to him insignificant everything that they lived, despising everyday life. He even smeared black paint on his pending paintings. Returning home, Maximov wrote to Khatija about his insatiable thirst for life, about what he now finds in everything taste and smell. A week later the answer came: "The same is now with me." Correspondence continued when he left for Moscow. He thought that the longing for Hatice would become sharper and help him write: he suffered little to become a writer. In Moscow, the book (he called it "Life") was drawing to a close, he was already settling down in a city alien to a southerner. The newspaper theater critic Semyonov introduced him to his family, to his sister Natasha, a young actress who was madly in love with Maximov's stories about his wanderings, about southern cities, about the sea. The girl was beautiful, unexpected in her actions and self-willed. During a boat trip on the Moscow River, she asked for the volume of Wilde that Maximov had taken with him, flipped through it and threw it overboard. A minute later, she apologized. He replied that it was not worth an apology, although the book contained an unread letter to Hatice. Soon they went together to Arkhangelsk. In a letter to Khatija, he wrote: "I am in cold Arkhangelsk with a wonderful girl ... I love you and her ..." At the height of summer, Maximov gathered in Sevastopol, where Hatice moved, running away from longing. Saying goodbye to Natasha, he said that there is she and there is Hatice, without whom he is lonely, and Natasha makes his head spin, but they should not live together: she will take all his spiritual strength. Instead of answering, Natasha pulled him towards her. Winkler met Maximov in Simferopol. He took him to Bakhchisarai, where Hatice was waiting. Maksimov told her about Moscow, about Natasha. She promised not to remember everything she learned. Something terrible happened in Sevastopol. Winkler committed suicide. Recently, he drank a lot, quarreled because of the prostitute Nastya, like two drops similar to Hatice. A Moscow acquaintance, Seredinsky, invited Maksimov and Hatice to the dacha. From there, the whole company was supposed to move to Chetyr-Dag. But a telegram arrived: Natasha was waiting in Yalta. Maksimov was going to meet her and promised to join the Chetyr-Dag in a day. Late at night, she and Natasha were there. Hatice shook her hand, and when everyone had settled down on the floor, she covered her with her shawl. In the morning they talked for a long time alone. Maximov was in turmoil: to stay or leave with Natasha. But she is one of those whose love kills life, regularity. All this is insoluble. Come what may. She helped Hatice: you will have many ups and downs, but I will stay with you, we have one goal - creativity. However, life, and love, and creativity - everything was crumpled up by the First World War that began that same autumn. Maksimov ended up at the front in the sanitary detachment. New wanderings have begun. Among dirt, blood, sewage and growing bitterness. There was a feeling of the death of European culture. Maximov wrote to Khatija and Natasha, waiting for letters from them. I managed to meet with Alexei. He said that Stashevsky was at the front and received George. News came from Semyonov that Natasha had gone to the front, hoping to find Maksimov. The chance helped them meet. She asked him to save himself: the writer must give joy to hundreds of people. However, fate again swept them away. Again around only death, suffering, filthy trenches and bitterness. New thoughts were born that there is nothing higher than love, the affinity of people. After being wounded in the infirmary, Maksimov tried to write, but gave up: who needs it? Something died in him. A telegram came from Semyonov: Natasha died - typhus. Barely recovering, Maximov went to Moscow. Semyonov was not at home, but there was an envelope addressed to Maksimov on the table. Now dead, Natasha wrote to him about her love. A week later, Hatice arrived near Tula, to the infirmary where Maximov was lying. But he was no longer there. Not having recovered, he rushed near Minsk, to the place where Natasha died in a dirty house. From there, he was going to run south to Hatice, so that she would teach him not to remember anything. At that time, she was walking to the Moscow train and thought: "Maximov will not die, he does not dare to die - life is just beginning." I. G. Zhivotovsky Homeland smoke Roman (1944) Having received an invitation from the famous Pushkinist Schweitzer to come to Mikhailovskoye, the Leningrad artist-restorer Nikolai Genrikhovich Vermel postponed his hasty work on the frescoes of the Trinity Church in Novgorod and, together with his partner and student Pakhomov, went to Schweitzer, who was rummaging through the funds of the Mikhailovsky Museum in the hope of finding unknown Pushkin poems or the documents. The daughter of the landlady, an actress from the Odessa theater, a beauty who came to visit her daughter, and an aging mother were also invited to the trip. Snow-covered alleys, an old house, an interesting society in Mikhailovsky - Tatyana Andreevna liked everything. It was also nice to find admirers of my talent - Odessa students. There was also a completely unexpected surprise. Once entering one of the rooms, Tatyana Andreevna gasped softly and sank into an armchair in front of the portrait of a young beauty. Everyone saw that their companion was completely similar to her. "Karolina Sabanskaya is my great-grandmother," she explained. The great-grandfather of the actress, a certain Chirkov, served there in the dragoon regiment during the year of Pushkin's stay in Odessa. Carolina shone in society, and our poet was in love with her, but she married a dragoon, and they parted. By the way, the sister of this desperate adventuress, Countess Hanskaya, was Balzac's wife in her second marriage. Tatyana Andreevna recalled that her uncle in Kyiv kept a portrait of Pushkin. Schweitzer was amazed. He knew that, parting with Sabanskaya, the poet gave her his portrait, in which he was depicted holding a sheet with some kind of poem dedicated to the charming Polish woman. The Pushkinist decided to go to Kyiv. In the Ukrainian capital, he managed to find Tatyana Andreevna's uncle, but, alas, at one of the critical moments, he sold the portrait to the Odessa antiquary Zilber. In Odessa, Schweitzer found out that the antiquarian gave the portrait to his nephew, who worked in the Yalta sanatorium for consumptive patients: the portrait had no artistic value. Before leaving Odessa, Schweitzer visited Tatyana Andreevna. She asked to take him with her to Yalta. There, in a tuberculosis sanatorium, the twenty-two-year-old Spaniard Ramon Pereiro was dying. He arrived in Russia along with other republicans, but could not stand the climate and fell seriously ill. They became friends and saw each other often. Once, on a country walk, Ramon suddenly knelt in front of her and said that he loved her. It seemed to her pompous and generally inappropriate (she was ten years older than him, and Masha was already in her eighth year), she laughed, and he suddenly jumped up and ran away. Tatyana Andreevna reproached herself all the time for this laughter, because for his compatriots, theatricality is second nature. At the sanatorium they told her that there was no hope and they let her stay. In the ward, she knelt down in front of the bed. Ramon recognized her, and tears rolled down his thin, blackened face. Schweitzer, meanwhile, found a portrait in the sanatorium and summoned Vermel. Restoration could only be done on the spot. However, Pakhomov arrived, begging the teacher to send him. It was obvious to the old man that his Misha had a special interest in the south, besides his professional one. Something he noticed even in Novgorod. With the help of Pakhomov, they managed to read the poems that Pushkin held in his hands. It was a stanza of a poem: “The flying ridge is thinning the clouds ...” This find did not contain sensations, but for Schweitzer it was important to touch the life of the poet. Pakhomov was glad to see Tatyana Andreevna again. He never told her about love, and she was also silent, but in the spring of 1941 she moved to Kronstadt - closer to Novgorod and Leningrad. The war found her on the island of Ezel, as part of the visiting brigade of the Baltic Fleet Theater. With the start of the fighting, the actress became a nurse and was evacuated just before the fall of the heroic island. Further, the path lay on Tikhvin. But the plane was forced to land near Mikhailovsky, at the location of the partisan detachment. While the broken gas pipeline was being repaired, Tatyana Andreevna went to Mikhailovskoye with her escort. She did not yet know that Schweitzer had remained here to guard the museum valuables he had buried and the portrait of Sabanskaya, hidden separately from them. Tatyana Andreevna found him by chance, not quite healthy mentally. At dawn, the plane took them to the mainland. In Leningrad, they found Vermel and Masha: Nikolai Genrikhovich rushed to Novgorod with the outbreak of war. He managed to pack and ship the museum valuables to Kostroma, but he himself had to stay with Masha and Varvara Gavrilovna - Tatyana Andreevna's mother - in Novgorod. The three of them tried to leave the occupied city on foot, but the elderly woman died. There has been no news from Pakhomov since he left for the army. He went south, worked in a front-line newspaper, was wounded during the reflection of the German landing. All the time he yearned for Tatyana Andreevna. His hospital was constantly moving - the front line was rolling towards the Volga. In Leningrad it became more and more difficult. Tatyana Andreevna insisted that Vermel, Schweitzer and Masha leave for Siberia. She herself had to stay in the theater. She found herself completely alone, often spending the night in the dressing room, where it was warmer than at home, alone with the portrait of Sabanskaya, which gave rise to thoughts that after death she herself would have no eyes, no eyebrows, no smile. It's good that portraits were painted in the old days. But then one day, pressing her forehead against the window, she saw on a deserted street a man in an overcoat, with his hand in a sling. It was Misha Pakhomov. After the blockade was broken, those who had left for evacuation also returned to Leningrad. Life got better. Vermel and Pakhomov were eager to restore the destroyed monuments of Peterhof, Novgorod, Pushkin, Pavlovsk, so that in a few years it would not even occur to people that fascist hordes had passed through this land. I. G. Zhivotovsky Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) Pied Piper Poem (1922) "The Pied Piper" is the first poem by Tsvetaeva, written in exile, in Prague. This is a prophecy about the fate of the Russian revolution, the romantic period of which ended and a deadly, bureaucratic, dictatorial period began. This is the verdict of any utopia about the possibility of popular triumph, people's power. This is a mockery of talk about the revolutionary nature of the masses, whose revolt is always based on the basest motives - social envy and a thirst for enrichment. Tsvetaeva's poem is extremely versatile. "The Pied Piper" has become one of the eternal, wandering plots of world literature because the interpretation of each character can change to the exact opposite. The Pied Piper is both a savior and a murderer, cruelly taking revenge on the city for deceit. The townspeople are both victims, and vile deceivers, and again victims. Music not only destroys rats, but also gives them in death the last opportunity to gain dignity, elevates them, lures them with something beautiful and in any case inedible. The legend of the rat-catcher first appeared in literary processing in the Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX by Mérimée. Prior to that, it existed in several folklore versions. Its plot is simple: in the German city of Gammeln, an invasion of rats threatens to destroy all food supplies, and then the townspeople themselves. A mysterious rat-catcher comes to Gammeln, who promises to take all the rats away for a huge reward. He is promised this money, and by playing the pipe he lures the rats into the Weser River, where the rats drown safely. But the city refuses to pay him the promised money, and the rat-catcher, in retaliation with the same flute playing, fascinates every single Hammelnian child - takes them out of the city into the mountain, which parted before him. In some versions of the legend, people coming out of the mountain are found much later in the vicinity of Gammeln, they spent ten years in the mountain and possess secret knowledge, but these are already non-canonical variants and have no direct relation to the legend. Tsvetaeva retains this plot, but gives the characters a special meaning, so that the conflict looks completely different from the folklore fundamental principle. Tsvetaeva's Pied Piper is a symbol of music in general, music triumphant and independent of anything. Music is ambivalent. She is beautiful, no matter what the artist's beliefs and what his personality is. Therefore, taking revenge on the townspeople, the rat-catcher is offended not by the fact that he was underpaid, not by greed takes the children away, but because music as such is offended in his face. Music is equally convincing for rats, burghers, children - for everyone who does not want to understand it, but willy-nilly is forced to obey its heavenly harmony. The artist easily leads anyone, promising everyone what he wants. And rats want romance. The victorious proletariat in Tsvetaeva is rather frankly, with a mass of precise details, depicted in the form of a detachment of rats that captured the city and now does not know what to do. Rats are bored. "Gentlemen, a secret: red is disgusting." They are tired of their own revolutionism, they are fat and flabby. "My eye is swollen", "My syllable is swimming", "My ass is hanging down..." They remember themselves as brave, toothy and muscular, insatiably hungry wrestlers - and are nostalgic that "in that country where the steps are wide, We were called... The word "Bolsheviks" stands in the line by itself, because "highway", a big road, a symbol of wandering, is the key word in the chapter. It is the flute that lures them: India, a new promise of struggle and conquest, a journey to where they shake off fat and remember youth (the prophetess Tsvetaeva could not know that a plan for the liberation of India was ripening in the heads of some cavalry leaders so that the fighting ardor of the Red Army would not be wasted after winning the civil war). Behind this romantic note, behind the promise of wandering, struggle and a second youth, the rats go into the river. But the pied-catcher lures children to something completely different, because he knows whose children they are. These are the children of the sleepy, virtuous, philistine, gossiping, greedy, murderous Hammeln, in whom they hate everything that is unlike, everything living, everything new. This is how Tsvetaeva sees the world of modern Europe, but also - more broadly - any human community, prosperous, which has not known renewal and upheaval for a long time. This world is unable to resist the invasion of rats and is doomed ... unless the music intervenes. The children of this world can go only for purely material, simple, miserable promises. And the rat-catcher at Tsvetaeva promises them "for girls - pearls, for boys - catching them, with a walnut ... And - a secret - for everyone." But this secret is also simple, childish, stupid: a cheap fairy tale with a leafy ending, with prosperity in the finale. Dreams of well-bred boys and girls: not to go to school, not to listen to the alarm clock! All - soldiers, all - sweets! Why do children follow the flute? "Because EVERYONE goes." And this children's herd, also rat-like in its own way, demonstrates all the inner falsity of the "children's" or "youth rebellion." And the music - cruel, triumphant and omnipotent - goes further, destroying and saving. D. L. Bykov The story of Sonya (1937, published 1975, 1980) "The Tale of Sonechka" tells about the most romantic period in the biography of Marina Tsvetaeva - about her Moscow life in 1919-1920. in Borisoglebsky lane. This is a time of uncertainty (her husband is with the whites and hasn’t heard about himself for a long time), poverty (her daughters - one eight, the other five - are starving and sick), persecution (Tsvetaeva does not hide the fact that she is the wife of a white officer, and deliberately provokes the hostility of the winners ). And at the same time, this is the time of a great turning point, in which there is something romantic and great, and behind the triumph of the cattle one can see the true tragedy of the historical law. The present is scarce, poor, transparent, because the material has disappeared. The past and the future are clearly visible. At this time, Tsvetaeva meets the same impoverished and romantic youth - the Vakhtangov studios, who rave about the French Revolution, the XNUMXth century. and the Middle Ages, mysticism - and if the then Petersburg, cold and strict, which ceased to be the capital, is inhabited by the ghosts of German romantics, Moscow dreams of Jacobin times, of beautiful, gallant, adventurous France. Life is in full swing here, here is a new capital, here they are not so much mourning the past as dreaming about the future. The main characters of the story are the lovely young actress Sonechka Holliday, a girl-woman, friend and confidante of Tsvetaeva, and Volodya Alekseev, a student who is in love with Sonechka and bows before Tsvetaeva. Alya plays a huge role in the story - a child with surprisingly early development, mother's best friend, writer of poems and fairy tales, whose quite adult diary is often quoted in "The Tale of Sonechka". The youngest daughter, Irina, who died of starvation at the age of five, became for Tsvetaeva an eternal reminder of her involuntary guilt: "I didn’t save." But the nightmares of Moscow life, the sale of handwritten books, the sale of rations - all this does not play a significant role for Tsvetaeva, although it serves as the background of the story, creating its most important counterpoint: love and death, youth and death. It is this kind of "dance of death" that the heroine-narrator thinks everything that Sonechka does: her sudden dance improvisations, flashes of fun and despair, her whims and coquetry. Sonechka is the embodiment of Tsvetaeva's favorite female type, later revealed in dramas about Casanova. This is a daring, proud, invariably narcissistic girl, whose narcissism is still nothing compared to the eternal love for an adventurous, literary ideal. Infantile, sentimental and at the same time from the very beginning endowed with complete, feminine knowledge about life, doomed, dying early, unhappy in love, unbearable in everyday life, Tsvetaeva’s beloved heroine combines the features of Maria Bashkirtseva (the idol of Tsvetaeva’s youth), Marina Tsvetaeva herself, Pushkin’s Mariulas - but also courtesans of gallant times, and Henrietta from Casanova's notes ... Sonechka is helpless and defenseless, but her beauty is victorious, and her intuition is unmistakable. This is a woman of "par excellence", and therefore any ill-wishers give in to her charm and mischief. Tsvetaeva’s book, written in difficult and terrible years and conceived as a farewell to emigration, to creativity, to life, is imbued with painful longing for the time when the sky was so close, literally close, for “it won’t be long from the roof to the sky” ( Tsvetaeva lived with her daughters in the attic). Then, through everyday life, the great, universal and timeless shone through, through the thinned fabric of being, its secret mechanisms and laws showed through, and any era easily echoed with that time, Moscow, a turning point, on the eve of the twenties. Yuri Zavadsky, even then a dandy, an egoist, a "man of success", and Pavel Antokolsky, the best of the young poets of the then Moscow, a romantic youth composing a play about the dwarf infanta, appear in this story ... nights" by Dostoevsky, for the hero's selfless love for the ideal, unattainable heroine is, above all, self-giving. The same devotion was Tsvetaeva's tenderness for the doomed, omniscient and naive youth of the end of the Silver Age. And when Tsvetaeva gives Sonechka her very best and last, her precious and only corals, in this symbolic gesture of giving, bestowal, gratitude, the whole insatiable Tsvetaeva soul with its thirst for sacrifice is expressed. And there really is no plot. Young, talented, beautiful, hungry, untimely and aware of this people converge on a visit to the eldest and most gifted of them. They read poetry, invent plots, quote their favorite fairy tales, act out sketches, laugh, fall in love ... And then youth ended, the silver age became iron, and everyone parted or died, because it always happens. D. L. Bykov Adventure Poem (1918-1919, published 1923) Hotel; night; Italy; year 1748. The protagonist - Giacomo Casanova, twenty-three years old, authentic, extracted from the IV volume of his own memoirs and supplemented, completed by a female dream about the eternal Casanova, sleeps, dropping female names from his lips. His restless sleep is interrupted by the hussars Henri, at first glance - a young mischievous angel in uniform. Casanova in agitation: "Are you a creditor? Are you a thief? You are worse: / You are someone's husband! No, good for a husband. / Why are you here? Why on a bed / This moonbeam descends?" Dialogue, like moonlight, weaves whimsical rhythmic patterns. The famous hero-lover is blind from sleep, and the night visitor is forced to open himself: "Henri-Henriette" ... Casanova flares up with a hasty love fire. A frivolous (seemingly frivolous for the time being) angel flies out the window. The next evening. Casanova is persistent, Henrietta is evasive, he is enthusiastic, she is tenderly mocking: “I have never loved so passionately, / I will never love like that again ...” With the help of talkative milliners, the hussar is transformed into a brilliant lady. Quietly the question creeps in: "Who are you?" - "Secret". …Whoever she is, she is perfection. Filled with subtle charm; courteous with that refined courtesy that reigned in the enchanted world of castles and parks; witty, smart; musical, like music itself, - it conquers all the brilliant guests of the aristocratic Parma villa, where the owner, a hunchback, a casual acquaintance, gives a reception in her honor. The orchestra easily drops the "pearls of the minuet", silk threads of thin speeches are carelessly woven, when suddenly: "Sent to you with a letter. / - Ah! Seven seals! / Casanova. / My love, we must part." The last farewell - at the "road collapse", in the hotel "Libra". Casanova in anguish begs to stay with him even for a little while, she is adamant - why? The atmosphere of mystery thickens ... The ring, which he did not take back, she will throw into the windowless night, but before that she will draw some quick words on the glass with a diamond facet - a note to the future, to which Casanova, carried away by despair, will not pay attention ... But in fact Why is separation so inevitable? Why should she leave? Who is she, finally? Maybe it came from another century? No wonder she knows the future: "Someday, in old memoirs, / You will write them completely gray-haired, / In a godforsaken castle in a foreign land ..." Maybe the moonlit Henrietta is Tsvetaeva's lyrical mask, her dream of herself: the mistress of hearts, seducing Casanova? "I give you an oath that you will dream!" ... Thirteen years later, Giacomo brings his one thousand first girlfriend to the same room of the same hotel. She is seventeen years old, she is charming, poor, greedy - for money, sweets, carnal pleasures. He is still a Casanova, but already, as it were, a household name: a professional lover, not flashing with heart fire, but only bursting with bodily heat ... Outside the window, the moon rises, highlights the words scratched on the glass: "You will forget Henrietta too..." Stupefaction: "Or am I blind?" - an explosion, passion, instantly the former Casanova is filled with the former stormy despair. The girl is in fear and tears, she wants to run away. But the passionate storm subsided, Casanova has already returned from the past, is already ready to have fun again with the thousand and first ... And the consoled beauty, of course, cannot restrain her curiosity: "What are these letters?" - "So - one and only - an adventure." E. A. Zlobina Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky (1893-1984) Sentimental travel Memories. 1917-1922. Petersburg - Galicia - Persia. Saratov - Kyiv - Petersburg. Dnieper - Petersburg - Berlin (1923) Before the revolution, the author worked as an instructor in a reserve armored battalion. In February of the seventeenth year, he and his battalion arrived at the Tauride Palace. The revolution saved him, as well as other spares, from many months of tedious and humiliating sitting in the barracks. In this he saw (and he saw and understood everything in his own way) the main reason for the rapid victory of the revolution in the capital. The democracy that had reigned in the army nominated Shklovsky, a supporter of the continuation of the war, which he now likened to the wars of the French Revolution, to the post of assistant commissar of the Western Front. A student of the Faculty of Philology, a futurist, a curly-haired young man who did not complete the course, reminiscent of Danton in Repin's drawing, is now at the center of historical events. He sits together with the caustic and arrogant democrat Savinkov, expresses his opinion to the nervous, broken Kerensky, going to the front, visits General Kornilov (just then society was tormented by doubts which of them was better suited to the role of Bonaparte of the Russian revolution). The impression from the front: the Russian army had a hernia before the revolution, and now it simply cannot walk. Despite the selfless activity of Commissar Shklovsky, which included a military feat, rewarded with the St. George Cross from the hands of Kornilov (attack on the Lomnica River, under fire in front of the regiment, wounded in the stomach through and through), it becomes clear that the Russian army is incurable without surgical intervention. After the decisive failure of the Kornilov dictatorship, Bolshevik vivisection becomes inevitable. Now longing was calling somewhere to the outskirts - he got on the train and went. To Persia, again as a commissar of the Provisional Government in the Russian expeditionary corps. Battles with the Turks near Lake Urmia, where Russian troops are mainly located, have not been fought for a long time. The Persians are in poverty and hunger, and the local Kurds, Armenians and Aysors (descendants of the Assyrians) are busy slaughtering each other. Shklovsky is on the side of the Aisors, who are simple-hearted, friendly and few in number. In the end, after October 1917, the Russian army is withdrawn from Persia. The author (sitting on the roof of the car) returns to his homeland through the south of Russia, which by that time was full of all kinds of nationalism. In St. Petersburg, Shklovsky is interrogated by the Cheka. He, a professional storyteller, narrates about Persia, and he is released. Meanwhile, the need to fight the Bolsheviks for Russia and for freedom seems obvious. Shklovsky heads the armored department of the underground organization of supporters of the Constituent Assembly (Socialist-Revolutionaries). However, the performance has been postponed. The struggle is expected to continue in the Volga region, but nothing happens in Saratov either. He does not like underground work, and he goes to the fantastic Ukrainian-German Kyiv of Hetman Skoropadsky. He does not want to fight for the Germanophile hetman against Petlyura and disables the armored cars that were entrusted to him (with an experienced hand he pours sugar into the jets). News arrives that Kolchak has arrested members of the Constituent Assembly. The fainting that happened to Shklovsky at this news meant the end of his struggle with the Bolsheviks. There was no more strength. Nothing could be stopped. Everything was on rails. He came to Moscow and capitulated. In the Cheka, he was again released as a good friend of Maxim Gorky. There was a famine in Petersburg, my sister died, the Bolsheviks shot my brother. I went south again, in Kherson, during the offensive of the Whites, I was already mobilized into the Red Army. He was a demolition specialist. One day a bomb exploded in his hands. Survived, visited relatives, Jewish inhabitants in Elisavetgrad, returned to St. Petersburg. After they began to judge the Social Revolutionaries for their past struggle with the Bolsheviks, he suddenly noticed that he was being followed. He did not return home, he went to Finland on foot. Then he came to Berlin. From 1917 to 1922, in addition to the above, he married a woman named Lyusya (this book is dedicated to her), because of another woman he fought a duel, starved a lot, worked with Gorky in World Literature, lived in the House arts (in the then main barracks for writers, located in the palace of the merchant Eliseev), taught literature, published books, and together with friends created a very influential scientific school. On his wanderings, he carried books with him. Again he taught Russian writers to read Stern, who once (in the XNUMXth century) was the first to write Sentimental Journey. He explained how the novel "Don Quixote" works and how many other literary and non-literary things work. With many people successfully quarreled. Lost my chestnut curls. On the portrait of the artist Yuri Annensky - an overcoat, a huge forehead, an ironic smile. Remained an optimist. Once I met a shoe shiner, an old acquaintance of the Aisors, Lazar Zervandov, and wrote down his story about the exodus of the Aisors from Northern Persia to Mesopotamia. He placed it in his book as a fragment of the heroic epic. In St. Petersburg at that time, people of Russian culture were tragically experiencing a catastrophic change, the era was expressively defined as the time of the death of Alexander Blok. This is also in the book, it also appears as a tragic epic. Genres have changed. But the fate of Russian culture, the fate of the Russian intelligentsia appeared with inevitable clarity. The theory was also clear. Craft constituted culture, craft determined destiny. On May 20, 1922 in Finland, Shklovsky wrote: "When you fall like a stone, you don't need to think; when you think, you don't need to fall. I mix two crafts." In the same year, in Berlin, he ends the book with the names of those who are worthy of their trade, those to whom their trade does not leave the opportunity to kill and do meanness. L. B. Shamshin Zoo, or Letters Not About Love, or the Third Eloise (1923) Having illegally emigrated from Soviet Russia in 1922, the author arrived in Berlin. Here he met many Russian writers who, like most Russian emigrants, lived near the Zoo metro station. Zoo is a zoological garden, and therefore, having decided to present the Russian literary and artistic emigration, staying in Berlin among indifferent and self-occupied Germans, the author began to describe these Russians as representatives of some exotic fauna, completely unadapted to normal European life. And therefore they have a place in the zoological garden. With particular confidence, the author attributed this to himself. Like most Russians who went through two wars and two revolutions, he didn’t even know how to eat in a European way - he leaned too much towards his plate. The trousers, too, were not as they should be - without the necessary smoothed fold. And Russians also have a heavier walk than the average European. Starting to work on this book, the author soon discovered two important things for himself. First: it turns out that he is in love with a beautiful and intelligent woman named Alya. Second: he cannot live abroad, because this life spoils him, acquiring the habits of an ordinary European. He must return to Russia, where his friends remain and where, as he feels, he himself, his books, his ideas are needed (his ideas are all connected with the theory of prose). Then this book settled down as follows: letters from the author to Alya and letters from Ali to the author, written by himself. Alya forbids writing about love. He writes about literature, about Russian writers in exile, about the impossibility of living in Berlin, about many other things. It turns out interesting. Russian writer Alexei Mikhailovich Remizov invented the Great Order of the Monkeys in the style of the Masonic lodge. He lived in Berlin in much the same way as the monkey king Asyk would have lived here. The Russian writer Andrey Bely, with whom the author repeatedly exchanged mufflers by mistake, was in no way inferior to a real shaman in the effect of his speeches. Russian artist Ivan Puni worked a lot in Berlin. In Russia, he was also very busy with work and did not immediately notice the revolution. The Russian artist Marc Chagall does not belong to the cultural world, but just as he painted the best in Vitebsk, he draws the best in Europe. The Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg constantly smokes a pipe, but whether he is a good writer is still not known. Russian philologist Roman Yakobson is notable for wearing tight trousers, having red hair, and being able to live in Europe. The Russian philologist Pyotr Bogatyrev, on the contrary, cannot live in Europe and, in order to somehow survive, he must settle in a concentration camp for Russian Cossacks awaiting their return to Russia. Several newspapers are published in Berlin for the Russians, but not a single one for the monkey in the zoo, and he, too, misses his homeland. In the end, the author could take it upon himself. Having written twenty-two letters (eighteen to Ale and four from Ali), the author understands that his situation is hopeless in all respects, addresses the last, twenty-third letter to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR and asks to be allowed to return. At the same time, he recalls that once, during the capture of Erzerum, everyone who surrendered was hacked to death. And this now seems wrong. L. B. Shamshin Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893-1930) Vladimir Mayakovsky Tragedy (1913) Addressing the crowd, V. Mayakovsky tries to explain why he carries his soul on a platter for the dinner of the coming years. Flowing down an unnecessary tear from the unshaven cheek of the squares, he feels like the last poet. He is ready to open their new souls to people - in words as simple as lowing. V. Mayakovsky participates in the street festival of the poor. They bring him food: an iron herring from a signboard, a huge golden roll, folds of yellow velvet. The poet asks to mend his soul and is going to dance in front of the audience. The Man without an ear, the Man without a head and others look at him. A thousand-year old man with cats encourages the audience to stroke dry and black cats to pour electric flashes into the wires and stir up the world. The old man considers things to be the enemies of people and argues with a man with a stretched linden, who believes that things have a different soul and they must be loved. V. Mayakovsky, who joined the conversation, says that all people are just bells on the cap of God. An ordinary young man is trying to warn the audience against rash actions. He talks about many useful activities: he himself invented a machine for cutting cutlets, and his acquaintance has been working on a trap for catching fleas for twenty-five years. Feeling growing anxiety, an ordinary young man begs people not to shed blood. But thousands of feet strike the stretched belly of the square. Those gathered want to erect a monument to red meat on the black granite of sin and vice, but soon forget about their intention. A man without an eye and a leg screams that the old woman-time gave birth to a huge crooked rebellion and all things rushed to throw off the tatters of worn-out names. The crowd declares V. Mayakovsky their prince. Women with knots bow to him. They bring their tears, tears and tears to the poet, offering to use them as beautiful shoe buckles. The big and dirty man was given two kisses. He did not know what to do with them - they could not be used instead of galoshes, and the man threw unnecessary kisses. And suddenly they came to life, began to grow, to rage. The man hanged himself. And while it hung, factories began to make kisses by the millions with fleshy levers of spanking lips. Kisses run to the poet, each of them brings a tear. V. Mayakovsky tries to explain to the crowd how hard it is for him to live with pain. But the crowd demands that he take the mountain of collected tears to his God. Finally, the poet promises to cast these tears to the dark God of thunderstorms at the source of animal faiths. He feels blissful, who gave his thoughts an inhuman scope. Sometimes it seems to him that he is a Dutch rooster or the King of Pskov. And sometimes he likes his own surname most of all - Vladimir Mayakovsky. T. A. Sotnikova A cloud in pants Tetraptich Poem (1914-1915) The poet - handsome, twenty-two years old - teases the philistine, softened thought with a bloody patch of his heart. There is no senile tenderness in his soul, but he can turn himself inside out - so that there are only solid lips. And he will be impeccably gentle, not a man, but a cloud in his pants! He recalls how once in Odessa his beloved, Maria, promised to come to him. Waiting for her, the poet melts the window glass with his forehead, his soul groans and writhes, his nerves rush about in a desperate tap dance. Already the twelfth hour falls, like the head of the executed from the chopping block. Finally, Maria appears - sharp, like "here!" - and announces that she is getting married. Trying to look absolutely calm, the poet feels that his "I" is not enough for him and someone stubbornly breaks out of him. But it is impossible to jump out of your own heart, in which a fire is blazing. One can only groan in the centuries the last cry about this fire. The poet wants to put "nihil" ("nothing") above everything that has been done before him. He no longer wants to read books, because he understands how hard they are written, how long - before he starts to sing - the stupid roach of the imagination flounders in the mire of the heart. And until the poet finds the right words, the street writhes without a language - it has nothing to shout and talk with. In the mouth of the street, the corpses of dead words are decomposing. Only two words live, fattening - "bastard" and "borscht". And other poets rush away from the street, because these words do not sing a young lady, love and a flower under the dew. They are overtaken by street thousands - students, prostitutes, contractors - for whom a nail in their own boot is more nightmarish than Goethe's fantasy. The poet agrees with them: the smallest grain of sand of the living is more valuable than anything he can do. He, ridiculed by today's tribe, sees the sixteenth year in the crown of thorns of revolutions and feels himself to be its forerunner. In the name of this future, he is ready to trample on his soul and, bloodied, give it like a banner. It's good when the soul is wrapped in a yellow jacket from inspections! The poet is disgusted by Severyanin, because the poet should not chirp today. He foresees that soon the lampposts will raise the bloodied carcasses of the meadowsweet, everyone will take a stone, a knife or a bomb, and the sunset will be red like a Marseillaise in the sky. Seeing the eyes of the Mother of God on the icon, the poet asks her: why bestow radiance on the tavern crowd, which again prefers Barabbas to the spat on Calvary? Perhaps the most beautiful of the sons of the Mother of God is he, the poet and the thirteenth apostle of the Gospel, and someday children will be baptized with the names of his poems. He again and again recalls the unfading beauty of his Mary's lips and asks for her body, as Christians ask - "give us our daily bread today." Her name is equal in majesty to God, he will take care of her body, as an invalid takes care of his only leg. But if Mary rejects the poet, he will leave, watering the road with the blood of his heart, to his father's house. And then he will offer God to arrange a carousel on the tree of the study of good and evil and ask him why he did not invent kisses without torment, and call him a dropout, a tiny god. The poet is waiting for the sky to take off his hat to him in response to his challenge! But the universe sleeps, putting a huge ear on a paw with flared stars. T. A. Sotnikova Human Poem (1916-1917) On the head of Mayakovsky is the palm of the sun - the clergyman of the world, the forgiver of all sins. The earth says to him: "Now let go!" Let stupid historians, incited by contemporaries, write that the poet lived a boring and uninteresting life. Let him know that this is how he will drink his morning coffee in the Summer Garden. The day of his descent into the world was absolutely like everything else, no signs burned in the sky of his Bethlehem. But how can he not sing of himself if he feels like a complete unseen thing, and every movement he makes is an inexplicable miracle? His most precious mind can invent a new two-legged or three-legged animal. So that he can turn winter into summer, and water into wine, under the wool of his waistcoat beats an extraordinary lump. With its help, all people can perform miracles - laundresses, bakers, shoemakers. And in order to see Mayakovsky, this unprecedented miracle of the twentieth century, pilgrims leave the tomb of the Lord and ancient Mecca. Bankers, nobles and doges cease to understand: why did they pile up expensive money, if the heart is everything? They hate the poet. In the hands in which he boasted, they give a gun; his tongue is spitted with gossip. He is forced to drag out the daytime yoke, driven into the earthly pen. On his brain is "Law", on his heart is a chain - "Religion", the core of the globe is chained to his feet. The poet is now forever imprisoned in a meaningless story. And in the middle of the vortex of money lives the Lord of Everything - Mayakovsky's invincible enemy. He is dressed in smart pants, His belly is like a globe. When people are dying all around, He reads Locke's novel with a happy ending, for Him Phidias sculpts magnificent women from marble, and God - His agile cook - prepares pheasant meat. Neither revolutions nor the change of drivers of the human herd touch him. Crowds of people always go to Him, the most beautiful woman bows to His hand, calling His hairy fingers the names of Mayakovsky's poems. Seeing this, Mayakovsky comes to the pharmacist for a cure for jealousy and longing. He offers him poison, but the poet knows about his immortality. Mayakovsky ascends into heaven. But the vaunted sky seems to him close up to be just a slick surface. Verdi's music sounds in the heavenly firmament, angels live importantly. Gradually, Mayakovsky gets used to the heavenly life, meets new aliens, among whom is his friend Abram Vasilyevich. He shows the new arrivals a majestic props of worlds. Everything here is in terrible order, at rest, in order. But after many centuries of heavenly life, the heart begins to make noise in the poet. Anguish arises, he imagines some kind of earthly appearance. Mayakovsky peers down at the ground from above. Next to him, he sees an old father, who peers into the outlines of the Caucasus. Boredom embraces Mayakovsky! Showing the worlds the numbers of incredible speed, he rushes to the ground. On the ground, Mayakovsky is mistaken for a dyer who has fallen from a roof. Over the centuries the poet spent in heaven, nothing has changed here. Rubles roll down the slope of the equator from Chicago through the Tambovs, ramming mountains, seas, pavements. Everything is led by the same enemy of the poet - sometimes in the form of an idea, sometimes like a devil, sometimes shining with God behind a cloud. Mayakovsky is preparing to take revenge on Him. He is standing over the Neva, looking at the meaningless city, and suddenly he sees his beloved, who is beaming over the house. Only then Mayakovsky begins to recognize the streets, houses and all his earthly torments. He welcomes the return of his love craziness! From a passerby, he learns that the street where his beloved lives is now called the name of Mayakovsky, who shot himself thousands of years ago under her window. The poet looks out the window at the sleeping beloved - as young as thousands of years ago. But then the moon becomes the bald head of his old enemy; morning comes. The one whom the poet took for his beloved turns out to be a strange woman, the wife of engineer Nikolaev. The porter tells the poet that Mayakovsky's beloved, according to an old legend, threw herself on the poet's body from the window. Mayakovsky stands on the unburned fire of unimaginable love and does not know which heaven to turn to now. The world under him is addictive: "God rest with the saints!" T. A. Sotnikova About it Poem (1922-1923) The theme that the poet wants to talk about has been covered many times. He himself circled in it like a poetic squirrel and wants to circle again. This theme can even push a cripple to paper, and his song will ripple in the sun with lines. There is truth and beauty hidden in this theme. This theme is preparing to jump into the recesses of instincts. Appearing to the poet, this theme scatters people and affairs like a thunderstorm. This topic, whose name is love, rises to the throat with a knife! The poet talks about himself and his beloved in a ballad, and the mood of the ballads grows younger, because the words of the poet hurt. "She" lives in her house in Vodopyanny Lane, "he" sits in his house by the phone. The impossibility of meeting becomes a prison for him. He calls his beloved, and his call flies like a bullet through the wires, causing an earthquake on Myasnitskaya, near the post office. The calm second-cook picks up the phone and slowly goes to call the poet's beloved. The whole world is relegated somewhere, only the unknown is aiming at it with a tube. Between him and his beloved, separated by Myasnitskaya, lies the universe, through which a cable stretches like a thin thread. The poet does not feel like a respected employee of Izvestia, who will have to go to Paris in the summer, but like a bear on his ice-floe pillow. And if bears cry, then just like him. The poet remembers himself - such as he was seven years ago, when the poem "Man" was written. Since then, he was not destined to crawl into everyday life, into family happiness like a cockerel: with ropes of his own lines, he is tied to a bridge over the river and is waiting for help. He runs through Moscow at night - along Petrovsky Park, Khodynka, Tverskaya, Sadovaya, Presnya. On Presnya, in a family burrow, his relatives are waiting for him. They are glad of his appearance at Christmas, but are surprised when the poet calls them somewhere 600 miles away, where they have to save someone standing on a bridge over the river. They do not want to save anyone, and the poet understands that relatives replace love with tea and darning of socks. He doesn't need their chicken love. Through the Presnya mirages, the poet walks with gifts under his arms. He finds himself in the petty-bourgeois house of Fekla Davidovna. Here the angels turn pink from the iconic gloss, Jesus bows graciously, lifting a thorny wreath, and even Marx, harnessed to a scarlet frame, drags the philistine strap. The poet is trying to explain to the townsfolk that he writes for them, and not because of a personal whim. They, smiling, listen to the eminent buffoon and eat, rattling their jaws against their jaws. They, too, are indifferent to some person tied to a bridge over a river and waiting for help. The words of the poet pass through the townsfolk. Moscow is reminiscent of Becklin's "Isle of the Dead". Once in the apartment of friends, the poet listens to how they chat with laughter about him, without ceasing to dance the two-step. Standing at the wall, he thinks of one thing: just not to hear the voice of his beloved here. He did not betray her in any of his poems, he bypasses her in curses with which horror smashes everyday life. It seems to him that only his beloved can save him - a man standing on a bridge. But then the poet understands: for seven years he has been standing on the bridge as a redeemer of earthly love, in order to pay for everyone and cry for everyone, and if necessary, he must stand for two hundred years without waiting for salvation. He sees himself standing over Mount Mashuk. Below is a crowd of inhabitants, for whom the poet is not a verse and soul, but a hundred-year-old enemy. They shoot at him from all rifles, from all batteries, from every Mauser and Browning. On the Kremlin, poetic shreds shine like a red flag. He hates everything that is hammered into people by the departed slave, that settled and settled by life even in the red-flag formation. But he believes with all his heartfelt faith in life, in this world. He sees the future workshop of human resurrections and believes that it is he, who did not live and did not love his own, that the people of the future will want to resurrect. Maybe his beloved will also be resurrected, and they will make up for the unloved stardom of countless nights. He asks for resurrection, if only because he was a poet and was waiting for his beloved, throwing aside everyday nonsense. He wants to live out his life in that life where love is not a servant of marriages, lust and bread, where love goes to the whole universe. He wants to live in a life where his father is at least the world, and his mother is at least the earth. T. A. Sotnikova Klopp Faerie Comedy (1929) The action of the play takes place in Tambov: the first three scenes - in 1929, the remaining six scenes - in 1979. Former worker, former party member Ivan Prisypkin, who renamed himself Pierre Skripkin for euphony, is going to marry Elsevira Davidovna Renaissance, a hairdresser's daughter, a hairdresser's cashier and a manicurist. With his future mother-in-law Rozalia Pavlovna, who "needs a professional ticket at home," Pierre Skripkin walks around the square in front of a huge department store, buying from lottoshniks everything, in his opinion, necessary for a future family life: a toy "dancing people from ballet studios", a bra, taken by him for a cap for a possible future twins, etc. Oleg Bayan (former Bochkin) for fifteen rubles and a bottle of vodka undertakes to organize a real red labor marriage for Prisypkin - a class, sublime, elegant and delightful celebration. Their conversation about the future wedding is heard by Zoya Berezkina, a worker, former lover of Prisypkin. In response to puzzled questions, Zoya Prisypkin explains that he loves another. Zoya is crying. The inhabitants of the youth workers' hostel are discussing Prisypkin's marriage to the hairdresser's daughter and changing their surnames. Many condemn him, but some understand him - now is not 1919, people want to live for themselves. Bayan teaches Prisypkin good manners: how to dance the foxtrot (“do not move your lower bust”), how to scratch yourself while dancing, and also gives him other useful tips: do not wear two ties at the same time, do not wear a starched shirt, etc. Suddenly, the sound of a shot is heard - this is Zoya Berezkina who shot herself. At the wedding of Pierre Skripkin and Elsevira Renaissance, Oleg Bayan makes a solemn speech, then plays the piano, everyone sings and drinks. The best man, defending the dignity of the newlywed, starts a quarrel after a quarrel, a fight breaks out, the stove overturns, a fire breaks out. Arriving firefighters are missing one person, the rest all die in the fire. Fifty years later, at a depth of seven meters, a team digging a trench for the foundation discovers a frozen human figure covered with earth. The Institute of Human Resurrection reports that calluses have been found on the individual's hands, which in the past were a sign of working people. A vote is taken among all regions of the federation of the earth, a decision is made by a majority of votes: in the name of researching the labor skills of working humanity, the individual should be resurrected. This individual turns out to be Prisypkin. The entire world press enthusiastically reports about his upcoming resurrection. The news is reported by correspondents of Chukotskie Izvestia, Varshavskaya Komsomolskaya Pravda, Izvestia of the Chicago Council, Rimskaya Krasnaya Gazeta, Shanghai Poor and other newspapers. The defrosting is carried out by a professor assisted by Zoya Berezkina, whose suicide attempt failed fifty years ago. Prisypkin wakes up, a bug defrosted along with him crawls from his collar onto the wall. Finding out that he was in 1979, Prisypkin faints. The reporter tells listeners that in order to ease the transition period for Prisypkin, doctors ordered him to drink beer (“a mixture that is poisonous in large doses and disgusting in small doses”), and now five hundred and twenty workers of the medical laboratory who drank this potion are in hospitals. Among those who have heard enough of Prisypkin's romances, performed by him with a guitar, an epidemic of "falling in love" is spreading: they dance, mutter poetry, sigh, and so on. At this time, a crowd led by the director of the zoological garden catches a runaway bug - the rarest specimen of an insect that became extinct and most popular at the beginning of the century. Under the supervision of a doctor in a clean room on the cleanest bed lies the dirtiest Prisypkin. He asks for a hangover and demands to "freeze him back". Zoya Berezkina brings several books at his request, but he does not find anything "for the soul": books are now only scientific and documentary. In the middle of the zoological garden, on a pedestal, is a draped cage, surrounded by musicians and a crowd of spectators. Foreign correspondents arrive, ancient old men and women, a column of children approaches with a song. The director of the zoo in his speech gently reproaches the professor, who unfrozen Prisypkin, for the fact that, guided by external signs, he mistakenly attributed him to "homo sapiens" and to his highest species - the class of workers. In fact, the thawed mammal is a humanoid simulator with an almost human appearance, responding to the announcement given by the director of the zoo: "Based on the principles of the zoo, I am looking for a living human body for constant biting and for the maintenance and development of a freshly acquired insect in its usual, normal conditions." Now they are placed in one cage - "clopus normalis" and "philistine vulgarly. Prisypkin sings in a cage. The director, wearing gloves and armed with pistols, takes Prisypkin to the podium. He suddenly sees spectators sitting in the hall and shouts: "Citizens! Brothers! Their! Native! When were you all thawed out? Why am I alone in a cage? Why am I suffering?" Prisypkin is taken away, the cage is pulled. N. V. Soboleva Bathroom Drama in 6 acts with circus and fireworks (1930) The action of the play takes place in the USSR in 1930. The inventor Chudakov is going to turn on the time machine he has designed. He explains to his friend Bicyclekin the importance of this invention: you can stop a second of happiness and enjoy a month, you can "whirl up the drawn-out years of grief." Bicyclekin suggests using a time machine to shorten boring reports and raise chickens in incubators. Chudakov is offended by Bicyclekin's practicality. The Englishman Pont Kich appears, interested in Chudakov's invention, accompanied by the translator Mezalyansova. Chudakov ingenuously explains to him the device of the machine, Pont Kich writes something in a notebook, then offers money to the inventor. Bicyclekin declares that there is money, escorts the guest, quietly pulling out a notebook from his pocket, and explains to the perplexed Chudakov that there is no money, but he will get it at all costs. Chudakov turns on the car, an explosion is heard. Chudakov snatches out a letter written "fifty years ahead." The letter informs them that a messenger from the future will arrive tomorrow. Chudakov and Velikoskin seek admission from Pobedonosikov, the chief head of coordination management (chief boss), in an effort to get money to continue the experience. However, Pobedonosikov's secretary Optimistenko does not let them go to the authorities, presenting them with a ready-made resolution - to refuse. At the same time, Pobedonosikov himself is dictating a speech to the typist on the occasion of the opening of a new tram line; interrupted by a phone call, continues to dictate a fragment about the "bear of the pen" Leo Tolstoy, interrupted a second time, dictates a phrase about "Alexander Semenych Pushkin, the unsurpassed author of both the opera Eugene Onegin and the play of the same name." The artist Belvedonsky comes to Pobedonosikov, whom he instructed to pick up furniture. Belvedonsky, having explained to Pobedonosikov that "there are different Lou's styles", invites him to choose from three "Louis". Pobedonosikov chooses furniture in the style of Louis XIV, but advises Belvedonsky to "straighten his legs, remove the gold and scatter the Soviet coat of arms here and there." Then Belvedonsky paints a portrait of Pobedonosikov on horseback. Pobedonosikov is going to rest, under the guise of a stenographer, taking Mezalyansova with him. His wife, Polya, whom he considers much lower than himself, who has climbed the "intellectual, social and apartment ladder," wants to go with him, but he refuses her. On the site in front of Pobedonosikov's apartment, Bicyclekin and Chudakov bring a car that explodes with fireworks. In her place is the Phosphorus Woman Delegate from 2030. She is sent by the Institute for the History of the Birth of Communism in order to select the best representatives of this time for transfer to the communist age. The phosphoric woman is delighted with what she saw during a brief flight around the country; she invites everyone to prepare for the transfer to the future, explaining that the future will accept everyone who has at least one trait that makes them related to the collective of the commune - the joy of working, the thirst for sacrifice, the indefatigability of inventing, the benefit of giving, pride in humanity. Flying time will sweep away and cut off "the ballast weighed down with rubbish, the ballast of those devastated by unbelief." Polya tells the Phosphoric woman that her husband prefers others who are more educated and smart to her. Pobedonosikov is concerned that Polya "does not take dirty linen out of the hut." The phosphoric woman is talking to the typist Underton, who was fired by Pobedonosikov because she painted her lips (“To whom?” the Phosphoric woman is surprised. “Yes, to myself!” answers Underton. “If people who came for information were painted, then they could say - visitors are offended," the guest from the future is perplexed). Pobedonosikov declares to the Phosphoric Woman that he is going to go to the future solely at the request of the collective, and invites her to provide him with a position in the future that corresponds to his current position. Immediately he notices that the others are much less worthy people: Bicyclekin smokes, Chudakov drinks, Polya is a bourgeois. "But they work," the Phosphoric woman objects. Final preparations are being made for the future. Phosphoric woman gives orders. Chudakov and Bicyclekin with assistants carry them out. The March of Time sounds with the refrain "Forward, time! / Time, forward!"; under his sounds, passengers enter the stage. Pobedonosikov demands a lower seat in the compartment. The phosphoric woman explains that everyone will have to stand: the time machine is not yet fully equipped. Pobedonosikov is outraged. A worker appears, pushing a trolley with the belongings of Pobedonosikov and Mezalyansova. Pobedonosikov explains that the luggage contains circulars, letters, copies, theses, extracts and other documents that he needs in the future. Pobedonosikov begins a solemn speech dedicated to "the invention of the apparatus of time in his apparatus," but Chudakov twists it up, and Pobedonosikov, continuing to gesticulate, becomes inaudible. The same thing happens with Optimistenko. Finally, the Phosphoric Woman commands: "One, two, three!" - there is a Bengali explosion, then - darkness. On the stage - Pobedonosikov, Optimistenko, Belvedonsky, Mezalyansova, Pont Kich, "thrown and scattered by the ferris wheel of time." N. V. Soboleva Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel (1894-1940) Odessa stories (1921-1923) KINGAs soon as the wedding was over and they began to prepare for the wedding dinner, an unfamiliar young man approached the Moldavian raider Ben Krik, nicknamed the King, and said that a new bailiff had arrived and a roundup was being prepared for Benya. The king replies that he knows both about the bailiff and about the raid, which will begin tomorrow. She will be here today, the young man says. Benya takes this news as a personal insult. He's having a party, he's marrying off his XNUMX-year-old sister, Dwyra, and the spooks are going to ruin his party! The young man says that the spies were afraid, but the new bailiff said that where there is an emperor, there can be no king and that pride is dearer to him. The young man leaves, and three of Benya's friends leave with him, who return an hour later. The wedding of the Raider King's sister is a big celebration. Long tables are bursting with dishes and foreign wines delivered by smugglers. The orchestra plays touches. Leva Katsap breaks a bottle of vodka on the head of his beloved, Monya the Artilleryman shoots into the air. But the apogee comes when they begin to give gifts to the young. Wrapped in crimson waistcoats, in red jackets, the aristocrats of the Moldavian woman, with a careless movement of their hands, throw gold coins, rings, coral threads onto silver trays. At the very height of the feast, anxiety seizes guests who suddenly smell burning, the edges of the sky begin to turn pink, and somewhere a tongue of flame, narrow as a sword, shoots up into the sky. Suddenly, that unknown young man appears and, giggling, reports that the police station is on fire. He says that forty policemen left the station, but as soon as they were fifteen paces away, the station caught fire. Benya forbids the guests to go see the fire, but he himself goes there with two comrades. Policemen are bustling around the site, throwing chests out of the windows, the arrested are running away under the guise. Firefighters can't do anything because there was no water in the nearby tap. Passing by the bailiff, Benya salutes him in a military manner and expresses his sympathy. HOW IT WAS DONE IN ODESSAThere are legends about the raider Ben Krik in Odessa. Old Arye-Leib, sitting on the cemetery wall, tells one of these stories. Even at the very beginning of his criminal career, Benchik approached the one-eyed bandit worker and raider Froim Grach and asked to see him. When asked who he is and where he comes from, Benya offers to try him. The raiders, on their advice, decide to try Benya on Tartakovsky, who has contained as much insolence and money as any Jew. At the same time, those gathered blush, because nine raids have already been made on the "one and a half Jew", as they call Tartakovsky in Moldavanka. He was twice kidnapped for ransom and once buried with choristers. The tenth raid was already considered a rude act, and therefore Benya left, slamming the door. Benya writes a letter to Tartakovsky, in which he asks him to put money under a barrel of rainwater. In a reply message, Tartakovsky explains that he is sitting with his wheat without profit and therefore there is nothing to take from him. The next day, Benya comes to him with four comrades in masks and with revolvers. In the presence of the frightened clerk Muginshtein, the unmarried son of Aunt Pesya, the raiders rob the cash register. At this time, Savka Bucis, a Jew, late for work, drunk as a water carrier, breaks into the office. He stupidly swings his arms and with an accidental shot from a revolver mortally wounds the clerk Muginshtein. By order of Beni, the raiders scatter from the office, and he swears to Savka Bucis that he will lie next to his victim. An hour after Muginshtein is taken to the hospital, Benya appears there, calls the senior doctor and the nurse, and, introducing himself, expresses his desire that the sick Iosif Muginshtein recover. Nevertheless, the wounded man dies at night. Then Tartakovsky raises a fuss throughout Odessa. "Where does the police begin," he yells, "and where does Benya end?" Benya, in a red car, drives up to Muginshtein's house, where Aunt Pesya is struggling on the floor in despair, and demands from the "one and a half Jew" sitting there for her a one-time allowance of ten thousand and a pension until death. After a squabble, they agree on five thousand in cash and fifty rubles a month. The funeral of Muginstein Benya Krik, who was not yet called the King at that time, is arranged in the first category. Odessa has never seen such a magnificent funeral. Sixty chanters walk before the funeral procession, black plumes sway on white horses. After the beginning of the memorial service, a red car drives up, four raiders led by Benya get out of it and bring a wreath of unprecedented roses, then they take the coffin on their shoulders and carry it. Benya makes a speech over the grave, and in conclusion he asks everyone to take them to the grave of the late Savely Bucis. The astounded present obediently follow him. He forces the cantor to sing a full requiem over Savka. After it ends, everyone rushes to run in horror. At the same time, the lisping Moiseika, sitting on the cemetery wall, utters the word "king" for the first time. FATHERThe story of Benny Krik's marriage is as follows. Froim Grach, a Moldavian bandit and raider, is visited by his daughter Basya, a woman of gigantic height, with huge sides and brick-colored cheeks. After the death of his wife, who died in childbirth, Froim gave the newborn to his mother-in-law, who lives in Tulchin, and since then he has not seen his daughter for twenty years. Her unexpected appearance confuses and puzzles him. The daughter immediately takes up the improvement of the father's house. Large and curvy Basya is not overlooked by young people from Moldavanka, like the son of a grocer Solomonchik Kaplun and the son of a smuggler Moni the Artillerist. Basya, a simple provincial girl, dreams of love and marriage. This is noticed by the old Jew Golubchik, who is engaged in matchmaking, and shares his observation with Froim Grach, who dismisses the shrewd Golubchik and turns out to be wrong. From the day Basya saw Kaplun, she spends all her evenings outside the gates. She sits on a bench and sews a dowry for herself. Pregnant women sit next to her, waiting for their husbands, and before her eyes passes the abundant life of the Moldavian - "a life full of sucking babies, drying rags and wedding nights full of suburban chic and soldier's indefatigability." At the same time, Basya becomes aware that the daughter of a draft cab driver cannot count on a worthy party, and she stops calling her father father, and calls him nothing more than a "red-haired thief." This continues until Basya has sewn six nightgowns and six pairs of pantaloons with lace frills. Then she burst into tears and through her tears said to the one-eyed Froim Grach: "Each girl has her own interest in life, and I alone live as a night watchman in someone else's warehouse. Either do something with me, dad, or I will make the end of my life ..." This makes an impression on Rook: having dressed solemnly, he goes to the grocer Kaplun. He knows that his son Solomonchik is not averse to uniting with Baska, but he also knows something else - that his wife, Madame Kaplun, does not want Froim Grach, just as a person does not want death. They've been grocers in their family for generations, and the Capons don't want to break with tradition. Upset, offended, Rook goes home and, without saying anything to his dressed-up daughter, goes to bed. Waking up, Froim goes to the owner of the inn, Lyubka Kazak, and asks her for advice and help. He says that the grocers are very fat, and he, Froim Grach, is left alone and there is no help for him. Lyubka Kazak advises him to turn to Ben Krik, who is single and whom Froim has already tried on Tartakovsky. She leads the old man to the second floor, where there are women for visitors. She finds Benya Krik at Katyusha's and tells him everything she knows about Bas and the affairs of the one-eyed Rook. "I'll think about it," Benya replies. Until late at night, Froim Grach sits in the corridor near the door of the room, from where Katyusha's moans and laughter are heard, and patiently waits for Benya's decision. Finally, Froim knocks on the door. Together they go out and agree on a dowry. They also agree that Benya should take two thousand from Kaplun, who is guilty of insulting family pride. This is how the fate of the arrogant Kaplun and the fate of the girl Basya are decided. LUBKA KAZAKThe house of Lyubka Schneiweis, nicknamed Lyubka the Cossack, stands on Moldavanka. It houses a wine cellar, an inn, an oatmeal shop and a dovecote. In the house, in addition to Lyubka, live the watchman and owner of the dovecote Evzel, the cook and pimp Pesya-Mindl, and the manager Tsudechkis, with whom many stories are connected. Here is one of them - about how Tsudechkis became a manager at Lyubka's inn. One day he sold a threshing machine to a certain landowner, and in the evening he took him to Lyubka's to celebrate his purchase. The next morning it turned out that the landowner who had spent the night had run away without paying. The watchman Evzel demands money from Tsudechkis, and when he refuses, he locks him in Lyubka's room until the hostess arrives. From the window of the room, Tsudechkis watches how Lyubkin's baby is tormented, not accustomed to the nipple and demanding mother's milk, while his mother, according to Pesi-Mindl, who looks after the child, "jumps through her quarries, drinks tea with Jews in a tavern" Bear" buys contraband in the harbor and thinks of his son as of last year's snow ... ". The old man takes the crying baby in his arms, walks around the room and, swaying like a tzaddik in prayer, sings an endless song until the boy falls asleep. In the evening, the Kazak returns from the city of Lyubka. Tsudechkis scolds her for trying to take everything for herself, and leaving her own child without milk. When the sailors-smugglers from the ship "Plutarch", from whom Lyubka sells goods, leave drunk, she goes up to her room, where Tsudechkis reproaches her. He puts a small comb to Lyubka's chest, to which the child reaches, and he, having pricked himself, cries. The old man slips him a pacifier and thus wean the child from the mother's breast. Grateful Lyubka releases Tsudechkis, and a week later he becomes her manager. E. A. Shklovsky Conarmia Book of stories (1923-1925) MY FIRST GOOSEThe correspondent of the newspaper "Red Cavalryman" Lyutov (narrator and lyrical hero) finds himself in the ranks of the First Cavalry Army, led by S. Budyonny. The First Cavalry, fighting with the Poles, makes a campaign in Western Ukraine and Galicia. Among the Cavalrymen, Lyutov is a stranger. A bespectacled man, an intellectual, a Jew, he feels a condescending, mocking, and even hostile attitude on the part of the fighters. “You are from kinderbalms ... and glasses are on your nose. What a lousy one! They send you without asking, but here they cut you for glasses,” Savitsky, the sixth commander, tells him when he comes to him with a paper about secondment to the division headquarters. Here, at the front, horses, passions, blood, tears and death. Here they are not accustomed to stand on ceremony and live one day at a time. Making fun of the arrived literate, the Cossacks throw out his chest, and Lyutov pitifully crawls along the ground, collecting scattered manuscripts. In the end, he, starving, demands that the hostess feed her. Without waiting for a response, he pushes her in the chest, takes someone else's saber and kills the goose staggering around the yard, and then orders the mistress to fry it. Now the Cossacks no longer taunt him, they invite him to eat with them. Now he is almost like his own, and only his heart, stained with murder, "creaked and flowed" in a dream. THE DEATH OF DOLGUSHOVEven having fought and seen enough of death, Lyutov still remains a "soft-bodied" intellectual. One day, after a battle, he sees Dolgushov, a telephone operator, sitting near the road. He is mortally wounded and asks to finish him off. "The patron should be spent on me," he says. "The gentry will jump in and make a mockery." Turning off his shirt, Dolgushov shows the wound. His stomach has been torn out, his intestines are crawling onto his knees and heartbeats are visible. However, Lyutov is unable to commit the murder. He drives off to the side, pointing at Dolgushov to the galloping platoon commander Afonka Bide. Dolgushov and Afonka briefly talk about something, the wounded man hands the Cossack his documents, then Afonka shoots Dolgushov in the mouth. He seeths with anger at the compassionate Lyutov, so in the heat of the moment he is ready to shoot him too. "Go away!" he says to him, turning pale. "I'll kill you! You, bespectacled men, pity our brother like a cat takes a mouse..." BIOLOGY OF PAVLICHENKA, MATVEY RODIONYCHLyutov envies the firmness and determination of the fighters who, like him, do not experience false, as it seems to him, sentimentality. He wants to be his. He is trying to understand the "truth" of the Cavalry, including the "truth" of their cruelty. Here is a red general talking about how he settled accounts with his former master Nikitinsky, who pastured pigs before the revolution. The master molested his wife Nastya, and now Matvey, having become a red commander, came to his estate to avenge the insult. He does not shoot him right away, even though he asks for it, but in front of Nikitinsky's crazy wife, he tramples him for an hour or more and thus, according to him, fully recognizes life. He says: "Shooting from a person ... you can only get rid of him: shooting is a pardon for him, but a vile lightness for yourself, you won’t reach the soul with shooting, where a person has it and how it is shown." SALTSoldier Balmashev, in a letter to the editor of the newspaper, describes the incidents that happened to him on the train, moving towards Berdichev. At one of the stations, the fighters let a woman with a baby into their car, allegedly going on a date with her husband. However, on the way, Balmashev begins to doubt the honesty of this woman, he approaches her, tears off the diapers from the child and finds "a good pudovik of salt" under them. Balmashev pronounces a fiery accusatory speech and throws the sackbag on the move down a slope. Seeing her remaining unharmed, he removes the "right screw" from the wall and kills the woman, washing away "this shame from the face of the working land and the republic." LETTERThe boy Vasily Kurdyukov writes a letter to his mother, in which he asks to send him something to eat and talks about his brothers, who, like him, are fighting for the Reds. One of them, Fyodor, who was taken prisoner, was killed by a White Guard father, a company commander under Denikin, "a guard under the old regime." He cut his son until dark, "saying - the skin, the red dog, the son of a bitch and various things," "until brother Fyodor Timofeich ran out." And after some time, dad himself, who tried to hide by repainting his beard, falls into the hands of another son, Stepan, and he, having sent his brother Vasya out of the yard, in turn ends dad. PrishchepaAt the young Kuban Prishchepa, who fled from the whites, they killed their parents in retaliation. The property was stolen by neighbors. When the whites were driven away, Prishchepa returns to his native village. He takes a cart and goes from house to house to collect his gramophones, jugs for kvass and towels embroidered by his mother. In those huts where he finds the things of his mother or father, Prishchepa leaves old women stabbed, dogs hung over a well, icons polluted with droppings. Having put the collected things in their places, he locks himself in his father's house and drinks, cries, sings and cuts tables with a saber for two days. On the third night, the flames engulf his hut. Clothespin takes a cow out of the stall and kills her. Then he jumps on his horse, throws a lock of his hair into the fire and disappears. SQUADRON TRUNOVSquadron Trunov is looking for officers among the captured Poles. He pulls out an officer's cap from a pile of clothes deliberately discarded by the Poles and puts it on the head of a captive old man who claims that he is not an officer. The cap fits him, and Trunov stabs the prisoner. Andryushka Vosmiletov, a cavalry marauder, immediately approaches the dying man and pulls off his pants. Grabbing two more uniforms, he heads for the wagon train, but the indignant Trunov orders him to leave the junk, shoots at Andryushka, but misses. A little later, together with Vosmiletov, he enters into battle with American airplanes, trying to shoot them down with a machine gun, and both die in this battle. HISTORY OF ONE HORSEPassion rules in the artistic world of Babel. For a cavalryman "a horse is a friend... A horse is a father...". The division chief Savitsky took away the white stallion from the commander of the first squadron, and since then Khlebnikov has been hankering for revenge, waiting in the wings. When Savitsky is removed, he writes to the army headquarters a petition for the return of his horse. Having received a positive resolution, Khlebnikov goes to the disgraced Savitsky and demands to give him the horse, but the former commander, threatening with a revolver, resolutely refuses. Khlebnikov again seeks justice from the chief of staff, but he drives him away from himself. As a result, Khlebnikov writes a statement where he expresses his resentment at the Communist Party, which cannot return "his hard-earned money", and a week later he is demobilized as an invalid with six wounds. AFONKA BIDAWhen Afonka Bida's beloved horse is killed, the frustrated cavalryman disappears for a long time, and only a formidable murmur in the villages points to the evil and predatory trace of the robber Afonka, who is getting himself a horse. Only when the division enters Berestechko does Afonka finally appear on a tall stallion. Instead of a left eye, there is a monstrous pink swelling on his charred face. The heat of the freemen has not yet cooled down in him, and he destroys everything around him. PAN APOLEKThe icons of the Novograd church have their own history - "the history of an unheard-of war between the mighty body of the Catholic Church, on the one hand, and the careless Bogomaz, on the other", a war that lasted three decades. These icons were painted by the foolish artist Pan Apolek, who, with his art, made ordinary people into saints. Having presented a diploma of graduation from the Munich Academy and his paintings on the themes of the Holy Scriptures (“burning purple mantles, the brilliance of emerald fields and flowery bedspreads thrown over the plains of Palestine”), the Novograd priest was entrusted with painting the new church. What is the surprise of eminent citizens invited by the priest when they recognize in the apostle Paul on the painted walls of the church the lame cross of Janek, and in Mary Magdalene - the Jewish girl Elka, the daughter of unknown parents and the mother of many children under the fence. The artist, invited to take the place of Apolek, does not dare to cover up Elka and the lame Janek. The narrator meets Pan Apolek in the kitchen of the runaway priest's house, and he offers to make his portrait under the guise of Blessed Francis for fifty marks. He also conveys to him the blasphemous story of the marriage of Jesus and the humble maiden Deborah, to whom his first child was born. GEDALILyutov sees old Jews trading near the yellow walls of the ancient synagogue, and sadly recalls Jewish life, now dilapidated by the war, recalls his childhood and his grandfather, stroking the volumes of the Jewish sage Ibn Ezra with his yellow beard. Passing through the bazaar, he sees death - dumb locks on stalls. He enters the antiquities shop of the old Jew Gedali, which has everything from gilded shoes and ship's ropes to a broken pan and a dead butterfly. Gedali paces, rubbing his white hands, among his treasures and laments the cruelty of the revolution, which robs, shoots and kills. Gedali dreams of "a sweet revolution", of an "International of good people". The narrator confidently instructs him that the International "is eaten with gunpowder ... and seasoned with the best blood." But when he asks where he can get a Jewish cake and a Jewish glass of tea, Gedali ruefully answers him that until recently it could have been done in a nearby tavern, but now "they don't eat there, they cry there...". rabbiLyutov is sorry for this life, swept away by the whirlwind of the revolution, with great difficulty trying to save itself, he participates in the Saturday evening meal led by the wise Rabbi Motale Bratslavsky, whose rebellious son Ilya "with the face of Spinoza, with the powerful forehead of Spinoza" is also here. Ilya, like the narrator, is fighting in the Red Army, and soon he is destined to die. The rabbi urges the guest to rejoice that he is alive and not dead, but Lyutov leaves with relief to the station, where the First Cavalry agitation train stands, where the radiance of hundreds of lights, the magical brilliance of the radio station, the stubborn running of cars in the printing house and an unfinished article in the newspaper " Red Cavalry." E. A. Shklovsky Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (1894-1958) Michel Sinyagin Tale (1930) Mikhail Sinyagin was born in 1887. He did not get into the imperialist war because of the infringement of the hernia. He writes poems in the spirit of the Symbolists, decadent and aesthetic, walking with a flower in his buttonhole and a glass in his hand. He lives near Pskov, in the estate "Calm", in the company of his mother and aunt. The estate is soon taken away as the revolution begins, but Michel, his mother and aunt still have a small house. Here, in Pskov, in 1919, he met Simochka M., whose father had died two years earlier, leaving six daughters in the arms of his mother, an energetic pockmarked widow. Simochka soon became pregnant by Michel (who indulged in seemingly innocent activities with her, such as reading poetry and running through the woods), and her mother visited Michel in the evening, demanding to marry her daughter. Simagin refused, and the widow jumped onto the windowsill, threatening the poet with suicide. Forced to agree, Michel suffered a severe nervous attack that same night. His mother and aunt, in tears, wrote down his orders regarding "Petals and Forget-me-Nots" and other literary heritage. However, by the next morning he was quite well, and, having received a note from Simochka with a plea for a meeting, he went to her. Simochka asked him for forgiveness for her mother's behavior, and they got married without any objection from Michel and his relatives. But the aunt was still dissatisfied with the haste and forced marriage. Michel's mother, a quiet, inconspicuous woman, has died, and her aunt, energetic and hoping for a speedy return of the estate and the old days in general, decides to go to Petersburg. Petersburg, people say, should soon go to Finland or even become a free city as part of some state of Northern Europe. On the way, the aunt is robbed, about which she informs Michel by letter. Meanwhile, Michel becomes a father. This occupies him for a short time, but soon he ceases to be interested in his family and decides to go to his aunt in St. Petersburg. She meets him without much enthusiasm, because she does not need freeloaders. Not thinking of returning to Simochka, who is selflessly in love with him, writing letters to him without any hope of an answer, Sinyagin gets a modest clerical position in St. Petersburg, abandons poetry and meets a young and beautiful lady, who is parodically called Isabella Efremovna. Isabella Efremovna was created "for an elegant life." She dreams of leaving with Sinyagin, crossing the Persian border with him and then fleeing to Europe. She plays the guitar, sings romances, spends Michel's money, and he more and more carelessly performs his official duties, for which he has a deep disgust. But he is not really capable of anything, he exists on a beggarly salary and handouts from his aunt. Soon he is fired from work, his aunt refuses to support him, and Isabella Efremovna is about to leave him. But then salvation comes: the aunt loses her mind, she is taken to a lunatic asylum, and Sinyagin begins to live on her property. This goes on for about a year, and the aunt sinks deeper and deeper into madness, but suddenly she is brought home recovered. Michel tries to keep her out of her room so that she does not see the picture of the complete ruin that he caused there. The aunt, however, gets into her room and at the sight of desolation (for Michel managed to live almost everything with Isabella Efremovna) finally moved her mind. Isabella Efremovna soon abandoned Michel anyway, because he had no money left, and he did not know how to serve and did not want to. So he began to beg without feeling the full depth of his fall, for "the millionaire does not realize that he is a millionaire, and the rat does not realize that he is a rat." Begging for alms (fear of such an end, like the image of a beggar, always haunted Zoshchenko), Sinyagin lives well and even allows himself to eat normally. To give himself an "intelligent look" he invariably carries a canvas briefcase with him. But at the age of forty-two, he suddenly understands the horror of his life and decides to return to Pskov, to his wife, whom he did not remember for six years. His wife, thinking that he had disappeared in Petrograd, had long ago married another, the head of the trust, an elderly and pale man. Seeing the lowered, dirty, hungry Michel, who opens his own gate with tears, the wife began to sob and wring her hands, and her second husband decided to take part in Michel. He is fed a hearty meal, and later they find him a place in the management of cooperatives, where he works in the last months of his life. And then he dies of pneumonia "in the arms of his friends and benefactors" - his first wife and her second husband. His grave is cleaned with fresh flowers. With this ironic phrase, the author ends his story about the fall of an intellectual. D. A. Bykov blue book Short story cycle (1934) Once Zoshchenko visited Gorky. And so Gorky said to him: why don't you, Mikhal Mikhalych and all that, write in this fantastic, so to speak, manner of yours the whole history of mankind? So that, then, your hero, the layman, understands everything and your essay got him, figuratively speaking, to the very, excuse me, livers. That's how they would write: with all the introductory words, in a mixture of communal jargon and, how should I put it, office work, in such, you know, not highly artistic manner, so that those without education would understand everything. Because those who are educated, they are a dying class, but it is necessary, he says, to communicate with the simple. And so Mikhal Mikhalych listened to him and writes something like this. He writes with endless repetitions of the same phrases, because the idea of the hero-narrator, so to speak, is poor. He writes with funny everyday details, which in reality had no place. And he, roughly speaking, respected citizens and citizens, of course, fails here as an ideologist, because his layman reader will only roll with laughter over such a book, but he will not gain any benefit for himself, it is useless to re-educate him. But as an artist, Mikhal Mikhalych wins a big victory, because in a funny petty-bourgeois language he sets out juicy facts from various world history there, showing what happens to this world history and, in general, to any delicate matter, if a narrow-minded, roughly say, mug puts its paws into it. Here he is writing. He writes in this language. He writes The Blue Book, dividing it into five sections: "Money", "Love", "Cunning", "Failures" and "Amazing Events". He, of course, wants to be useful to the victorious class and in general. Therefore, he tells stories from the life of various priests, kings and other poorly educated bloodsuckers who tyrannized the working people and let them fall into the shameful pit of history for this. But the trick, comrades, is that in each section he puts a few more stories from Soviet life, new, socialist life, and from these stories it directly follows that the victorious people are the same, excuse me, mug and in terms of deceit in no way inferior to bloodsuckers like Catherine the Great or Alexander the Great. And it turns out from Mikhal Mikhalych that the whole of human history is not the path of an insurgent class to its own, that means, triumph, but one grandiose theater of the absurd. So he writes about the tenant who won the money, and how this tenant went to his mistress with his money, and then the money was stolen from him, and that tenant kicked him out, and he returned very well to his wife, whose face is from tears already plump. And he does not even use the words "man" or "woman", but only "tenant" and "tenant". Or, in the Love section, he writes about how the wife of one employee, sorry, fell in love with one actor who captivated her with his magnificent performance on the stage. But he was family, and they had nowhere to meet. And they met at her friend's. And the husband of this lady, who is in love with the artist, went to this friend very splendidly, and the wife of our artist went to the neighbor of this friend, as if to drink tea with cakes, but in fact everyone will instantly understand what kind of cakes they had. And then they would all have to get married and get married, but since they all already had a bunch of children, it was impossible and only burdensome, and all of them, having quarreled and rooted out their love, remained, excuse the expression, in status quo. But they spoiled a lot of blood for each other, suffering like the last cabbies or shoemakers, for nothing that there were artists and employees. And so they live, for example, poets who are in love, but do not know life, or artists whose nerves are out of order. And Mikhal Mikhalych thus signs the verdict on his class and himself, that here they are cut off from life. But his workers are no better, because they only think about how to drink beer, spit in the wife's mug, or not to be expelled from the party. At the word "cleansing" it seems as if a blow is made to them, and they cease to feel the substance of life in themselves (but this has already suffered Platonov). And the historical events in the presentation of Michal Mikhalych look even more vulgar, because he sets them out in the same language as his other heroes on the train tell their lives to a random fellow traveler. And it turns out for him that the whole history of mankind is nothing but money, deceit, love and failures with separate amazing incidents. And we, for our part, cannot object to such an approach. And we humbly bow our pen to Michal Mikhalych, because we won’t succeed anyway, and thank God. A. A. Bykov Before sunrise Tale (part 1 - 1943; part 2 under the title "The Tale of Reason" - 1972) The autobiographical and scientific story "Before Sunrise" is a confessional story about how the author tried to overcome his melancholy and fear of life. He considered this fear to be his mental illness, and not at all a feature of his talent, and he tried to overcome himself, to inspire himself with a childishly cheerful worldview. For this (as he believed, having read Pavlov and Freud), it was necessary to get rid of childhood fears, to overcome the gloomy memories of youth. And Zoshchenko, recalling his life, discovers that almost all of it consisted of gloomy and heavy, tragic and poignant impressions. There are about a hundred small chapters-stories in the story, in which the author sorts out his gloomy memories: here is the stupid suicide of a student of the same age, here is the first gas attack at the front, here is unsuccessful love, but love is successful, but quickly bored ... His main love life - Nadia V., but she marries and emigrates after the revolution. The author tried to console himself with an affair with a certain Alya, an eighteen-year-old married woman with very easy rules, but her deceit and stupidity finally tired him. The author saw the war and still cannot recover from the consequences of gas poisoning. He has strange nervous and heart attacks. He is haunted by the image of a beggar: more than anything else, he is afraid of humiliation and poverty, because in his youth he saw to what meanness and meanness the poet Tinyakov, depicting a beggar, reached. The author believes in the power of reason, in morality, in love, but all this is collapsing before his eyes: people are sinking, love is doomed, and what kind of morality is there - after everything that he saw at the front in the first imperialist and civilian? After the hungry Petrograd in 1918? After the cackling hall at his performances? The author tries to look for the roots of his gloomy worldview in childhood: he recalls how he was afraid of thunderstorms, water, how late he was taken from his mother’s breast, how alien and frightening the world seemed to him, how in his dreams the motif of a formidable, grabbing his hand was persistently repeated ... As if The author seeks a rational explanation for all these children's complexes. But he cannot do anything with his character: it was his tragic worldview, sick pride, many disappointments and mental traumas that made him a writer with his own, unique point of view. Waging an uncompromising struggle with himself in a completely Soviet way, Zoshchenko tries on a purely rational level to convince himself that he can and should love people. He sees the origins of his mental illness in childhood fears and subsequent mental overstrain, and if something can still be done with fears, then nothing can be done about mental overstrain, the habit of writing. This is a warehouse of the soul, and the forced rest, which Zoshchenko periodically arranged for himself, does not change anything here. Speaking about the need for a healthy lifestyle and a healthy worldview, Zoshchenko forgets that a healthy worldview and uninterrupted joy of life are the lot of idiots. Or rather, he forces himself to forget about it. As a result, "Before Sunrise" turns not into a story about the triumph of reason, but into an agonizing account of the artist's useless struggle with himself. Born to sympathize and empathize, painfully sensitive to everything gloomy and tragic in life (be it a gas attack, the suicide of a friend, poverty, unhappy love or the laughter of soldiers cutting a pig), the author tries in vain to convince himself that he can cultivate a cheerful and cheerful worldview . With such a mindset, there is no point in writing. Zoshchenko's entire story, its entire artistic world, proves the primacy of artistic intuition over reason: the artistic, novelistic part of the story is written excellently, and the author's comments are only a mercilessly honest account of a completely hopeless attempt. Zoshchenko tried to commit literary suicide, following the dictates of the hegemons, but, fortunately, did not succeed in this. His book remains a monument to an artist who is powerless over his own gift. D. L. Bykov Boris Andreevich Pilnyak (1894-1941) Naked year Roman (1922) The novel is preceded by two epigraphs. The first (to the whole novel) is taken from the book Reasonable Being, or Moral View on the Dignity of Life. "Every minute swears to fate to maintain deep silence about our lot, even until the time when it unites with the course of life, and then when the future is silent about our fate, every passing minute can begin with eternity." The second epigraph (to the "Introduction") is taken from A. Blok: "Born in deaf years, / The paths do not remember their own. / We, the children of Russia's terrible years, / Can't forget anything." However, memory is absurd and meaningless. This is how the memories of the first revolutionary years (the "new civilization") appear in a compositional way in constant comparison with a thousand-year history, with antiquity that is difficult to reforge. In the canonical merchant city of Ordynino, for example, the merchant Ivan Emelyanovich Ratchin lives, “in whose house (behind the wolfhounds at the stone deaf gates) it is always silent. clerks are taken away jackets and boots, and the boys have trousers (so that they don’t shaman at night). The son of Ivan Emelyanovich, Donat, once left such a house for the First World War. Having seen the world and once submitting resignedly to the communists, upon his return, of course, he wants to change everything in the sleepy kingdom and, for starters, gives his father's house to the Red Guard. Donat is pleased with all the changes in Ordyn, any destruction of the old. In the forests that stretch around the city, the red roosters of the manors' estates light up. Tirelessly, at least a quarter of their strength, changing owners, the Taiga factories work, where a railway has been built for a long time. "The first train that stopped at Ordynino was a revolutionary train." The face of the city is determined by the current life of the old princely family of the Ordynins. "The big house, which has been assembled for centuries, which has become a three-yard foundation, like on three whales, in one year went bald, crumbled, fell down. However, Cain's seal was sealed long ago." Prince Evgraf and Princess Elena, their children Boris, Gleb and Natalya got entangled in the whirlpools of their own destinies, which were dragged even more, to the point of hopelessness, by their native Russia. Some of them are drinking, some are crying, some are confessing. The head of the house dies, and one of the daughters is drawn to a new life, that is, to the communists. Iron will, wealth, family as such are exhausted and crumble like sand. “Those of the Ordynins who are capable of thinking are inclined to believe that Russia’s path is, of course, special. “Europe pulled Russia in its direction, but led it to a dead end, hence the craving of the Russian people for rebellion ... Look at the history of the peasant: like a forest path millennium, wastelands, repairs, graveyards, fallows-millennia. A state without a state, but growing like a mushroom. Well, the faith will be masculine ... And Orthodox Christianity, along with the kings, came, with someone else's power, and the people from it into sectarianism, into healers, wherever you want. On Yaik, - from power. Come on, look for something in fairy tales about Orthodoxy? - goblin, witches, water, not the Lord of Hosts. Heroes engaged in archaeological excavations often discuss Russian history and culture. “Our greatest masters,” Gleb says quietly, “who stand above da Vinci, Correggio, Perugino, are Andrey Rublev, Prokopy Chirin and those nameless ones that are scattered around Novgorod, Pskov, Suzdal, Kolomna, in our monasteries and churches. they had art, what mastery! How they solved the most difficult problems. Art must be heroic. An artist, a master ascetic. And one must choose for one's work - majestic and beautiful. What is more majestic than Christ and the Mother of God? - especially the Mother of God. Our old masters interpreted the image of the Mother of God as the sweetest mystery, the most spiritual mystery of motherhood - motherhood in general. However, the modern rebels, the renewers of the world, the authors of the reforms in the life of the Horde are uncultured and alien to Russia. What is Commissar Laitis worth, who came to Ordynin from afar with a quilted satin blanket and a pillow sewn by his mother, which, at the instigation of Semyon Matveich Zilotov, who declares himself a Freemason, he spreads in the altar of the monastery chapel in order to indulge in love with the co-servant, typist Olechka Kuns, an involuntary scammer against her neighbors . After a night of love at the altar, someone set fire to the monastery, and another religious building was destroyed. Having read just a few Masonic books, Zealots, like an old warlock, senselessly repeats: "Pentagram, pentagram, pentagram ..." The happy mistress Olechka Koons will be arrested, like many other innocents ... One of the characters is sure that a new life must be resisted, one must resist what has burst in so powerfully, one must break away from time, remain free inwardly (“refuse things, have nothing, not desire, do not regret, be a beggar, only live with potatoes, sauerkraut, it doesn't matter"). Another anarchist and romantically minded heroine, Irina, argues that in modern times one must live with the body: “There are no thoughts, languor is instilled in the body, as if the whole body is numb, as if someone is stroking it with a soft brush, and it seems that all objects are covered with soft suede ": the bed, and the sheet, and the walls, everything is covered with suede. These days bring only one thing: the struggle for life is not on the stomach, but on death, that's why there is so much death. To hell with fairy tales about some kind of humanism! I don't have a chill, when I think about it: let only the strong remain and forever there will be a woman on the pedestal. In this, the heroine is mistaken. For the communists, the young ladies whom they give tea with landrin have always been and will be "interpolitical." What chivalry is there, what a pedestal! On the screen, Vera Kholodnaya can die of passion, but in real life, girls die of hunger, unemployment, violence, hopeless suffering, the inability to help loved ones, finally start a family. In the penultimate chapter "To whom are tators, and to whom are lyators", the Bolsheviks are clearly and categorically inscribed, called by the author "leather jackets": folds at the lips, the movements of each are ironed. From the Russian loose and clumsy nationality - selection. You can’t get wet in leather jackets. So we know, so we want, so we set it up - and that's it. Peter Oreshin, the poet, said the truth: "Or will naked or in a field on a pole. "One of the heroes of this kind at meetings diligently pronounces new words: to constant, energetically, lithophonogram, to function. The word "can" sounds like "magut" to him. , he affirmatively says: "We are both young, healthy. And our child will grow up as it should. "In the dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language, which he took to study before going to bed, he searches in vain for the word "comfort", this was not posted. But ahead in the very last chapter without a title there are only three important and defining the future life of the concept: "Russia. Revolution. Blizzard". The author optimistically depicts three Kitay-gorods: in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Ordynino. All of them allegorically go back to the Heavenly Empire that existed for many millennia, which does not and will not end. And if the passing minute of eternity begins with a naked year, which, most likely, will be followed by another one (discord, darkness and chaos), this does not mean that Russia has disappeared, having lost its basic moral values. O. V. Timasheva Tale of the Unextinguished Moon (1927) In the preface, the author emphasizes that the reason for writing this work was not the death of M. V. Frunze, as many people think, but simply a desire to reflect. Readers do not need to look for true facts and living persons in the story. Early in the morning, in the passenger compartment of an emergency train, Commander Gavrilov, who was in charge of victories and death, "gunpowder, smoke, broken bones, torn meat," receives reports from three staff officers, allowing them to stand at ease. To the question: "How is your health?" - he simply answers: "Here he was in the Caucasus, he was treated. Now he has recovered. Now he is healthy." Officials temporarily leave him, and he can chat with his old friend Popov, who is hardly allowed into a luxurious carriage that has come from the south. The morning newspapers, which, despite the early hour, are already being sold on the street, cheerfully report that Army Commander Gavrilov has temporarily left his troops to operate on a stomach ulcer. "The health of Comrade Gavrilov inspires concern, but the professors vouch for the favorable outcome of the operation." The leading article of the largest newspaper also said that a hard currency can exist when the entire economic life is built on a firm calculation, on a solid economic basis. One of the headlines read: "China's Struggle Against the Imperialists," a large article titled "The Question of Revolutionary Violence" stood out in the basement, and then there were two pages of ads and, of course, the repertoire of theaters, variety shows, outdoor stages, and cinema. In "house number one" the commander meets with a "stiff man", who began a conversation about the operation with healthy Gavrilov with the words: "It's not for us to talk about the millstone of the revolution, the historical wheel - unfortunately, I believe, to a very large extent it is driven by death and blood - especially the wheel of the revolution. It's not for me to talk to you about death and blood." And now, at the behest of the "non-stooping man," Gavrilov ends up at a council of surgeons who hardly ask questions and do not examine him. However, this does not prevent them from making an opinion "on a sheet of yellow, poorly torn, without rulers paper made of wood dough, which, according to the information of specialists and engineers, should decay in seven years." The council proposed to operate on the patient Professor Anatoly Kuzmich Lozovsky, Pavel Ivanovich Kokosov agreed to assist. After the operation, it becomes clear to everyone that none of the specialists, in fact, found it necessary to perform the operation, but at the consultation everyone was silent. Those who directly had to take up the matter, however, exchanged remarks like: “Of course, you can not do the operation ... But the operation is safe ...” In the evening, after the consultation, "a useless frightened moon" rises over the city, "a white moon in blue clouds and black gaps in the sky." Commander Gavrilov visits his friend Popov at the hotel and has a long talk with him about life. Popov's wife left "because of the silk stockings, because of the perfume," leaving him with her little daughter. In response to the confessions of a friend, the commander spoke about his "older, but the only girlfriend for life." Before going to bed, in his saloon car, he reads Tolstoy's Childhood and Adolescence, and then writes several letters and puts them in an envelope, seals them and inscribes: "To be opened after my death." In the morning, before going to the hospital, Gavrilov orders a racing car to be brought to him, in which he rushes for a long time, "tearing through space, bypassing fogs, time, villages." From the top of the hill, he looks around "the city in the reflections of muddy lights", the city seems to him "unfortunate". Before the "operation" scene, B. Pilnyak introduces the reader to the apartments of professors Kokosov and Lozovsky. One apartment "conserved in itself the turn of the nineties and nine hundredth Russian years", while the other appeared in the summers from 1907 to 1916. “If Professor Kokosov refuses the car that the staff officers politely want to send him: “You know, my friend, I don’t serve private individuals and go to clinics by tram,” then the other, Professor Lozovsky, on the contrary, is glad that they will come for him: “ I have to go before the operation on business." For anesthesia, the commander is put to sleep with chloroform. Having discovered that Gavrilov does not have an ulcer, as evidenced by a white scar on the stomach squeezed by the surgeon's hand, the stomach of the "sick" is urgently sewn up. But it was too late, he was poisoned by an anesthetic mask: he suffocated. And no matter how much they inject him with camphor and physiological saline, Gavrilov's heart does not beat. Death occurs under an operating knife, but in order to divert suspicion from “experienced professors”, a “dead person alive” is placed in the operating room for several days. Here the corpse of Gavrilov is visited by a "non-hunching man". He sits nearby for a long time, having calmed down, then shakes an icy hand with the words: "Farewell, comrade! Farewell, brother!" Having settled into his car, he orders the driver to rush out of the city, not knowing that Gavrilov was driving his car in the same way just recently. The "non-hunching man" also gets out of the car and wanders through the woods for a long time. "The forest freezes in the snow, and the moon hurries over it." He, too, takes a cold look at the city. "From the moon in the sky - at this hour - there was a little noticeable melting block of ice ..." Popov, who opened a letter addressed to Gavrilov after Gavrilov’s funeral, cannot take his eyes off him for a long time: “Alyosha, brother! I knew that I would die. Forgive me, I’m not very young anymore. I'm an old woman too, and you've known her for twenty years now. I wrote to her. And you write to her. And you settle down to live together, get married, or something. Raise children. Forgive me, Alyosha." “Popov’s daughter stood on the windowsill, looked at the moon, blew on it. “What are you doing, Natasha?” asked her father. “I want to extinguish the moon,” Natasha answered. O. V. Timasheva Red tree Tale (1929) In the first short chapter, the two parts are separated by a dot; they contain the most expressive touches of Russian life: foolishness and holy fools are described, but also Russian artisans and artisans. "Beggars, seers, beggars, swindlers, lazars, wanderers, wretched, empty saints, kaliks, prophets, fools, fools, holy fools - these are the unambiguous names of the pretzels of the life of Holy Russia, the poor in Holy Russia, kaliks passable, wretched for Christ's sake, holy fools for Christ's sake Holy Russia - these pretzels have adorned life since the day of the emergence of Russia, from the first tsars Ivanov, the life of the Russian millennium. All Russian historians, ethnographers and writers dipped their feathers on the blessed. " "And there are other eccentrics in St. Petersburg, in other large Russian cities. Their pedigree is imperial, not royal. From Elizabeth arose the art begun by Peter - Russian furniture. This serf art has no written history, and the names of the masters have been destroyed by time. This art was the work of loners, cellars in cities, back closets in a people's hut on estates. This art existed in bitter vodka and cruelty ... " So, in Rus' there are eccentrics and ... eccentrics. Both can be seen in the city of Uglich, called by the author Russian Bruges or Russian Kamakura. Two hundred versts from Moscow, and the railway is fifty versts. It is here that the ruins of manors and mahogany are stuck. Of course, a museum of ancient life has been created, but the most beautiful things are kept in the houses of the former owners. There are many unfortunate people in the city who are forced to exist by selling Russian antiquity for next to nothing. This is used by businessmen-appraisers from the capital visiting the wilderness, who feel themselves to be benefactors, saviors of folk art and world culture. On a tip from Skudrin Yakov Karpovich, "with a lousy smile, servile and malicious at the same time," they go from house to house, visiting either old women, or single mothers, or old people who have gone out of their minds, urging them to give away the most valuable of what they have. As a rule, these are the things of the old masters, for which, if not now, then later they will earn a lot of money. And tiles, and beads, and porcelain, and mahogany, and tapestries - everything is in use. With a register created by the obliging Yakov Karpovich, some Bezdetov brothers silently enter the house. Looking around themselves as if with blind eyes, they shamelessly begin to knead and feel everything - ask the price. Out of poverty and misery itself, these fools fish out sweet morsels for themselves. Purely materialists, they know for sure what is worth today under the new regime and how much they will have. The great local thinker Yakov Karpovich Skudrin is actually sure that the proletariat should disappear very soon: “The whole revolution is useless, a mistake, ahem, history. turn, in the United States, in England, in Germany. Marx wrote his theory of the flourishing of muscular labor. Now machine labor will replace muscles. This is my thought. Soon only engineers will remain around machines, and the proletariat will disappear, the proletariat will turn into only engineers. Here, But an engineer is not a proletarian, because the more cultured a person is, the fewer Fanaber needs he has, and it is convenient for him to live equally with everyone materially, to equalize material wealth in order to free thought, yes, there, the British, the rich and the poor sleep the same way in jackets and live in the same houses, but here - it used to be - compare a merchant with a peasant - a merchant, like a priest, dresses up and lives in mansions. And I can walk barefoot and it won't make me worse. You will say, khe , yes, will the operation remain? - how will it stay? - a man who can be exploited, because - like a beast - you won’t let him into the car, he will break it, and it costs millions. A car is worth more than that, in order to save a penny per person with it - a person must know the car, a knowledgeable person is needed for the car - and instead of the previous hundred, there is only one. Such a person will be groomed. The proletariat will perish!" If the forecast of the future of the proletariat, given by the mouth of an unsympathetic, but very reasonably thinking hero, is given, as it were, with the hope of the triumph of wisdom, then the forecast of the future of modern women is not very optimistic. With the collapse of the family, caused by the collapse of social foundations, there will be a lot of single mothers and just single women. The new state supports and will continue to support single mothers. Having met his sister Claudia, the youngest son of Skudrin, the communist Akim who had run away from home, listens to her monologue: "I'm twenty-four. In the spring I decided that it was time to become a woman, and I became her." The brother is indignant: "But do you have a loved one?" - "No, no! There were several. I was curious ... But I got pregnant, and I decided not to have an abortion." - "And you don't know who the husband is?" - “I can’t decide who. But it doesn’t matter to me. I’m a mother. I can handle it, and the state will help me, but morality ... I don’t know what morality is, they taught me to understand it. Or I have my own morality. I answer only for myself and myself. Why is it not moral to give oneself? I do what I want, and I am not obligated to anyone. Husband? .. I don’t need him in night shoes and to give birth. People will help me, - I believe in people. People love the proud and those who do not burden them. And the state will help ... " Akim-communist - wanted to know that a new way of life was going on - the way of life was ancient. But the morality of Claudia for him is both unusual and new. However, is there anything on earth that remains unchanged? Without a doubt, this is the sky, clouds, heavenly spaces. But... also "the art of mahogany, the art of things." "Masters drink themselves and die, but things remain to live, live, love around them, die, they keep the secrets of sorrows, loves, deeds, joys. Elizabeth, Catherine - Rococo, Baroque. Pavel is a Maltese. Pavel is strict, strict peace, red wood, dark empire, classical Hellas People die, but things live, and from the things of antiquity come the "vibes" of antiquity, bygone eras In 1928 - in Moscow, Leningrad, in the provincial cities - antiquities shops arose, where antiquities were bought and was sold by pawnshops, the state trade, the state fund, museums: in 1928 there were many people who collected "fluids". People who bought old things after the thunders of revolutions, in their homes, choosing antiquity, breathed in the living life of dead things. And he was held in high esteem Pavel the Maltese - direct and strict, without bronze and curls. O. V. Timasheva Yuri Nikolaevich Tynyanov (1894-1943) Kyukhlya Roman (1925) Wilhelm graduated with honors from the boarding school. Relatives decide to assign him to the newly founded Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. At a reception with Minister Razumovsky, he meets with Misha Yakovlev, Vanya Pushchin, Anton Delvig. Vasily Lvovich Pushkin brings his nephew Sasha there. On October 1811, XNUMX, in the presence of the tsar and persons close to him, the grand opening of the lyceum takes place. Wilhelm listens without interruption to the inspired speech of the professor of moral sciences Kunitsyn. In the lyceum, Wilhelm receives the nickname Kühlya. His comrades love him, but every now and then they make fun of him. After “payas” Yakovlev, to the general laughter, parodies the scene of the engagement of Kühli with the girl Minchen, Wilhelm runs in despair to drown himself in the pond. They save him. "You're not Poor Liza," the reasonable Pushchin admonishes his friend. Kuhlya studies well, he is obsessed with ambition and secretly dreams that the great Derzhavin will give his lyre to him, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker. However, at the translation exam in December 1814, Derzhavin, who visited the lyceum, was most impressed by Pushkin's poems. Wilhelm is sincerely happy for his friend: "Alexander! I'm proud of you. Be happy." Pushkin brings Kyukhlya to the company of the hussar Kaverin, where freedom-loving conversations are held, but Wilhelm does not feel at home among these "mockers". After graduating from the lyceum, Küchelbecker taught Russian literature in a noble boarding school at the Pedagogical Institute. He now dedicates his poems to Zhukovsky. With Pushkin, however, relations do not develop quite smoothly: because of the caustic epigram with the words “both kyukhelbeker and sickening,” things one day come to a duel, ending, fortunately, in reconciliation. Teachership soon bothers Wilhelm, he wants to fully engage in literature on the advice of Pushkin, visits the "Thursdays" of the influential magazine figure Grech, where he meets Ryleev and Griboyedov. The bold poems of Kuchelbecker appear in the press, in which he supports Pushkin, who was exiled to the south. Kyukhlya visits Nikolai Ivanovich Turgenev, where he meets again with Kunitsyn, with friends from the Lyceum, and participates in political debates. Soon he resigns and goes abroad as a secretary to the nobleman Naryshkin. Freedom! Freedom! In Germany, Wilhelm was filled with various impressions, he had a chance to talk with Ludwig Tieck and even with the great Goethe. Meanwhile, the tsar is informed about the seditious poems of Kuchelbecker, and he orders to establish secret supervision over the young poet. In Paris, in the Athenaeum Hall, Wilhelm lectures on Russian literature, openly speaking out against serfdom. He is expelled from France by order of the prefect of police. After visiting Italy, Kuchelbecker returns to St. Petersburg. Here he does not manage to find a job until the tsar decides to send "a restless young man to an equally restless country" - to the Caucasus, to the office of General Yermolov. Wilhelm comes up with a romantic project to "move" Yermolov to Greece, to help the rebels there. Griboyedov soberly advises his friend to "cool off a little." Yes, and Kuchelbeker himself begins to look at things differently after Yermolov, in front of his eyes, orders to shoot one of the Circassian leaders. After serving for a short time in the Caucasus, Wilhelm settled in the Smolensk estate Zakup with his sister ustinka and her husband Grigory Andreevich Glinka. He falls in love with Dunya Pushkin, who came to visit Glinka, young people swear love to each other, but material circumstances make it impossible even to think about marriage. The restless character of Wilhelm gives a lot of trouble to relatives: either he, together with the servant Semyon, dresses in peasant clothes, then, having seen how a neighbor-landowner is torturing a peasant smeared with tar, he teaches a brutal serf-owner a lesson with a whip. Kuchelbecker again finds himself in Moscow, then in St. Petersburg, where he is engaged in black magazine work with Grech and Bulgarin. He is settled at home by Alexander Odoevsky, who supports his friend with both spiritual participation and money. Ryleev, who is preparing an uprising, accepts Kuchelbeker as a member of a secret society. On December XNUMX, with two pistols in his belt, Wilhelm rushes between the Moscow and Finnish regiments, trying to find the hidden Trubetskoy. Finding himself together with his brother Misha and Ivan Pushchin among the officers and soldiers of the Guards crew, Wilhelm aims at Grand Duke Mikhail three times, but every time a misfire occurs. Guns begin to fire on the rebels. Wilhelm wants to raise the people and lead them into battle, but it's too late: it remains to throw the gun into the snow and leave the square. The collegiate assessor Kuchelbecker, by the highest order, is being searched everywhere. Meanwhile, Wilhelm manages to get to Zakup, then to Warsaw, where he is recognized by the signs indicated in the "poster" and arrested. Dunya tries to fuss about the groom, reaches Nikolai himself, asks for permission to marry Wilhelm and follow him to Siberia, but is refused. Kyukhlya languishes in solitary confinement, having imaginary conversations with friends, remembering the past. He is transferred to the Dinaburg fortress, on the way there is a chance meeting with Pushkin passing by. From the fortress, Wilhelm writes to Griboyedov, not knowing that he had already died in Tehran. Kukhli's last wanderings begin: Barguzin, Aksha, Kurgan, Tobolsk. In Barguzin, Wilhelm builds a hut for himself, gradually forgets about Dunya, then receives a last letter from her: "I decided not to go to you. My heart is getting old <...> We have already turned forty." Wilhelm marries the rude and peasant daughter of the postmaster Dronyushka. A month after the wedding, he learns that some guardsman killed Pushkin in a duel. On the way to Kurgan, Wilhelm spends three days in Yalutorovsk near Pushchin, causing sincere pity for his friend both with his decrepit appearance and failed family life. During his terminal illness, Kyukhlya sees Griboyedov in a dream, speaks with Pushkin in oblivion, recalls Dunya. "He lay straight, with an upturned gray beard, a pointed nose turned up, and rolling eyes." Vl. I. Novikov Death of Vazir-Mukhtar Roman (1927-1928) On March 14, 1828, with a cannon shot from the Peter and Paul Fortress, the inhabitants of the capital were notified of the conclusion of peace with Persia. A treatise on peace was brought from the headquarters of the Russian army in Tehran by collegiate adviser Griboyedov. At the emperor's reception, Griboyedov is awarded the Order of Anna of the second degree with diamonds and four thousand chervonets, which he immediately gives to his mother Nastasya Feodorovna, a selfish reel. Griboyedov is indifferent to what is happening, he is dry and "yellow as a lemon." A stranger to everyone, he maintains friendship only with "the most amusing of all literary bastards" Faddey Bulgarin, which does not prevent him, however, from making a love affair with Faddey's wife, Lenochka. Griboyedov worked out a project to transform the Transcaucasus not by force of arms, but by economic means, and proposed the creation of a single society of capitalist producers there. He seeks support from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nesselrode, and the director of the department, Rodofinikin. At the same time, Dr. McNeil, a member of the English mission in Tabriz, who is leading his intrigues in Persia, manages to visit Rodofinikin at the same time. Through Maknil Griboyedov, a letter is transmitted from Samson Khan - in the past, Wahmister Samson Makintsev, who converted to Islam and led a Russian battalion that participated in the war on the side of the Persians. Samson Khan, along with other "voluntary prisoners," does not want to return to his "former homeland." After an audience with Nicholas I, Griboyedov was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary of Russia in Persia and elevated to the rank of State Councilor. His project is on the back burner. At a dinner at Bulgarin's, Griboyedov reads excerpts from his new tragedy and talks with Pushkin. Fast and successful Pushkin, despite his benevolence, irritates Griboyedov. With a feeling of resentment, the poet-diplomat leaves St. Petersburg, realizing that, having instructed him to receive indemnity from the Persians ("kurury"), the authorities are sending him "to be devoured." Griboedov is accompanied everywhere by Sasha's servant, Alexander Gribov. In Ekaterinograd, they are joined by Maltsov, appointed to Griboyedov as secretary, and Dr. Adelung. In Tiflis, Griboyedov meets his fiancee Nina Chavchavadze, receives a blessing for marriage from her parents. At this time, a consolidated guards regiment comes here with trophies from Persia, which includes many participants in the uprising on Senate Square in 1825. Two officers talk about Griboyedov, whom they saw on the terrace "in a gilded uniform", and one of them condemns the author " Woe from the mind", which, in his opinion, has reached "to the known degrees." In the Caucasus, Griboedov visits the Commander-in-Chief, Count Paskevich, who submits Griboyedov's project for review to the exiled Decembrist Burtsev. But, alas, this liberal does not at all support his former associate: "For the reason that you want to create a new monetary aristocracy <...> I will destroy your project in every possible way." Griboyedov suffers a severe fever, and then receives the highest order to leave Tiflis. He marries Nina and leaves with her for Persia, where from now on he will be called Vazir-Mukhtar in accordance with his high rank. Assuming a new position, Griboedov faces serious difficulties. The Persians, devastated by the war, are unable to pay the kurury. Paskevich, who is failing in the Caucasus, demands the withdrawal of Russian subjects from Persia. Leaving Nina in Tabriz, Griboyedov travels to Tehran, where he introduces himself to the Shah of Persia. Living in a beautiful house befitting his title, Vazir-Mukhtar increasingly feels loneliness and anxiety. Servant Sasha is severely beaten in the market. Griboyedov gives shelter to two women from the Caucasus, who were once kidnapped by the Persians and now fled from the harem. The eunuch Khoja-Mirza-Yakub, an Armenian by origin, a former Russian citizen, also finds refuge in the Russian embassy. All this causes a sharp hostility to Vazir-Mukhtar on the part of the zealots of Sharia. With the tacit consent of the shah, they declare a holy war - "jahat" to the hated "kafir with glasses." Griboyedov instructs Secretary Maltsev to draw up a note on the insecurity for Russian citizens of further stay in Tehran. On the night of January 1829, XNUMX, he was talking "with his conscience, as with a person" - about an unsuccessful service, about "failure" in literature, about his pregnant wife waiting for him. Griboedov is ready for death and is convinced that he honestly fulfilled his duty. He falls into a peaceful and deep sleep. An ominous and noisy crowd approaches the house of Vazir-Mukhtar: mullahs, blacksmiths, merchants, thieves with severed hands. Griboyedov is in command of the Cossacks, but the defense can not be held for long. Furious fanatics kill Khoja-Mirza-Yakub, Sashka, Dr. Adelung. Only the cowardly secretary Maltsev manages to survive by bribing the Persian guards and hiding in a rolled up carpet. Vazir-Mukhtar was torn to pieces by people who consider him guilty of wars, famine, oppression, crop failures. His head is impaled on a pole, his body is dragged through the streets of Tehran for three days, and then thrown into a cesspool. At this time, Nina has a dead child in Tiflis. Prince Khozrev-Mirza arrives in St. Petersburg to settle the incident with a precious diamond Nadir Shah as a gift to the emperor. The ill-fated Tehran incident has been consigned to eternal oblivion. The Russian government only demands to hand over the body of Vazir-Mukhtar. They look for the "mushroom-eater" in a ditch among the corpses, find the body of a one-armed man, put a hand with a ring. "It turned out Griboed." In a simple wooden box, the body is taken on a cart to Tiflis. On the way, the cart is met by a rider in a cap and a black cloak - this is Pushkin. "What are you carrying?" - "Mushroom". Vl. I. Novikov Pushkin Roman (1935-1943, unfinished) Sergei Lvovich Pushkin had a son, whom he named Alexander in memory of his grandfather. After the christening, a modest "kurtag" was arranged in the Pushkin's house on Nemetskaya Street in Moscow: in addition to relatives, the Frenchman Montfort and Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin were invited. A pleasant conversation with exquisite poetic games is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Pyotr Abramovich Annibal - the uncle of Nadezhda Osipovna Pushkina, the son of the famous "Arap of Peter the Great" Ibrahim. The old black man shocks all the guests, is rude to Sergei Lvovich, but is pleased with the baby: "Lion cub, little black boy!" In early childhood, Alexander is clumsy, silent, distracted. But, like his parents, he loves guests, listens with interest to conversations in French. In his father's study, he immerses himself in reading French books, especially poetry and love writings. He spends a lot of time in the girl's room, before going to bed he listens to the singing of the girl Tatyana. Alexander's new habits provoke the wrath of his mother, who takes out her dissatisfaction with her dissolute and frivolous spouse on her son. Alexander begins to compose poems in French, but burns them after his experiences in the presence of his parents are mercilessly ridiculed by the educator Ruselo. At the age of twelve, Alexander seems to be a stranger in his own family, he mercilessly judges his parents with a cold, adolescent court. Sergei Lvovich, meanwhile, is thinking about the further education of his son and decides to send him either to the Jesuits, or to the newly created lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo. Alexander is brought to St. Petersburg by his uncle Vasily Lvovich, a poet, author of the frivolous poem "A Dangerous Neighbor". He introduces his nephew to the poet and minister Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev in order to enlist the support of an influential person. In favor of the lyceum, Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev strongly speaks out, from whom the young Pushkin hears Batyushkov's new poems for the first time. The exam turns out to be a pure formality, and soon Alexander Pushkin was accepted as No. 14 at the Imperial Lyceum. Previously, he grew up alone, and it is difficult for him to get used to his comrades. Gorchakov and Valkhovsky claim the championship among lyceum students. "Desperate" Broglio and Danzas compete in punishment, committing one audacity after another. Sometimes Pushkin also falls behind the black table. He is angular, wild and is not friends with anyone except Pushchin. He has no principality, he does not excel in strength, but he speaks French like a Frenchman, and knows how to recite Voltaire's poems by heart. Even Gorchakov admits that he has taste. At the lessons, Pushkin gnaws feathers and writes down something. However, others are also engaged in writing at the Lyceum: Illichevsky, Delvig, Kuchelbecker. Alexander evokes the enmity of inspector Martin Pilecki, who demands that director Malinovsky expel Pushkin from the lyceum - for lack of faith, for "mocking poems against all professors." However, Piletsky himself has to leave the lyceum. Russian troops march through Tsarskoye Selo, preparing for a military campaign. Among the militia is Professor Kunitsyn's friend, hussar Kaverin. He jokingly invites Pushkin and Pushchin to go with him. Napoleon's army invades Russia, heading either to Petersburg or Moscow. Principal Malinovsky worries about the fate of his pupils, who, meanwhile, enthusiastically follow military events, discuss Napoleon's personality with teachers, and find their favorite heroes among Russian commanders. After the report about the Borodino victory, the lyceum organizes a holiday with a theatrical performance, for which the director, however, receives a reprimand from Minister Razumovsky. On the anniversary of the founding of the Lyceum, on October XNUMX, Napoleon leaves Moscow with his army. The history teacher Kaidanov informs the lyceum students about this at a lecture, and Kunitsyn is convinced that now slavery in Russia will be abolished. Director Malinovsky dies, proud of the fact that there is "no spirit of servility" in the Lyceum. Alexander falls ill and ends up in the infirmary. He is visited by Gorchakov, to whom he entrusts two of his risky poems. "Shadow of Barkov" Gorchakov burns in horror to save his comrade from trouble, and hides the "Monk". Alexander talks a lot about poetry with Kuhley, dedicates a poetic message to him. Galich, who replaces the professor of literature Koshansky, advises Pushkin "to test himself in an important way" - to sing in verse the places in Tsarskoe Selo and the memories of history associated with them. Delvig and Pushkin decide to send their poems to the journal Vestnik Evropy. Delvig is published first, and Pushkin, while waiting for an answer, finds entertainment in the performances of the serf theater of Count Tolstoy, sings the actress Natalya in verse. Finally, the message "To a friend of the poet" appears in the "Bulletin of Europe", signed by a pseudonym. Sergey Lvovich is proud of his son, and Vasily Lvovich considers this event a brilliant start. At the solemn examination at the lyceum, Alexander reads "Memoirs in Tsarskoye Selo", and the decrepit Derzhavin runs out with unexpected ease to embrace the author. But Alexander is hiding. Karamzin visits the lyceum, and with him - Vasily Lvovich Pushkin and Vyazemsky, informing Alexander that he has been accepted into the Arzamas society, where he was given the name Sverchok. Comes to visit Pushkin and Batyushkov. Alexander recklessly joins in the literary war of the Arzamas with the "Conversation of the Lovers of the Russian Word", composes an epigram on Shishkov, Shikhmatov and Shakhovsky. The new director of the lyceum, Egor Antonovich Engelgardt, who eliminates "all traces of the old master," is wary of Pushkin and seeks to "bring him within the boundaries." Annoys the director and the excessive attention that gives his relative, the young widow Mary Smith, this young and daring poet. However, Maria, sung under the names of Lila and Lida, did not long possess Alexander's feelings: he forgot about her as soon as they parted. Karamzin moves to Tsarskoe Selo with his wife Katerina Andreevna, and now Alexander must be sure every morning that he will see her in the evening. She alone understands him, although he is seventeen years old, and she is thirty-six. Alexander writes a love note to Katerina Andreevna. Upon learning of this, Karamzin paternally scolds the poet in love, and Katerina Andreevna laughs, bringing Alexander to tears and to complete despair. Soon Karamzin becomes aware of the caustic and well-aimed epigrams composed by Pushkin for his "History". In disputes about slavery and autocracy, the young poet took the side not of Karamzin, but of Kaverin and Chaadaev. Pushkin and his comrades graduate from the lyceum three months earlier than expected: the tsar has long been burdened by the proximity of this educational institution to the palace. Lyceum students are persuaded to gather together every year on the nineteenth of October. In St. Petersburg, Alexander is passionate about the theater, he goes there every evening. It is also occupied by young "traitors". Meanwhile, seditious verses bring him to trouble. One day, a quarterman comes for him and delivers him to the main police department. There Pushkin is shown a whole cupboard filled with his epigrams and denunciations against him. Chaadaev and Karamzin are trying to alleviate the fate of Pushkin. The emperor, having listened to Karamzin's request, decides to send Alexander not to the fortress, but to the south, to Yekaterinoslav. Karamzin, in the presence of Katerina Andreevna, is waiting for a promise from Pushkin to improve. "I promise ... For two years," he replies. Pushkin says goodbye to Petersburg. He is finishing a new book of poetry. The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" in print. Before leaving, he manages to play cards, leaving Nikita Vsevolozhsky even the manuscript of his poems. He recognizes his homeland in all its breadth and power on the high roads. The path is far. In Ekaterinoslav, Pushkin meets with the family of General Raevsky, they travel together to the Caucasus and the Crimea. Looking at the Crimean coast, Alexander thinks about Katerina Andreevna, writes an elegy - as "the last thing to be said." "Higher head, equal breath. Life goes on like a verse." Vl. I. Novikov Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov (1895-1963) Moscow novel (1929-1930, published 1988) You probably remember this year: they broke the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. For the layman, this was more terrible than the October coup. Then, before the beginning of the novel, the author decided to write comments, but at that time a big-headed boy was born to him, named Vyacheslav ... Excuse me, can I get started? In the clinic where Matvey Ivanovich Andreyshin, a stately twenty-seven-year-old psychiatrist, and Yegor Yegorych, the secretary of a big man, work, suddenly ill jewelers, the Yuriev brothers, end up. There was a theft in their workshop, and soon rumors spread about the loss of a golden crown ordered by an allegedly unknown agent for the American emperor. Watching the sick, Dr. Andreishin comes to the conclusion that the reason for their insanity is unrequited love. The only trace of a stranger - a button from the workshop of S. Murfina - leads him to Susanna, the daughter of the former owner. The Doctor falls in love with this blonde woman with a narrow, beautiful face. He is sure that he must "prevent the collapse of man" and will be able to heal with one phrase both the jewelers, and Susanna, and the whole house where she lives. So Matvey Ivanovich and Yegor Yegorych, who were going to the congress of criminologists in Berlin, find themselves near house number 42. Here they encounter Leon Ionovich Cherpanov, who came from the Urals to recruit workers for the foundry. Declaring himself a doctor "ear-throated" from the periphery, Andreishin expresses a desire to conclude an agreement and temporarily settle in this house. Cherpanov has no choice but to accept the first workers and bring them inside the communal housing, equipped in the construction of the Moscow Empire style. Twenty housewives roared in the kitchen, fifty primus stoves roared. Cherpanov settled down in the bathroom. The upper floor with columns was occupied by the family of Zhavoronkov, a former church warden and now an ice cream man with a union card. Everyone knew that he "publicly sold ice cream, but secretly worked in the construction business" and, moreover, led a cell of atheists. The Murfins lived on the first floor - mother, father, uncle Savely, twenty-year-old Susanna and her older sister Lyudmila, who earned the nickname Bylinka on both fronts of the civil war. She writes the book "400 defeats" about her impressions. Like everyone engaged in speculation, Lyudmila repeats: “We are fans of realism <…> A large batch of oats is more expensive than the ability to pull the thread of literature into the golden needle of fantasy.” However, the doctor believes that only Susanna "unites this aggregate of people", that she organized the illness of the jewelers, but finds no evidence. The second decade goes on, and the doctor and Yegor Yegorych are all postponing the trip to Berlin, watching the residents of the apartment, Cherepanov's efforts to create a proletarian nucleus for work in Shadrinsk. Here the recruiter arrives at the nail factory as a poet, ready to write about the best brigade. He collects money at a party, makes appeals: "Remember that our combine is entrusted with the experience of processing not only ore, but also with the same speed of people." He requires the residents of the house to recruit relatives, for example, 620 people from Zhavoronkov. "Six hundred - I understand, but where did twenty come from?" - "Gosrazverstka ... They are reborn there." - "Well, will they emasculate them or what?" Cherpanov promises that the Cathedral of Christ the Savior will be restored in the Urals. Uncle Savely tells about an unprecedented case of the rebirth of an entire Ural city thanks to the play of academic theaters. The doctor is at the head of the procession, but he is unable to keep the crowd, which quickly disperses. Cherepanov is not among them. The doctor calls him a fictitious figure, and Yegor Yegorych recalls the three confessions of Leon Ionovich. For the first time, he said that he was born in the family of a gymnasium teacher, came to Russia with his brother from Parisian emigration, and created his biography using stamps. The second time he called himself the son of a circus magician Cherpanevsky, a descendant of an old noble family. Finally, he admits that he had an engraving establishment in Sverdlovsk, inherited from his father, Konstantin Pudozhgorsky, and made stamps for speculators. Clients seized him and forced Cherpanov, according to his documents, to go in search of the crown of the American emperor. The crown, according to him, is kept by Uncle Savely and is disguised as a wagon spittoon. Hidden somewhere in the house is the only piece of evidence that confirms that the crown exists. This is a foreign costume of a mysterious agent, left behind by him when he fled. In vain, Cherpanov, the doctor, and Uncle Savely looked for a suit from Zhavoronkov - he ended up in Lyudmila's chest: "dark green cloth and gold buttons with double-headed eagles splashed." Frock coat! Before they could find out if it was the right suit, the Lebedev brothers arrived, dissatisfied with Cherpanov's recruiting activity. Grabbing his coat, Cherpanov rushes to run, the Lebedevs pursue him, but the outcome of the chase is unknown ... Called by Uncle Savely, police officers appear and take away the arrested residents of the house. Dr. Andreishin, Yegor Yegorych and the Yuryev brothers meet at the sealed door. The jewelers have recovered: they are not in love with Susanna and do not believe in the crown of the American emperor. Only the doctor hopes to break the legend of the crown, re-educate Susanna and marry her ... "U-u-life is leaving, u-u-u ..." - I recall the song that has ended. I. G. Zhivotovsky Kremlin Novel (1924-1963, 1st ed. - 1929-1930, published 1981) In that year, when Grand Duke Ivan III ordered the erection of the Moscow Kremlin, the specific prince Nikita, who owned the city of Podzol in the upper reaches of the Volga, decided to build his Kremlin better than the royal one. And in the last century, in front of the Kremlin, on the other side of the Uzhga, buildings of the Big Volga Manufactories and dusty houses of the village appeared. Gury Lopta, who graduated in the early 1920s. Theological Academy, returned home to take the ancient post of bishops of the Kremlin. "Than live?" he asks his father Ivan Petrovich. Kremlin - legends. Manufactories - newspapers. In the house of Lopt, the daughter of the last owners of the production, Agafya, is brought up, beautiful as rye, a favorite of the church community. Her brother, Afanas-Tsarevich, is blessed and lives at the cathedral. Guriy believes that they tolerated religion enough, it's time to repulse the host of Baptists who captivated the souls of the inhabitants, and offers to raise funds for the repair of the temple, to start printing the Bible. The appearance of an early printed book in the Kremlin at a time of persecution of indestructible Orthodoxy will give not only spiritual, but also material benefits necessary to counteract the influence of Manufactory. Another Uzhgin, red-haired, sickly Vavilov, who lost his wife, child, job, comes to get a job in the third shift at a spinning factory. A wet roar stung his ears. The only place where the workers could rest and smoke was the latrines. Any question brought to the workshop meetings had to be worked out in the latrines. So, Zinaida was instructed to agitate for the re-election of the Soviets and the nomination of Vavilov as the head of the cultural and educational work of the Manufactories. Behind Vavilov's shoulders were two years of the workers' faculty, but he remembered from childhood the stories of the teachers of the Orphanage about the Kremlin, so he took the first excursion there. The workers did not like the Kremlin. An invisible struggle begins between Vavilov and Agafya: Agafya alone wants to enlighten the Manufactory. Laughing at the red-haired man is also carried out by the "four thinkers", riotous people familiar from the vocational school, with whom Vavilov shares a closet in the old barracks. It seems to him that service in the club is nothing more than a manifestation of pity for him by the workers. He decides to hang himself and leave a farewell letter. The pencil turned out to be broken, and while Vavilov sharpens it, he looks at the ant heap, the fog over Uzhga, the Manufactory, and, like a wonderful flower, the Kremlin seems to him. The Kremlin is having fun while the Manufactories are sleeping!.. Throwing a rope on a bough, he runs to bathe. Many workers enroll in the "Religious-Orthodox Society", some out of curiosity and attraction to Agafya, others, like raftsmen, artel workers, in the desire to unite the laity. Vavilov comes forward with a proposal to take away the Assumption Church and transfer it to the club. Unexpectedly, he is supported at the factory, and only Zinaida, who has already been elected deputy chairman of the communal farm, opposes the attack on the Kremlin. She is consumed by worries about moving weavers in need into renovated barracks built before the revolution. She despises the demonstrative idea of instilling everyone in one day: "Wild pain awaits us, wild resistance from the Kremlin ..." A young Uzbek, Mustafa, raised on a pitchfork, dies, who wished to be baptized because of his love for Agafya. The dragon Magnat-Khai appears to his vengeful father Ishmael and condemns him for betraying his son. Unable to live, Afanas-Tsarevich hangs himself on an aspen... Vavilov organizes a boxing club, and for this purpose, a carved wooden iconostasis will be thrown into the courtyard by the forces of the correctional house. A circle of atheists made a closet, painted over the frescoes in the style of Vasnetsov. They left the cherubim on the ceilings, but they cut up a very expensive shroud. Vavilov is tired of working in this circle of stupid young people who themselves do not know what to do next after they have renounced God. Rumors spread about a possible attempt on Vavilov's life, especially after a fistfight between the Kremlin and factory workers. The actor of the former imperial theaters and officer of the French army Starks tells the story of the amazing adventures of Donat Cherepakhin, the son of a professor-restorer. According to the story, being a brave and independent officer, Donat warned the French soldiers about the beginning of the German revolution, was shot dead by General P.-J. Don, but was buried in the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as the savior of France. Vavilov feels like an Unknown Soldier of the Revolution and prepares for death. However, Agafya's plans to destroy the redhead were not destined to come true. During the Easter week, an unprecedented flood began, threatening to flood the power plant, houses and temples. Speaking at the plenum of the Komsomol, Vavilov delivered a frank and amazing speech that went beyond the scope of club work. He declared that churches should be dismantled in order to build dams, strengthen ditches, make Manufactories a citadel of communism. He was applauded, elected to the commission for flood protection. Father Guriy calls on the believers to forget all the insults that the atheists from the Manufactories have caused them, to show an example of Christian humility and to swim to save them from the flooded city. Vavilov shouts that the campaign stake on mercy is beaten. The workers boarded the ship. The news comes that Agafya drowned, Lopta disappeared. Slowly, but proudly, the steamer sets off. The weavers look at Vavilov with loving eyes: "Yes, this guy will go far!" From the fog you can see the Kremlin as it seemed in childhood. Joy takes over his heart. There are victories and defeats ahead, but the path that he has traveled can be proud of him. I. G. Zhivotovsky Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (1895-1925) Pugachev Dramatic Poem (1922) Dreaming of freedom, the peasant and warrior Pugachev, after long wanderings, comes to Yaik and, in a conversation with a Cossack watchman, learns that the peasants are waiting for a new tsar - a peasant. The murdered Peter III appears to be such a king - he would have given the people freedom. This thought captures Pugachev. He comes to the Kalmyks and urges them to leave the army, to flee from the Russian oath. Ataman Kirpichnikov finds out about this and joins the riot. A rebellion breaks out in the Cossack troops. Together with the atamans Obolyaev, Karavaev and Zarubin, Pugachev decides to move on Moscow. Soon he is joined by the Ural runaway convict Khlopusha, who dreams of seeing the peasant tsar. He demands to let him go to Pugachev, seeing in him the embodiment of his ideal. Khlopusha proposes to capture Ufa - this will allow the Pugachevites to get their own artillery. Ataman Zarubin lures more and more troops to Pugachev's side - they surrender without a fight. But already after the first defeats in the camp of Pugachev, strife begins. One of the rebels - Curds - incites to hand over Pugachev to government troops. He is supported by the traitor Kryamin. Panic begins in the troops, and together with Pugachev, his entire army perishes. Not the last protagonist of the poem is Russian melancholy, steppe landscape, weeping trees, endless sands, salt marshes, versts, willows ... No single person can do anything with this Russia. Khlopusha dies, Pugachev dies, - "under your soul you fall just as under a burden." D. L. Bykov Anna Snegina Poem (1925) The action takes place on the Ryazan land in the period from the spring of 1917 to 1923. The story is told on behalf of the author-poet Sergei Yesenin; the image of "epic" events is transmitted through the attitude of the lyrical hero towards them. In the first chapter, we are talking about the poet's trip to his native places after the hardships of the world war, in which he was a participant. The driver tells about the life of his fellow villagers - wealthy Radov peasants. The Radovites are at constant war with the poor village of Kriushi. Neighbors steal wood, arrange dangerous scandals, in one of which it comes to the murder of a foreman. After the trial, the Radovites also "began troubles, the reins rolled down from happiness." The hero reflects on the disastrous fate, recalling how "for someone else's interest" he shot and "climbed his chest with his brother." The poet refused to participate in the bloody massacre - he straightened his "linden" and "became the first deserter in the country." The guest is warmly welcomed in the miller's house, where he has not been for four years. After the samovar, the hero goes to the hayloft through a garden overgrown with lilacs - and in memory there are "distant sweet ones" - a girl in a white cape, who said affectionately: "No!" The second chapter tells about the events of the next day. Awakened by the miller, the hero rejoices at the beauty of the morning, the white haze of the apple orchard. And again, as if in opposition to this, - thoughts about the cripples innocently mutilated by the war. From the old miller’s wife, he again hears about the clashes between the Radovites and the Kriushans, that now that the tsar has been driven away, “freedom is rotten” everywhere: for some reason they opened prisons and many “thieves’ souls” returned to the village, among them the murderer of the elder Pron Ogloblin. The miller, who returned from the landowner Snegina - an old acquaintance of the hero - reports what interest his message about the guest who came to him aroused. But the miller's sly hints do not bother the souls of the hero so far. He goes to Kriusha - to see the men he knows. A peasant gathering gathered at Pron Ogloblin's hut. The peasants are glad to have a guest in the capital and demand that all burning questions be explained to them - about the land, about the war, about "who is Lenin?" The poet replies: "He is you." In the third chapter - the events that followed a few days later. The miller brings Anna Snegina to the hero who caught a cold while hunting. A half-joking conversation about young meetings at the gate, about her marriage irritates the hero, he wants to find a different, sincere tone, but he has to obediently play the role of a fashionable poet. Anna reproaches him for his dissolute life, drunken brawls. But the hearts of the interlocutors speak of something else - they are full of an influx of "sixteen years": "We parted with her at dawn / With a mystery of movements and eyes ..." Summer continues. At the request of Pron Ogloblin, the hero goes with the peasants to the Snegins to demand land. Sobs are heard from the landowner's room - this is the news of the death of Anna's husband, a military officer, at the front. Anna does not want to see the poet: "You are a miserable and low coward, he died ... And you are here ..." Wounded, the hero goes with Pron to a tavern. The main event of the fourth chapter is the news that Pron brings to the miller's hut. Now, according to him, "we are all r-times - and kvass! <...> in Russia now the Soviets and Lenin are the senior commissar." Next to Pron in the Council is his brother Labutya, a drunkard and talker who lives "not a corn of the hands." It was he who went first to describe Snegin's house - "there is always speed in capturing." The miller brings the hostesses of the estate to him. There is a last explanation of the hero with Anna. The pain of loss, the irrevocableness of past relationships still separate them. And again, only the poetry of memories of youth remains. In the evening, the Snegins leave, and the poet rushes to St. Petersburg "to dispel longing and sleep." In the fifth chapter - a sketch of the events that took place in the country in the six post-revolutionary years. The "grimy rabble", having seized upon the master's goods, strums on the pianos and listens to the gramophone - but "the fate of the grain grower goes out," "fefela! Breadwinner! Kasatik!" for a couple of filthy "katek" he allows himself to be torn out with a whip. From the miller's letter, the hero of the poem learns that Pron Ogloblin was shot by Denikin's Cossacks; Labutya, having sat out the raid in the straw, demands a red order for his bravery. The hero again visits his native places. The old people welcome him with the same joy. A gift is prepared for him - a letter with a London seal - news from Anna. And although outwardly the addressee remains cold, even a little cynical, nevertheless, a trace remains in his soul. The final lines again return to the bright image of youthful love. L. A. Danilkin Country of villains Dramatic poem (1924-1926) The action takes place in the Urals in 1919. The protagonist of the poem is the gangster Nomakh, a romantic character, an anarchist rebel who hates "everyone who grows fat on Marx." He once went for a revolution, hoping that it would bring liberation to the entire human race, and this anarchist, peasant dream is close and understandable to Yesenin. Nomakh expresses his cherished thoughts in the poem: about love for the storm and hatred for that routine, absolutely non-Russian, artificial life that the commissars imposed on Russia. Therefore, Yesenin's image of the "positive" commissar Rassvetov turns out to be pale. Rassvetov is opposed to Nomakh, but in the main he is one with him. Nomakh, in which Makhno is clearly discerned, Nomakh, who says that gangs of deceived people like him are multiplying all over Russia, is ready both for murder and for seizing power. He has no moral barriers. But Dawn is also completely immoral, who in his youth visited the Klondike, pulled off an exchange adventure there (passed off a rock as gold-bearing and hit the jackpot after the stock market panic) and is sure that any deceptions are good if the poor deceive the rich. So the Chekists who catch Nomakh are no better than him. Nomah organizes raids on trains running along the Ural line. Former worker and now volunteer Zamarashkin stands guard. Here is his dialogue with Commissar Chekistov, who blames Russia for everything - for hunger, for the savagery and brutality of the people, for the darkness of the Russian soul and Russian life ... Nomakh appears as soon as Zamarashkin is left alone at his post. First, he tries to lure him into a gang, then he ties him up, steals a lantern and stops the train with this lantern. On the train, Rassvetov, with two other commissars - Charin and Lobk - talks about the future Americanized Russia, about the "steel enema" that must be given to its population ... After Nomakh robs the train, takes all the gold and blows up the locomotive, Rassvetov personally leads his search. In a brothel where former White Guards drink and bandits smoke opium, Nomakh is tracked down by a Chinese detective, Litza-hun. The author tries to show in the poem those main driving forces of Russian life that emerged by the beginning of the twenties: here is the Jew Chekistov, whose real name is Leibman, and whose cherished dream is to Europeanize Russia; here is the "sympathetic" volunteer Zamarashkin, who is equally sympathetic to both the commissars and Nomakh; here are the commissars of the mines, who believe that Russia can be reared up and made a prosperous power ... But there is no elemental freemen, elemental power in all these characters. She remained only in Nomah and in the rebel Badger. The poem ends with their triumph: Nomakh and Badger leave the KGB ambush in Kyiv. Yesenin does not answer the question of who Russia needs now: the absolutely immoral, but strong-willed and decisive Rassvetov, or the equally strong, but spontaneously free Nomakh, who does not recognize any power and any statehood. One thing is clear: neither Chekistov, nor the faceless Charin and Lobk, nor the Chinese Litza-hun can do anything with Russia. And the moral victory remains with Nomakh, who in the final is not accidentally hiding behind a portrait of Peter the Great and watching the Chekists through his eye sockets. D. L. Bykov Leonid Ivanovich Dobychin (1896-1936) City of En Roman (1935) I'm going to the patronal feast in the prison church together with maman and Alexandra Lvovna Lei. Here we meet "madmazelle" Gorshkova and her little students. I read about the city of En, about Chichikov and Manilov. We go for a walk with the nanny Cecilia, she takes me to the church. On the street we meet a "terrible boy" who makes faces at us. I am very scared. I dream of going to the city of En and making friends there with the sons of Manilov. Maman celebrates the New Year at the Belugins. There she meets engineer Karmanova, who has a son, Serge. Now I dream of friendship with Serge. We go with the nanny to watch the parade. Karmanova and Serge come to visit. And Serge turns out to be the same "terrible boy" (although it is not recognized that it was him). I remain in doubt. Our family moves to the apartment of the Belugins, who were transferred to Mitava. The Karmanovs live in the same house. Easter is coming, guests are coming with congratulations, among them are the Kondratieffs. In the summer, the Kondratieffs go to the camp. (The head of the family is a military doctor.) We visit them. I communicate with their son, Andrey. Engineer Karmanova, her daughter Sophie and Serge leave for the summer in Samokvasovo. We escort them to the station. We spend the summer in a village on the Courland coast. Returning to the city, we meet with the Karmanovs, the Kondratievs, Alexandra Lvovna Ley. We learn that Sophie is married. In autumn, the father dies, having become infected at the autopsy. Now the apartment is big for us and we are moving to a new one. Maman gets a job at the telegraph office as a student. And I'm getting ready for the preparatory class, studying with "Madmazel" Gorshkova. Gorshkova often shakes my hand "under cover of the table." I notice that meetings with high school student Vasya Strizhkin are an omen of good luck. And just before the entrance exam I meet him. We learn that Sophie had a boy. While visiting the Karmanovs, I get to know my contemporary, Tusenka Sioux. Maman and I are going to an exhibition, then we look at "live photography". The next morning I receive a note from Stefanie Grikupel: she wants to meet me. Maman finds out about my acquaintance with this girl and forbids further meetings. At school, I have problems with arithmetic. Friendship with Serge Karmanov continues. Tusenka Sioux, it turns out, thought that my surname was "Yat", like that of the telegraph operator in the book "Chekhov". Sophie leaves for Libava, where her husband has been transferred. Alexandra Lvovna in the form of a "sister" goes to the Far East, because there is a war with Japan. The Karmanovs spend the summer in Shavski Drozhki, we go to visit them. In autumn I start studying German. They put me in a punishment cell for an hour because I did not notice a calligraphy teacher on the street. I think about revenge. We are moving to a new apartment. In the summer we go to Vitebsk to the lady who was visiting us during my father's funeral. Returning to the city, I study French with Gorshkova. Learn about peace with Japan. During classes, a bomb explodes near the school. Classes are cancelled. On the streets there are clashes between rioters and the police. We either learn or we don't. Kondratiev and Alexandra Lvovna Ley are returning from the Far East, who devoted herself to caring for Dr. Vagel, who was shell-shocked after being wounded in the head. Engineer Karmanov is being killed by someone on the street. Serge takes an oath to avenge his father. The engineer and Serge leave for Moscow forever. In the summer we come to Shavskie Drozhki to the Belugins, get acquainted with Belugina's sister, Olga Kuskova. The teacher of calligraphy dies. I go for a walk with Andrey Kondratiev. I don't really like him and can't replace Serge. Alexandra Lvovna marries Dr. Vagel. And I keep thinking about Tusenka. Although it is better to call her Natalie. I receive an invitation to spend the summer with the Karmanovs. Serzh and I are going to Shavskiye Drozhki, from where we go via Sevastopol to Evpatoria. Dr. Vagel, Alexandra Lvovna's husband, dies. Electric theater opens. Alexandra Lvovna wins two hundred thousand in the lottery - the ticket belongs to her late husband. At Easter we learn that a lady from Vitebsk has died. Summer. We are going to see the house that Alexandra Lvovna bought in the town of Sventa Góra. She is building a chapel and wants to organize an Orthodox brotherhood. I have an appointment on the boulevard. I come, but I see only an ugly girl Agatha. It means that the lady who made an appointment with me did not come. I keep thinking about Natalie. The director offers me to become an observer of the meteorological station. They are exempt from tuition fees. Gvozdev, a sixth-grader, shows me what to do and how to do it. I start to be friends with him, but the friendship somehow ends. At the insistence of my mother, I buy a subscription to the skating rink. There I meet with Stephanie Grikyupel. She introduces me to the girl Louise Kugenau-Petroshka. Natalie rides with another. I'm going to Moscow to see the Karmanovs for Shrovetide. There I meet Olga Kuskova. She gives me a date, but I don't go. Sophie already has three children. I'm going to give lessons to Louise Kugenau-Petroshka, but I don't match the price of her mother. Gogol's centenary is celebrated. I am moved to think about the city of En, Chichikov and Manilov. A letter arrives from Karmanova. It turns out that Serge lives with Olga Kuskova, and the engineer does not interfere with this. The school year begins. Karmanova arrives, says that Olga Kuskova "poorly understood her position." And after the engineer talked to her, Olga committed suicide. Colonel Pistsov proposes to maman, but she refuses. In the fall, I become a tutor for a fifth-grader. I am disappointed in friendship. The school has a new principal. We are going on an excursion to Riga, then to Polotsk. I'm starting to make friends with Ershov. He talks about his father, who is in correspondence with Tolstoy. But Ershov is tired of being friends with me, and he does not even want to talk about Tolstoy's death. I meet a contemporary, Bluma Katz-Kagan. Someone kills a school district trustee with a rock. It turns out that he was a maniac and deliberately failed beautiful students. Final exams are approaching. Having withstood them, we receive graduation certificates. I'm going to a place where they don't take exams. I happen to know that I'm nearsighted. Putting on glasses, I understand that I saw everything wrong. I would like to see Natalie now, but she is in Odessa. O. V. Butkova Evgeny Lvovich Schwartz (1896-1958) Naked king Fairy Tale Play (1934) Having fallen in love with the royal daughter, Heinrich the swineherd persuades her for a whole month to come to the lawn to see how the pigs graze. Princess Henrietta agrees to come only when she finds out that Heinrich has a magic cauldron that can sing, play musical instruments and guess what is cooking in the kitchen. The princess is accompanied by court ladies, who must ensure that the girl behaves in accordance with her high position. A friend of Heinrich Christian demonstrates the extraordinary qualities of a bowler hat, which tells which of the ladies does not cook anything at home, because the hostess always dines at a party, who cooks “chicken” horsemeat cutlets, and who only warms up stolen from the royal dinner. Dissatisfied with the revelations, the ladies are asked to move on to dancing as soon as possible. Henry is dancing with the Princess. She really likes him, and the date ends with a long kiss. The king-father suddenly jumps out of the bushes. Ladies in a rush. Outraged by what he saw, the king announces that tomorrow he will give his daughter to his cousin, the neighboring king, and send Henry and his friend out of the country. But Heinrich is sure that he will marry the Princess anyway. In the neighboring kingdom, they are preparing to welcome the bride. The Minister of Tender Feelings is concerned: he will have to find out if the real Princess is arriving in their domain. The fact is that the King almost died twice from "terrible" thoughts: at breakfast he choked on sausage, thinking: what if the mother of the bride was a minx, and the Princess was not the king's daughter at all, but a girl of unknown origin: the second time he almost drowned, swimming on shallow place, suggesting that the Princess herself could be a minx before collusion! The Minister comes up with a great idea: under the feather beds on which the Princess will sleep, you need to put a pea. After all, people of royal descent have such delicate skin! If Her Highness complains of insomnia in the morning, that's all right; if not, she is not a real princess. The Princess arrives and immediately asks her to prepare a bed: she hopes to see Heinrich at least in a dream. The Chamberlain and the vicious Governess, who arrived with her, vigilantly guard her. But the Minister, wanting to find out everything about the past of the royal bride, offers them a treat and puts twelve bottles of strong wine, and sends gendarmes to the bedchamber. Henrietta can't sleep: something is digging into her body through all twenty-four featherbeds! To distract herself, she sings the song that Heinrich taught her, and suddenly she hears two male voices picking up the words. The princess opens the door and sees the gendarmes, who unexpectedly ask her to pull their beards. She is confused, but still pulls. The beards remain in her hands. It was Heinrich and Christian disguised as gendarmes. They want to free and take the Princess away. In case this does not work out right away, Heinrich gives the girl a paper with curses written on it (“Go to the devil’s grandmother”, “Shut up, leaky bag”) and tells her to learn them and how to scold the groom. Knowing about the pea, he advises the Princess to say that she slept well. Then the King will refuse the wedding. The escape fails. When all three stealthily make their way past the intoxicated Minister of Tender Feelings, the Chamberlain and the Governess, they are noticed. The governess drags the Princess to her room. Heinrich and Christian manage to slip away. The palace is in turmoil: the valet, tailors, shoe shiners are busy preparing the King's wedding attire. Heinrich and Christian appear under the guise of weavers. They offer a completely unusual fabric for the royal costume, the secret of which they alone know. They promise to report to the king, but for now he is sleeping and it is impossible to disturb him. The First Minister checks what has been prepared for breakfast for the Princess. They bring in a plate of pies. Heinrich manages to hide a note in one of them. The King wakes up, he is out of sorts, naughty and angry. The jester manages to cheer him up. Now the King gets down to business. After a conversation with the court scholar and the court poet, the turn comes to the weavers. They talk about their magical fabric: only a smart person can see it, and the fabric is invisible to a fool or someone who is out of place. The king likes the opportunity to find out in this way who is what at his court. The Minister of Tender Feelings appears and reports that the pea did not prevent the Princess from sleeping, therefore, she is not of noble birth. The king is upset: the bride will have to be driven away, and he is so tuned in to the wedding! And the Princess, having found Heinrich's note, looks for him everywhere and pulls the beard of every bearded man, hoping that this is a lover in disguise. She finally meets the King and he immediately falls in love with her. Henrietta responds to his courtesies with curses, as Henry told her, but this does not stop the King. He wants to get married - let them sew a wedding dress for him as soon as possible! We need to look at the magic cloth. But the King himself is scared (suddenly he will not see her!), And he sends the First Minister. He, too, is afraid and, under a plausible pretext, transfers the royal commission to the Minister of Tender Feelings, who sends the court poet to the weavers. Entering the room, the poet sees empty tables and frames for stretching fabrics. He asks: where is the fabric? Heinrich and Christian pretend to be amazed - here she is, before the eyes of the guest. The poet is in difficulty: if he admits that he does not see anything, then it turns out that he is a fool. We have to join in the praise that the weavers lavish on their product. The ministers who later visited them and the King himself do the same. The wedding procession is scheduled for the next morning. The crowd is noisy in the square, waiting for the King. Here is the Princess in her wedding dress and her father, who arrived at the celebration. When the King comes out, everyone sees a naked man. The cheers are cut off. The king father tries to explain the state of things to his cousin, but he is sure that he is dressed like a picture. But suddenly one very smart boy (small, but he knows the multiplication table!) breaks the silence with an exclamation: "Dad, but he's naked!" The crowd explodes with indignant shouts at the King. General confusion. The king rushes to the palace, the courtiers follow him. Henry and Christian appear. The princess and her lover are happy. And Christian announces that the holiday will still take place, because the power of love has overcome all obstacles and the lovers have united. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Тень Fairy Tale Play (1940) Strange adventures happened to a young scholar named Christian Theodore who came to a small southern country to study history. He settled in a hotel, in a room where the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen lived before him. (Perhaps this is the whole point?) The master's daughter Annunziata tells him about the unusual will of the last local king. In it, he ordered his daughter Louise not to marry the prince, but to find a kind, honest husband among the humble people. The will is considered a great secret, but the whole city knows about it. The princess, in order to fulfill her father's will, disappears from the palace. Many try to find her hiding place in the hope of gaining the royal throne. Listening to the story, Christian-Theodore is constantly distracted, because he looks at the balcony of the neighboring house, where a lovely girl appears every now and then. In the end, he decides to talk to her, and then even confesses his love and, it seems, finds a reciprocal feeling. When the girl leaves the balcony, Christian-Theodor guesses that the princess was his companion. He wants to continue the conversation, and he half-jokingly turns to his shadow lying at his feet, suggesting that she go instead of him to a stranger and tell about his love. Suddenly, the shadow separates and dives into the loosely closed door of the neighboring balcony. The scientist becomes ill. Annunziata, who runs in, notices that the guest no longer has a shadow, and this is a bad sign. She runs after the doctor. Her father Pietro advises not to tell anyone about what happened. But in the city everyone knows how to eavesdrop. So the journalist Caesar Borgia, who entered the room, discovers full awareness of the conversation between Christian Theodore and the girl. Both he and Pietro are sure that this is a princess, and do not want her to marry a visitor. According to Pietro, you need to find an escaped shadow, which, being the complete opposite of its owner, will help prevent the wedding. Annunziata is full of anxiety for the future of the young man, as she secretly already loves him. A meeting of two ministers takes place in the city park. They gossip about the Princess and the Scientist. They decide that he is not a blackmailer, not a thief and not a cunning one, but a simple naive person. But the actions of such people are unpredictable, so you have to either buy it or kill it. A stranger unexpectedly appears next to them (this is the Shadow), an oblique place! "Everyone sees that the Shadow gets up with difficulty, staggers and falls. Having come to his senses, the first minister orders the lackeys to carry away the king and calls the executioner to execute the Scientist. Christian is taken away. Annunziata begs Julia to do something to save him. She manages to awaken good feelings in the singer. Julia asks the Doctor to give her miraculous water, but the Doctor says that the Minister of Finance has seven locks on the water and it is impossible to get it. As soon as Shadow and Louise return to the throne room, drums are heard from afar: the execution has taken place. And suddenly Shadow's head flies off his shoulders. The First Minister understands that a mistake has occurred: they did not take into account that by cutting off the head of the Scientist, they will deprive him of his head and his shadow. To save the Shadow, you will have to resurrect the Scientist. Hastily sent for living water. The Shadow's head is back in place, but now the Shadow is trying to please his former master in everything, because he wants to live. Louise indignantly drives away the former fiancé. The shadow slowly descends from the throne and, wrapped in a mantle, presses against the wall. The princess orders the head of the guard: "Take him!" Shadow grabs the guards, but they have an empty robe in their hands - the Shadow disappears. “He disappeared to get in my way again and again. But I recognize him, I recognize him everywhere,” says Christian-Theodore. The princess begs for forgiveness, but Christian no longer loves her. He takes Annunziata's hand and they leave the palace. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva The Dragon Fairy Tale Play (1943) Spacious cozy kitchen. There is no one, only the Cat is warming by the flaming hearth. A passer-by, tired from the road, enters the house. This is Lancelot. He calls one of the owners, but there is no answer. Then he turns to the Cat and finds out that the owners - the archivist Charlemagne and his daughter Elsa - left the yard, and he, the Cat, is still trying to rest his soul, because there is great grief in the family. After persistent requests from Lancelot, the Cat tells: a disgusting Dragon settled over their city four hundred years ago, who every year chooses a girl for himself, takes her to his cave, and no one ever sees her again (according to rumors, all the victims die there from disgust). Now it's Elsa's turn. The returned hosts are very friendly with an unexpected guest. Both are calm, Elsa invites everyone to dinner. Lancelot is struck by their self-control, but it turns out that they simply resigned themselves to their fate. About two hundred years ago, someone fought the Dragon, but he killed all the daredevils. Tomorrow, as soon as the monster takes Elsa away, her father will also die. Lancelot's attempts to awaken in Charlemagne and his daughter the will to resist are futile. Then he announces that he is ready to kill the Dragon. There is a growing noise, a whistle and a howl. "Light in sight!" - says the Cat. An elderly man enters. Lancelot looks at the door, waiting for the monster to enter. And this is it - Charlemagne explains that sometimes the Dragon takes the form of a person. After a short conversation, Lancelot challenges him to a fight. The dragon turns purple and promises impudent immediate death. The archivist intervenes - he recalls that 382 years ago the Dragon signed a document according to which the day of the battle is appointed not by him, but by his rival. The dragon replies that he was a sentimental boy then, and now he is not going to pay attention to that document. The cat jumps out the window, promising to tell everyone everything. The dragon is indignant, but in the end agrees to fight tomorrow and leaves. Elsa assures Lancelot that he started everything in vain: she is not afraid to die. But Lancelot is adamant - the villain must be killed. At this time, the Cat runs in with a message that he has notified the familiar cats and all his kittens, who immediately spread the news of the upcoming fight throughout the city. The Burgomaster appears. He lashes out at Lancelot with reproaches and urges him to leave as soon as possible. The Burgomaster's son Heinrich (Elsa's former fiancé, and now the lackey and personal secretary of the Dragon), who entered after him, demands that he be left alone with the girl. He gives her the owner's order to kill Lancelot and hands her a poisoned knife for this. Elsa takes the knife, deciding that she will kill herself with it. Having met in the city square, the Burgomaster and his son discuss the upcoming events. Heinrich reports that his master is very nervous. He asks his father if he doubts the victory of the Dragon. The burgomaster guesses that this is a secret interrogation on behalf of the owner. In turn, he tries to find out from Heinrich whether the Dragon ordered to "quietly poke Mr. Lancelot", and, having not received a direct answer, stops the conversation. On the square, with false solemnity, the ceremony of handing weapons to the opponent of the Dragon takes place. In fact, he is offered a copper basin from the barber instead of a shield, handed a certificate that the spear is being repaired, and informed that no knightly armor was found in the warehouse. But the Cat, who has settled down on the fortress wall, tells Lancelot the good news in a whisper. His words are interrupted by howling and whistling, after which the Dragon appears. He orders Elsa to say goodbye to Lancelot, and then to kill him. She obeys. But - this is no longer a farewell, but an explanation of two lovers, and it ends with a kiss, and then Elsa throws a knife hanging from her belt into the well and no longer wants to listen to the Dragon. You have to fight, Dragon understands. And leaves. The cat draws Lancelot's attention to several drivers with a donkey. They give Lancelot a flying carpet and a cap of invisibility, as well as a sword and a spear. Putting on his hat, Lancelot disappears. The palace doors open. In the smoke and flames, three giant heads, huge paws and burning eyes of the Dragon are visible. He is looking for Lancelot, but he is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the sound of a sword is heard. One after another, the Dragon's heads fall into the square, crying out for help, but no one, not even the Burgomaster and Heinrich, pays any attention to them. When everyone leaves, Lancelot appears, leaning on a bent sword, holding a cap of invisibility. He is seriously wounded and mentally says goodbye to Elsa: death is already close. After the death of the Dragon, the Burgomaster seizes power. Now he is called the president of the free city, and the place of burgomaster went to his son. All the undesirables are thrown into prison. The townspeople, as before, in submission and obedience. The new ruler, having proclaimed himself the winner of the Dragon, is going to marry Elsa. But he is not afraid that Lancelot will return. He sends his son to talk to Elsa and find out if she has any news about Lancelot. When talking with Elsa, Heinrich is full of feigned sympathy, and Elsa, who believes in his sincerity, tells him everything she knows. Lancelot will not return. The cat found him wounded, put him on the back of a familiar donkey and led them out of the city into the mountains. On the way, the hero's heart stopped beating. The cat told the donkey to turn back so that Elsa could say goodbye to the deceased and bury him. But the donkey became stubborn and went on, and the Cat returned home. The burgomaster is delighted: now he has no one to be afraid of and he can have a wedding. Guests arrive, but the bride unexpectedly refuses to become the wife of the president of the free city. She addresses the audience, begging them to wake up: did the Dragon really not die, but embodied this time in a lot of people, really no one will stand up for her ?! At this time, Lancelot appears, who was cured by friends in the distant Black Mountains. The frightened Burgomaster tries to be kind to him, the guests hide under the table. Elsa does not immediately believe her eyes. Lancelot admits that he missed her very much, she - that she loves him more than before. Heinrich and the Burgomaster try to escape, but Lancelot stops them. For a whole month, he wandered around the city in an invisibility cap and saw what a terrible life people live who have lost the ability to resist evil. And it was done by those whom he freed from the Dragon a year ago! The burgomaster and Heinrich are taken to prison. Lancelot is ready for hard work - to kill the dragon in mutilated souls. But this is ahead, and now he takes Elsa by the hand and tells the music to play - the wedding will still take place today! V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Ordinary miracle Fairy Tale Play (1956) Manor in the Carpathian mountains. Here, having married and decided to settle down and take care of the household, a certain magician settled. He is in love with his wife and promises her to live "like everyone else", but the soul asks for something magical, and the owner of the estate is unable to resist "pranks". And now the Mistress guesses that her husband has started new miracles. It turns out that difficult guests are about to arrive at the house. The young man appears first. When asked by the Mistress what his name is, he answers: Bear. The magician, having informed his wife that it was because of the young man that amazing events would begin, admits that seven years ago he turned a young bear he met in the forest into a man. The hostess cannot stand it when “for their own amusement they torture animals,” and begs her husband to make the young man a bear again and set him free. It turns out that this is possible, but only if some princess falls in love with a young man and kisses him, the Mistress is sorry for the unknown girl, she is frightened by the dangerous game that her husband started. Meanwhile, the sound of a trumpet is heard announcing the arrival of new guests. It was the King passing by who suddenly wanted to turn into the estate. The owner warns that now they will see a rude and outrageous. However, the King who entered is at first polite and amiable. True, he soon breaks out a confession that he is a despot, vindictive and capricious. But twelve generations of ancestors are to blame for this ("all the monsters, one to one!"), Because of them, he, by nature, a good-natured and clever man, sometimes does things that even cry! After an unsuccessful attempt to treat the hosts with poisoned wine, the King, declaring the late uncle responsible for his trick, says that the Princess, his daughter, did not inherit the villainous family tendencies, she is kind and even softens his own cruel disposition. The host escorts the guest to the rooms designated for him. The Princess enters the house and runs into the Bear at the door. Sympathy immediately arises between young people. The princess is not accustomed to simple and cordial treatment, she likes to talk to the Bear. The sound of trumpets is heard - the royal retinue is approaching. The boy and girl run away holding hands. "Well, here comes the hurricane, love has come!" - says the Hostess, who heard their conversation. Courtiers appear. All of them: the First Minister, the First Cavalier Lady, and the maids of honor are scared to shiver by the Minister-Administrator, who, being able to please the King in everything, completely subjugated him, and keeps his retinue in a black body. Entered Administrator, looking into the notebook, calculates income. Having winked at the Mistress, he, without any preamble, appoints her a love date, but, having learned that her husband is a magician and can turn him into a rat, he apologizes, and takes out his anger on the courtiers who have appeared. Meanwhile, first the King and the Master enter the room, then the Princess and the Bear. Noticing the joy on his daughter's face, the King understands that the reason for this is a new acquaintance. He is ready to welcome the title to the young man and take him on a journey. The princess admits that the young man has become her best friend, she is ready to kiss him. But, realizing who she is, the Bear runs away in horror and despair. The princess is confused. She leaves the room. The King is going to execute the courtiers if none of them can give him advice on how to help the Princess. The executioner is ready. Suddenly the door swings open, the Princess appears in the doorway in a man's dress, with a sword and pistols. She orders to saddle the horse, says goodbye to her father and disappears. The sound of a horse is heard. The king rushes after him, ordering his retinue to follow him. "Well, are you satisfied?" - the Mistress asks her husband. "Very!" he answers. On a bad winter evening, the owner of the Emilia tavern sadly recalls the girl he once loved and after whom he named his establishment. He still dreams of meeting her. There is a knock on the door. The innkeeper lets in travelers covered with snow - this is the King and his retinue looking for his daughter. Meanwhile, the Princess is in this house. Disguised as a boy, she became an apprentice to a hunter who lives here. While the Innkeeper arranges for his guests to rest, the Bear appears. A little later, he meets the Princess, but does not recognize her in a man's suit. He says that he ran away from love for a girl who is very similar to a new acquaintance and, it seems to him, is also in love with him. The princess makes fun of the Bear. The outbreak of the dispute ends with a sword fight. Making a lunge, the young man knocks off his opponent's hat - braids fall, the masquerade is over. The girl is offended by the Bear and is ready to die, but to prove to him that he is indifferent to her. The bear wants to run again. But the house is covered with snow up to the very roof, it is impossible to get out. Meanwhile, the Innkeeper discovers that the First Cavalier Lady is the Emilia he had lost. There is an explanation and reconciliation. The king is happy that his daughter was found, but, seeing her sad, he demands that one of the courtiers go to console her. The lot falls to the Administrator, who is terribly afraid that the Princess will simply shoot him. However, he returns alive and, in addition, with unexpected news - the royal daughter has decided to marry him! Furious Bear immediately proposes to two ladies-in-waiting at once. The Princess appears in her wedding dress: the wedding is in an hour! The young man seeks permission to talk to her alone and reveals his secret to her: by the will of the wizard, he will turn into a bear as soon as he kisses her - this is the reason for his flight. The princess leaves in despair. Suddenly, music is heard, the windows swing open, behind them is not snow, but flowering meadows. The merry Boss bursts in, but his joy quickly fades: the expected miracle did not happen. "How dare you not kiss her?! - he asks the Bear. - You did not love the girl!" The owner leaves. Snow outside again. Completely depressed, the Bear turns to the hunter who entered with a question if he has a desire to kill the hundredth bear (he boasted that he had 99 killed bears on his account), because he would still find the Princess, kiss her and turn into a beast. After hesitating, the hunter agrees to take advantage of the "courtesy" of the young man. A year has passed. The innkeeper married his beloved Emilia. The bear disappeared no one knows where: the magician's spell does not let him go to the Princess. And the girl, because of unhappy love, fell ill and is about to die. All the courtiers are in deep sadness. Only the Administrator, although his wedding did not take place, became even richer and more impudent, and does not believe in death from love. The princess wants to say goodbye to her friends and asks to brighten up her last moments. Among those present and the Host with the Hostess. Footsteps are heard in the depths of the garden - the Bear still got here! The princess is glad and confesses that she loves and forgives him, let him turn into a bear, so long as he does not leave. She hugs and kisses the young man. ("Glory to the brave who dare to love, knowing that all this will come to an end," said the wizard a little earlier.) There is a clap of thunder, darkness reigns for a moment, then the light flashes, and everyone sees that the Bear has remained a man. The magician is delighted: a miracle has happened! To celebrate, he turns the annoying Administrator into a rat and is ready to perform new miracles "so as not to burst from excess strength." V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Valentin Petrovich Kataev (1897-1986) Wasteers Tale (1925-1926) Courier Nikita put a glass of tea in front of the chief accountant, Philip Stepanovich Prokhorov, but did not leave. He clearly wanted to talk. The newspapers were full of reports of embezzlement and embezzlers and their general flight from justice in Moscow. Even in the house on Myasnitskaya, where their office is located, five out of six institutions have already squandered their money. "We alone remained unspent on the whole house," Nikita concluded. Philip Stepanovich waved it off. He was distinguished by moderation and diligence in official affairs, and he had been engaged in accounting and financial activities since the end of the Russo-Japanese War. For all that, in his character there was, although almost imperceptible, an adventurous streak. There was also a harmless arrogance, born a long time ago, when he read in a high-society novel the phrase: "Count Guido jumped on his horse ..." At about three o'clock the chief accountant looked to the cashier Vanechka: tomorrow it will be necessary to pay salaries to the employees. I'll have to go to the bank and get twelve thousand. Nikita, hearing this, went for his colleagues. When they received the money, he demanded that the salary be paid to him and, by proxy, to the cleaner Sergeeva. It is convenient to do this in a quiet dining room around the corner. We drank beer and ate. Vanya ran for vodka, so that later the chief accountant did not want to part with the cashier and invited him to his house. Janinochka, the wife, greeted the revelers loaded with bags with desperate abuse. To the sound of a slap in the face and the squeal of his wife, Philip Stepanovich and Vanechka rushed out of the apartment, hired a cab and found themselves on Strastnaya Street, from where they went with the girls to the nearest rooms. The next morning, however, the friends woke up not in their rooms, but in a compartment of a train approaching Leningrad. Isabella said that Nikita, who suddenly appeared, bought the tickets, that Vanechkin's companion had fled to Klin, but in Leningrad he would find a new girlfriend. Locking themselves in the lavatory, the men counted the cash: three hundred thousand was gone. "What will happen?" - stunned Vanechka. The chief accountant, unexpectedly even for himself, winked: "Nothing will happen. Let's go and go." From the depths of memory emerged: "Count Guido jumped on a horse ..." In Leningrad they settled in the hotel "Hygiene". Isabella brought the girl promised to the cashier, bony, lazy and monstrously tall. The four of them were drinking, playing cards and roulette. Huge money gave a feeling of cheapness and availability of pleasures. However, I wanted to "explore" the city without companions. They managed to elude them and go in a cab along the Nevsky, to the Bronze Horseman, to the embankments, to the Winter ... Philip Stepanovich was shocked. Vanechka was tormented by the impatience to quickly "examine" the city and get acquainted with the former princesses. The driver took them to the "Bar", which is at the European hotel, from where, accompanied by an elegant young man, they left by car for "high society". In the blue living room of the mansion on Kamennoostrovsky there were generals in epaulettes, ladies, dignitaries, cavalry guards, girls in ball gowns. Emperor Nicholas II paced the blue carpet. He said hello and inquired: "Vodka? Beer? Champagne? Or right at nine?" Philip Stepanovich swayed and slowly said: "Very nice. I'm Count Guido with my cashier Vanechka." The cashier at that time was already getting to know the girl: "I'm sorry, princess?" - "With your permission - princess." ... Count Guido was rescued from the mansion by Isabella, who through her friends found out where her companions had been taken. Vanechka was not in the mansion. He went with the princess, traveled to restaurants for a long time. In the end, they stopped near a wooden house. The companion demanded money in advance and led him to the closet. Loud snoring could be heard from behind the cotton canopy. It was the poor, sick mother, the princess, who was sleeping. The girl demanded another hundred chervonets, but did not allow herself to reach herself: "Do not touch, first go to the bathhouse!" A guy in underpants came out from behind a cotton curtain and threw the cashier out into the street. At the Hygiene Hotel, a man who introduced himself as a representative of some Tsekhomkom lured the Muscovites to the provinces: if they were to investigate, then they were to investigate. A game of nine was started on the train, and the chief accountant would have blown into the smoke, but in the city of Kalinovo, Prokhorov and Vanechka escaped from the train. Thirty miles away was the native village of the cashier. Moonshine flowed like a river in the hut of the widow Klyukvina, who very soon, however, guessed where her son got the money from. The chairman of the village council turned out to be just as quick-witted. I had to run. We woke up on a train going nowhere. The neighbor was a solid-looking, unusually neat and courteous citizen - engineer Scholte. After listening to the complaints of friends about the lack of objects worthy of inspection both in Leningrad and in the provinces, he asked if they had a lot of money. Twelve thousand he called the amount for which you can explore half of the globe, including the Crimea and the Caucasus. It turned out that he, too, had been "examining" for four months. Scholte was very surprised that they had not seen anything. Right now it will be Kharkov, let them change to the train to the Mineralnye Vody and ... At the box office, friends discovered that there was no money even to return to Moscow. I had to sell my coat... In March, Filipp Stepanovich and Vanechka were taken out of the building of the provincial court under escort. Nikita, who happened to be nearby, Vanechka showed a spread five - five years. I. G. Zhivotovsky The lonely white sail grows white Tale (1936) The summer season ended, and Vasily Petrovich Bachey with his sons Petya and Pavlik returned to Odessa. For the last time, Petya took a look at the infinite expanse of sea, glowing with tender blueness. The lines came to mind: "The lonely sail turns white / In the fog of the blue sea ..." And yet, the main charm of the sea for a nine-year-old boy was not its picturesqueness, but its primordial mystery: phosphorescent glow, the hidden life of the depths, the eternal movement of waves ... The vision of a rebellious armadillo, several times appearing on the horizon, was also full of mystery. But now farewell to the sea is over. All three sat on the benches, and the stagecoach moved off. When ten versts were left to Akkerman, and solid vineyards were already stretching on both sides of the road, the passengers heard a rifle shot, and a minute later the back door of the stagecoach opened and the stocky man almost froze on the footboard. But then a horse-riding siding appeared ahead, and he quickly dived under the bench. Petya managed to notice the red naval boots and the anchor tattooed on his arm, like dad, he pretended that nothing had happened and turned away. Half an hour later, dad broke the silence: "It seems we are approaching ... There is not a soul on the road." There was a rustle, and immediately the door slammed... On the steamer "Turgenev" Petya, not finding suitable peers for acquaintance, began to observe a strange mustachioed passenger. The mustachioed man was obviously looking for someone and finally stopped in front of a man sleeping on the deck and covering his face with a cap. Petya was dumbfounded: the trouser legs pulled up revealed the reddishness of the naval boots, which two hours ago were peeking out from under the stagecoach bench. When they passed Langeron, the mustachioed man approached the sleeping man, took him by the sleeve: "Rodion Zhukov?" But he pushed the mustachioed, jumped on board and jumped into the water. ... It was evening when Gavrik and grandfather chose a line and leaned on the oars. The steamer "Turgenev" passed by quite recently. So, it's already about eight and we need to hurry. Suddenly, someone's hands grabbed the stern of the scow. When the grandfather and grandson dragged the swimmer into the boat, he almost fainted and barely said: "Don't show me to people. I'm a sailor." The next morning Gavrik got ready to visit Terenty, his elder brother. The sailor was obviously looking for. Near the shooting gallery, at a small coastal fair, a mustachioed gentleman in a bowler hat asked Iosif Karlovich if he had noticed anything suspicious last night. When he learned that Gavrik lived nearby, the mustachioed man began to question him too, but managed to achieve little. The boy, at nine years old, was reasonable and cautious. On the way to the Near Mills, Gavrik met Petya and invited him to visit his brother. Petya was strictly forbidden to go away so far and for so long, but he did not see Gavrik all summer, besides, he so wanted to tell about the incident on the Turgenev. Already at dusk, Terenty brought a frail young man in a pince-nez into the hut of his grandfather. Ilya Borisovich confirmed that he saw Rodion Zhukov at the coffin of Potemkin Vakulinchuk, and handed the sailor a bundle of clothes. Gavrik went to see if everything was calm. Around the corner, the boy was grabbed by the mustachioed man he already knew. Gavrik screamed. "Shut up, I'll kill you!" - the bastard jerked him by the ear. Three shadows rushed from the hut to the cliff, a shot rang out ... Enraged by the failure, the gendarmes interrogated the grandfather and took him to the station. Gavrik moved in with Terenty, wore parcels for his grandfather, and was very worried when he learned that his grandfather was beaten every day. The depot where his brother worked was on strike, and Gavrik tried to make money as much as he could. A good income was brought by the game of ears. Petya was also carried away by the ears, but he was too reckless, impatient and lost even what he borrowed. The desire to win back, disastrous for any player, dragged him into the abyss. He tore out the buttons of his father's uniform with meat and fell to the point that he first took the change left by the cook Dunya from the sideboard, and then stole the money he collected for a bicycle from Pavlik's piggy bank. But he lost even that, so one day Gavrik announced that he did not want to wait any longer and that Petya was going into slavery until he got even. Meanwhile, in the city, several quarters were cordoned off by troops, and shooting was heard. Once Gavrik told Petya to bring a knapsack and not to forget to take a gymnasium ticket. He loaded a satchel with heavy ear pouches and they set out for areas cordoned off by soldiers. Then the ears were taken already on Malaya Arnautskaya, from the owner of the shooting gallery, Joseph Karlovich, and they made their way through the yards to the house with a noisy yard-well. At Gavrik's whistle, a man descended and took away the "goods *." Petya now understood well what kind of ears they were. He had to make the last flight alone: at the cordon, a mustachioed man, memorable to both boys, was walking around. In the well-known yard, at his desperate cry (he never learned to whistle), a man looked out and called him upstairs. It was a runaway Potemkin sailor, although now his beard and mustache made it difficult to recognize him. Terenty entered the kitchen. At home, the boy was waiting for new tests. There were massacres in the city. The Kogan family came to seek asylum, and the Bachei hid them in the back rooms. When a crowd of pogromists entered the entrance, dad met them: "Who gave you the right ..." They grabbed him, hit him, and if it were not for the appearance of Dunya with an icon in his hands, things would have taken a bad turn. Gavrik showed up on New Year's Eve: "Get off, and we'll be in the calculation." He handed over four familiar heavy bags. Petya barely had time to hide them in his satchel, when dad burst into the nursery with a mutilated uniform, Pavlik flew in behind him with a roar: Petka robbed him! Dad's face changed: he knows what's going on. The son gambles, in these, as they say, pigs, ears ... Breaking the satchel, he took out the bags and threw them into the blazing stove. Petya shouted: "Tick!" - and fainted. He was ill all winter, and only after Pascha did he go to Gavrik's. Grandfather died, the family of the hiding Terenty now lived in a hut. Pete was delighted and invited to May Day. The day was great. Friends sat on the oars, Terenty settled down at the stern. At the Small Fountain, a gentleman in a blue suit, cream-colored trousers, green socks and white shoes jumped into the scow. A straw boater hat, cane, and gloves completed his dressing. It was a sailor. He looked back at the shore and winked at the rowers. Fishermen have already gathered far out to sea to listen to the Potemkin man's speech. After the May Day, the boys, having circled for two hours, landed Rodion Zhukov on Lanzheron, where he immediately mingled with the crowd. A week later, Gavrik again called Petya to the sea, already under sail. We quickly reached the Big Fountain. There Gavrik told Petya to go up the cliff and, as soon as the cab appeared, to wave his handkerchief. The sailor was arrested, but the committee prepared to blow up the prison wall so that Rodion could escape during the walk. On a scow under sail, he will go to Romania. ... Long minutes of waiting, and then a cab appeared at the end of the alley. Petya waved his handkerchief and saw Gavrik animated below. Terenty and the sailor fled to the scow. A minute later, the sail was filled with wind, and a little later, as it moved away, it began to decrease, but for a long time it remained white in the blue expanse of the sea. I. G. Zhivotovsky My diamond crown Autobiographical prose (1975-1977) This book is not a novel, not a story, not a lyrical diary and not a memoir. Chronological connections are replaced here by associative ones, and the search for beauty - the search for authenticity, no matter how bad it may seem. This is Movism (from "move" - bad). This is a free flight of fantasy generated by true events. Therefore, almost no one is named here by his own name, and the pseudonym will be written with a small letter, except for the Commander. My acquaintance with the key (Yu. Olesha) took place when I was seventeen, he was fifteen, later we became the closest friends, belonged to the same literary environment. Eskess, the bird-catcher, brother, friend, cavalryman - all of them are also Odessans, together with the blue-eyed Kievan and the crooked-legged Chernigovite, entered the encyclopedias and almost all of them - in the anthology. I met the bird-catcher (Eduard Bagritsky) at a meeting of young poets, where the critic Pyotr Pilsky chose the best and then paraded around summer theaters. Next to him on the jury was always the poet Eskesse (Semyon Kesselman), invariably ironic and merciless in poetic assessments. Ptitselov was one of the elite of Odessa poets, his poems seemed inaccessible to me. They were both tasteless and incomprehensibly beautiful. He looked strong, had a gladiatorial appearance, and only later did I learn that he suffered from asthma. It was possible to get him to Moscow only after the civil war. He was already married to the widow of a military doctor, lived as a literary day laborer, sat all day in his hut on a Turkish mattress, coughed, choked, burned anti-asthma powder. I don’t remember how I once managed to lure him out on a yacht into the sea, to which he tried not to come closer than twenty steps. He wanted to be both a smuggler, and a security officer, and Whittington, whom a gentle voice called to come back. At the origins of our poetry, there was almost always a little-known love drama - the collapse of first love, betrayal. The bird-catcher's youthful love once betrayed him with a half-drunk officer... The wound did not heal all his life. The same thing happened with the key and with me. Mutual envy tied us to each other all our lives, and I was a witness to many episodes of his life. The key once told me that he does not know a stronger engine than envy. I saw an even more powerful force - love, and unrequited. A pretty blue-eyed girl became a friend of the key. In moments of tenderness, he called her friend, and she called him an elephant. For her sake, the key refused to go with his parents to Poland and remained in Russia. But one day, my friend announced that she was married. The key will remain the very best for her, but she is tired of starving, and Mack (new husband) serves in the regional food committee. I went to Mac and announced that I had come for my friend. She explained to him that she loved the key and should return immediately, that's just to pack her things. Yes, she dispelled my bewilderment, now she has things. And groceries, she added, returning with two bundles. However, some time later, she appeared in my room in Mylnikov Lane, accompanied by someone whom I will call shaky (Vl. Narbut). Once he led the Odessa branch of ROSTA. After the civil war, he limped, he was missing a left hand, as a result of a shell shock he stuttered. He kept the employees in tight rein. For all that, he was a poet, known even before the revolution, a friend of Akhmatova and Gumilyov. Almost on the day of arrival in Moscow, the little key again appeared in my room and, with tears in her eyes, kissed her elephant. But soon there was a knock. I went out, and the shaky-legged man asked me to tell him that if my friend did not return immediately, he would shoot himself in the temple. With tears in her eyes, the little friend said goodbye to the key (now forever) and went out to the rickety. Soon I took the key to the editorial office of Gudok. What are you good at? What do you need? - was the answer. And indeed. The chisel (a pseudonym for the key in "Beep") almost eclipsed the glory of Demyan Bedny, and our feuilletons with the blue-eyed (M. Bulgakov) definitely drowned in the radiance of his glory. Soon in the editorial office appeared the one whom I will call a friend (I. Ilf). He was taken on as an editor. From illiterate and tongue-tied letters, he created a kind of prose epigrams, simple, full of humor. Ahead, however, he was waiting for worldwide fame. My younger brother, who served in the Odessa Criminal Department, came to Moscow and got a job as a guard in Butyrka. I was horrified and forced him to write. Soon he began to decently earn feuilletons. I suggested to him and a friend a story about finding diamonds hidden in the upholstery of chairs. My co-authors not only developed the plot perfectly, but invented a new character - Ostap Bender. The prototype of Ostap was the brother of a young Odessa poet, who served in the criminal investigation department and greatly annoyed the bandits. They decided to kill him, but the killer confused the brothers and shot the poet. The brother of the victim found out where the killers were hiding and went there. Who killed the brother? One of those present confessed to the mistake: he did not know then that he had a famous poet in front of him, and now he asks to forgive him. Ostap spent the whole night among these people. They drank alcohol and read the poems of the murdered, the bird-catcher, wept and kissed. The next morning he left and continued to fight the bandits. World fame came to the blue-eyed. Unlike us, desperate bohemians, he was a family man, positive, with principles, he was conservative and could not stand the Commander (V. Mayakovsky), Meyerhold, Tatlin. There was an almost imperceptible touch of provincialism in him. When he became famous, he put on a bow tie, bought button-down shoes, put a monocle in his eye, divorced his wife and then married Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya. Then came the third wife - Elena. We were related to him by love for Gogol. Of course, we southerners were not limited to our own circle. I was quite well acquainted with the prince (S. Yesenin), I was a witness to his poetic triumphs and ugly debauches. My life flowed more or less alongside the life of the Commander, colleague (N. Aseev), mulatto (B. Pasternak). The great chairman of the globe (V. Khlebnikov) spent several days with me in Mylnikovo. Fate brought me together more than once with a grasshopper (O. Mandelstam), a staff captain (M. Zoshchenko), a harlequin (A. Kruchenykh), a horseman (I. Babel), a plumber’s son (V. Kazin), a mountaineer (N. Tikhonov ) and others, now gone from life, but not gone from memory, from literature, from history. I. G. Zhivotovsky Already written by Werther Tale (1979) ... He is sleeping, and he sees that he is at a summer cottage and he needs to cross the canvas on which the train stopped. You need to go up, go through the vestibule, and you will find yourself on the other side. However, he finds that there is no other door, and the train starts and picks up speed, jumping late, and the train takes him further and further. He is in the space of a dream and little by little, as if beginning to recall what he meets on the way: this tall building, and a flower bed of petunias, and an ominous, dark brick garage. At the gate stands a man waving a Mauser. This is Naum Fearless watching how the former pre-guberk Max Markin, the former head of the department, nicknamed the Angel of Death, the Right Socialist-Revolutionary Seraphim Los and the female secretary Inga undress before entering the darkness of the garage and disappearing into it. This vision is replaced by others. His mother, Larisa Germanovna, is at the head of the table during a Sunday dinner on the terrace of a wealthy dacha, and he, Dima, is in the center of attention of the guests, before whom his father praises the work of his son, a born painter. ... And here he is, already in red Odessa. Wrangel is still in the Crimea. White Poles near Kyiv. A former cadet artilleryman, Dima works in Isogita, painting posters and slogans. Like other employees, he eats lunch in the dining room on cards with Inga. A few days ago, they briefly went to the registry office and left husband and wife. When they were already finishing dinner, two men with a revolver and a Mauser came up behind him and ordered him to go out without noise into the street without turning around and led him straight along the pavement to a seven-story building, in the courtyard of which there was a garage made of dark brick. Dima's thought raced feverishly. Why did they take only him? What do they know? Yes, he handed over the letter, but he might not have had any idea of its contents. He did not participate in meetings at the lighthouse, only attended, and then only once. Why didn't they take Inga anyway? ... An unnatural silence and desertion dominated the seven-story building. Only on the landing of the sixth floor did the escort come across with a girl in a gymnasium dress: the first beauty in the city, Vengrzhanovskaya, taken along with her brother, a participant in the Polish-English conspiracy. ... The investigator said that everyone who was at the lighthouse was already in the basement, and forced them to sign a ready-made protocol so as not to waste time. At night, Dima heard constipation thundering and shouting out names: Prokudin! Von Diderichs! Vengrzhanovskaya! He remembered that at the garage they were forced to undress, not separating men from women ... Larisa Germanovna, having learned about the arrest of her son, rushed to the former Socialist-Revolutionary named Seraphim Los. Once they, together with the current pre-gubchek, also a former Socialist-Revolutionary, Max Markin, fled from exile. Moose managed, in the name of old friendship, to beg him to "give him the life of this boy." Markin promised and summoned the Angel of Death. "The shot will go into the wall," he said, "and we'll show the junker as being expended." In the morning, Larisa Germanovna found Dimino's name in the newspaper in the list of the executed. She again ran to Elk, and Dima, meanwhile, came to the apartment where they lived with Inga by another way. "Who let you out?" she asked her returning husband. Markin! She thought so. He is a former Left SR. Contra crawled into the organs! But let's see who wins. Only now Dima understood who was in front of him and why the investigator was so well informed. Inga, meanwhile, went to the most luxurious hotel in the city, where Trotsky's authorized representative Naum Fearless, who had once killed the German ambassador Mirbach, lived in a suite in order to disrupt the Brest Peace. Then he was a Left Socialist-Revolutionary, now a Trotskyist, in love with Lev Davydovich. "Citizen Lazareva! You are under arrest," he suddenly uttered, and, not having time to recover from surprise and horror, Inga ended up in the basement. Dima, meanwhile, came to his mother at the dacha, but found her dead. The doctor, called in by the neighbor, could no longer help, except for the advice to immediately hide, even to Romania. And now he's an old man. He lies on a straw mattress in the camp infirmary, choking with a cough, with pink foam on his lips. Pictures and visions pass in the fading consciousness. Among them is again a flower bed, a garage, Naum the Fearless, who affirms the world revolution with fire and sword, and four naked ones: three men and a woman with slightly short legs and a well-developed pelvis ... It is difficult for a man with a Mauser to imagine himself crawling on his knees in the basement of a building on Lubyanka Square and kissing the cream-polished boots of the people around him. Nevertheless, he was later caught red-handed while crossing the border with a letter from Trotsky to Radek. He was pushed into the basement, placed facing a brick wall. Red dust rained down, and he disappeared from life. "Probably, you will not flinch, sweeping away a person. Well, martyrs of dogma, you, too, are the victims of the age," as the poet said. I. G. Zhivotovsky Anatoly Borisovich Mariengof (1897-1962) Cynics Roman (1928) In 1918, Vladimir brings a bouquet of asters to his beloved Olga. At this time, mainly flour and millet are given to loved ones, and bags, like corpses, lie under beds made of Karelian birch. Tinting her lips with a golden Guerlain pencil, Olga asks her boyfriend if it can happen that in Moscow it will be impossible to get French lip paint. She wonders: how then to live? Confectionery shops are being destroyed in Stoleshnikov Lane, signs from "bourgeois" shops are being ripped off on Kuznetsky Most: they will now give out shag on cards. Olga's parents emigrated, advising their daughter to marry a Bolshevik in order to keep the apartment. Olga is surprised at the strangeness of the revolution: instead of putting a guillotine on the Execution Ground, the Bolsheviks banned the sale of ice cream ... She earns money for a living by selling her jewelry. Olga's brother, a nineteen-year-old dear young man Goga, leaves for the Don, for the White Army. He loves his homeland and is happy to give his life for it. Olga explains Gogino's behavior by the fact that he did not finish high school. Vladimir once came to Moscow from Penza. Now, in the revolution, he lives by selling rare books from his library. His older brother Sergei is a Bolshevik. He manages water transport (being an archaeologist) and lives in the "Metropol". He dine on two potatoes fried in the chef's imagination. Vladimir tells his brother that happy love is more important than the socialist revolution. Coming to Olga, Vladimir finds her lying on the couch. To his alarmed inquiries about his state of health and an offer to read the Satyricon aloud to her, Olga Petronia replies that she had constipation, and asks for a clyster. Vladimir no longer asks himself if he loves Olga: he understands that love that has not been suffocated by a rubber gut from an enema is immortal. At night he cries for love. Revolutionary life continues. In Vologda, a meeting of communists passed a resolution that it was necessary to destroy the bourgeois class and thus rid the world of parasites. Vladimir proposes to Olga, and she accepts it, explaining that it will be warmer to sleep together in winter. Vladimir moves in with Olga, leaving the furniture in his former apartment: the house committee forbids him to take a bed with him, because, according to the laws of the revolution, a husband and wife should sleep in the same bed. On the first night, Olga tells him that she married him by calculation, but it turned out - out of love. At night, Vladimir wanders the street, having lost sleep from happiness and from love for Olga. He is ready to ring the bells so that the whole city knows about such a great event as his love. Olga declares that she wants to work for the Soviet government. Vladimir brings her to his brother Sergei. Since it turns out that Olga knows nothing, Sergey arranges for her a responsible position. Olga forms propaganda trains, she has a personal secretary, comrade Mamashev. Sergei often comes to Vladimir and Olga: he drinks tea, looks at photographs of the White Guard Goga. Brother Sergei, with his kind blue eyes, seems mysterious to Vladimir, like a dark bottle of wine. One day, after coming home from work, Olga casually informs her husband that she cheated on him. It seems to Vladimir that his throat has become a narrow broken straw. However, he calmly asks his wife to take a bath. Vladimir wants to throw himself off the seventh floor. But, looking down, he notices that he will fall on a pile of garbage. He becomes disgusted, and he abandons his intention. He inherited squeamishness from an Old Believer grandmother. Olga's lover is Vladimir's brother Sergei. Often she goes to him from the service, having warned her husband that she is spending the night at the Metropol. From grief, Vladimir drinks, then converges with his servant Marfusha. Sergei gives Vladimir a note to Lunacharsky, according to which he is taken back to Privatdozent. Sergei himself, in his own saloon car, leaves the former tsarist train for the front. Olga and Vladimir buy warm socks for him at Sukharevka. Famine is raging in Russia, cases of cannibalism are becoming more frequent in the villages. In Moscow - NEP. Olga learns from Sergey's letter that he shot her brother Goga. Soon Sergei returns from the front due to a shell shock. Olga gets herself a new lover - a wealthy NEPman Ilya Petrovich Dokuchaev, a former peasant in the village of Tyrkovka. It seems interesting to her to give herself to him for fifteen thousand dollars, which, however, she refers to the committee for helping the hungry. In 1917, Dokuchaev speculated in products, diamonds, manufactory, drugs. Now he is a tenant of a textile factory, a supplier to the Red Army, a stock trader, and the owner of several luxury stores in Moscow. Ilya Petrovich is "quite interested in hunger" as an unusual commercial prospect. His constantly pregnant wife lives in the countryside. When she arrives, Dokuchaev beats her. Having become Dokuchaev's mistress, Olga leads a luxurious life. She spends the money that Dokuchaev gives her without saving for a rainy day. Vladimir remains her husband, and Sergei remains her lover. One day, Dokuchaev boasts to Vladimir of a successful trade fraud. Vladimir tells Sergey about this, he tells him where to go. Dokuchaev is arrested. After hearing the news of his arrest, Olga continues to feast on her favorite "drunk cherry" sweets donated by Dokuchaev. Sergei is expelled from the party. Olga does not want to see him. She does not read Dokuchaev's letters from the camp. At night, she silently lies on the couch and smokes. A friend and colleague of Vladimir who accidentally came to visit says: “You call everything in your own words ... the inside is out ... and all sorts of other dimensions are out ... look at that, you will show your bare asses - and it’s cold! And sadness ... " Olga tells Vladimir that she is conceited and what she wants at least believe in something. Looking into Olga's empty and sad eyes, Vladimir recalls a story about a bandit who was a motherfucker. When asked why he was in jail, he replied: because he misunderstood the revolution. Vladimir understands that his love for Olga is worse than madness. He begins to think about Olga's death and is frightened by his own thoughts. One day, Olga calls Vladimir at the university where he works and informs him that he will shoot himself in five minutes. Angry, he wishes her a happy journey, and a minute later he rushes in a cab around Moscow, begging for time to stop and blaming himself for ruining love with buffoonery. Running into the apartment, Vladimir finds Olga in bed. She eats candy, next to the browning is a box of "drunk cherries". Olga smiles, Vladimir sighs with relief, but immediately sees that the bed is soaked with blood. The bullet got stuck in Olga's spine. The operation is done without chloroform. Olga's last words that Vladimir hears: "It's just a little disgusting for me to lie with unsmeared lips ..." Olga died, and on earth, as if nothing had happened. T. A. Sotnikova Ilya Ilf (1897-1937). Evgeny Petrov (1902-1942) The twelve Chairs Roman (1928) On Good Friday, April 15, 1927, the mother-in-law of Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, the former leader of the nobility, dies in the city of N. Before her death, she informs him that in one of the chairs of the living room set, which remained in Stargorod, from where they fled after the revolution, she sewed all the family jewels. Vorobyaninov urgently leaves for his hometown. Priest Fyodor Vostrikov, who confessed the old woman and learned about the jewels, also goes there. At about the same time, a young man of about twenty-eight in a green waist-length suit, with a scarf and an astrolabe in his hands, the son of a Turkish citizen Ostap Bender, enters Stargorod. By chance, he stops to spend the night in the janitor of the Vorobyaninov mansion, where he meets with his former owner. The latter decides to take Bender as his assistant, and something like a concession is concluded between them. The hunt for chairs begins. The first one is stored here, in the mansion, which is now the "2nd house of the socialist". The manager of the house Alexander Yakovlevich (Alkhen), a shy thief, arranged a bunch of his relatives in the house, one of whom sold this chair for three rubles to an unknown person. It turns out to be just Father Fedor, with whom Vorobyaninov enters into a fight for a chair on the street. The chair is broken. There are no jewels in it, but it becomes clear that Vorobyaninov and Ostap have a competitor. Companions move to the Sorbonne Hotel. On the outskirts of the city, Bender searches for the archivist Korobeinikov, who keeps at his home all the warrants for the furniture nationalized by the new government, including the former Vorobyaninovsky walnut set by the master Gambs. It turned out that one chair was given to the war invalid Gritsatsuev, and ten were transferred to the Moscow Museum of Furniture. The archivist deceives Father Fyodor, who came after Bender, by selling him warrants for the suite of General's Popova, which had been handed over to engineer Bruns. On May Day in Stargorod, the first tram line is launched. Accidentally recognized Vorobyaninov is invited to dinner with his longtime mistress Elena Stanislavovna Bour, who now moonlights as fortune-telling. Bender gives out his partner to the “former” gathered for dinner as “a giant of thought, the father of Russian democracy and a person close to the emperor” and calls for the creation of an underground “Union of the sword and plowshare”. Five hundred rubles are collected for the future needs of the secret society. The next day, Bender marries the widow Gritsatsuyeva, "a sultry woman and a poet's dream," and leaves her on their wedding night, taking other things besides the chair. The chair is empty, and he and Vorobyaninov leave in search of Moscow. The concessionaires stay in a student hostel with Bender's acquaintances. There, Vorobyaninov falls in love with the young wife of the draftsman Kolya, Lisa, who quarrels with her husband about forced, due to lack of funds, vegetarianism. Accidentally finding herself in the museum of furniture craftsmanship, Liza meets our heroes there, looking for their chairs. It turns out that the desired set, which has lain in the warehouse for seven years, will be put up for auction tomorrow in the Petrovsky Passage building. Vorobyaninov appoints Lisa a date. For half the amount received from the Stargorod conspirators, he takes the girl in a cab to the cinema "Ars", and then to "Prague", now the "exemplary dining room MSPO", where he shamefully gets drunk and, having lost a lady, ends up in the morning at the police station with twelve rubles in the pocket. At the auction, Bender wins at two hundred. He has so much money, but he still has to pay thirty rubles of commission. It turns out that Vorobyaninov has no money. The couple is taken out of the hall, the chairs are put on sale by retail. Bender hires local homeless children for a ruble to follow the fate of the chairs. Four chairs end up in the Columbus Theater, two were taken away in a cab by a "chic chmara", one chair is bought in front of their eyes by a bleating and waggling citizen who lives on Sadovo-Spasskaya, the eighth ends up in the editorial office of the Stanok newspaper, the ninth in the apartment near Chistye Prudy, and the tenth disappears in the goods yard of the Oktyabrsky railway station. A new round of searches begins. The "chic chmara" turns out to be the "cannibal" Ellochka, the wife of the engineer Shchukin. Ellochka managed thirty words and dreamed of plugging the daughter of the billionaire Vanderbildsha into her belt. Bender easily exchanges one of her chairs for Madame Gritsatsuyeva's stolen strainer, but the bad luck is that engineer Shchukin, unable to bear his wife's expenses, moved out the day before, taking the second chair. An engineer living with a friend takes a shower, imprudently goes, soaped, onto the landing, the door slams shut, and when Bender appears, water is already pouring down the stairs. The chair that opened the door to the great strategist was given almost with tears of gratitude. Vorobyaninov's attempt to take over the chair of the "bleating citizen", who turned out to be a professional humorist Absalom Iznurenkov, ends in failure. Then Bender, posing as a bailiff, takes away the chair himself. In the endless corridors of the House of Peoples, in which the editorial office of the Stanok newspaper is located, Bender comes across Madame Gritsatsueva, who has come to Moscow to look for her husband, whom she learned about from a random note. In pursuit of Bender, she gets entangled in numerous corridors and leaves for Stargorod with nothing. In the meantime, all members of the "Union of the Sword and Plowshare" were arrested, who distributed among themselves places in the future government, and then in fear denounced each other. Having opened a chair in the office of the editor of "Stank", Ostap Bender gets to the chair in the apartment of the poet Nikifor Lyapis-Trubetskoy. There remains a chair that disappeared in the goods yard of the Oktyabrsky railway station, and four chairs of the theater of Columbus, who is leaving on a tour of the country. Having visited the day before the premiere of Gogol's "Marriage", staged in the spirit of constructivism, the accomplices are convinced that there are chairs and set off after the theater. First, they pretend to be artists and get on a ship that is going along with the actors to agitate the population to buy bonds of a winning loan. In one chair stolen from the director's cabin, the concessionaires find a box, but it contains only the name plate of Master Gumbs. In Vasyuki they are driven off the ship for a badly made banner. There, posing as a grandmaster, Bender gives a lecture on "a fruitful opening idea" and a session of simultaneous chess. In front of the shocked Vasyukinites, he develops a plan for transforming the city into a world center of chess thought, into New Moscow - the capital of the country, the world, and then, when a method of interplanetary communication is invented, the universe. Playing chess for the second time in his life, Bender loses all the games and flees from the city in a boat prepared in advance by Vorobyaninov, overturning the barge with his pursuers. Catching up with the theater, the accomplices end up in early July in Stalingrad, from there to Mineralnye Vody and, finally, to Pyatigorsk, where fitter Mechnikov agrees to steal what he needs for twenty: "in the morning - money, in the evening - chairs or in the evening - money, in the morning - chairs." To get money, Kisa Vorobyaninov begs for alms as a former member of the State Duma from the Cadets, and Ostap collects money from tourists for entering Proval, a Pyatigorsk landmark. At the same time, the former owners of chairs come to Pyatigorsk: the humorist Iznurenkov, the cannibal Ellochka with her husband, the thief Alkhen with his wife Sashkhen from the social security. The fitter brings the promised chairs, but only two of the three, which are opened (to no avail!) on the top of Mount Mashuk. Meanwhile, the deceived father Fyodor travels around the country in search of chairs engineer Bruns. First to Kharkov, from there to Rostov, then to Baku, and finally to a dacha near Batum, where he asks Bruns on his knees to sell him chairs. His wife sells everything she can and sends money to Father Fyodor. Having bought chairs and cut them on the nearest beach, Father Fyodor, to his horror, finds nothing. The Columbus Theater takes the last chair to Tiflis. Bender and Vorobyaninov go to Vladikavkaz, and from there they go on foot to Tiflis along the Georgian Military Highway, where they meet the unfortunate father Fedor. Fleeing from the pursuit of competitors, he climbs a rock from which he cannot get off, goes crazy there, and ten days later Vladikavkaz firefighters remove him from there to take him to a psychiatric hospital. The concessionaires finally reach Tiflis, where they find one of the members of the "Union of the Sword and Plowshare" Kislyarsky, from whom they "borrow" five hundred rubles to save the life of the "father of Russian democracy." Kislyarsky flees to the Crimea, but his friends, having drunk for a week, set off after the theatre. September. Having made their way to the theater in Yalta, the accomplices are already ready to open the last of the theater chairs, when it suddenly "jumps" to the side: the famous Crimean earthquake of 1927 begins. Still, having opened the chair, Bender and Vorobyaninov do not find anything in it. The last chair remains, sunk in the goods yard of the Oktyabrsky railway station in Moscow. At the end of October, Bender finds him at the new railroad club. After a joking bargain with Vorobyaninov for interest on future capital, Ostap falls asleep, and Ippolit Matveyevich, somewhat damaged in his mind after half a year of searching, cuts his throat with a razor. Then he sneaks into the club and opens the last chair there. There are no diamonds in it. The watchman says that in the spring he accidentally found treasures hidden by the bourgeoisie in a chair. It turns out that, to everyone's happiness, a new club building was built with this money. I. L. Shevelev Golden calf Roman (1931) Late spring or early summer 1930. A citizen posing as the son of Lieutenant Schmidt enters the office of the Arbatov executive committee and, for this reason, needs financial assistance. This is Ostap Bender, saved by a surgeon from death after Kisa Vorobyaninov, the hero of the novel "The Twelve Chairs", slashed his throat with a razor. After receiving some money and food stamps, Bender sees that another young man enters the office, also introducing himself as the son of Lieutenant Schmidt. The delicate situation is resolved by the fact that the "brothers" recognize each other. Coming out onto the porch, they see that another "son of Lieutenant Schmidt" is approaching the building - Panikovsky, already an elderly citizen in a straw hat, short trousers and with a gold tooth in his mouth. Panikovsky is thrown into the dust in disgrace. As it turns out, for the cause, because two years before that, all the "sons of Lieutenant Schmidt" divided the whole country into operational areas on Sukharevka, and Panikovsky simply invaded someone else's territory. Ostap Bender tells his "milk brother" Shura Balaganov about a dream: to take five hundred thousand at once on a silver platter and go to Rio de Janeiro. "Since some banknotes are roaming around the country, there must be people who have a lot of them." Balaganov calls the name of the underground Soviet millionaire living in the city of Chernomorsk - Koreiko. Having met Adam Kozlevich, the owner of the only Loren-Dietrich car in Arbatov, renamed by Bender into "Antelope-Gnu", young people take him with them, and on the way they pick up Panikovsky, who stole a goose and escapes from his pursuers. Travelers get on the rally route, where they are taken for participants and solemnly welcomed as the lead car. In the city of Udoev, a thousand kilometers away from Chernomorsk, they will have lunch and a rally. Bender takes two hundred rubles from two Americans stuck on a country road for a recipe for moonshine, which they are looking for in the villages. Only in Luchansk the impostors are exposed by a telegram that has arrived there, demanding to detain the swindlers. Soon they are overtaken by a column of rally participants. In a nearby town, a wanted green Wildebeest is repainted egg yellow. In the same place, Ostap Bender promises to heal the monarchist Khvorobyev, suffering from Soviet dreams, rescuing him, according to Freud, from the primary source of the disease - Soviet power. The secret millionaire Alexander Ivanovich Koreiko was the most insignificant employee of the financial and accounting department of a certain institution called "Hercules". No one suspected that he, who receives forty-six rubles a month, had a suitcase with ten million rubles in foreign currency and Soviet banknotes in the storage room at the station. For some time now, he feels someone's close attention behind him. That beggar with a gold tooth impudently pursues him, muttering: "Give me a million, give me a million!" Either crazy telegrams are sent, or a book about American millionaires. Dining at the old man Sinitsky's puzzle shop, Koreiko is unrequitedly in love with his granddaughter Zosya. One day, walking with her late in the evening, he is attacked by Panikovsky and Balaganov, who steals from him an iron box with ten thousand rubles. A day later, putting on a police cap with the coat of arms of the city of Kyiv, Bender goes to Koreiko to give him a box of money, but he refuses to accept it, saying that no one robbed him and he had nowhere to get such money from. According to a newspaper advertisement, Bender moves to one of the two rooms of Vasisualy Lokhankin, from whom his wife Varvara left for the engineer Ptiburdukov. Because of the squabbles and scandals of the residents of this communal apartment, she was called "Crow Slobidka". When Ostap Bender appears in it for the first time, Lokhankin is being flogged in the kitchen for not putting out the light behind him in the restroom. The great strategist Bender opens an office for the preparation of horns and hooves for ten thousand stolen from Koreiko. Fuchs becomes the formal head of the institution, whose job is that under any regime he sits for other people's bankruptcies. Finding out the origin of Koreiko's wealth, Bender interrogates the accountant Berlaga and other leaders of Hercules. He travels to Koreiko's places of work and eventually writes up a detailed biography of Koreiko, which he wants to sell to him for a million. Not trusting the commander, Panikovsky and Balaganov enter Koreiko's apartment and steal large black weights from him, thinking that they are made of gold. The driver of the "Antelope-Gnu" Kozlevich is seduced by the priests, and Bender's intervention and a dispute with the priests are required for Kozlevich to return to the "Horns and Hooves" together with the car. Bender ends the indictment in the Koreiko case. He uncovered the kidnapping of a train with food, and the creation of fake artels, and the ruined power plant, and speculation in currency and furs, and the establishment of exaggerated joint-stock companies. The inconspicuous clerk Koreiko was also the actual head of Hercules, through which he pumped out huge sums. All night Ostap Bender blames Koreiko. Morning comes, and they go together to the station, where there is a suitcase with millions to give Bender one of them. At this time, a training anti-chemical alarm begins in the city. Koreiko, suddenly wearing a gas mask, becomes indistinguishable in a crowd of his kind. Bender, despite resistance, is carried on a stretcher to a gas shelter, where, by the way, he meets Zosya Sinitskaya, the beloved girl of an underground millionaire. So, Koreiko disappeared in an unknown direction. In "Horns and Hooves" the revision arrives and takes Fuchs to prison. At night, Voronya Slobidka, where the companions live, burns down: the tenants, except for Lokhankin and the old woman, who does not believe in electricity or insurance, insured their property and set fire to the dwelling themselves. Of the ten thousand stolen from Koreiko, there is practically nothing left. With the last money, Bender buys a large bouquet of roses and sends it to Zosia. Having received three hundred rubles for the script "The Neck" that had just been written and already lost at the film factory, Bender buys gifts for his comrades and looks after Zosya with style. Unexpectedly, she tells Ostap that she received a letter from Koreiko from the construction of the Eastern Highway, where he works in the Northern laying town. The accomplices urgently leave for the new address of Alexander Ivanovich Koreiko in their "Antelope-Gnu". The car breaks down on a country road. They go on foot. In the nearest village, Bender takes fifteen rubles for an evening performance, which they will give on their own, but Panikovsky kidnaps a goose here, and everyone has to flee. Panikovsky cannot bear the hardships of the journey and dies. At a small railway station, Balaganov and Kozlevich refuse to follow their commander. A special letter train for government members, shock workers, Soviet and foreign journalists goes to the Eastern Highway to the junction of two rail tracks. Ostap Bender turns out to be in it. Companions take him for a provincial correspondent who caught up with the train on an airplane, feed him homemade provisions. Bender tells a parable about the Eternal Gide, who walked around Rio de Janeiro in white pants, and after crossing the Romanian border with smuggling, he was cut down by Petliurists. In the absence of money, he also sells one of the journalists a manual for writing articles, feuilletons and poems for significant occasions. Finally, at the celebration of the railroad tie in the Thundering Key, Bender finds an underground millionaire. Koreiko is forced to give him a million and in exchange burns a dossier on himself in the stove. The return to Moscow is hampered by the lack of a ticket for a letter train and a special plane flight. You have to buy camels and ride them through the desert. The nearest Central Asian city in the oasis, where Bender and Koreiko end up, has already been rebuilt on socialist principles. During the month of the road, Bender did not manage to get into any hotel, nor to the theater, nor to buy clothes, except in a thrift store. In the Soviet country, everything is decided not by money, but by armor and distribution. Bender, having a million, has to pass himself off as an engineer, conductor, and even again as the son of Lieutenant Schmidt. In Moscow, at the Ryazan railway station, he meets Balaganov and gives him fifty thousand "for complete happiness". But in a crowded tram on Kalachevka, Balaganov automatically steals a penny handbag, and in front of Bender he is dragged to the police station. Neither to buy a house, nor even to talk with an Indian philosopher about the meaning of life, an individual outside the Soviet collective has no opportunity. Remembering Zos, Bender takes the train to Chernomorsk. In the evening, his fellow travelers in the compartment talk about receiving millions of inheritances, in the morning - about millions of tons of pig iron. Bender shows the students he has made friends with his million, after which the friendship ends and the students scatter. Ostap Bender cannot even buy a new car for Kozlevich. He does not know what to do with the money - to lose? send to the people's commissar of finance? Zosia married a young man named Femidi. "Horns and hooves", invented by Bender, turned into a large state-owned enterprise. 33-year-old, who is at the age of Christ, Bender has no place on Soviet soil. On a March night in 1931, he crossed the Romanian border. He wears a double fur coat, a lot of currency and jewelry, including a rare order of the Golden Fleece, which he calls the Golden Calf. But the Romanian border guards rob Bender to the bone. By chance, he only has an order left. We have to return to the Soviet coast. Monte Cristo from Ostap did not work. It remains to be retrained as a manager. I. A. Shevelev Yuri Karlovich Olesha (1899-1960) Three Fat Men Novel for Children (1924) A doctor once lived in a city. Her name was Gaspar Arneri. He was a scientist, and there was no one in the country wiser than him. The country where Gaspard Arneri lived was ruled by the Three Fat Men, gluttonous and cruel. One summer, in June, on a clear fine day, the doctor goes for a walk. On the square, he suddenly finds pandemonium, hears shots and, climbing onto the tower, sees artisans fleeing from the Palace of the Three Fat Men, pursued by the guards. It turns out that the people, led by the gunsmith Prospero and the gymnast Tibulus, rebelled against the power of the Three Fat Men, but the uprising was defeated, and the gunsmith Prospero was captured. The bomb hits the tower, from which Gaspard Arneri is watching what is happening, it collapses, and the doctor loses consciousness. He woke up when evening came. The corpses of the dead are lying around. Returning home through the Square of the Star, the doctor sees how the other leader of the uprising, the gymnast Tibul, who remained at large, fleeing from the guards pursuing him, deftly walks along a narrow wire right above the square, and then escapes through a hatch in the dome. At home, the tired doctor is about to go to bed, when suddenly a man in a green cloak crawls out of the fireplace. This is the gymnast Tibul. The next day, ten chopping blocks are prepared for the captured rebels in the Court Square. At the same time, an extraordinary incident happens: the wind blows the seller of balloons along with the balloons, and he falls right into the open window of the palace confectionery and falls right into a huge cake. To avoid punishment, the confectioners decide to leave the seller in the cake, smearing it with cream and sticking it with candied fruit, and serve it in the hall where the grand breakfast is held. Thus, the seller of the balls, trembling with fear that he will be eaten, becomes a witness to what is happening in the hall. Cake tasting is temporarily postponed. The Three Fat Men want to see the captured gunsmith Prospero, and then, when, having enjoyed this spectacle, they are about to continue the feast, a twelve-year-old boy, Tutti's heir, bursts into the hall screaming and crying. The Fatties have no children and are going to hand over all their wealth and government to Tutti, who is being raised in the Palace like a little prince. Fat men spoil him in every possible way and indulge his whims. In addition, they want the boy to have an iron heart, they do not allow him to play with other children, and his classes are held in a menagerie. Instead of a friend, an amazing doll was created for him, which is endowed with the ability to grow and develop with Tutti. The heir is extremely attached to her. And now the beloved doll is broken: the rebellious guardsmen, who went over to the side of Prospero and the rebellious people, pierced her with bayonets. The fat men don't want Tutti's heir to be upset. The doll needs to be repaired urgently, but no one is able to do this, except for the most learned doctor Gaspard Arnery. Therefore, it was decided to send him a doll, so that by the next morning she, repaired, would again be with Tutti. Otherwise, the doctor will be in serious trouble. As the Fat Men's mood is ruined, the balloon seller's cake is taken back to the kitchen. Cooks in exchange for balloons help the seller get out of the Palace, show him a secret passage that starts from a giant pan. Meanwhile, at the Fourteenth Market, the Three Fat Men are organizing festivities for the people: performances, entertainment, performances, during which the artists must agitate for the Three Fat Men and distract the attention of the people from the blocks that are erected for execution. At one such performance, Dr. Arneri and the gymnast Tibul, who was turned into a Negro for conspiracy by the doctor, are present. During the performance of the strongman Lapitupa, Tibul cannot stand it and drives him off the stage, revealing to the people that he is not a Negro at all, but a real Tibul. A fight breaks out between him and the bribed circus performers. Tibul defends himself with cabbage heads, plucking them straight from the garden and throwing them at the enemy. Grabbing another head of cabbage, he suddenly discovers that it is a human head, and none other than the seller of balloons. This is how Tibul learns about the existence of a secret underground passage to the Fat Man's Palace. While Tibul is fighting, Dr. Gaspard Arneri is found by Fat Men's messengers and given him an order and a broken doll. Dr. Gaspard Arnery tries to fix the doll, but by the morning he is clearly not keeping up. At least two more days are needed, and the doctor, together with the doll, goes to the Fat Men. On the way, he is stopped by the guards guarding the Palace and is not allowed further. They do not believe that he is really Gaspard Arneri, and when the doctor wants to show them the doll, he discovers that it is not there: having dozed off, he dropped it on the way. The frustrated doctor is forced to turn back. Hungry, he drives into Uncle Brizak's booth. Imagine his surprise when he discovers here the doll of Tutti's heir, which turns out to be not a doll at all, but a living girl named Suok, who looks like two drops of water on a doll. And then Tibulus, who appeared here soon, has a plan for the release of Prospero. In the morning, Dr. Arneri comes to the Palace. The doll is not only corrected by him, but even more like a living girl than before. Suok is a good artist and is a great doll. The heir is delighted. And then the doctor asks for the cancellation of the execution of ten rebels as a reward. The indignant Fat Men have no choice but to agree, otherwise the doll may deteriorate again. At night, when everyone is asleep, Suok infiltrates the menagerie. She is looking for Prospero, but in one of the cages she finds a monster, overgrown with wool, with long yellow claws, who hands her some kind of tablet and dies. This is the great scientist Tub, the creator of the doll for Tutti: he was imprisoned in the menagerie for not agreeing to make an iron heart for the heir. Here he spent eight years and almost lost his human form. Suok then finds Prospero's cage and frees him. With the help of the terrible panther released from the cage, Prospero and Suok break through to the very pan from where the underground passage begins, but Suok does not have time to follow Prospero and is captured by the guards. Suok's trial will take place the next day. So that Tutti's heir does not accidentally intervene and upset their plans, by order of the Tolstyakov, he is temporarily put to sleep. Suok does not answer questions and does not react at all to what is happening. Angry Fat Men decide to give her to be torn to pieces by tigers. The tigers released from the cage, seeing the victim, first rush to it, but then suddenly turn away indifferently. It turns out that this is not Suok at all, but the same spoiled doll that the rebellious guards took away from the dance teacher Razdvatris who found her. The real Suok was hidden in a closet, replaced by a doll. Meanwhile, shots are already ringing and shells are exploding, the rebellious people, led by the gunsmith Prospero and the gymnast Tibulus, are storming the Palace. The power of the Tolstoys is coming to an end. And on that tablet, which the dying creator of the doll handed over to the brave Suok, he revealed to her an important secret: she is Tutti's sister, who was kidnapped with him at the age of four by order of the Tolstyakov and then separated from her brother. Tutti was left in the Palace, and the girl was given to a traveling circus in exchange for a parrot of a rare breed with a long red beard. E. A. Shklovsky Envy Roman (1927) "He sings in the morning in the closet. You can imagine what a cheerful, healthy person he is." One cannot do without this textbook, which has become a flying phrase, with which Olesha's novel begins. And it is about a former revolutionary, a member of the Society of Political Prisoners, now a major Soviet business executive, director of the food industry trust Andrei Babichev. He sees him like this - a mighty giant, the master of life - the main character, a man lost in life, Nikolai Kavalerov. Andrei Babichev picked up the drunken Kavalerov, who was lying near the pub, from which he was thrown out after a quarrel. He took pity on him and gave him shelter in his apartment for a while, while his pupil and friend, a representative of the "new generation", an eighteen-year-old student and football player Volodya Makarov, was absent. For two weeks he lives with Babichev Cavaliers, but instead of gratitude, he feels tormenting envy towards his benefactor. He despises him, considers him below himself and calls him a sausage man. After all, he, Kavalerov, has a figurative vision, almost a poetic gift, which he uses to compose pop monologues and verses about the financial inspector, sovladyshne, NEPmen and alimony. He envies Babichev's prosperity, his health and energy, celebrity and scope. Kavalerov wants to catch him on something, to find a weak side, to find a gap in this monolith. Painfully conceited, he feels humiliated by his covetousness and Babichev's pity. He is jealous of Volodya Makarov, who is unfamiliar to him, whose photograph is on Babichev's desk. Kavalerov is twenty-seven years old. He dreams of his own glory. He wants more attention, while, according to him, "in our country, the roads of glory are blocked by barriers." He would like to be born in a small French town, set himself some lofty goal, one day leave the town and work fanatically to achieve it in the capital. In a country where a sober realistic approach is required of a person, he is tempted to suddenly take it and do something ridiculous, commit some kind of brilliant mischief and then say: "Yes, that's you, and I'm like that." Kavalerov feels that his life has changed, that he will no longer be either handsome or famous. Even the extraordinary love that he dreamed of all his life will not happen either. With longing and horror, he recalls the room of the forty-five-year-old widow Anechka Prokopovich, fat and loose. He perceives the widow as a symbol of his male humiliation. He hears her female call, but this only awakens rage in him ("I'm not a couple for you, you bastard!"). Cavaliers, so thin and gentle, is forced to be a "clown" under Babichev. He carries sausage made according to Babichev's technology, "which does not fail in one day," to the indicated addresses, and everyone congratulates its creator. Cavaliers proudly refuses to eat her solemnly. He is dissected by anger, because in the new world that the communist Babichev is building, glory "flares up because a sausage of a new kind has come out of the hands of a sausage maker." He feels that this new, building world is the main, triumphant one. And he, Kavalerov, unlike Babichev, is a stranger at this celebration of life. He is constantly reminded of this, either by not letting him into the airfield, where a Soviet airplane of a new design is to take off, or at the construction site of another brainchild of Babichev - "Chetvertak", a giant house, the future greatest dining room, the greatest kitchen, where lunch will cost just a quarter. Exhausted by envy, Kavalerov writes a letter to Babichev, where he confesses his hatred for him and calls him a stupid dignitary with lordly inclinations. He declares that he takes the side of Babichev's brother, Ivan, whom he once saw in the courtyard of the house when he threatened Andrei to kill him with the help of his Ophelia car. Andrei Babichev then said that his brother Ivan was "a lazy, harmful, contagious person" who "should be shot." A little later, Kavalerov accidentally witnesses how this fat man in a bowler hat and with a pillow in his hands asks a girl named Valya to return to him. Valya, Ivan Babichev's daughter, becomes the subject of his romantic aspirations. Kavalerov declares war on Babichev - "... for tenderness, for pathos, for personality, for names that excite, like the name "Ophelia", for everything that you suppress, a wonderful person." Just at the moment when Kavalerov, intending to finally leave Babichev's house, collects his belongings, the student and football player Volodya Makarov returns. Confused and jealous, Kavalerov tries to slander Babichev in front of him, but Makarov does not react, but calmly takes his place on the couch that Kavalerov loves so much. The letter of the Cavaliers does not dare to leave, but then he suddenly discovers that he mistakenly grabbed someone else's, and it was left lying on the table. He is in despair. Again he returns to Babichev, he wants to fall at the feet of the benefactor and, having repented, beg for forgiveness. But instead, he only taunts, and when he sees Valya appearing from the bedroom, he completely falls into a trance - he starts slandering again and in the end is thrown out the door. "It's all over," he says. "Now I'll kill you, comrade Babichev." From that moment on, Kavalerov is in league with the "modern sorcerer" Ivan Babichev, a teacher and comforter. He listens to his confession, from which he learns about Ivan's extraordinary inventive abilities, who from childhood surprised others and was nicknamed the Mechanic. After the Polytechnic Institute, he worked as an engineer for some time, but this stage is in the past, but now he wanders around the pubs, draws portraits of those who wish for a fee, composes impromptu, etc. But most importantly, he preaches. He proposes to organize a "conspiracy of feelings" as opposed to the soulless era of socialism, which denies the values of the past century: pity, tenderness, pride, jealousy, honor, duty, love ... He convenes those who have not yet freed themselves from human feelings, even if not the most exalted who did not become a machine. He wants to arrange "the last parade of these feelings." He burns with hatred for Volodya Makarov and brother Andrei, who took his daughter Valya from him. Ivan tells his brother that he loves Volodya not because Volodya is a new person, but because Andrei himself, as a simple inhabitant, needs a family and a son, fatherly feelings. In the person of Kavalerov, Ivan finds his adherent. "Magician" intends to show Kavalerov his pride - a machine called "Ophelia", a universal device in which hundreds of different functions are concentrated. According to him, it can blow up mountains, fly, lift weights, replace a baby carriage, serve as a long-range weapon. She knows how to do everything, but Ivan forbade her. Deciding to avenge his era, he corrupted the machine. He, according to him, endowed her with the most vulgar human feelings and thereby dishonored her. Therefore, he gave her the name of Ophelia - a girl who went crazy with love and despair. His machine, which could make the new age happy, is "a dazzling fiddle that a dying age will show to a newborn." It seems to Kavalerov that Ivan is really talking to someone through a crack in the fence, and immediately hears a piercing whistle with horror. With a breathless whisper: "I'm afraid of her!" - Ivan rushes away from the fence, and together they flee. Kavalerov is ashamed of his cowardice, he saw only a boy whistling with two fingers. He doubts the existence of the machine and reproaches Ivan. Between them there is a quarrel, but then Kavalerov surrenders. Ivan tells him a tale about the meeting of two brothers: he, Ivan, sends his formidable car to the Chetvertak under construction, and it destroys it, and the defeated brother crawls to him. Soon Kavalerov is present at a football match in which Volodya takes part. He jealously follows Volodya, Valya, Andrey Babichev, surrounded, as it seems to him, by everyone's attention. He is hurt that they don’t notice him, they don’t recognize him, and Vali’s charm torments him with his inaccessibility. At night, Kavalerov returns home drunk and finds himself in the bed of his mistress Anechka Prokopovich. Happy Anechka compares him to her late husband, which infuriates Kavalerov. He beats Anya, but this only delights her. He falls ill, the widow takes care of him. Kavalerov has a dream in which he sees "Quarter", happy Valya together with Volodya, and immediately notices Ophelia with horror, who overtakes Ivan Babichev and pins him to the wall with a needle, and then pursues Kavalerov himself. Having recovered, Kavalerov runs away from the widow. A lovely morning fills him with hope that now he will be able to break with his former ugly life. He understands that he lived too easily and arrogantly, he had too high an opinion of himself. He spends the night on the boulevard, but then returns again, determined to put the widow "in her place." At home, he finds Anechka sitting on the bed and Ivan drinking wine in a businesslike way. In response to Kavalerov's astonished question: "What does this mean?" - he offers him a drink for indifference as "the best of the states of the human mind" and says "pleasant": "... today, Kavalerov, it's your turn to sleep with Anechka. Hooray!" E. A. Shklovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov (1899-1934) goat song Roman (1928) Early 20s. Petersburg, painted "in a greenish color, shimmering and flashing, a terrible, phosphorescent color." The author, appearing in the preface, ends his opening speech with the words: "I don't like Petersburg, my dream is over." The hero of the novel, Teptyolkin, is a "mysterious creature" - long, thin, with graying dry hair, forever immersed in dreams and thoughts. "Beautiful groves were fragrant for him in his most stinking dreams, and cutesy statues, the legacy of the eighteenth century, seemed to him shining suns of Pentelian marble." Among his friends are an unknown poet, Kostya Rotikov and Misha Kotikov, Marya Petrovna Dolmatova, Natasha Golubets. The city has changed terribly and strangely. Teptyolkin lives on Second Street of the Rural Poor. "Grass grew between the stones, and the children sang obscene songs." In this almost unfamiliar city, in a new unknown world, friends are trying to find a place for themselves. They dream of remaining an island of the Renaissance among people who live by different laws. Teptyolkin rents a dacha-tower in Peterhof, where friends talk about the sublime. “We, only we, retain the flames of criticism, respect for science, respect for man… We are all in a high tower, we hear how violent waves beat against the granite sides,” Teptyolkin tells the audience. A tall gray-haired philosopher plays an old tune on the violin, and it seems to friends that they are "terribly young and terribly beautiful, that they are all terribly good people." But the course of life picks them all up. And now Misha Kotikov, an admirer of the recently drowned artist and poet Zaevfratsky, marries his widow, the silly and pretty Ekaterina Ivanovna, and becomes a dentist. Kostya Rotikov, an art connoisseur who reads Gongora in the original and subtly talks about the baroque, "magnificent and somewhat insane style", collects bad taste ("The whole world imperceptibly turned into bad taste for Kostya Rotikov, the images of Carmen on candy paper gave him more aesthetic experiences, box than the pictures of the Venetian school, and the dogs on the clock, from time to time sticking out their tongues, than the Fausts in literature"). Natasha marries the technician Kandalykin, a vulgar and hypocrite. Teptyolkin abandons the work of his life "The Hierarchy of Meanings" and earns by lecturing for the needs of the day. Maria Petrovna, who became his wife, turns from a poetic young lady into a very practical housewife. An unknown poet, acutely aware of reality and unable to compromise, commits suicide. The poet September, having recovered from a mental disorder, becomes deaf to his own poems written during his illness ("They do not take their eyelashes from my soul / The high eyes of your soul"). Marya Petrovna dies. And after her death, Teptyolkin becomes "not a poor club worker, but a prominent but stupid official." He shouts at his subordinates and is terribly proud of the position he has achieved. The novel ends with an afterword where the author reappears. He and his friends "argue and get excited and make toasts to high art, not afraid of shame, crime and spiritual death." At the end of the novel, the author and his friends "come out of a tavern into a charming Petersburg spring night, throwing up souls over the Neva, over palaces, over cathedrals, the night rustling like a garden, singing like youth, and flying like an arrow, which has already flown by for them." V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Works and days of Svistonov Roman (1929) Petrograd, mid-20s. The main character - Andrey Nikolaevich Svistonov - is a writer. “Svistonov did not create in a planned way, the image of the world did not suddenly appear before him, it did not suddenly become clear, and he did not write then. On the contrary, all his things arose from ugly notes on the margins of books, from stolen comparisons, from skillfully rewritten pages, from conversations, from twisted gossip." In fact, he had nothing to write about. He simply takes a person and "translates" him into a novel. For Svistonov, people are not divided into good and evil. They are divided into necessary for his novel and unnecessary. In search of characters for a new book, Svistonov meets old spouses nurturing their old dog Traviatochka, becomes his man in the house of Deryabkin, a “fighter against philistinism” and his wife Lipochka, visits the “Soviet Cagliostro” (he is also a “collector of nasty things ") Psykhachev. Psikhachev, as he himself admits, entered the university "to curse him," and studied philosophy without any faith, and received his doctoral degree in order to laugh at him. But there are things that are quite serious for Psykhachev. In his library there are many books on the occult, Freemasonry, and magic. Not particularly believing in all this, Psykhachev founds an "order", a secret society. He dedicates Svistonov to the knights of the order, in the antiquity of which he unshakably believes. Therefore, Svistonov's mockery of the initiation procedure and of the order itself deeply offends Psykhachev. Nevertheless, the friendship of the two geniuses continues, Svistonov is a frequent visitor to Psykhachev's house, and one day, when fourteen-year-old Masha, Psykhachev's daughter, asks Svistonov to read a novel, he, after some hesitation, agrees (he was interested in what impression the novel would make on a teenager). “From the first lines, it seemed to Masha that she was entering an unfamiliar world, empty, ugly and sinister, empty space and talking figures, and among these talking figures she suddenly recognized her dad. He held a magic mirror in one hand ... " Another "victim" of Svistonov is Ivan Ivanovich Kuku. Ivan Ivanovich - "a fat forty-year-old man, superbly preserved." Smart face, sleek sideburns, thoughtful eyes. At first, Ivan Ivanovich seems to all his acquaintances to be an unconditionally significant person. This impression he seeks to maintain. He does everything with greatness. Shaves - majestically, smokes - captivating. He attracts the attention of even students of a labor school on the street. But the whole point is that Ivan Ivanovich has nothing of his own - "neither mind, nor heart, nor expression." He only approves what others approve, he only reads books respected by all. Alternately, he is fond of religious issues, then Freudianism - along with the rest. He wants to be like some great person (“Would you believe it,” he admits to Kuku Svistonov, “in childhood I was extremely upset that my nose was not the same as Gogol’s, that I didn’t limp like Byron, that I didn’t suffer from a spill bile like Juvenal"). His feeling for Nadenka (she seems to him Natasha Rostova) is sincere, although clothed in vulgar phrases ("Be wax in my hands," etc.). Ivan Ivanovich turns out to be a godsend for Svistonov and immediately migrates almost entirely into his novel. Svistonov, without much thought, slightly alters the name of Kuku for his hero, turning him into Kukureka, and calls the hero's beloved girl Verochka. Repeatedly hearing about the wonderful new novel by Svistonov, Ivan Ivanovich, on the eve of his wedding with Nadenka, comes to the writer with a request to read what he has written. Svistonov refuses, but Ivan Ivanovich manages to insist. He is overwhelmed by what he hears. It seems to him that everyone already clearly sees his insignificance, he is afraid to meet his acquaintances. He does not go, as usual, to Nadenka's in the evening to go for a walk together, but locks himself in his room, not knowing what to do - another person lived his life for him, lived miserably and contemptuously, and he himself, Cook, has nothing to do in this world. Ivan Ivanovich no longer needs either Nadenka or marriage, he feels that it is impossible to follow the paths beaten by the novel. The next morning, Ivan Ivanovich goes to Svistonov and begs him to tear up what he has written, although he knows for sure that even if he does tear up the manuscript, his self-respect is irretrievably lost in him and life has lost all its attractiveness. But Svistonov is not going to tear up the manuscript, consoling Ivan Ivanovich with the fact that he took only "some details" for his hero. Ivan Ivanovich is changing: he shaves his sideburns, changes his suit, no longer travels around the suburbs, moves to another part of the city. He feels that everything that was in him was stolen from him, and only dirt, anger, suspicion and distrust of himself remained. Nadenka unsuccessfully tries to meet him. Finally, Ivan Ivanovich Kuku moves to another city. And Svistonov finishes his novel with inspiration. “It worked well, it was easy to breathe. Svistonov wrote today in a way that has never been written before. The whole city stood before him, and in an imaginary city, his heroes and heroines moved, sang, talked, married and got married. Svistonov felt himself in a void, or rather, in the theater, in a semi-dark box, sitting in the role of a young, elegant, romantic spectator. At this moment, he loved his heroes in the highest degree. " Piles of papers grow around Svistonov. He makes up one image from several heroes, transfers the beginning to the end, and turns the end into the beginning. The writer cuts out many phrases, inserts others ... Having finished the novel, tired of work, he walks down the street "with an empty brain, with a weathered soul." The city seems to him like a toy, houses and trees - spaced, people and trams - clockwork. He feels lonely and bored. The places described by Svistonov turn into deserts for him, the people with whom he was familiar lose all interest for him. The more he thinks about the out-of-print novel, the greater the void that forms around him. Finally, he feels that he is finally locked in his novel. Wherever Svistonov appears, everywhere he sees his heroes. They have different surnames, different bodies, different manners, but he immediately recognizes them. Thus, Svistonov completely passes into his work. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977) Masha Roman (1926) Spring 1924 Lev Glebovich Ganin lives in a Russian pension in Berlin. In addition to Ganin, mathematician Alexei Ivanovich Alferov lives in the boarding house, a man "with a thin beard and a shiny plump nose", "an old Russian poet" Anton Sergeevich Podtyagin, Clara - "a full-breasted, all in black silk, a very comfortable young lady", working as a typist and in love with Ganina, as well as ballet dancers Kolin and Gornotsvetov. "A special shade, mysterious affectation" separates the latter from other boarders, but, "speaking in conscience, one cannot blame the pigeon happiness of this harmless couple." Last year, upon his arrival in Berlin, Ganin immediately found a job. He was a worker, and a waiter, and an extra. The money he has left is enough to leave Berlin, but for this he needs to break with Lyudmila, the connection with which has been going on for three months and he is rather tired of it. And how to break, Ganin does not know. Its window overlooks the railroad track, and therefore "the opportunity to leave teases relentlessly." He announces to the hostess that he will leave on Saturday. Ganin learns from Alferov that his wife Masha is coming on Saturday. Alferov takes Ganin to his place to show him photographs of his wife. Ganin recognizes his first love. From that moment on, he is completely immersed in the memories of this love, it seems to him that he is exactly nine years younger. The next day, Tuesday, Ganin announces to Lyudmila that he loves another woman. Now he is free to remember how nine years ago, when he was sixteen years old, while recovering from typhus in a summer estate near Voskresensk, he created a female image for himself, which he met in reality a month later. Mashenka had "a chestnut braid in a black bow", "Tatar burning eyes", a swarthy face, a voice "mobile, burry, with unexpected chest sounds". Masha was very cheerful, loved sweets. She lived in a dacha in Voskresensk. Once, with two friends, she climbed into a gazebo in the park. Ganin spoke to the girls, they agreed to go boating the next day. But Mashenka came alone. They began to meet every day on the other side of the river, where an empty white manor stood on a hill. When, on a black stormy night, on the eve of leaving for St. Petersburg for the beginning of the school year, he met her for the last time at this place, Ganin saw that the shutters of one of the windows of the estate were slightly open, and a human face was pressed against the glass from the inside. It was the caretaker's son. Ganin broke the glass and began to "beat his wet face with a stone fist." The next day he left for Petersburg. Mashenka moved to St. Petersburg only in November. The "snow age of their love" has begun. It was difficult to meet, it was painful to wander in the cold for a long time, so both remembered the summer. In the evenings they talked for hours on the phone. All love requires solitude, and they had no shelter, their families did not know each other. At the beginning of the new year, Mashenka was taken to Moscow. And strangely, this separation turned out to be a relief for Ganin. In the summer Mashenka returned. She called Ganin at the dacha and said that her father had never wanted to rent a dacha in Voskresensk again and she now lives fifty versts from there. Ganin went to her on a bicycle. Arrived after dark. Mashenka was waiting for him at the gates of the park. "I'm yours," she said. "Do whatever you want with me." But strange rustles were heard in the park, Mashenka lay too humbly and motionless. "It seems to me that someone is coming," he said and got up. He met Mashenka a year later on a country train. She got off at the next station. They didn't see each other again. During the war years, Ganin and Mashenka exchanged affectionate letters several times. He was in Yalta, where "a military struggle was being prepared", it is somewhere in Little Russia. Then they lost each other. On Friday, Colin and Gornotsvetov, on the occasion of receiving an engagement, Clara's birthday, Ganin's departure, and Podtyagin's supposed departure for Paris, decide to arrange a "feast". Ganin and Podtyagin go to the police department to help him with a visa. When the long-awaited visa is received, Podtyagin accidentally leaves his passport on the tram. He has a heart attack. The festive dinner is not fun. The pull-up becomes bad again. Ganin waters the already drunk Alferov and sends him to bed, while he himself imagines how he will meet Mashenka at the station in the morning and take her away. Having collected his things, Ganin says goodbye to the boarders sitting at the bedside of the dying Podtyagin, and goes to the station. There is an hour left before Masha's arrival. He sits down on a bench in the square near the station, where four days ago he recalled typhus, the estate, Mashenka's foreboding. Gradually, "with merciless clarity," Ganin realizes that his affair with Mashenka is over forever. "It lasted only four days - these four days were, perhaps, the happiest times of his life." The image of Mashenka remained with the dying poet in the "house of shadows". And there is no other Mashenka and cannot be. He waits for an express from the north to pass over the railway bridge. He takes a taxi, goes to another station and boards a train going to the southwest of Germany. E. A. Zhuravleva Protection of Luzhin Roman (1929-1930) By the end of the summer, ten-year-old Luzhin's parents finally decide to tell their son that after returning from the village to St. Petersburg, he will go to school. Fearing the impending change in his life, before the train arrives, little Luzhin runs away from the station back to the estate and hides in the attic, where, among other uninteresting things, he sees a chessboard with a crack. The boy is found, and a black-bearded peasant carries him from the attic to the carriage. Luzhin Sr. wrote books, they constantly flashed the image of a blond boy who became a violinist or painter. He often thought about what might come out of his son, whose uncommonness was undeniable, but unrevealed. And the father hoped that his son's abilities would be revealed at the school, which was especially famous for its attentiveness to the so-called "inner" life of students. But a month later, the father heard coldish words from the teacher, proving that his son was understood at school even less than he himself: "The boy undoubtedly has abilities, but there is some lethargy." During breaks, Luzhin does not participate in common childish games and always sits alone. In addition, peers find strange fun in laughing at Luzhin about his father's books, calling him by the name of one of the heroes Antosha. When parents pester their son at home with questions about school, a terrible thing happens: he knocks over a cup and saucer on the table like a madman. Only in April does the day come for the boy when he has a hobby on which his whole life is doomed to focus. At a musical evening, a bored aunt, his mother's second cousin, gives him a simple chess lesson. A few days later at school, Luzhin watches a chess game of classmates and feels that he somehow understands the game better than the players, although he does not yet know all its rules. Luzhin begins to miss classes - instead of school, he goes to his aunt to play chess. So the week goes by. The caregiver calls home to find out what's wrong with him. Father answers the phone. Shocked parents demand an explanation from their son. He is bored to say anything, he yawns, listening to his father's instructive speech. The boy is sent to his room. The mother weeps and says that both father and son are deceiving her. The father thinks with sadness about how difficult it is to fulfill his duty, not to go where he irresistibly pulls, and then there are these oddities with his son ... Luzhin wins over the old man, who often comes to his aunt with flowers. Faced with such early abilities for the first time, the old man prophesies to the boy: "You will go far." He also explains a simple system of notation, and Luzhin, without figures and a board, can already play the parts given in the magazine, like a musician reading a score. One day, the father, after explaining to his mother about his long absence (she suspects him of infidelity), invites his son to sit with him and play, for example, chess. Luzhin wins four games against his father, and at the very beginning of the last one he comments on one move in an unchildlike voice: "Worst answer. Chigorin advises taking a pawn." After his departure, the father sits thinking - his son's passion for chess amazes him. “In vain did she encourage him,” he thinks of his aunt and immediately recalls his explanations with his wife with longing ... The next day, the father brings a doctor who plays better than him, but the doctor also loses game after game to his son. And from that time on, the passion for chess closed the rest of the world for Luzhin. After one club performance, a photograph of Luzhin appears in the capital's magazine. He refuses to go to school. He is being asked for a week. Everything is decided by itself. When Luzhin runs away from home to his aunt, he meets her in mourning: "Your old partner is dead. Let's go with me." Luzhin runs away and does not remember if he saw the dead old man in the coffin, who once beat Chigorin - pictures of external life flash in his mind, turning into delirium. After a long illness, his parents take him abroad. Mother returns to Russia earlier, alone. One day, Luzhin sees his father in the company of a lady - and is very surprised that this lady is his St. Petersburg aunt. A few days later they receive a telegram about the death of their mother. Luzhin plays in all major cities of Russia and Europe with the best chess players. He is accompanied by his father and Mr. Valentinov, who organizes tournaments. There is a war, a revolution, which entailed legal expulsion abroad. In the twenty-eighth year, sitting in a Berlin coffee shop, the father suddenly returns to the idea of a story about a brilliant chess player who must die young. Prior to this, endless trips for his son did not make it possible to realize this plan, and now Luzhin Sr. thinks that he is ready for work. But a book thought out to the smallest detail is not written, although the author presents it, already finished, in his hands. After one of the country walks, getting wet in the downpour, the father falls ill and dies. Luzhin continues tournaments around the world. He plays with brilliance, gives sessions and is close to playing the champion. At one of the resorts where he lives before the Berlin tournament, he meets his future wife, the only daughter of Russian emigrants. Despite Luzhin's vulnerability to the circumstances of life and outward clumsiness, the girl guesses in him a closed, secret artistry, which she attributes to the properties of a genius. They become husband and wife, a strange couple in the eyes of everyone around them. At the tournament, Luzhin, ahead of everyone, meets with his old rival Italian Turati. The game is interrupted in a draw. From overexertion, Luzhin falls seriously ill. The wife arranges life in such a way that no reminder of chess bothers Luzhin, but no one can change his sense of self, woven from chess images and pictures of the outside world. Valentinov, who has disappeared for a long time, calls on the phone, and his wife tries to prevent this man from meeting Luzhin, referring to his illness. Several times his wife reminds Luzhin that it is time to visit his father's grave. They plan to do so soon. Luzhin's inflamed brain is busy solving an unfinished game against Turati. Luzhin is exhausted by his condition, he cannot free himself for a moment from people, from himself, from his thoughts, which are repeated in him, like moves once made. Repetition - in memories, chess combinations, flickering faces of people - becomes for Luzhin the most painful phenomenon. He "goes mad with horror before the inevitability of the next repetition" and comes up with a defense against a mysterious adversary. The main method of defense is to deliberately, voluntarily, perform some absurd, unexpected action that falls out of the general regularity of life, and thus confuse the combination of moves conceived by the opponent. Accompanying his wife and mother-in-law shopping, Luzhin comes up with an excuse (a visit to the dentist) to leave them. “A little maneuver,” he grins in a taxi, stops the car and walks. It seems to Luzhin that he had already done all this once. Valentinov is waiting for him, suggesting that Luzhin star in a film about a chess player, in which real grandmasters are involved.Luzhin feels that cinema is a pretext for a repetition trap in which the next move is clear... "But this move will not be made." He returns home, with a concentrated and solemn expression, quickly walks through the rooms, accompanied by a crying wife, stops in front of her, lays out the contents of his pockets, kisses her hands and says: "The only way out. You have to drop out of the game." "We will play?" the wife asks. The guests are about to arrive. Luzhin locks himself in the bathroom. He breaks the window and crawls through the frame with difficulty. It remains only to let go of what he is holding on to - and he is saved. There is a knock on the door, the wife's voice is clearly heard from the neighboring bedroom window: "Luzhin, Luzhin." The abyss below him splits into pale and dark squares, and he lets go of his hands. “The door was kicked in. “Alexander Ivanovich, Alexander Ivanovich?” several voices roared. But there was no Alexander Ivanovich." V. M. Sotnikov Pinhole camera Roman (1932-1933) 1928 Berlin. Bruno Kretschmar, a successful connoisseur of painting, who has a wife Anneliese and a daughter Irma and has never cheated on his wife for nine years of marriage, is suddenly carried away by a stranger whom he meets in the cinema. She works there as an attendant. Her name is Magda Petere. She was sixteen years. She is from a poor family. The father is old and sick. The mother is always ready to hit her or her brother Otto, who is three years older than Magda. Parents reproached Magda with parasites, and she runs away from them to an elderly lady Lewandowska and begins to work as a model. Magda herself dreams of becoming an actress. Lewandowska is trying to set her up with a gentleman who called himself Muller. Since they like each other, Magda willingly runs away with him. He leaves in a month. Magda at first wanted to commit suicide, but then changed her mind. After Muller there were some Japanese, a fat old man "with a nose like a rotten pear." Magda is trying to find a place for an actress, but to no avail. The landlady arranges for her to work in a movie theater. Here she is met by Krechmar. Krechmar marvels at his duality: on the one hand, "indestructible tenderness" for his wife, on the other, the desire to meet Magda. Magda finds out his phone number and calls him. Krechmar is horrified: his wife could pick up the phone. He forbids Magda to call and offers her to rent an apartment. Magda, of course, accepts the offer, but does not stop calling. One day, the telephone operator accidentally connects Max - Anneliese's brother - with Kretschmar during his conversation with Magda. Max is stunned and immediately hangs up. He doesn't say anything to Anneliese. Krechmar goes to see the apartment that Magda has rented. Magda confesses to him that she sent him a letter with a new address. This is a blow to Kretschmar: his wife always reads his letters, because they had no secrets from each other. He understands that it's all over. The letter cannot be returned. He stays with Magda. Anneliese and her daughter move in with Max. Kretschmar cannot afford to let Magda into his apartment, so he moves in with her. He writes a letter to his wife saying that he still loves her and asks for forgiveness. However, there is no talk of his return. Magda attracts him, despite her vulgarity and gross shamelessness. When Magda's brother appears and demands money from her for keeping quiet about her past, Kretschmar kicks him out. Krechmar is jealous of Magda. Magda is so afraid of losing everything that Krechmar gave her that she does not dare to start any novels. Magda soon starts demanding they move to Kretschmar's old apartment. He succumbs to persuasion. They are moving. Kretschmar promises to get a divorce and marry Magda, but in fact the thought of a divorce horrifies him. Magda persuades him to finance the film, where she is promised a second female role. The film is vulgar, stupid, but Kretschmar gives money for it: if only Magda was happy. At one of Krechmar's dinners, the American Horn appears, in whom Magda recognizes the man because of whom she wanted to give up her life. Gorn also recognizes Magda. Passion flares up again. However, everything is kept secret, since Magda is not going to lose Krechmar's money, and Horn has only unpaid debts. Robert Horn is a cartoonist who believes that the funniest things in life are based on subtle cruelty. Kretschmar's daughter Irma suddenly falls ill with the flu. She can no longer recover. Krechmar, whom Max went for, finds the last day of his daughter's life. She dies with him. While he is saying goodbye to his daughter, Magda is cheating on him with Gorn. The film, in which Magda starred, is finally finished. At the viewing, the whole audience laughs at Magda: she plays so disgustingly. At home, Magda throws a tantrum and once again demands that Kretschmar marry her. He promises, but divorce is unthinkable for him. Magda and Gorn meet almost every day, having rented an apartment for these meetings. Krechmar and Magda go on a trip to Europe. Instead of a driver, Gorn rides with them. In France, they stay at a hotel in adjoining rooms connected by a shared bathroom. Magda, pretending to bathe, gets the opportunity to meet with Gorn. So two weeks go by. Returning from one of their walks by a suburban train, they fall into different cars. Kretschmar's friend, the writer Zegelkrantz, gets into the carriage with Magda and Gorn. Gathering material for a new novel, he records the conversation between Magda and Gorn and places it almost verbatim in his novel. A few days later, by a mountain stream, Segelkrantz reads this novel to Kretschmar, because he does not know that this couple is familiar to him. Krechmar rushes to the hotel: he wants to kill Magda. But she swears to him that Gorn is not interested in women. Krechmar believes her, but demands to leave immediately. He himself drives the car along a winding mountain road. Because his eyes are filled with tears, he can't handle the controls. They get into an accident. Magda escapes with a slight fright, and Kretschmar goes blind. Magda and Gorn are going to live together, taking advantage of the blindness of Krechmar, whose money they do not intend to lose. Magda rents a two-story cottage near Berlin. That's where the three of them go. Magda and Gorn meet with great caution, but then Gorn begins to act openly, although he does not speak. Krechmar constantly hears steps, coughs and other sounds. Magda slips him checks for huge sums to sign, which he, of course, signs without asking any questions. Magda dreams of becoming Krechmar's wife, because then half of his fortune would fall into her hands. Meanwhile, Segelcrantz learns about the tragedy that happened to Kretschmar. He goes to Berlin and tells everything to Max, who has already begun to hear some rumors. Segelkrantz expresses fear that Kretschmar, now completely helpless, is completely in the hands of Gorn and Magda. Max decides to visit Kretschmar. He arrives on time: Gorn has just come up with a new mockery of Kretschmar. Max beats Gorn with a cane and is about to take Kretschmar with him to Berlin. Krechmar first begs him to say that there was no Gorn, and then wants to see Magda. Max takes him away before she arrives. Anneliese happily arranges Kretschmar in Irma's former room. She still loves him just the same. On the fourth day of his stay in Berlin, he remains at home alone. Suddenly, the watchman from his house calls him and says that Magda has come to pick up things and he does not know whether to let her in. Krechmar miraculously manages to get to his apartment. He pulls out his Browning and wants to kill Magda by groping. In a short fight, Magda shoots Kretschmar and kills him. Yu. V. Polezhaeva An invitation to execution Tale (1935-1936) "In accordance with the law, Cincinnatus Ts. was sentenced to death in a whisper." The unforgivable fault of Cincinnatus is in his "impenetrability", "opacity" for the rest, terribly similar (the jailer Rodion now and then turns into the director of the prison, Rodrig Ivanovich, and vice versa; the lawyer and the prosecutor, by law, must be uterine brothers, if it fails pick up - they are made up to look like), "transparent souls for each other." This feature is inherent in Cincinnatus from childhood (inherited from his father, as his mother, Cecilia Ts., who came to visit the prison, tells him, frail, curious, in an oilcloth water proof and with an obstetric bag), but for some time he manages to hide his difference from the rest . Cincinnatus begins to work, and in the evenings he revels in old books, addicted to the mythical XNUMXth century. Moreover, he is engaged in the manufacture of soft dolls for schoolgirls: "there was a little hairy Pushkin in a bekesh, and a rat-like Gogol in a flowery waistcoat, and an old man Tolstoy, plump-nosed, in a zipun, and many others." Here, in the workshop, Cincinnatus meets Marfinka, whom he marries when he turns twenty-two and is transferred to kindergarten as a teacher. In the very first year of marriage, Marfinka begins to cheat on him. She will have children, a boy and a girl, not from Cincinnatus. The boy is lame and angry, the obese girl is almost blind. Ironically, both children end up in the care of Cincinnatus (in the garden he is entrusted with "lame, hunchbacked, skewed" children). Cincinnatus ceases to take care of himself, and his "opacity" becomes noticeable to others. So he ends up in prison, in a fortress. Having heard the verdict, Cincinnatus tries to find out when the execution is scheduled, but the jailers do not tell him. Cincinnatus is led out to look at the city from the tower of the fortress. Twelve-year-old Emmochka, daughter of the director of the prison, suddenly seems to Cincinnatus to be an embodied promise of escape ... the prisoner spends his time looking through magazines. He makes notes, trying to comprehend his own life, his individuality: “I am not simple ... I am the one who lives among you ... Not only my eyes are different, and hearing, and taste, not only smell, like a deer, but touch, like bat, - but the main thing: the gift to combine all this at one point ... " Another prisoner appears in the fortress, a beardless fat man in his thirties. Neat prisoner's pajamas, morocco shoes, blond, straight-parted hair, wonderful, even teeth whiten between crimson lips. The meeting with Marfinka promised to Cincinnatus is postponed (according to the law, a meeting is allowed only after a week has passed after the trial). The director of the prison solemnly (a tablecloth and a vase with cheeky peonies on the table) introduces Cincinnatus to his neighbor, Monsieur Pierre. Monsieur Pierre, who visited Cincinnatus in his cell, tries to entertain him with amateur photographs, most of which depict him himself, card tricks, and anecdotes. But Cincinnatus, to the offense and displeasure of Rodrig Ivanovich, is closed and unfriendly. The next day, not only Marfinka comes to see him, but her whole family (father, twin brothers, grandparents - "so old that they already shone through", children) and, finally, a young man with an impeccable profile - the current cavalier Marfinka. Furniture, household utensils, separate parts of the walls also arrive. Cincinnatus cannot say a word alone with Marfinka. The father-in-law does not cease to reproach him, the brother-in-law persuades him to repent (“Think how unpleasant it is when they cut your head off”), the young man begs Marfinka to put on a shawl. Then, having collected things (furniture is taken out by porters), everyone leaves. In anticipation of the execution, Cincinnatus feels even more acutely his dissimilarity to everyone else. In this world, where "substance is tired: time slumbered sweetly," in an imaginary world, perplexed, only an insignificant fraction of Cincinnatus wanders, and his main part is in a completely different place. But even so, his real life is "too transparent", causing rejection and protest from those around him. Cincinnatus returns to the interrupted reading. The famous novel that he reads has the Latin name "Quercus" ("Oak") and is a biography of a tree. The author tells about those historical events (or shadows of events) that an oak tree could have witnessed: either this is a dialogue of warriors, or a halt robbers, then the flight of a nobleman from the royal wrath ... In the intervals between these events, the oak is considered from the point of view of dendrology, ornithology and other sciences, a detailed list of all the monograms on the bark with their interpretation is given. Much attention is paid to the music of waters, the palette of dawns and the behavior of the weather. This , undoubtedly, the best of what was created by the time of Cincinnatus, nevertheless, it seems to him distant, false, dead. Exhausted by the expectation of the arrival of the executioner, the expectation of execution, Cincinnatus falls asleep. Suddenly he is awakened by tapping, some scratching sounds, clearly audible in the silence of the night. Judging by the sounds, this is a dig. Till morning Cincinnatus listens to them. At night the sounds resume, and day after day Monsieur Pierre comes to Cincinnatus with vulgar talk. The yellow wall gives a crack, opens with a roar, and out of the black hole, choking on laughter, crawl out Monsieur Pierre and Rodrig Ivanovich. Monsieur Pierre invites Cincinnatus to visit him, and he, seeing no other possibility, crawls along the passage ahead of Monsieur Pierre to his cell. Monsieur Pierre expresses his joy at his friendship with Cincinnatus, which was his first task. Then Monsieur Pierre unlocks a large case in the corner with a key, in which there is a wide ax. Cincinnatus climbs back along the dug passage, but suddenly finds himself in a cave, and then through a crack in the rock he climbs out into the wild. He sees a smoky, blue city with windows like burning coals, and hurries down. Emmochka appears from behind the ledge of the wall and leads him along. Through a small door in the wall they enter a darkish corridor and find themselves in the director's apartment, where the family of Rodrigue Ivanovich and Monsieur Pierre are drinking tea at an oval table in the dining room. As is customary, on the eve of the execution, Monsieur Pierre and Cincinnatus pay a visit to all the chief officials. In honor of them, a magnificent dinner was arranged, illumination was blazing in the garden: the monogram "P" and "C" (not quite, however, released). Monsieur Pierre, as usual, is in the center of attention, while Cincinnatus is silent and distracted. In the morning, Marfinka comes to Cincinnatus, complaining that it was difficult to get permission ("Of course, I had to make a small concession - in a word, the usual story"). Marfinka tells about a meeting with Cincinnatus’s mother, that a neighbor is wooing her, artlessly offers herself to Cincinnatus (“Leave it. What nonsense,” says Cincinnatus). , and Cincinnatus, during her absence, thinks that not only did he not start an urgent, important conversation with her, but now he can’t even express this important. Marthe, disappointed by the meeting, leaves Cincinnatus (“I was ready to give you everything. ). Cincinnatus sits down to write: "This is the dead end of life here - and it is not within its narrow limits to seek salvation." Appears Monsieur Pierre and two of his assistants, in whom it is almost impossible to recognize a lawyer and director of the prison. A bay horse drags a peeling carriage with them down into the city. Having heard about the execution, the public begins to gather. A scarlet platform of the scaffold rises on the square. Cincinnatus, so that no one touches him, has to almost run to the platform. While preparations are underway, he looks around: something has happened to the lighting, the sun is unfavorable, and part of the sky is shaking. One by one, the poplars that line the square are falling down. Cincinnatus himself takes off his shirt and lies down on the chopping block. He begins to count: “one Cincinnatus was counting, and the other Cincinnatus had already stopped listening to the receding ringing of an unnecessary account, got up and looked around.” The executioner has not quite stopped yet, but a railing is visible through his torso. The audience is completely transparent. Cincinnatus slowly descends and walks through the unsteady litter. The platform collapses behind him. Reduced many times over, Rodrig unsuccessfully tries to stop Cincinnatus. A woman in a black shawl carries a little executioner in her arms. Everything spreads and falls, and Cincinnatus walks among the dust and fallen things in the direction where, judging by the voices, people like him are standing. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Gift Roman (1937) The hero of the novel, Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev, a Russian emigrant, the son of a famous entomologist, the offspring of an aristocratic family, lives in poverty in Berlin in the second half of the 20s, earning money by private lessons and publishing nostalgic twelfth lines about childhood in Russia in Russian newspapers. He feels a huge literary potential in himself, he is bored with emigrant gatherings, his only idol among his contemporaries is the poet Koncheev. With him, he conducts a tireless internal dialogue "in the language of imagination." Godunov-Cherdyntsev, strong, healthy, young, full of happy forebodings, and his life is not overshadowed by either poverty or the uncertainty of the future. He constantly catches in the landscape, in a fragment of a tram conversation, in his dreams signs of future happiness, which for him consists of love and creative self-realization. The novel begins with a prank: inviting Cherdyntsev to visit, emigrant Alexander Yakovlevich Chernyshevsky (a Jewish convert, he took this pseudonym out of respect for the idol of the intelligentsia, lives with his wife Alexandra Yakovlevna, his son recently shot himself after a strange, hysterical "ménage à trois") promises to show him an enthusiastic review of a book just published by Cherdyntsev. The review turns out to be an article from an old Berlin newspaper - an article about something completely different. The next meeting at the Chernyshevskys, at which the editor of an émigré newspaper, the publicist Vasiliev, promises everyone an acquaintance with a new talent, turns into a farce: the attention of the audience, including Koncheev, is offered a philosophical play by a Russian German named Bach, and this play turns out to be a set of ponderous curiosities. Good-natured Bach does not notice that everyone present is choking on laughter. To top it off, Cherdyntsev again did not dare to speak with Koncheev, and their conversation, full of explanations in mutual respect and literary similarity, turns out to be a play of the imagination. But in this first chapter, which tells about a chain of ridiculous failures and mistakes, there are the beginnings of the future happiness of the hero. This is where the cross-cutting theme of "The Gift" arises - the theme of keys: when moving to a new apartment, Cherdyntsev forgot the keys to it in his mackintosh, and went out in a raincoat. In the same chapter, the novelist Romanov invites Cherdyntsev to another emigrant salon, to a certain Margarita Lvovna, who visits Russian youth; the name of Zina Merz (the future beloved of the hero) flashes by, but he does not respond to the first hint of fate, and his meeting with the ideal woman destined for him alone is postponed until the third chapter. In the second, Cherdyntsev receives in Berlin his mother, who came to him from Paris. His landlady, Frau Stoboy, found a spare room for her. Mother and son remember Cherdyntsev Sr., the hero's father, who went missing on his last expedition, somewhere in Central Asia. The mother still hopes that he is alive. The son, who has been looking for a hero for his first serious book for a long time, thinks about writing a biography of his father and recalls his paradise childhood - excursions with his father around the estate, catching butterflies, reading old magazines, solving sketches, the sweetness of lessons - but he feels that out of these disparate the book does not emerge from notes and dreams: he remembers his father too closely, intimately, and therefore is not able to objectify his image and write about him as a scientist and traveler. In addition, in the story of his wanderings, the son is too poetic and dreamy, and he wants scientific rigor. The material is both too close to him and at times alien. And the external impetus for the cessation of work is Cherdyntsev's move to a new apartment. Frau Stoboi found herself a more reliable, pecuniary and well-intentioned lodger: Cherdyntsev's idleness and his writing embarrassed her. Cherdyntsev chose the apartment of Marianna Nikolaevna and Boris Ivanovich Shchegolev not because he liked this couple (an elderly bourgeois woman and a cheerful anti-Semite with a Moscow reprimand and Moscow table jokes): he was attracted by a lovely girl's dress, as if inadvertently thrown into one of rooms. This time he guessed the call of fate, even though the dress did not belong at all to Zina Merz, Marianna Nikolaevna's daughter from her first marriage, but to her friend, who brought her blue airy toilet for alteration. Cherdyntsev's acquaintance with Zina, who has long been in love with him in absentia through poetry, is the theme of the third chapter. They have many common acquaintances, but fate postponed the rapprochement of the heroes until a favorable moment. Zina is caustic, witty, well-read, subtle, her jovial stepfather irritates her terribly (her father, a Jew, Marianna Nikolaevna's first husband, was a musical, thoughtful, lonely person). She categorically opposes Shchegolev and her mother knowing anything about her relationship with Cherdyntsev. She confines herself to walking with him around Berlin, where everything meets their happiness, resonates with him; long lingering kisses follow, but nothing more. Unresolved passion, a feeling of impending but slow happiness, the joy of health and strength, talent being released - all this makes Cherdyntsev finally begin serious work, and this work, by chance, becomes Chernyshevsky's Life. Chernyshevsky became fascinated not by the consonance of his last name with his own, and not even by the exact opposite of Chernyshevsky's biography of his own, but as a result of a long search for an answer to the question that tormented him: why did everything become so gray, boring and monotonous in post-revolutionary Russia? He turns to the famous era of the 60s, precisely looking for the culprit, but discovers in Chernyshevsky's life that very fracture, a crack that did not allow him to build his life harmoniously, clearly and harmoniously. This fracture affected the spiritual development of all subsequent generations, poisoned by the deceitful simplicity of cheap, flat pragmatism. The "Life of Chernyshevsky", in which both Cherdyntsev and Nabokov made many enemies and caused a scandal in exile (the book was first published without this chapter), is dedicated to debunking precisely Russian materialism, "reasonable egoism", an attempt to live by reason, and not by instinct, not artistic intuition. Mocking Chernyshevsky's aesthetics, his idyllic utopias, his naive economic teachings, Cherdyntsev ardently sympathizes with him as a person when he describes his love for his wife, suffering in exile, heroic attempts to return to literature and public life after his release ... Chernyshevsky has the same blood in his blood " a piece of pus", which he spoke about in his dying delirium: the inability to organically fit into the world, awkwardness, physical weakness, and most importantly - ignoring the external charms of the world, the desire to reduce everything to race, benefit, primitive ... This one looks pragmatic, but in fact a deeply speculative, abstract approach all the time prevented Chernyshevsky from living, teasing him with the hope of the possibility of social reorganization, while no social reorganization can and should occupy the artist, who seeks in the course of fate, in the development of history, in his own and other people's life, first of all the highest aesthetic sense, a pattern of hints and coincidences. This chapter is written with all the splendor of Nabokov's irony and erudition. In the fifth chapter, all Cherdyntsev's dreams come true: his book was published with the assistance of the very good-natured Bach, over whose play he rolled with laughter. She was praised by the same Koncheev, with whom our hero dreamed of friendship. Finally, intimacy with Zina is possible: her mother and stepfather leave Berlin (the stepfather got a place), and Godunov-Cherdyntsev and Zina Merz remain alone. Full of jubilant happiness, this chapter is overshadowed only by the story of the death of Alexander Yakovlevich Chernyshevsky, who died not believing in a future life. "There is nothing," he says before his death, listening to the splashing of water behind the curtained windows. "It's as clear as that it's raining." And on the street at this time the sun is shining, and the neighbor of the Chernyshevskys is watering the flowers on the balcony. The topic of keys comes up in the fifth chapter: Cherdyntsev left his apartment keys in the room, Zina's keys were taken away by Marianna Nikolaevna, and the lovers, after an almost wedding dinner, find themselves on the street. However, most likely in the Grunewald Forest they will not be worse. Yes, and Cherdyntsev's love for Zina - love that has come close to its happy resolution, but this resolution is hidden from us - does not need keys and a roof. A. A. Bykov Lolita Novel Edgar Humbert Humbert, a thirty-seven-year-old teacher of French literature, has an extraordinary penchant for nymphets, as he calls them - charming girls from nine to fourteen years old. A long-standing childhood impression gave him this underground experience, which turned away from more mature women. The action of the confessional novel, written by Humbert Humbert, who is in prison, dates back to the summer of 1947. Ten years earlier, while living in Paris, he was married, but his wife left him for a Russian émigré colonel just on the eve of his move to America. There he took part in various research projects, was treated in sanatoriums for melancholy, and now, after leaving another hospital, he rented a house in New England from Mrs. Charlotte Hayes. The hostess has a twelve-year-old daughter Dolores - Lo, Lolita, a reminder of that childhood love of Humbert, the loss of which gave his erotic life such a strange direction. Humbert confides in the pages of his diary about his lingering desire for Lolita, when he suddenly finds out that her mother is sending her to a summer camp. Charlotte writes a letter to Humbert, declaring her love for him, and demands to leave her house if he does not share her feelings. After some hesitation, Humbert accepts the offer to "move from tenants to cohabitants", He marries his mother, not for a moment forgetting about his future stepdaughter. From now on, nothing will prevent him from communicating with her. However, it turns out that after the wedding, Charlotte intends to send Lolita immediately after the camp to a boarding house, and then to Beardsley College. Humbert's plans collapse. While swimming in a forest lake, he wants to drown his wife, but he cannot, to his regret, having learned that an artist neighbor is watching them from a hill. Mrs. Humbert finds and reads her husband's diary and exposes him completely. While he frantically thinks about how to get out of this situation, Charlotte, in tears and anger, runs across the road to send letters and gets hit by a car. After the funeral of his wife, the hero goes after Lolita. Having got hold of clothes for her and sleeping pills, he tells the girl that her mother is in the hospital on the eve of a serious operation. Having taken Lolita from the camp, Humbert is going to take her around towns and hotels. In the first of them, he gives the girl sleeping pills to enjoy her sleeping. Sleeping pills don't work. The night of torment and indecision of Humbert, who does not dare to touch Lolita, ends with her morning awakening and the seduction of her stepfather. To the amazement of the latter, Lolita was not a virgin, she had recently "tried" it with the son of the head of the camp. Intimacy changes Humbert's relationship with Lolita. He reveals that her mother is dead. From August 1947, during the year, they travel around the United States, changing motels, cottages, hotels. The hero tries to bribe the girl with the promise of various pleasures and threatens trouble if she betrays him to the police as a seducer. Travelers can discover numerous sights of the country. In parallel, there are scandals between them. Heavenly bliss does not promise stable happiness. Instead of hiding somewhere in Mexico, Humbert turns to the east of America to send the girl to a private gymnasium in Beardsley. January 1, 1949 Lolita turns fourteen years old. She already partly loses the charm of her nymphetism, her vocabulary becomes unbearable. She demands money from Humbert for the satisfaction of his special desires, hiding it so that, as he suspects, having saved up, he can escape from him. In the gymnasium, she begins to get involved in the theater. While rehearsing the play "The Enchanted Hunters", Lolita falls in love with its author, the famous playwright Quilty, the irresistible hero of the advertisement for the "Dromedary" cigarettes. Sensing something was wrong, Humbert Humbert takes Lolita away from Beardsley a week before the premiere. In the summer of 1949, their last trip to America begins. Humbert is haunted by suspicions of her infidelity. He is afraid to leave Lolita alone for a long time, he checks the gun, which he keeps in the box. One day, he spots a cherry-colored Cadillac following them in the distance. Someone hired a detective to follow them? Who is this bald gentleman with whom Lolita was talking hastily? On the way in the towns they watch plays by certain Quilties and Damore-Block. Their pursuer changes cars, some actors are found in a cherry Cadillac. Lolita deceives Humbert, leads him by the nose along with the accomplices of her new lover. In Elphinstone, Lolita is taken to the hospital with a high fever. For the first time in two years, Humbert is separated from his beloved. Then he gets sick too. When he is about to pick up Lolita from the hospital, it turns out that the day before she left with her "uncle". Three and a half years pass without Lolita. First, Humbert rides backwards in the footsteps of his resourceful rival. In autumn it reaches Beardsley. Until next spring, he is treated in a sanatorium. Then he meets a thirty-year-old naive, gentle and brainless girlfriend named Rita, who saved Humbert from a straitjacket. He has been teaching at Cantrip University for a year. And finally he ends up in New York, where on September 22, 1952 he receives a letter from Lolita. She says that she is married, that she is expecting a child, that she needs money to pay off her debts, as her husband is going with her to Alaska, where he is promised a job. Humbert Humbert determines the address from the stamp and, taking a pistol with him, sets off on the road. He finds Lolita in some shack on the outskirts of a small town, married to a nearly deaf war veteran. She finally reveals the name of her seducer: it is the playwright Claire Quilty, a depraved genius who is not indifferent to small children. She thought that Humbert had figured it out long ago. Quilty, having stolen her, took her to the ranch, assuring her that in the autumn she would be lucky to audition for a role in Hollywood. But there, Lolita was waiting for drunkenness, drugs, perversions and group orgies, in which she refused to take part, and was thrown out into the street. Further hard work for a living, a meeting with a future husband ... Humbert offers Lolita to immediately leave her husband with him, she refuses, she never loved him. Humbert Humbert gives her and her husband four thousand dollars - income from her late mother's house - and goes on the hunt for playwright Claire Quilty. He feels something like remorse for Lolita. Humbert returns to Ramsdale, where he lived with Charlotte, transfers all property to Lolita's name, learns Quilty's address. Then he travels to Parkington, where he penetrates his enemy’s family castle, and with a pistol in his hands, conducts a half-mad conversation with him, alternating with shots, misfires, misses, hits, the struggle of two middle-aged and dilapidated bodies, reading the sentence in verse. All this makes the revenge scene farcical. Quilty runs away from his executioner, he shoots him... Regular guests of Quilty appear in the house, drink his vodka, ignoring Humbert's statement that he killed their master. At this time, a bloodied Quilty crawls out onto the upper platform, where he "fiddled hard, flapping his fins; but soon ... froze - now forever." Humbert Humbert leaves the castle. "Lolita", his confession, he writes first in a clinic for psychopaths, where they test his mind, and then in prison, awaiting trial, without waiting for which he dies of a heart attack. Soon after Humbert, Lolita also died, resolving on Christmas 1952 as a dead girl. I. L. Shevelev Leonid Maksimovich Leonov (1899-1994) Russian forest Roman (1953) A young girl with the sonorous name Apollinaria Vikhrova (in fact, everyone calls her Fields) comes to Moscow after school to study. Her mother stayed there, on the Yenga, in the Pashutinskoye forestry, but her father is a metropolitan professor, a specialist in forestry. Only Polya does not want to see him: every now and then Ivan Vikhrov is whipped in forest magazines because he constantly repeats about the need for proper forest management, about the inadmissibility of clear cuttings. Fences off the forest from its rightful owner - the Russian people. Such theories run counter to the interests of socialist construction. Numerous harsh articles hint at the political background of Vikhrov's scientific views, and Polya, a convinced Komsomol member, hates her father in absentia as an enemy of the new life. By the way, loud articles have one author. His surname is Gratsiansky. Once Gratsiansky and Vikhrov studied together at the Forest Institute and were even inseparable comrades, despite the difference in social status: Vikhrov is a peasant's son, Gratsiansky came from a wealthy family of a professor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Gratsiansky's brilliant scientific career began with the trampling of the prominent forest theorist Tulikov, Vikhrov's teacher, and continued strife with Vikhrov himself. After each major work by Vikhrov, the forestry community now expects an outrageous article by Gratsiansky, although some people confidently assert that Gratsiansky's abusive masterpieces do not constitute a contribution to great science. So, Polya comes to Moscow and stays with her friend and compatriot Varya Chernetsova. He walks around Moscow, comes to his father - to express to him an honest Komsomol judgment about people of this kind, but he finds only his father's sister, his aunt Taisiya Matveevna. ... On the same night, German planes drop the first bombs on sleeping Soviet cities. In the light of unfavorable reports from the front, Gratsiansky's accusations seem particularly ominous to Pole. Moreover, when they met personally in a bomb shelter (they are housemates), Gratsiansky adds definitively deadly details to her father’s biography: Vikhrov received an allowance of 25 rubles from an unknown person throughout his years of study. In the years of the impoverishment of the proletariat, this benefactor was certainly not a worker - the conclusion from this is clear. Polya is horrified, eager to go to the district committee to tell everything. Varya suggests that she go to Vikhrov's introductory lecture instead. After listening to an inspired story about the fate of the Russian forest ("The Fate of the Russian Forest" - this is the name of one of the professor's fundamental works), Polya feels the fatigue of victory and the triumph of purity. Now she is not ashamed to look into the faces of the fighting soldiers, among whom Rodion, her former classmate, friend and lover, is fighting. Returning home, she learns that Varya is going behind enemy lines. "You have a Komsomol ticket under your pillow ... think about it more often - it will teach you to do great things," a friend instructs Apollinaria in farewell. After seeing off Varya, Polya goes to the district committee to ask for the front. She also has one more cherished desire - to visit Red Square on the October holiday. From time to time, Poli has meetings with Aunt Taisa, from which the life story of her parents gradually becomes clear. After graduating from the Forest Institute, her father worked in his homeland, in the Pashutinskoye forestry. The economy under him became exemplary. There he began his fruitful scientific work. There he resumed his acquaintance with Elena Ivanovna, whom they had briefly seen in childhood. Lenochka lived on the rights of either a host, or a pupil in the Sapegins' estate, to whom she was planted in infancy. She believed her fears to Vikhrov: she was afraid that when the insurgent people executed their oppressors and went to burn Sapegino, they would kill her too. I felt like a stranger to the people, far from it and could not find my place in life. Out of uncertainty, she agreed to marry Ivan Matveyevich, who passionately loved her. The young people left for Moscow, since Vikhrov, as a promising scientist who had published a number of notable works by that time, was transferred to the Forestry Institute. Apollinaria is born. And when her daughter was three years old, Elena Ivanovna, unable to endure the duality of her life anymore, returned from her unloved husband to the Pashutinskoye forestry and began working there in the hospital. Shortly thereafter, Ivan Matveyevich had an adopted son, Seryozha: he was thrown by a dispossessed childhood friend Demid Zolotukhin. This partly filled the oppressive void created by the breakup of the family. For Paulie, as for her mother, there is no price that she would not pay for the right to look her people in the face. And since wartime demands the greatest moral purity from everyone, she is trying to get the final truth about Vikhrov and Gratsiansky. The case helps her learn about the moral uncleanliness of the latter: being a bachelor, Gratsiansky had a daughter, but he did not recognize paternity and did not help financially. During the parade on Red Square, Polya meets the military doctor Strunnikov, who takes her to work as a nurse in his hospital. At the same time, her half-brother Sergei Vikhrov, whom she had never seen, is sent to the front as an assistant to the driver of an armored train. Commissar of the armored train Morshchikhin is interested in the revolutionary movement among the youth of St. Petersburg before the February revolution. Talking with the witnesses of those years, Vikhrov and Gratsiansky, he learns about the provocative organization "Young Russia" that existed at that time. No one, except Gratsiansky, knows that this thread stretches even further: it was Gratsiansky who was connected with the secret police and, in particular, betrayed his comrades Vikhrov and Krainov. Gratsiansky does not know the extent of Morshchikhin's awareness and in mortal fear awaits exposure. Morshchikhin has no facts. Nevertheless, he begins to suspect the truth, but the armored train is sent to the front. Now he can talk about everything he learned only with Sergey. The fighting is taking place just in the vicinity of Polinoy, her native Pashutinskoye forestry, and as a local native she is sent on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. But she falls into the clutches of the Nazis and, unable to bear the lie, makes a speech denouncing them as enemies of the new life. A combination of incredible circumstances allows her to escape, and in the forest she stumbles upon Seryozha Vikhrov, who participated here on his armored train in one military operation. They are found by Soviet intelligence, they are treated in the same hospital - such is their acquaintance. Upon returning to Moscow, Polya goes to Gratsiansky and, as a sign of contempt, splashes ink in his face. Gratsiansky takes this as a revelation. The Soviet troops go on the offensive, and Vikhrov has a long-desired opportunity to go to Pashutino. He visits his ex-wife and finds Seryozha, Polya and Rodion with her. In a conversation, he reports one insignificant piece of news: Gratsiansky committed suicide by drowning himself in an ice-hole. I. N. Slyusareva Thief Novel (1927; 2nd new ed. 1959) Moscow was quiet here, in the area called Blagusha. Firsov looked around the surroundings and experienced a beautiful and poignant emptiness, familiar from experience, when, just like before, for other books, a handful of human destinies were ripening in him. And then Firsov saw as if in reality that Nikolka Zavarikhin had come to Moscow from the village. He ran to his uncle, then went around his countrymen and found out that his capital was not enough for a trading initiative in the city. With grief, Zavarikhin went on a spree in a pub. A lush beauty stepped onto the stage, but then a certain gentleman in a raccoon coat and an equally expensive hat attracted the attention of all visitors. There was a hidden strength behind his restraint. That was the famous bear thief (safe deposit specialist) Mitya Vekshin. Until recently, Vekshin was, as they said, almost a commissar of a small cavalry unit. His elevation was interrupted by one incident: Vekshin crippled an unarmed captive lieutenant boy, then fell into a binge, and the secretary of the regimental cell Artashez was forced to write a report on his best friend to the political department of the division. Vekshin was removed from office and expelled from the party. When the civil war ended, Vekshin arrived in the capital. He looked at the lures of the NEP with the contempt of a tamer. Suddenly, a trifling street scene with a NEP man - at the entrance to a chic grocery store, a dressed-up lady slapped him on the arm, mistakenly believing that Vershin was eager to enter in front of her - destroyed his confidence as a winner. By night, Vekshin got drunk in a nasty slum, and soon became a sidekick to the gang. He tried to convince himself that he was partisan against the old world. Together with the master of the "train" Vasily Vasilyevich, they stole a suitcase from a neighbor in the compartment. It contained women's rags, circus tackle and a photograph. According to her, Mitya realized that he had robbed his sister Tatyanka, who ran away from home as a child and now became the famous aerial acrobat Gela Velton. All this was established by the writer Firsov. There was one more character in Veksha's past - the black-haired beauty Masha Dolomanova. At first, they had a childhood friendship, renewed every summer at the time of Masha's holidays. But over the years, a completely different thing matured between them ... and broke off. They didn't see each other for several years. Then the meeting did happen. Tired and grubby, the grown-up Vekshin walked home from work and met an unrecognizably blossomed, elegant Masha under a lace umbrella. The girl recognized through the oil and soot, called out to Mitya, who turned away. Apparently, self-love was stronger than affection. He did not want to be thought that he, a beggar, was aiming for the wealthy Dolomanov as a son-in-law. Soon Mitya became an assistant driver, got acquainted with political parties. At the bottom of his trunk there was invariably a cheap ring with turquoise, which Masha had never been presented with, bought from the first earnings. But Masha never forgot Mitya either. On a fateful evening in early spring, she was carried into an impassable wilderness. Even Firsov could not understand why. Suddenly, Agey Stolyarov, the famous robber and murderer, came out to the shore of the lake and took her. When Ageika offered Masha a life together, she agreed. So, there was something worthy in her terrible fiancé, which Firsov deliberately did not show. So Masha became a thief Manka Blizzard. And when she met Mitya, she promised: for having given her to the vile Agey, whom even thieves shun, let her not expect mercy from her. Even the turquoise ring did not soften her. She said bluntly that she would make the proud Mitya "worse than those" whom he now despises. Cover him with innocent blood. And the ring, she said, would come in handy. Masha only admitted to Tatyanka that it was Mitya who then made an appointment with her in the wilderness (so that he would not get caught by the police), but he himself did not come, having lingered on party work. Soon Mitya went to work with Agey and, only when he opened the safe, did he find out that he had robbed an institution where the old friend Artashez was the head. The hacked safe had evidence - that same ring. But Artashez, recognizing the ring, returned it to its owner on occasion. Nikolka Zavarikhin, meanwhile, opened his own trade - and fell in love with Gela Velton, that is, Tanya Vekshina. And Tanya is in it. The kind girl clearly realized how unsuitable this rude, assertive huckster was for her. But she was looking for support. A misfortune happened to her: in the arena, she began to be overcome by the fear of breaking. From Nikolka, strength and confidence came to her. One night, returning from her fiancé, Tanya met Firsov and asked bluntly: how many pages in his story were left for her to share? The writer also came to Masha and made a stormy speech, explaining that his writing power only seems illusory, but in fact his kingdom is of this world, that he can lead Masha through a crowd of characters, give her the power to decide their fate .... Nobody interfered with their conversation, since Masha, under suspicious circumstances, became a widow and moved the thief Donka, who had been hopelessly in love with her for a long time, either as a bodyguard, or as a doorkeeper. The handsome Donka served her like a slave, but did not hide his hopes for the future. Vekshin was very worried about such close proximity to Masha, but he could not do anything: he fell asleep once and was forced to leave Moscow. Vekshin went home. Looking for his father (who later turned out to be dead), he unexpectedly got to the wedding of his half-brother Leonty. Then he spent several homeless nights in nature, pondering his life and earthly destiny. It ripened "the image of electric reins, capable of not only curbing, but also saturating with the highest historical meaning ... the human thicket that used to flow senselessly through the lowlands of history." In his difficult state of mind, Vekshin somehow did not react too violently to the death of his sister. Tanya's fears were justified: she crashed while performing her signature shtrabat number. Mitya's thoughts were occupied with revenge on his opponent, as he began to suspect, now he was also lucky. He had already forgotten what exactly the vengeful Masha wanted to make him a murderer, and he conceived a seemingly cunning plan to destroy Donka on the rule, that is, the thieves' court of honor. In Firsov's story, it was picturesquely told about how, after the unsuccessful murder of Donka, Vekshin was driving somewhere in the Trans-Siberian distance, how he got out at a random stop, where he was sheltered by lumberjacks ... But in reality, his fallen hero had a completely different social reforging. Either the writer described Vekshin's life path as a shaky bridge from crime to enlightenment, or he used the character's biography as a blank to try on some of his thoughts "about human culture and stuffing ..." The writer Firsov was visited by a middle-aged woman - that was his muse, who had served time Manka Vyuga. She told the author something about the further fate of his characters. The writer did not notice when and how she managed to leave a bouquet under the draft of the epilogue. I. N. Slyusareva Andrei Platonovich Platonov (1899-1951) Epiphany locks Tale (1927) The English engineer William Perry, generously rewarded by the Russian Tsar Peter for diligence in building locks on the Voronezh River, calls his brother Bertrand to Russia in a letter to fulfill the new royal plan - to create a continuous ship's passage between the Don and the Okoyu. Great lock and canal work is ahead, for the design of which William promised the tsar to call on his brother, because "he was tired, and his heart withered, and his mind went out." In the spring of 1709, Bertrand Perry sails to St. Petersburg. He is thirty-four years old, but a gloomy, mournful face and gray temples make him forty-five years old. In the port of Bertrand, the ambassador of the Russian sovereign and the consul of the English king meet. Resting after a long journey in the allotted room near the naval warehouse, under the disturbing howl of a storm outside the window, Bertrand recalls his native New Castle and his twenty-year-old bride Mary. Before parting, Mary told Bertrand that she needed a husband "like the wanderer Iskander, like the rushing Tamerlane or the indomitable Attila." To be worthy of such a wife, Bertrand came to this harsh land. But will Mary be able to wait for him for many years? With such thoughts, Bertrand falls asleep in a frozen calm. For a week, Bertrand gets acquainted with the survey documents drawn up by knowledgeable people: the French engineer Truzson and the Polish technician Tsitskevsky. On the basis of these researches, he worked for half a year on a project and work plans, fascinated by the great plan of Peter. In July, the documents were reported to the tsar, who approved them and gave Bertrand a reward of one thousand five hundred silver rubles and established a salary of one thousand rubles every month from now on. In addition, Bertrand was given the rights of a general with subordination only to the king and commander-in-chief, and the governors and governors were given a decree to provide full assistance to the chief engineer - whatever he required. Having given Bertrand all the rights, Tsar Peter also reminds him that he knows how not only to thank, but also to punish those who oppose the royal will. Bertrand, together with five German engineers and ten scribes, goes to the city of Epifan, in the very middle of future work. Departure marred by a letter from Newcastle. Mary reproaches him for cruelty - for the sake of gold, he sailed to a distant land and ruined her love. And she preferred another - Thomas, and already the child is worried under her heart. Without remembering his mind, Bertrand Perry reads the letter three times in a row and squeezes his pipe with his teeth so that blood flows from his gums. "It's over, friends ... The blood is over, and the gums will grow back. Let's go to Epifan!" - having mastered himself, he says to his fellow travelers. They drive for a long time along the Posolskaya road - through Moscow, through echoing spaces with rich and restrained nature, and the headwind blows grief out of Bertrand's chest. The work begins immediately, only in it Bertrand radiates with the energy of his soul - and the helpers call him a hard labor commander. In the fall, Peter comes to Epifan and remains dissatisfied with the fact that the work is going slowly. Indeed, no matter how hardened Perry, the peasants hid from the service, and the local evil authorities profited from extortions and tax payments from the treasury. Peter conducts an inquiry, the governor is beaten with a whip and exiled to Moscow for additional investigation, where he dies. Upon Peter's departure, another trouble finds on the Epiphany works. Not only do German Baltic craftsmen and technicians get sick and die, but they also run along secret roads to their homeland, and without them, the peasants do not go out for duty in whole settlements at all. Under pain of death, Bertrand Perry orders not to let foreigners go anywhere on the way back, but even this fails to truncate the evil being done. Bertrand understands that he started in vain with such an storm of work. It was necessary to let the people get used to work, and now the fear of “overpowering” has settled in people ... The new governor intercepts petitions to the tsar and explains to Bertrand that the local people are slanderous and disobedient and strive only to compose denunciations, and not to work. Bertrand feels that the new governor is no better than the old one. He sends Peter a report describing the entire history of the work. The tsar declares the Epiphany province under martial law, sends a new governor, but also threatens Bertrand Perry with reprisals for negligent work: "That you are a Briton will not be a consolation to you." Bertrand also receives a letter from Mary. She writes that her firstborn has died, that her husband has become a complete stranger, and that she remembers Bertrand, understanding the courage and modesty of his nature. Bertrand does not answer Mary. Spring is unfriendly, and the riverbeds are not filled with water to the desired level. It turns out that the year when the survey was carried out was unusually abundant in water, and for a normal year, the calculations are incorrect. To pump water into the canals, Bertrand gives the order to expand the discovered underwater well on Lake Ivan. But during the work, the water-holding clay layer is destroyed, and the water decreases even more. Bertrand's heart hardens. He lost his homeland, Mary, hoping to find peace in his work, but here, too, he is overtaken by a ruthless blow of fate. He knows that he will not get out of these spaces alive and will not see his native Newcastle again. But work continues. A year later, a commission arrives to test the locks and canals, headed by the same Truzson, on the basis of whose research the project was made. The water flowing through the canals rises so slightly that in other places even a raft cannot pass, let alone a ship. “That there would be little water, all the women in Epifan knew about a year ago, so all the inhabitants looked at work as a royal game and a foreign undertaking ...” The commission concludes: consider costs and labors in vain. Perry does not try to prove his innocence. He wanders in the steppe, and in the evenings he reads English love stories. The German engineers run away to escape the tsarist punishment. Two months later, Peter sends a courier with a message: Bertrand Perry, as a state criminal, to drive on foot to Moscow with guards. The road turns out to be so far away that Perry forgets where he is being led and wants to be taken and killed as soon as possible. Bertrand sits in the tower prison of the Kremlin and watches through a narrow window how the stars burn in the sky in their height and lawlessness. He wakes up from the people standing over him. This is a clerk reading a sentence, and a huge sadistic executioner without an ax. For more than an hour, gritting and snoring, the executioner radiates ferocity over the fading life of Bertrand Perry. A letter smelling of perfume from England, which comes to Epifan in the name of a dead man, the voivode Saltykov puts from sin for the goddess - on the eternal settlement of spiders. V. M. Sotnikov Intimate Man Tale (1928) "Foma Pukhov is not gifted with sensitivity: he cut boiled sausage on his wife's coffin, hungry due to the absence of the hostess." After the burial of his wife, having drunk, Pukhov goes to bed. Someone knocks loudly at him. The watchman of the head of the distance office brings a ticket to work on cleaning the railway tracks from snow. At the Pukhov station, he signs the order - in those years, try not to sign! - and together with a team of workers serving the snowplow, which is pulled by two locomotives, he sets off to clear the way for the Red Army echelons and armored trains from snow drifts. The front is sixty miles away. On one of the snow blockages, the snow plow brakes sharply, the workers fall, breaking their heads, the driver's assistant is smashed to death. Mounted Cossack detachment surrounds the workers, ordering them to deliver steam locomotives and a snow plow to the station occupied by the Whites. A red armored train that has arrived frees the workers and shoots the Cossacks stuck in the snow. At the Liski station, the workers rest for three days. On the wall of the barracks, Pukhov reads an announcement about the recruitment of mechanics in the technical units of the Southern Front. He invites his friend Zvorychny to go south, otherwise "there is nothing to do at the snow plow - spring is already blowing in the fly! The revolution will pass, but there will be nothing left for us!" Zvorychny does not agree, regretting leaving his wife and son. A week later, Pukhov and five more locksmiths go to Novorossiysk. The Reds are equipping three ships with a landing force of five hundred people to the Crimea, to the rear of Wrangel. Pukhov sails on the ship "Shan", servicing the steam engine. On an impenetrable night, the landing force passes the Kerch Strait, but because of the storm, the ships lose each other. The raging elements do not allow the landing force to land on the Crimean coast. The paratroopers are forced to return to Novorossiysk. The news comes about the capture of Simferopol by the Red troops. Pukhov spends four months in Novorossiysk, working as a senior fitter at the coastal base of the Azov-Black Sea Shipping Company. He is bored by the lack of work: there are few steamships, and Pukhov is busy compiling reports on the failure of their mechanisms. He often walks around the city, admiring nature, finding everything appropriate and living to the point. Remembering his dead wife, Pukhov feels his difference from nature and grieves, burying himself with a linden in the ground heated by his breath, wetting it with rare reluctant drops of tears. He leaves Novorossiysk, but goes not to the house, but towards Baku, intending to reach his homeland along the Caspian coast and along the Volga. In Baku, Pukhov meets with the sailor Sharikov, who is establishing the Caspian Shipping Company. Sharikov gives Pukhov a business trip to Tsaritsyn - to attract a qualified proletariat to Baku. In Tsaritsyn, Pukhov shows Sharikov's mandate to some mechanic, whom he meets at the factory's office. He reads the mandate, smears it with his tongue and sticks it on the fence. Pukhov looks at the piece of paper and puts it on the head of a nail so that the wind does not rip it off. He goes to the station, gets on the train and asks people where he is going. “Do we know where?” the meek voice of an invisible person says doubtfully. “He is coming, and we are with him.” Pukhov returns to his city, settles with Zvorychny, the secretary of the workshop cell, and begins working as a mechanic on a hydraulic press. A week later, he moves to live in his apartment, which he calls the "right of way": he is bored there. Pukhov goes to visit Zvorychny and tells something about the Black Sea - so as not to drink tea for nothing. Returning home, Pukhov recalls that the dwelling is called a hearth: "The hearth, hell: no woman, no fire!" The whites are approaching the city. The workers, gathered in detachments, defend themselves. White armored train bombards the city with hurricane fire. Pukhov proposes to assemble several platforms with sand and launch them from a slope onto an armored train. But the platforms shatter to pieces without causing harm to the armored train. The workers who rushed to the attack fall under machine-gun fire. In the morning, two red armored trains come to the aid of the workers - the city is saved. The cell understands whether Pukhov is a traitor, who came up with a stupid idea with platforms, and decides that he is just a silly man. Work in the workshop burdens Pukhov - not with heaviness, but with despondency. He remembers Sharikov and writes him a letter. A month later, he receives a reply from Sharikov with an invitation to work in the oil fields. Pukhov travels to Baku, where he works as a machinist on an engine that pumps oil from a well to an oil storage facility. Time goes by, Pukhov becomes well, and he regrets only one thing: that he has aged a little, and there is nothing unexpected in his soul that was before. One day he goes fishing from Baku. He spent the night with Sharikov, to whom his brother had returned from captivity. Unexpected sympathy for people working alone against the substance of the whole world clears up in Pukhov's overgrown soul. He walks with pleasure, feeling the affinity of all bodies to his body, the luxury of life and the fury of a bold nature, incredible in silence and in action. Gradually, he guesses the most important and painful: the desperate nature has passed into people and into the courage of the revolution. The spiritual foreign land leaves Pukhov in the place where he stands, and he recognizes the warmth of his homeland, as if he had returned to his mother from an unnecessary wife. Light and warmth strained over the world and gradually turned into the strength of man. "Good morning!" - he says to the driver who met him. He indifferently testifies: "Revolutionary completely." V. M. Sotnikov Chevengur Journey with an open heart Roman (1929) Four years later, in the fifth famine, he drove people to cities or forests - there was a crop failure. Zakhar Pavlovich remained alone in the village. For a long life, not a single product passed his hands, from a frying pan to an alarm clock, but Zakhar Pavlovich himself had nothing: no family, no home. One night, when Zakhar Pavlovich was listening to the sound of the long-awaited rain, he made out the distant whistle of a locomotive. In the morning he packed up and went to the city. Work in the locomotive depot opened up a new skillful world for him - such a long-time favorite, as if always familiar, and he decided to stay in it forever. The Dvanovs had sixteen children, seven survived. The eighth was adopted Sasha, the son of a fisherman. His father drowned out of interest: he wanted to know what happens after death. Sasha is the same age as one of the Dvanovs' children, Proshka. When another twin was born in the famine year, Prokhor Abramovich Dvanov sewed a begging bag for Sasha and led him out of the village. "We are all boors and scoundrels!" - Prokhor Abramovich correctly identified himself, returning to his wife and his own children. Sasha went to the cemetery to say goodbye to his father. He decided, as soon as he had a full bag of bread, to dig himself a dugout next to his father's grave and live there, since he had no home. Zakhar Pavlovich asks Proshka Dvanov to find Sasha for a ruble and takes him as his son. Zakhar Pavlovich loves Sasha with all the devotion of old age, with all the feeling of unconscious, vague hopes. Sasha works as an apprentice at a depot to train as a locksmith. In the evenings he reads a lot, and when he has read, he writes, because at the age of seventeen he does not want to leave the world unnamed. However, he feels an emptiness inside his body, where, without stopping, life enters and exits, like a distant rumble, in which it is impossible to make out the words of the song. Zakhar Pavlovich, watching his son, advises: "Don't suffer, Sash, you are already weak..." The war begins, then the revolution. One October night, having heard shooting in the city, Zakhar Pavlovich says to Sasha: "There fools take power - maybe at least life will grow wiser." In the morning they go to the city and look for the most serious party in order to immediately enroll in it. All parties are placed in one state-owned building, and Zakhar Pavlovich walks around the offices, choosing a party according to his own mind. At the end of the corridor, behind the last door, there is only one person sitting - the rest have left to rule. "Soon the end of everything will come?" - Zakhar Pavlovich asks the man. "Socialism, or what? In a year. Today we only occupy institutions." "Then write us," Zakhar Pavlovich agrees, overjoyed. At home, the father explains to his son his understanding of Bolshevism: "A Bolshevik must have an empty heart so that everything can fit in there ..." Six months later, Alexander enters the opened railway courses, and then goes to the polytechnic. But soon the teachings of Alexander Dvanov ceased, and for a long time. The party sends him to the front of the civil war - to the steppe city of Novokhopersk. Zakhar Pavlovich sits with his son at the station for a whole day, waiting for a passing train. They have already talked about everything except love. When Sasha leaves, Zakhar Pavlovich returns home and reads algebra in warehouses, not understanding anything, but gradually finding solace for himself. In Novokhopersk, Dvanov is accustomed to the warring steppe revolution. Soon a letter arrives from the province with an order for his return. On the way, instead of the runaway driver, he drives a steam locomotive - and on a single-track road, the train collides with an oncoming one. Sasha miraculously survives. Having traveled a long and difficult journey, Dvanov returns home. He immediately falls ill with typhus, being out of life for eight months. Zakhar Pavlovich, in despair, makes a coffin for his son. But in the summer Sasha recovers. A neighbor, an orphan Sonya, comes to them in the evenings. Zakhar Pavlovich splits the coffin into a firebox, happily thinking that now it’s time to make not a coffin, but a crib, because Sonya will grow up soon and they and Sasha may have children. The Provincial Committee sends Sasha around the province - "to look for communism among the amateur performances of the population." Dvanov goes from one village to another. He falls into the hands of the anarchists, from whom he is beaten off by a small detachment under the command of Stepan Kopenkin. Kopenkin participates in the revolution for the sake of his feelings of love for Rosa Luxemburg. In one village, where Kopenkin and Dvanov visit, they meet Sonya, who teaches children at school here. Dvanov and Kopenkin, wandering around the province, meet many people, each of whom in his own way represents the construction of a new, still unknown life. Dvanov meets Chepurny, chairman of the revolutionary committee of the county town of Chevengur. Dvanov likes the word Chevengur, which reminds him of the enticing rumble of an unknown country. Chepurny talks about his city as a place where the good of life, the accuracy of truth, and the sorrow of existence happen by themselves as needed. Although Dvanov dreams of returning home and continuing his studies at the Polytechnic, he is fond of Chepurny's stories about the socialism of Chevengur and decides to go to this city. "Let's go to your land!" says Chepurny and Kopenkin. "Let's look at the facts!" Chevengur wakes up late; its inhabitants rested from centuries of oppression and could not rest. The revolution conquered Chevengur county dreams and made the soul the main profession. Having locked his horse Proletarian Strength in a barn, Kopenkin walks along Chevengur, meeting people who are pale in appearance and alien in face. He asks Chepurny what these people do during the day. Chepurny replies that the human soul is the main profession, and its product is friendship and camaraderie. Kopenkin suggests that in order not to be at all good in Chevengur, to organize a little grief, because communism must be caustic - for good taste. They appoint an emergency commission, which draws up lists of the bourgeois who survived the revolution. Chekists shoot them. "Now our business is dead!" - Chepurny rejoices after the execution. "Cry!" - Chekists say to the wives of the murdered bourgeois and go to bed from fatigue. After the massacre with the bourgeoisie, Kopenkin still does not feel communism in Chevengur, and the Chekists begin to identify the semi-bourgeois in order to free life from them. The semi-bourgeois are gathered into a large crowd and driven out of the city into the steppe. The proletarians who remained in Chevengur and arrived in the city at the call of the communists quickly eat up the food leftovers of the bourgeoisie, destroy all the chickens and eat only vegetable food in the steppe. Chepurny expects that the final happiness of life will work out of itself in the untroubled proletariat, because the happiness of life is a fact and a necessity. Only Kopenkin walks around Chevengur without happiness, waiting for the arrival of Dvanov and his assessment of the new life. Dvanov arrives in Chevengur, but he does not see communism from the outside: he must have hidden himself in people. And Dvanov guesses why the Chevengur Bolsheviks want communism so much: it is the end of history, the end of time, while time passes only in nature, and there is longing in man. Dvanov invents a device that should convert sunlight into electricity, for which mirrors were taken out of all the frames in Chevengur and all the glass was collected. But the device does not work. A tower was also built, on which a fire is lit so that those wandering in the steppe can come to it. But no one comes into the light of the lighthouse. Comrade Serbinov comes from Moscow to check the work of the Chevengurians and notes their uselessness. Chepurny explains this: "So we work not for good, but for each other." In his report, Serbinov writes that there are many happy but useless things in Chevengur. Women are brought to Chevengur - to continue life. Young Chevengurs only warm themselves with them, as with their mothers, because the air is already quite cold from the coming autumn. Serbinov tells Dvanov about his meeting in Moscow with Sofia Alexandrovna - the same Sonya that Sasha remembered before Chevengur. Now Sofia Alexandrovna lives in Moscow and works at a factory. Serbinov says she remembers Sasha as an idea. Serbinov is silent about his love for Sofya Alexandrovna. A man comes running to Chevengur and reports that Cossacks on horseback are moving towards the city. A fight ensues. Serbinov dies with thoughts of the distant Sofya Alexandrovna, who kept a trace of his body in herself, Chepurny dies, the rest of the Bolsheviks. The city is occupied by the Cossacks. Dvanov remains in the steppe over the mortally wounded Kopenkin. When Kopenkin dies, Dvanov mounts his horse Proletarian Strength and sets off from the city, into the open steppe. He travels for a long time and passes the village where he was born. The road leads Dvanov to the lake, in the depths of which his father once rested. Dvanov sees a fishing rod that he forgot on the shore as a child. He makes the Proletarian Power go into the water up to his chest and, saying goodbye to her, gets off his saddle into the water - in search of the road that his father once walked in the curiosity of death ... Zakhar Pavlovich comes to Chevengur in search of Sasha. There are no people in the city - only Proshka sits by the brick house and cries. “If you want, I’ll give you a ruble again - bring me Sasha,” asks Zakhar Pavlovich. "I'll bring it for free," promises Prokofy, and goes to look for Dvanov. V. M. Sotnikov The pit Tale (1930) "On the day of the thirtieth anniversary of his personal life, Voshchev was given a calculation from a small mechanical plant, where he obtained the means for his existence. In the dismissal document, they wrote to him that he was removed from production due to the growth of weakness in it and thoughtfulness amid the general pace of work. " Voshchev goes to another town. In a wasteland in a warm hole, he settles down for the night. At midnight, he is awakened by a man mowing grass in a wasteland. The mower says that construction will begin here soon, and sends Voshchev to the barracks: "Go there and sleep until the morning, and in the morning you will find out." Voshchev wakes up with an artel of artisans who feed him and explain that today the construction of a single building will begin, which will include the entire local class of the proletariat in the settlement. Voshchev is given a shovel, he squeezes it with his hands, as if he wants to extract the truth from the dust of the earth. The engineer has already marked out the foundation pit and tells the workers that the exchange should send another fifty people, but for now it is necessary to start work with the leading team. Voshchev digs together with everyone, he "looked at people and decided to live somehow, since they endure and live: he came into being with them and will die in due time inseparably with people." The diggers gradually settle down and get used to work. Comrade Pashkin, chairman of the regional trade union council, often comes to the foundation pit, who monitors the pace of work. "The pace is quiet," he says to the workers. In the evenings Voshchev lies with his eyes open and longs for the future, when everything will become common knowledge and placed in a mean feeling of happiness. The most conscious worker, Safronov, proposes putting up a radio in the barracks to listen to achievements and directives; the disabled, legless Zhachev objects: "It's better to bring an orphan girl by the hand than your radio." The digger finds Chiklin in an abandoned building of a tile factory, where he was once kissed by the owner's daughter, a dying woman with a little daughter. Chiklin kisses the woman and recognizes from the remnant of tenderness in her lips that this is the same girl who kissed him in his youth. Before her death, the mother tells the girl not to tell anyone whose daughter she is. The girl asks why her mother is dying: because she is a potbelly stove, or from death? Chiklin takes her with him. Comrade Pashkin sets up a radio horn in the barracks, from which every minute demands are heard in the form of slogans - about the need to collect nettles, trim the tails and manes of horses. Safronov listens and regrets that he cannot speak back into the tube so that they know about his sense of activity. Voshchev and Zhachev become unreasonably ashamed of the long speeches on the radio, and Zhachev shouts: "Stop that sound! Let me answer it!" After listening to the radio, Safronov looks sleeplessly at the sleeping people and says with sorrow: "Oh, you, mass, mass. It is difficult to organize a skeleton of communism out of you! And what do you need? Such a bitch? The girl who came with Chiklin asks him about the features of the meridians on the map, and Chiklin replies that these are fences from the bourgeoisie. In the evening, the diggers do not turn on the radio, but after eating, they sit down to look at the girl and ask her who she is. The girl remembers what her mother told her, and talks about the fact that she does not remember her parents and that she did not want to be born under the bourgeoisie, but how Lenin became - and she became. Safronov concludes: "And our Soviet power is deep, since even children, not remembering their mother, already smell Comrade Lenin!" At the meeting, the workers decide to send Safronov and Kozlov to the village in order to organize collective farm life. In the village they are killed - and other diggers led by Voshchev and Chiklin come to the aid of the village activists. While a meeting of organized members and unorganized individual farmers was being held at the Organization Yard, Chiklin and Voshchev were building a raft nearby. Activists designate people according to the list: the poor for the collective farm, kulaks for dispossession. In order to more accurately identify all the kulaks, Chiklin takes a bear, who works as a hammerer in the forge, to help. The bear remembers well the houses where he used to work - these houses are used to determine kulaks, who are driven onto a raft and sent along the river current to the sea. The poor people who remained at the Org Yard march in place to the sound of the radio, then dance, welcoming the arrival of collective farm life. In the morning, people go to the smithy, where the work of a hammer-bear is heard. The members of the collective farm burn all the coal, mend all the dead implements, and with anguish that the work is over, they sit down by the wattle fence and look at the village in bewilderment about their future life. Workers lead the villagers to the city. By evening, travelers come to the pit and see that it is covered with snow, and the barracks are empty and dark. Chiklin kindles a fire to warm the sick girl Nastya. People pass by the barracks, but no one comes to visit Nastya, because everyone, bowing his head, constantly thinks about complete collectivization. By morning, Nastya is dying. Voshchev, standing over the calmed child, thinks about why he now needs the meaning of life, if there is no this small, faithful person in whom the truth would become joy and movement. Zhachev asks Voshchev: "Why did you bring the collective farm?" "The peasants want to join the proletariat," replies Voshchev. Chiklin takes a crowbar and a shovel and goes to dig at the far end of the pit. Looking around, he sees that the entire collective farm is digging the ground without ceasing. All the poor and average peasants work with such zeal, as if they want to be saved forever in the abyss of the pit. The horses don't stand either: collective farmers carry stones on them. Only Zhachev does not work, grieving for the dead Nastya. “I am a freak of imperialism, and communism is a childish affair, for which I loved Nastya too ... I’ll go and kill Comrade Pashkin now,” says Zhachev and crawls away on his cart to the city, never to return to the foundation pit. Chiklin digs a deep grave for Nastya so that the child will never be disturbed by the noise of life from the surface of the earth. V. M. Sotnikov Juvenile Sea Sea of youth Tale (1934) For five days a man walks into the depths of the southeastern steppe of the Soviet Union. On the way, he imagines himself either as a locomotive driver, or as a reconnaissance geologist, or "another organized professional being, just to occupy his head with uninterrupted thought and divert anguish from his heart" and reflects on the reorganization of the globe in order to discover new sources of energy. This is Nikolai Vermo, who has tried many professions and was sent as an electrical engineer to a meat farm. The director of this state farm, Umrishchev, having met a businessman, determines Nikolai Vermo in a distant herd. Umrishchev gives Vermo his advice - "do not interfere", because the eternal passion-suffering, in his opinion, comes from the fact that people "relentlessly poking around, violating the dimensions of calmness." Together with Nikolai, a young woman, the secretary of the group party cell, Nadezhda Bestaloeva, goes to the far group from the state farm. Nikolai tells her how often it becomes boring because feelings do not come true, and when you want to kiss someone, the person turns away ... Bestaloeva replies that she will not turn away. When they are kissing, Umrishchev rides up on horseback and says: "Are you making a fuss?" Nadezhda promises Umrishchev to settle accounts with him, because a milkmaid strangled herself on the herd. The "Parents' Yards" herd has four thousand cows and a large number of supporting livestock, being a reliable source of meat food for the proletariat. When Vermo and Bestaloeva arrive at the edge, Umrishchev is already there. After tasting the bread, he instructs "to bake more delicious bread." He points to the ground: "Pick a blade of grass on a footpath, otherwise it hits the legs and makes it difficult to concentrate." Umrishchev holds a meeting of the workers of the group, at which questions of the victory of Soviet power over capitalism are discussed. The old Kuzminishna, who began to call herself Federatovna, speaks of her pity for the federal republic, for the sake of which she walks day and night and feels where there is and where there is nothing ... The senior clerk Bozhev is afraid that the old woman knows about his secret exchanges of good cows thin kulak, but calms down: no charges are brought against him. The next day, the milkmaid Aina is buried. Aina found out about the affairs of Bozhev with the kulaks, who, with the knowledge of the herder, changed their cows for fattened state farms, and also milked them on pastures. Bozhev beat a witness to his crimes and once raped her. Aina, unable to bear the abuse, strangled herself. Bestaloeva guesses the true reasons for this suicide. Vermot walks ahead of the procession, playing the harmonica on Beethoven's "Appassionata" by ear. A commission headed by the secretary of the district committee comes to the group to investigate. Aina's brother tells everything. Bozhev is tried and shot in the city prison. Umrishchev is sent to another collective farm, where, as an opportunist, he does everything the opposite of his convictions so that it turns out right ... Bestaloeva becomes the director of the meat farm, who takes Federatovna as her assistant, and appoints Nikolai Vermo as the chief engineer. There is not enough water on the edge, and Vermo comes up with the idea of burning the earth with a voltaic arc in order to get to the buried waters - the juvenile sea. Bestaloeva at a meeting of the asset gives the order to Nikolai to do earthworks for now, and she decides to go to the area for equipment and building materials in order to increase the delivery of meat several times in the future with the receipt of groundwater. The meat sovkhoz is undergoing a technical reorganization: cows are killed with electricity in the tower, manure is briquetted to obtain combustible material, and a wind turbine is installed to generate electrical energy. Nikolai Vermo is drilling a well with a voltaic unit, getting to the glowing water below, underground. With this unit, he cuts slabs from the ground for the construction of dwellings for people and shelter for livestock. The work of engineer Nikolai Vermo is received by a delegation from Moscow. In late autumn, a ship sails from Leningrad, on board of which are the engineer Vermo and Nadezhda Bestaloeva. They were sent to America to test the idea of ultra-deep drilling with a voltaic flame and learn how to extract electricity from space lit by the sky. On the shore they are escorted by Federatovna and Umrishchev, whom Federatovna has long been ideologically re-educating, carried away by the patient negative old man and becoming his wife. In the evening, going to bed in the hotel, Umrishchev asks Federatovna if dusk will come on earth when Nikolai Edwardovich and Nadezhda Mikhailovna begin to make their electricity out of daylight. "Here, lying Federatovna, turned to Umrishchev and scolded him for opportunism." V. M. Sotnikov Return Story (1946) After serving the entire war, Guard Captain Alexei Alekseevich Ivanov leaves the army for demobilization. At the station, waiting for the train for a long time, he meets a girl, Masha, the daughter of a spaceman, who served in the dining room of their unit. For two days they travel together, and for another two days Ivanov stays in the city where Masha was born twenty years ago. In parting, Ivanov kisses Masha, remembering forever that her hair smells like autumn fallen leaves in the forest. A day later, Ivanov's son Petrushka meets him at the train station in his hometown. He was already in his twelfth year, and the father did not immediately recognize his child in a serious teenager. His wife Lyubov Vasilievna is waiting for them on the porch of the house. Ivanov hugs his wife, feeling the forgotten and familiar warmth of a loved one. The daughter, little Nastya, does not remember her father and is crying. Parsley pulls her back: "This is our father, he is our relatives!" The family begins to prepare a festive treat. Everyone is commanded by Petrushka - Ivanov is surprised at how grown-up and old-man's wise his son is. But he likes the little meek Nastya more. Ivanov asks his wife how they lived here without him. Lyubov Vasilievna is shy of her husband, like a bride: she has lost the habit of him. Ivanov feels with shame that something is preventing him from rejoicing with all his heart at the return - after many years of separation, he cannot immediately understand even the most dear people. The family is sitting at the table. The father sees that the children eat little. When the son indifferently explains: "And I want you to get more," the parents, shuddering, exchange glances. Nastya hides a piece of the pie - "for Uncle Semyon". Ivanov asks his wife who this Uncle Semyon is. Lyubov Vasilievna explains that the Germans killed Semyon Evseevich's wife and children, and he asked them to go to play with the children, and they did not see anything bad from him, but only good ... Listening to her, Ivanov smiles unkindly and lights up. Petrushka manages the household, tells his father that he should be on allowance tomorrow - and Ivanov feels his timidity in front of his son. In the evening after dinner, when the children go to bed, Ivanov asks his wife for details of the life she spent without him. Petrushka overhears, he feels sorry for his mother. This conversation is painful for both - Ivanov is afraid of confirming his suspicions of his wife's infidelity, but she frankly admits that she had nothing with Semyon Evseevich. She was waiting for her husband and only loved him. Only once, "when her soul was completely dying," one person, an instructor from the district committee, became close to her, but she regretted that she had allowed him to be close. She realized that only with her husband can she be calm and happy. “Without you, I have nowhere to go, you can’t save yourself for the children ... Live with us, Alyosha, we will be fine!” - says Lyubov Vasilievna. Petrushka hears her father groaning and crunching the glass of the lamp. “You hurt me in the heart, and I am also a person, not a toy…” Ivanov gets ready in the morning. Petrushka tells him everything about their hard life without him, how his mother was waiting for him, and he arrived, and his mother was crying. The father is angry with him: "Yes, you still do not understand anything!" - “You don’t understand yourself. We have a business, we have to live, and you swear, how stupid they are ...” And Petrushka tells a story about Uncle Khariton, who was cheating on his wife, and they also swore, and then Khariton said that he also there were many at the front, and he and his wife laughed and made peace, although Khariton invented everything about his betrayals ... Ivanov listens to this story with surprise. He leaves in the morning for the station, drinks vodka and takes the train to go to Masha, whose hair smells like nature. At home, Petrushka, waking up, sees only Nastya - her mother has gone to work. After asking Nastya how his father left, he thinks for a moment, dresses his sister and leads her along. Ivanov is standing in the vestibule of a train that passes near his house. At the crossing, he sees figurines of children - the one who is larger quickly drags the smaller one behind him, who does not have time to touch with his legs. Ivanov already knows that these are his children. They are far behind, and Petrushka is still dragging the sluggish Nastya behind her. Ivanov throws his duffel bag on the ground, descends to the bottom step of the car and gets off the train "to that sandy path along which his children ran after him." V. M. Sotnikov Alexander Alexandrovich Fadeev (1901-1956) Defeat Roman (1927) The commander of the partisan detachment, Levinson, orders orderly Morozka to take the package to another detachment. Frost does not want to go, he offers to send someone else; Levinson calmly orders the orderly to hand over his weapons and go to all four directions. Frost, having thought better of it, takes the letter and sets off, noting that he cannot "leave the detachment" in any way. This is followed by the backstory of Morozka, who was a miner in the second generation, did everything in his life thoughtlessly - thoughtlessly married a walking hauler Varya, thoughtlessly left in the eighteenth year to defend the Soviets. On the way to the Shaldyba detachment, where the orderly was carrying the package, he sees the battle of partisans with the Japanese; partisans flee, leaving a wounded boy in a city jacket. Frost picks up the wounded and returns to Levinson's detachment. The wounded man's name was Pavel Mechik. He woke up already in the forest infirmary, saw Dr. Stashinsky and nurse Varya (Morozka's wife). The sword is being bandaged. In the background of Mechik, it is reported that, while living in the city, he wanted heroic deeds and therefore went to the partisans, but when he got to them, he was disappointed. In the infirmary, he tries to talk with Stashinsky, but he, having learned that Mechik was close mainly with the Maximalist Social Revolutionaries, is not disposed to talk with the wounded. Morozka did not like the sword right away, and did not like it later, when Frost visited his wife in the infirmary. On the way to the detachment, Morozka tries to steal melons from the village chairman Ryabets, but, caught by the owner, is forced to retreat. Ryabets complains to Levinson, and he orders the weapons to be taken away from Morozka. A village meeting has been scheduled for the evening to discuss the behavior of the orderly. Levin-son, huddling between the peasants, finally understands that the Japanese are approaching and that he and his detachment need to retreat. By the appointed hour, the partisans gather, and Levinson sets out the essence of the matter, inviting everyone to decide what to do with Frost. Partizan Dubov, a former miner, offers to expel Morozka from the detachment; this had such an effect on Morozka that he gives his word that he will no longer dishonor the title of partisan and former miner. On one of his trips to the infirmary, Morozka guesses that his wife and Mechik have some special relationship, and, having never been jealous of Varya for anyone, this time he feels anger towards both his wife and the "sissy", like him calls Mechik. Everyone in the detachment considers Levinson a man of "a special, correct breed." It seems to everyone that the commander knows everything and understands everything, although Levinson experienced doubts and hesitations. Having collected information from all sides, the commander orders the detachment to retreat. The recovered Sword comes to the detachment. Levinson ordered to give him a horse - he gets the "tearful, mournful mare" Zyuchikha; the offended Sword does not know how to deal with Zyuchiha; unable to get along with the partisans, he does not see "the mainsprings of the detachment mechanism." Together with Baklanov, he was sent to intelligence; in the village they ran into a Japanese patrol and killed three in a skirmish. Having discovered the main forces of the Japanese, the scouts return to the detachment. The detachment needs to retreat, the hospital needs to be evacuated, but the mortally wounded Frolov cannot be taken with him. Levinson and Stashinsky decide to give the patient poison; Mechik accidentally hears their conversation and tries to stop Stashinsky - he yells at him, Frolov understands that he is being offered a drink, and agrees. The detachment retreats, Levinson during the night goes to check the guards and talks with Mechik - one of the sentries. Mechik tries to explain to Levinson how bad he (Mechik) is in the detachment, but the commander is left with the impression from the conversation that Mechik is "an impenetrable confusion". Levinson sends Metelitsa on reconnaissance, he sneaks into the village where the Cossacks are stationed, climbs into the courtyard of the house where the squadron leader lives. Cossacks discover him, put him in a barn, interrogate him in the morning and take him to the square. There, a man in a vest comes forward, leading by the hand a frightened shepherd boy, to whom Snowstorm left a horse the day before in the forest. The Cossack chief wants to interrogate the boy "in his own way", but Metelitsa rushes at him, trying to strangle him; he shoots, and Metelitsa dies. The Cossack squadron sets off along the road, partisans discover it, ambush it and put the Cossacks to flight. During the battle, Frost's horse is killed; having occupied the village, the partisans, on the orders of Levinson, shot a man in a vest. At dawn, the enemy cavalry is sent to the village, Levinson's thinned detachment retreats into the forest, but stops, as there is a quagmire ahead. The commander orders to clear the swamp. Crossing the gate, the detachment heads to the bridge, where the Cossacks set up an ambush. The sword was sent on patrol, but he, discovered by the Cossacks, is afraid to warn the partisans and runs. Frost, who was following him, manages to shoot three times, as agreed, and dies. The detachment rushes to the breakthrough, nineteen people remain. L. I. Sobolev Young guard Roman (1945-1946; 2nd ed. - 1951) Under the scorching sun of July 1942, the retreating units of the Red Army marched along the Donetsk steppe with their convoys, artillery, tanks, orphanages and gardens, herds of cattle, trucks, refugees ... But they did not have time to cross the Donets: units of the German army. And all this mass of people rushed back. Among them were Vanya Zemnukhov, Ulya Gromova, Oleg Koshevoy, Zhora Arutyunyants. But not everyone left Krasnodon. The staff of the hospital, where more than a hundred non-walking wounded remained, placed the fighters in the apartments of local residents. Filipp Petrovich Lyutikov, left by the secretary of the underground district committee, and his underground comrade Matvey Shulga quietly settled in safe houses. Komsomol member Seryozha Tyulenin returned home from digging trenches. It so happened that he took part in the battles, he himself killed two Germans and was determined to kill them in the future. The Germans entered the city during the day, and at night the German headquarters burned down. Sergey Tyulenin set it on fire. Oleg Koshevoy was returning from the Donets together with the director of mine No. 1 bis Valko and on the way asked him to help contact the underground. Valko himself did not know who was left in the city, but he was sure that he would find these people. The Bolshevik and the Komsomolets agreed to keep in touch. Koshevoy soon met Tyulenin. The guys quickly found a common language and developed a plan of action: to look for ways to the underground and at the same time create an underground youth organization on their own. Lyutikov, meanwhile, began to work for the Germans in electromechanical workshops to divert eyes. He came to the Osmukhin family he had known for a long time - to call Volodya to work. Volodya was eager to fight and recommended Lyutikov his comrades Tolya Orlov, Zhora Arutyunyants and Ivan Zemnukhov for underground work. But when the discussion of armed resistance came up with Ivan Zemnukhov, he immediately began to ask permission to involve Oleg Koshevoy in the group. The decisive meeting took place in Oleg's "weeds under the barn". A few more meetings - and finally all the links of the Krasnodon underground closed. A youth organization called the "Young Guard" was formed. Protsenko at that time was already in the partisan detachment, which was based on the other side of the Donets. Initially, the detachment acted, and acted well. Then he got surrounded. In the group that was supposed to cover the withdrawal of the main part of the people, Protsenko, among others, sent the Komsomol member Stakhovich. But Stakhovich got scared, fled through the Donets and went to Krasnodon. Having met with Osmukhin, his schoolmate, Stakhovich told him that he had fought in a partisan detachment and had been officially sent by headquarters to organize a partisan movement in Krasnodon. Shulga was instantly betrayed by the owner of the apartment, a former kulak and a hidden enemy of Soviet power. The turnout where Valko was hiding failed by accident, but policeman Ignat Fomin, who conducted the search, immediately identified Valko. In addition, almost all members of the Bolshevik Party who did not have time to evacuate, Soviet workers, social activists, many teachers, engineers, noble miners and some of the military were arrested in the city and in the region. Many of these people, including Valko and Shulga, were executed by the Germans by being buried alive. Lyubov Shevtsova was placed ahead of time at the disposal of the partisan headquarters for use behind enemy lines. She completed the military landing courses, and then the courses of radio operators. Having received a signal that she should go to Voroshilovgrad and bound by the discipline of the Young Guard, she reported to Koshevoy about her departure. No one, except Osmukhin, knew which of the adult underground workers Oleg was connected with. But Lyutikov knew perfectly well for what purpose Lyubka was left in Krasnodon, with whom he was connected in Voroshilovgrad. So the "Young Guard" went to the headquarters of the partisan movement. Outwardly bright, cheerful and sociable, Lyubka now made acquaintances with the Germans with might and main, introducing herself as the daughter of a mine owner who was repressed by the Soviet government, and through the Germans she obtained various intelligence data. The youths set to work. They put up subversive leaflets and issued reports from the Soviet Information Bureau. Policeman Ignat Fomin was hanged. They released a group of Soviet prisoners of war who worked in logging. They collected weapons in the area of fighting on the Donets and stole them. Ulya Gromova was in charge of the work against the recruitment and deportation of young people to Germany. The labor exchange was set on fire, and along with it the lists of people whom the Germans were going to drive to Germany burned down. Three permanent combat groups of the "Young Guard" operated on the roads of the region and beyond. One attacked mainly cars with German officers. This group was led by Viktor Petrov. The second group was engaged in tank cars. This group was led by Lieutenant of the Soviet Army, Zhenya Moshkov, released from captivity. The third group - Tyulenin's group - operated everywhere. At this time - November, December 1942 - the battle near Stalingrad was ending. On the evening of December 30, the guys found a German car loaded with New Year's gifts for the soldiers of the Reich. The car was cleaned, and part of the gifts was decided to be immediately put on sale in the market: the organization needed money. On this trail, the police, who had long been looking for them, came to the underground. At first they took Moshkov, Zemnukhov and Stakhovich. Upon learning of the arrest, Lyutikov immediately gave the order to leave the city for all members of the headquarters and those who were close to those arrested. It was necessary to hide in the village or try to cross the front line. But many, including Gromova, due to young carelessness, remained or could not find a reliable shelter and were forced to return home. The order was given at the time when, under torture, Stakhovich began to testify. The arrests began. few were able to leave. Stakhovich did not know through whom Koshevoy communicated with the district committee, but he accidentally remembered the messenger, and as a result, the Germans reached out to Lyutikov. In the hands of the executioners was a group of adult underground workers led by Lyutikov and members of the Young Guard. No one admitted to belonging to the organization and did not point to his comrades. Oleg Koshevoy was one of the last to be taken - he ran into a gendarme post in the steppe. During a search, a Komsomol card was found on him. During interrogation by the Gestapo, Oleg said that he was the head of the Young Guard, one was responsible for all its actions, and then he was silent even under torture. The enemies did not manage to find out that Lyutikov was the head of an underground Bolshevik organization, but they felt that this was the largest person they had captured. All the young guards were terribly beaten and tortured. Ulya Gromova had a star carved on her back. Reclining on her side, she tapped into the next cell: "Brace yourselves... All the same, ours are coming..." Lyutikov and Koshevoy were interrogated in Rovenki and also tortured, "but we can say that they no longer felt anything: their spirit soared infinitely high, as only the great creative spirit of a person can soar." All arrested underground workers were executed: they were thrown into the mine. Before they died, they sang revolutionary songs. On February 15, Soviet tanks entered Krasnodon. The few surviving members of the Krasnodon underground took part in the funeral of the Young Guard. I. N. Slyusareva Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin (1902-1989) Brawler, or Evenings on Vasilyevsky Island Roman (1928) Professor Stepan Stepanovich Lozhkin, who had been successfully dealing with literary monuments of heresies and sects of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries all his life, suddenly began to have a "dangerous thought". His existence - lecturing, working on manuscripts, relations with his wife - seems to him monotonous and "mechanical". Malvina Eduardovna, frightened by the manifestations of her husband's "second youth", in order to slightly change her lifestyle, invites guests. The assembled representatives of the "old" academic science condemn the incomprehensible and unsafe "formalists". We are talking about Drahomanov: it is not customary to talk about him here, but that is precisely why his strange behavior, dark past and addiction to drugs are of general interest. Thirty-three-year-old Boris Pavlovich Drahomanov lives in a university dormitory, where everyone does not like and fear him. Dragomanov teaches several students the course "Introduction to Linguistics". At one of his lectures, he unexpectedly "renounces" the traditional theory of a common Indo-European proto-language and argues that development, on the contrary, proceeds from "an initial multitude of languages to a single language." A "mysterious and detached from the real world" curator of manuscripts works in one of the major Leningrad publishing houses. This little old man with a red beard was called Khaldei Khaldeevich. Khaldei Khaldeevich does not like writers who are restless and unreliable. He also really dislikes the "crawl" Kiryushka Kekcheev, who unexpectedly turned from a courier into a boss. A student of the Institute of Oriental Languages Nogin, after a conversation with Dragomanov, comes to his ruined, neglected apartment. Nogin works hard and is intensively studying the Arabic language. "Writer, brawler, philologist" Viktor Nekrylov is returning to Leningrad from Moscow. Nekrylov is angry with his "friends" - writers, "sitting out and getting richer." He is preparing an attack. Indeed, he manages to successfully conduct business conversations at the publishing house, and offend the prosperous writer Robert Tufin on the go. In the evening, Nekrylov, accompanied by the beautiful Verochka Barabanova, visits Drahomanov. Then they all go to the Chapel for a literary evening. There Nekrylov is noisily met, surrounded by flattery, asked to speak. Vera Alexandrovna runs away, offended by Nekrylov, because he promised to be at her party. Nogin arrives in Lesnoy, where "economists", his friends and countrymen live in a commune. Nogin is in despair: he is in love with Verochka Barabanova. Returning home, Nogin started drinking. The student is touchingly cared for by his neighbor Khaldei Khaldeevich, and it turns out that he is the brother of Professor Lozhkin, but has been at odds with him for many years. Meanwhile, Professor Lozhkin "rebels". He shaves off his beard and then hurries away while his wife sleeps. Nekrylov somehow senselessly "cheats" on his friend and his wife. On the occasion of Nekrylov's arrival, a meeting of friends is arranged. Nekrylov continues to "scandal". Nobody understands him, the idea of "pressure of time" remains without a response. Nekrylov is about to leave. When he comes in to say goodbye to Verochka, it turns out that she is getting married to Kirill Kekcheev. Nekrylov is trying to dissuade Vera, he is ready to "take her away from the crown." Nogin was greatly impressed by Nekrylov, whom he met at Dragomanov's. Nekrylov talks about the choice of Vera Alexandrovna Barabanova and threatens to kill Kekcheev. After this news, "something wrong is going on" with Nogin. He nevertheless goes to Verochka to warn of danger, but finds her with that same "friend". Then Nogin writes a letter to Kekcheev. Nekrylov comes to the publishing house to "arrange" Drahomanov's book and deal with Kekcheev, but suddenly finds out that Kekcheev is going to return his own manuscript to him. Nekrylov makes a real scandal ... A crowd of employees of one of the largest Leningrad publishing houses helplessly watches how Nekrylov rages, how he beats Kekcheev, how he ruins his office. Kekcheev, out of fear, completely loses his human appearance and cowardly refuses the bride. Khaldei Khaldeevich is truly pleased by this clash. "Escaped" from his wife, Lozhkin went to his old high school friend Dr. Neuhaus. In a small, remote town, he enjoys freedom. So the "rebellion" of the professor "left" into an ordinary "picnic", into a noisy drinking bout. Lozhkin returns to Leningrad. There, he accidentally meets Drahomanov, who apologizes for not being very courteous during their last conversation. But even their present conversation ends with the offended Lozhkin running away in a rage. The professor wanders around Vasilyevsky Island. Wet and unfortunate Lozhkin is retrieved from another Vasileostrovsky flood by Khaldei Khaldeevich. They finally met, twenty-six years later. Khaldei Khaldeevich at first reproaches the drooping Stepan, because he once took his bride away from him, but then both cry, embracing. Their conversation is heard by Nogin, who has woken up after his illness. The repentant Lozhkin hurries home, but no longer finds Malvina Eduardovna alive, who is homesick and ill without her husband. Lozhkin returns to his manuscripts in the Public Library. There was no "second youth". Now we need to endure old age with dignity. Drahomanov is waiting in the big hall of the institute. Instead, student Leman appears, who reads out the professor's report "On the Rationalization of Speech Space". The report proposes "to divide human speech into groups according to professional and social characteristics" and "to draw strict boundaries between groups, the violation of which should be subject to an appropriate fine." Only after listening to the mocking conclusion - a request to return the missing Adler typewriter - did the audience finally understand what was the matter. Scandal. Verochka Barabanova does not know whom to choose: she has already given her word to Kekcheev, with him she can calmly paint. But Vera Nekrylova loves, although he is married. Verochka tries to solve this issue with the help of fortune-telling. Unfortunately, the choice falls on Kekcheev. But Nekrylov suddenly appears. Nogin gradually recovers. Everything that was before the illness, now it does not occupy. One night, under the influence of Lobachevsky's theory, he writes a story, in the finale of which two parallel storylines are connected. He understood what he was going for, what he was striving for. This is prose. Railway station. Here Drahomanov escorts Nekrylov and Verochka to Moscow. Friends, as always, argue, almost quarrel. Already on the road, Nekrylov, impressed by Dragomanov's words, starts a "vague conversation with his honesty", reflects on his mistakes, about time. That night Nekrylov falls asleep, Lozhkin sleeps, the whole Vasilyevsky Island sleeps. And only Drahomanov does not sleep, he teaches the Russian language to the Chinese. E. V. Novikova Two captains Roman (1936-1944) Once in the city of Ensk, on the banks of the river, a dead postman and a bag of letters were found. Aunt Dasha read one letter aloud to her neighbors every day. Sanya Grigoriev especially remembered the lines about distant polar expeditions... Sanya lives in Ensk with her parents and sister Sasha. By an absurd accident, Sanya's father is accused of murder and arrested. Only little Sanya knows about the real killer, but because of the dumbness, from which the wonderful doctor Ivan Ivanovich will save him only later, he cannot do anything. The father dies in prison, after some time the mother marries. The stepfather turns out to be a cruel and mean man who torments both his children and his wife. After the death of her mother, Aunt Dasha and neighbor Skovorodnikov decide to send Sanya and her sister to an orphanage. Then Sanya and his friend Petya Skovorodnikov flee to Moscow, and from there to Turkestan. "To fight and seek, to find and not to give up" - this oath keeps them going. The boys get to Moscow on foot, but Petkin's uncle, on whom they counted, has gone to the front. After three months of almost free work for speculators, they have to hide from inspection. Petka manages to escape, and Sanya first ends up in a distribution center for homeless children, from there - to a communal school. Sanya likes school: he reads and sculpts from clay, he makes new friends - Valka Zhukov and Romashka. One day, Sanya helps to bring a bag to an unfamiliar old woman who lives in the apartment of the head of the school, Nikolai Antonovich Tatarinov. Here Sanya meets Katya, a pretty, but somewhat prone to "wonder" girl with pigtails and dark lively eyes. After some time, Sanya again finds himself in the familiar house of the Tatarinovs: Nikolai Antonovich sends him there for a lactometer, a device for checking the composition of milk. But the lactometer explodes. Katya is going to take the blame, but the proud Sanya does not allow her to do so. The Tatarinovs' apartment becomes for Sanya "something like Ali Baba's cave with its treasures, mysteries and dangers." Nina Kapitonovna, whom Sanya helps with all her housework and who feeds him with meals, is a "treasure"; Marya Vasilievna, "neither a widow nor a husband's wife," who always wears a black dress and often plunges into melancholy, is a "mystery"; and "danger" - Nikolai Antonovich, as it turned out, Katya's cousin. The favorite topic of Nikolai Antonovich's stories is his cousin, that is, the husband of Marya Vasilyevna, whom he "took care of all his life" and who "turned out to be ungrateful." Nikolai Antonovich has long been in love with Marya Vasilievna, but while she is "ruthless" to him, rather her sympathy is sometimes evoked by the geography teacher Korablev who comes to visit. Although, when Korablev makes an offer to Marya Vasilievna, he is refused. On the same day, Nikolai Antonovich convenes a school council at home, where Korablev is sharply condemned. It was decided to limit the activities of the geography teacher - then he would be offended and leave, Sanya informs Korablev about everything he heard, but as a result, Nikolai Antonovich kicks Sanya out of the house. Offended Sanya, suspecting Korablev of betrayal, leaves the commune. After wandering around Moscow all day, he falls completely ill and ends up in the hospital, where he is again saved by Dr. Ivan Ivanovich. Four years have passed - Sanya is seventeen years old. The school is presenting a staged "trial of Eugene Onegin", it is here that Sanya meets Katya again and reveals his secret to her: he has long been preparing to become a pilot. Sanya finally learns from Katya the story of Captain Tatarinov. In June of the twelfth year, having stopped at Ensk to say goodbye to his family, he went on the schooner "St. Maria" from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. The expedition did not return. Maria Vasilievna unsuccessfully sent a petition for help to the tsar: it was believed that if Tatarinov died, it was through his own fault: he "carelessly handled state property." The captain's family moved in with Nikolai Antonovich. Sanya often meets Katya: they go to the skating rink together, to the zoo, where Sanya suddenly runs into her stepfather. At the school ball, Sanya and Katya are left alone, but Romashka interferes with their conversation, who then reports everything to Nikolai Antonovich. Sanya is no longer accepted by the Tatarinovs, and Katya is sent to her aunt in Ensk. Sanya beats Romashka, it turns out, and in the story with Korablev it was he who played a fatal role. And yet Sanya repents of his act - with a heavy feeling, he leaves for Ensk. In his hometown, Sanya finds Aunt Dasha, and the old man Skovorodnikov, and his sister Sasha, he learns that Petka also lives in Moscow and is going to become an artist. Once again, Sanya rereads the old letters - and suddenly realizes that they directly relate to the expedition of Captain Tatarinov! With excitement, Sanya learns that none other than Ivan Lvovich Tatarinov discovered Severnaya Zemlya and named it after his wife Marya Vasilievna, that it was precisely through the fault of Nikolai Antonovich, this "terrible man", that most of the equipment turned out to be unusable. The lines in which the name of Nikolai is directly mentioned are washed out by water and are preserved only in Sanya's memory, but Katya believes him. Sanya firmly and resolutely denounces Nikolai Antonovich in front of Marya Vasilievna and even demands that it be she who "files the charge." Only later Sanya realizes that this conversation finally struck Marya Vasilyevna, convinced her of the decision to commit suicide, because Nikolai Antonovich was already her husband by that time ... Doctors fail to save Marya Vasilievna: she is dying. At the funeral, Sanya approaches Katya, but she turns away from him. Nikolai Antonovich managed to convince everyone that the letter was not about him at all, but about some kind of "von Vyshimirsky" and that Sanya was guilty of the death of Marya Vasilievna. Sanya can only intensively prepare for admission to flight school in order to someday find the expedition of Captain Tatarinov and prove his case. Having seen Katya for the last time, he leaves to study in Leningrad. He is engaged in a flight school and at the same time works at a factory in Leningrad, at the Academy of Arts, both his sister Sasha and her husband Petya Skovorodnikov study. Finally, Sanya achieves an appointment to the North. In the city of the Arctic, he meets with Dr. Ivan Ivanovich, who shows him the diaries of the navigator of the "St. Mary" Ivan Klimov, who died in 1914 in Arkhangelsk. Patiently deciphering the notes, Sanya learns that Captain Tatarinov, having sent people in search of land, himself remained on the ship. The navigator describes the hardships of the campaign, speaks of his captain with admiration and respect. Sanya understands that the traces of the expedition must be looked for precisely on the Land of Mary. From Valya Zhukov, Sanya learns about some Moscow news: Romashka has become "the closest person" in the Tatarinovs' house and, it seems, "is going to marry Katya." Sanya constantly thinks about Katya - he decides to go to Moscow. In the meantime, he and the doctor are given the task to fly to the remote Wanokan camp, but they fall into a blizzard. Thanks to a forced landing, Sanya finds a hook from the schooner "St. Mary". Gradually, a coherent picture is formed from the "fragments" of the captain's history. In Moscow, Sanya plans to make a report on the expedition. But first it turns out that Nikolai Antonovich has already somewhat outstripped him by publishing an article about the discovery of Captain Tatarinov, and then the same Nikolai Antonovich and his assistant Romashka publish slander against Sanya in Pravda and thereby achieve the cancellation of the report. Ivan Pavlovich Korablev helps Sana and Katya in many ways. With his assistance, mistrust disappears in relations between young people: Sanya understands that Katya is being forced to marry Romashka. Katya leaves the Tatarinovs' house. Now she is a geologist, head of the expedition. Insignificant, but now somewhat "settled down" Romashka is playing a double game: he offers Sanya evidence of Nikolai Antonovich's guilt if he refuses Katya. Sanya informs Nikolai Antonovich about this, but he is no longer able to resist the clever "assistant". With the help of the Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot Ch. Sanya, he nevertheless receives permission for the expedition; Pravda publishes his article with excerpts from the navigator's diary. In the meantime, he returns to the North. They are trying to cancel the expedition again, but Katya shows determination - and in the spring she and Sanya should meet in Leningrad to prepare for the search. The lovers are happy - during the white nights they walk around the city, all the time they are preparing for the expedition. Sasha, Sanya's sister, gave birth to a son, but suddenly her condition deteriorates sharply - and she dies. The expedition is canceled for some unknown reason - Sanya is given a completely different assignment. Five years pass. Sanya and Katya, now Tatarinova-Grigorieva, live either in the Far East, or in the Crimea, or in Moscow. They eventually settle in Leningrad with Petya, his son, and Katya's grandmother. Sanya takes part in the war in Spain, and then goes to the front. One day, Katya meets Romashka again, and he tells her about how he, saving the wounded Sanya, tried to get out of the encirclement of the Germans and how Sanya disappeared. Katya does not want to believe Chamomile, she does not lose hope at this difficult time. And indeed Chamomile is lying: in fact, he did not save, but abandoned the seriously wounded Sanya, taking away his weapons and documents. Sanya manages to get out: he is treated in a hospital, and from there he goes to Leningrad in search of Katya. Katya is not in Leningrad, but Sanya is invited to fly to the North, where battles are also underway. Sanya, having never found Katya either in Moscow, where he just missed her, or in Yaroslavl, thinks that she is in Novosibirsk. During the successful completion of one of the combat missions, Grigoriev's crew makes an emergency landing not far from the place where, according to Sanya, traces of Captain Tatarinov's expedition should be looked for. Sanya finds the captain's body, as well as his farewell letters and reports. And having returned to Polyarny, Sanya also finds Katya at Dr. Pavlov's. In the summer of 1944, Sanya and Katya spend their holidays in Moscow, where they see all their friends. Sanya has two things to do: he testifies in the case of the convicted Romashov, and in the Geographical Society his report on the expedition, on the discoveries of Captain Tatarinov, on who caused this expedition to die, passes with great success. Nikolai Antonovich is expelled from the hall in disgrace. In Ensk, the family gathers again at the table. Old man Skovorodnikov unites Tatarinov and Sanya in his speech: "captains like this move humanity and science forward." E. V. Novikova In front of the mirror A novel in letters (1965-1970) Liza Turaeva and Kostya Karnovsky met at a gymnasium ball. They danced together the whole evening, and then decided to correspond. Fate gave them very few meetings, so the long, from 1910 to 1932, correspondence became the most important part of their life. Lisa's mother died long ago, her father, a regimental officer, married a "powerful, suspicious" woman. After graduating from the boarding school, Lisa studies at the gymnasium and at the same time gives lessons in the countryside in order to be able to go to St. Petersburg and enroll there at the mathematical faculty of the Bestuzhev Courses. She has the ability to draw, but mathematics, in her opinion, is "the shortest path to independent thinking." On her way to St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1913, Lisa secretly stops by Kazan, where the mathematics student Karnovsky lives and studies. They spend a wonderful day together. Konstantin Pavlovich Karnovsky was born in Kazan, in a large middle-class poor family. Both under the father and after his death, the children lived in constant humiliation. But Kostya managed to defend his independence: he studied hard, entered the university and began to provide for the whole family. Even when Kostya was preparing to enter the gymnasium, an internal "countdown" began for him: not a minute could be wasted in vain. But the established order of his life turned upside down every time he met Lisa. Her "grace, sincerity and carelessness" spoke of the existence of "some immutable truth, which was stronger than all his mathematics and did not require any proof." In St. Petersburg, Lisa listens to lectures, goes to theaters and museums. In one of her letters, she talks about a trip to her aunt in Moscow - here, at a dispute about painting, she suddenly really wanted to be the same as the artist Goncharova. Lisa is waiting for a date with Kostya: it seems to her that only with him can she share her doubts, hopes and desires. After all, Karnovsky "lives consciously, does not rush from side to side," as she does. But a short visit to Kazan on the way to Yalta, where Liza is going to treat her lungs, does not give her satisfaction: she doubts Karnovsky, his love. Lisa is fond of painting, but, realizing that it is too expensive, she continues to study mathematics. Nevertheless, one day she decides to no longer "pretend in front of herself" and enters an art workshop, works a lot with Dobuzhinsky, Yakovlev. She had not seen Karnovsky for a long time. But next to her is the courteous and loving Dmitry Gorin. After Kostya did not come to St. Petersburg, Liza sends him a bitter letter asking him not to write to her again. Correspondence still continues, but Liza's letters are so cold that it alarms Karnovsky, and he goes to St. Petersburg. Kostya is delighted with Liza: she has become even more beautiful, besides, he finally understands that he is a born artist. And then Lisa goes to Kazan. On her way to Moscow, she visits the Shchukin Gallery, looks with amazement and confusion at the paintings of Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh. The awkwardness that Liza experiences at a cold and unkind reception in the Karnovsky family, the fear of losing her independence, and even the accidental mention of some kind of "Marisha" force Liza to leave unexpectedly, without even saying goodbye to Kostya. Now it was Karnovsky's turn to return the unopened letters. He is busy only with work: he teaches at the university, at the age of twenty-seven he is elected professor at the Polytechnic Institute. But when Kostya finds out that Lisa cannot return from Yalta captured by the Germans, he decides to go there, despite all the difficulties. Only the mother's illness forces Karnovsky to stay. In 1920, Yalta was liberated, but Lisa was no longer there. Karnovsky receives a letter from her from Constantinople: Liza went there with a familiar Greek businessman, who promised to take her to Paris later, but turned out to be a dirty scoundrel. Lisa manages to get rid of him, but she has to stay in Turkey. To earn money, Lisa gives lessons, plays the piano in a pub. In her letters to Karnovsky, she often recalls their meetings, but now all this is the past, which must be forgotten. Now Lisa is married to a "simple, honest" man who lost his leg in the war. Her husband is younger than her, and she feels rather a feeling of pity for him. For some time, Lisa is fond of the artist Gordeev, but still finds the strength to stay with her husband. Finally, Lisa ends up in Paris. Here, with the help of Gordeev, she arranges to paint cabarets and restaurants according to other people's sketches. This work makes it possible to live at the very least, but leaves little time for their own creativity. Nevertheless, Lisa is making progress: four of her works are bought by the London Museum. In her free time, Lisa writes to Karnovsky. She wants to know and understand the new life of Russia. She often thinks about art, true and false, about the need for "spiritual creativity." At the end of her letters, Lisa often sends her regards to Nadia, a young actress and companion of Konstantin Pavlovich. In the summer of 1925 Karnovsky arrived in Paris. He meets with Academician Chevandieu, then comes to visit Lisa in Menil. But the jealous Gordeev, to whom Liza returned again, almost never leaves them alone. Konstantin Pavlovich examines the work of Lisa, one of the canvases is similar to her letters to him: it depicts a mirror. Indeed, the correspondence with Karnovsky was for Liza Turaeva that mirror "in which she looked all her life." Alone, Karnovsky and Lisa spend only ten minutes. Another time, when Karnovsky is in Paris, Lisa goes to him secretly. But Konstantin Pavlovich begins to have an attack of malaria, and Liza, at the cost of breaking up with Gordeev, stays with her beloved all day. Now she is free. In one of the letters, Lisa reflects on love, which constantly separated them, but thereby protected them from vulgarity, taught morality and patience, cleansed the soul and led it to self-knowledge. In March XNUMX, Elizaveta Nikolaevna receives a letter from a Moscow doctor who informs her of Konstantin Pavlovich's serious illness. Protecting her beloved from grief, Liza embellishes reality in her messages. In fact, there is almost no hope of returning to her homeland, life is becoming increasingly difficult, but she works a lot in Paris and Corsica, where she has Italian friends. Karnovsky recovers, he manages to get permission for Lisa to return to Russia. And Elizaveta Nikolaevna finally achieves recognition: her exhibition is successfully held in Paris. Only the artist has almost no strength left. “I hid from you that I was very sick, but now that I know that I will see you soon…” - this last line completes the correspondence between Elizaveta Turaeva and Konstantin Karnovsky. E. V. Novikova Nikolai Robertovich Erdman (1902-1970) Suicide Play (1928) The play takes place in Moscow in the 20s. our century. Semyon Semenovich Podsekalnikov, unemployed, wakes up his wife Marya Lukyanovna at night and complains to her that he is hungry. Marya Lukyanovna, outraged that her husband does not let her sleep, although she works all day long "like some kind of horse or an ant," nevertheless offers Semyon Semyonovich liver sausage left over from dinner, but Semyon Semyonovich, offended by his wife's words, sausage refuses and leaves the room. Maria Lukyanovna and her mother Serafima Ilyinichna, fearing that the unbalanced Semyon Semyonovich would commit suicide, look for him throughout the apartment and find the door to the toilet locked. Having knocked on the neighbor Alexander Petrovich Kalabushkin, they ask him to break down the door. However, it turns out that it was not Podsekalnikov who was in the toilet at all, but an old neighbor. Semyonovich's seeds are found in the kitchen at the moment when he puts something into his mouth, and when he sees those who have entered, he hides it in his pocket. Marya Lukyanovna faints, and Kalabushkin offers Podsekalnikov to give him a revolver, and then Semyon Semenovich learns with amazement that he is going to shoot himself. "Yes, where could I get a revolver?" - Podsekalnikov is perplexed and receives an answer: a certain Panfilich is changing a revolver for a razor. Completely pissed off, Podsekalnikov kicks Kalabushkin out, takes out of his pocket a liver sausage that everyone has mistaken for a revolver, takes out his father's razor from the table and writes a suicide note: "I ask you not to blame anyone for my death." Aristarkh Dominikovich Grand Skubik comes to Podsekalnikov, sees a suicide note lying on the table and invites him, if he shoots anyway, to leave another note - on behalf of the Russian intelligentsia, which is silent, because they are forced to be silent, and you cannot force the dead to be silent. And then the shot of Podsekalnikov will wake up all of Russia, his portrait will be placed in the newspapers and a grandiose funeral will be arranged for him. Following Grand Skubik, Cleopatra Maksimovna comes, who offers Podsekalnikov to shoot himself because of her, because then Oleg Leonidovich will leave Raisa Filippovna. Cleopatra Maksimovna takes Podsekalnikov to her place to write a new note, and Alexander Petrovich, the butcher Nikifor Arsentievich, the writer Viktor Viktorovich, the priest father Elpidy, Aristarkh Dominikovich and Raisa Filippovna appear in the room. They reproach Alexander Petrovich for taking money from each of them in order for Podsekalnikov to leave a suicide note of a certain content. Kalabushkin demonstrates a wide variety of notes that will be offered to the unforgettable dead, and it is not known which one he will choose. It turns out that one dead person is not enough for everyone. Viktor Viktorovich recalls Fedya Pitunin - "a wonderful type, but with some kind of sadness - it will be necessary to drop a worm into him." Podsekalnikov, who has appeared, is announced that he must shoot himself tomorrow at twelve o'clock and they will arrange a grand farewell for him - they will throw a banquet. In the restaurant of the summer garden - a banquet: the gypsies sing, the guests drink, Aristarkh Dominikovich makes a speech glorifying Podsekalnikov, who constantly asks what time it is - the time is steadily approaching twelve. Podsekalnikov writes a suicide note, the text of which was prepared by Aristarkh Dominikovich. Serafima Ilyinichna reads a letter addressed to her from her son-in-law, in which he asks her to carefully warn her wife that he is no longer alive. Marya Lukyanovna sobs, at this time the participants of the banquet enter the room, who begin to console her. The dressmaker who came with them immediately takes measurements from her for sewing a mourning dress, and the milliner offers to choose a hat for this dress. The guests leave, and poor Marya Lukyanovna exclaims: "There was Senya - there was no hat, the hat has become - there is no Senya! Lord! Why don't You give everything at once?" At this time, two unknown people bring in the lifeless body of a dead drunk Podsekalnikov, who, having come to his senses, imagines that he is in the other world. After a while, with huge wreaths, a boy from the funeral procession bureau appears, and then they bring the coffin. Podsekalnikov tries to shoot himself, but cannot - he lacks courage; Hearing voices approaching, he jumps into the coffin. A crowd of people enters, Father Elpidiy performs a funeral service. Funeral speeches are heard in the cemetery at the freshly dug grave. Each of those present claims that Podsekalnikov shot himself for the cause he defends: because churches are closed (Father Elpidiy) or shops (butcher Nikifor Arsentievich), for the ideals of the intelligentsia (Grand Skubik) or art (writer Viktor Viktorovich ), and each of the ladies present - Raisa Filippovna and Cleopatra Maksimovna - claims that the dead man shot himself because of her. Touched by their speeches, Podsekalnikov unexpectedly rises from the coffin and announces that he really wants to live. Those present are dissatisfied with this decision of Podsekalnikov, however, having taken out a revolver, he invites anyone to take his place. There are no applicants. At that moment, Viktor Viktorovich runs in and reports that Fedya Pitunin shot himself, leaving a note: "Podsekalnikov is right. Really it's not worth living." N. V. Soboleva Gaito Gazdanov (1903-1971) Evening at Claire's Roman (1929) France, late 20s our century. The hero of the novel is a young Russian emigrant, the story is told on his behalf. He is in love with Claire. Claire is a true Frenchwoman, she either teases a fan or allows him to hope for her favor. She is sick, and the hero spends whole evenings with her. She then recovers and demands that he accompany her to the cinema. After the cinematic and late sitting at the cafe, Claire invites the hero for a cup of tea. She again has a sharp change of mood - now she is annoyed. When the hero, justifying himself, says that he has been waiting for this meeting for ten years and does not ask her for anything, Claire's eyes darken. Claire hugs him, saying: "What, you didn't understand? .." And at night, lying next to the sleeping Claire, the hero recalls his life and his first meeting with this woman. Childhood. The family moves frequently. The father, whose memories are so dear to the hero, is a forester. He is devoted to the family, absorbed in "chemical experiments, geographical work and social issues." At night, the father tells his son an endless tale: with the whole family they sail on a ship on which the captain is the boy himself, Kolya. Mother, silent, absorbed in reading, deeply feeling. Sisters. Peace and harmony in the family. But very soon everything breaks off: Kolya is only eight years old when his father dies. The mother hardly speaks from grief, only walks around the room. Soon, one by one, the sisters also die. The boy reads a lot, all indiscriminately. "I think that this time of intense reading and development, which was the era of my completely unconscious existence, I could compare with the deepest spiritual fainting." Kolya enters the cadet corps, then the gymnasium. He easily learns, converges with comrades, dares the authorities. This life is hard for him and fruitless. The boy is absorbed in his own inner world: “All my life it seemed to me - even when I was a child - that I knew some secret that others did not know <...> Very rarely, in the most intense moments of my life, I experienced some kind of instantaneous , almost a physical rebirth, and then he approached his blind knowledge, an incorrect comprehension of the miraculous. At the age of fourteen, in the summer of 1917, on the site of the gymnastic society, Nikolai first met sixteen-year-old Claire. Claire's father, a businessman, temporarily lives with his entire family in Ukraine. The hero falls in love with Claire, often visits her. Then, offended by her mother, he stops coming, but the image of Claire continues to haunt him. One late winter evening, he meets Claire and she informs him that she is married. Nicholas accompanies her. But when Claire, saying that neither her parents nor her husband are in the city, invites him to her place, he refuses. "I wanted to go after her, but I couldn't. The snow continued to fall and disappeared on the fly, and everything that I knew and loved until then swirled and disappeared in the snow. And after that I did not sleep for two nights." Their next meeting takes place only ten years later. Nikolai decides to join the white army, believing that the truth is on their side. A conversation with Uncle Vitaly shows the young man that in this war each side considers itself right, but this does not bother him. He still goes to fight for the whites, "since they are defeated." At the same time, Uncle Vitaly, a career officer, a man "with almost feudal ideas of honor and right," believes that the truth is on the side of the Reds. Nikolai says goodbye to his mother with all the cruelty of his sixteen years and leaves to fight - "without conviction, without enthusiasm, solely out of a desire to suddenly see and understand such new things in the war" that, perhaps, will regenerate him. Service on an armored train, the cowardice and courage of those around him, the difficult military life - all this surrounds Nikolai until the very defeat of the army. He himself is protected from threatening dangers by a kind of deafness, the inability of an immediate spiritual response to what happens to him. Once on board the ship and looking at the burning Feodosia, Nikolai remembers Claire. And thoughts about her again fill his imagination, thousands of imaginary conversations and situations swarm in his head, replaced by new ones. Echoes and images of his former life do not reach this fictional world, as if bumping into an invisible air wall, "but as insurmountable as that fiery barrier behind which snow lay and the last night signals of Russia sounded." While sailing along the Black Sea, Nikolai sees pictures of distant Japanese harbors, the beaches of Borneo and Sumatra - echoes of his father's stories. To the sounds of the ship's bell, the ship approaches Constantinople, and Nikolai is completely absorbed in the anticipation of a future meeting with Claire. "We sailed in the sea mist to an invisible city; aerial abysses opened up behind us; and in the damp silence of this journey, the bell occasionally rang - and the sound that invariably accompanied us, only the sound of the bell united in its slow transparency the fiery edges and water that separated me from Russia , with babbling and coming true, with a beautiful dream about Claire ... " V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Ghost of Alexander Wolf Roman (1947-1948) The most vivid and most painful memory of the hero of the novel (in the future we will call him that - a hero, because the narrator, a young journalist, a Russian émigré in Paris, has no name, the novel is written in the first person) - a memory of what happened during the civil war murder. Once in the summer, in the south of Russia, after the end of the battle, the hero rides a black mare along a desert road, and most of all he wants to sleep. At one of the turns in the road, the horse falls heavily and instantly at full gallop. Rising to his feet, the hero sees a rider approaching him on a huge white horse. The rider tosses his rifle to his shoulder. The hero has no rifle for a long time, but there is a revolver, which he hardly pulls out of a new and tight holster, and shoots. The rider falls. The hero hardly approaches him. This man - blond, twenty-two or twenty-three years old - is clearly dying, blood bubbling on his lips. He opens his cloudy eyes, doesn't say a word, and then closes them again. A gust of wind brings the clatter of several horses to the hero. Sensing danger, he quickly leaves on the stallion of the slain. A few days before leaving Russia, the hero sells the stallion, throws the revolver into the sea, and from the whole episode he has only a painful memory. A few years later, when he had been living in Paris for a long time, he came across a collection of stories by an English author, whose name - Alexander Wolf - was completely unfamiliar. The story "Adventure in the steppe" strikes the hero. It begins with praise for the white stallion ("He was so good that I would like to compare him with one of those horses spoken of in the Apocalypse"). What follows is a description of the scene experienced by the hero: an unbearably hot day, a winding road, a rider on a black mare who fell with her. The white stallion continued to walk towards the place where, as the author wrote, a man with a revolver stood with incomprehensible immobility. Then the author stopped the rapid pace of the horse and put the rifle to his shoulder, but suddenly he felt a mortal pain in his body and a hot darkness in his eyes. In his dying delirium, he felt that someone was standing over him, he opened his eyes to see his death. To his surprise, a boy of about fifteen was bending over him, with a pale, tired face and distant, perhaps sleepy, eyes. Then the boy passed away, and the author again lost consciousness and did not come to his senses until many days later in the hospital. “The fact that he hit me,” Alexander Wolf wrote, “was most likely an accident, but, of course, I would be the last person to reproach him for this.” The hero realizes that the author of the book, Alexander Wolf, is the man he shot. What remains unclear is how he could turn out to be an English writer. The hero wants to see Wolf. Once in London, he comes to the director of the publishing house that published the book, but it turns out that Wolf is not in England. In Paris, the hero has to report on the final of the World Boxing Championship. An unfamiliar young woman asks to take her to the match, and, the hero notices, such an appeal to a stranger is not typical for her. The woman turns out to be the hero's compatriot. Their acquaintance continues. Elena Nikolaevna - that is the name of the woman - was recently widowed, her husband was an American, she herself lived in London for some time. They become lovers, the feeling for Elena transforms the world for the hero - "everything seemed to me changed and different, like a forest after rain." But something in Elena remains closed to the hero, and he is convinced that "some kind of shadow has fallen on a certain period of her life." One day she tells him how, while visiting friends in London, she met a man who soon became her lover. This man was smart, educated, he opened up to her a whole world that she did not know, and "on all this there was a touch of cold and calm despair," to which she did not cease to resist internally. "The best, most beautiful things lost their charm as soon as he touched them." But his attraction was irresistible. On the long road to death, he was supported by the use of morphine. He tried to accustom Elena Nikolaevna to morphine, but he did not succeed. The influence of this man on her was enormous: what seemed to her important and essential was irresistible and, as it seemed to her, irretrievably lost its value. With a last effort of will, she packed her things and left for Paris. But before that, Elena did everything she could to bring him back to normal. In the last conversation with her, he said that she would never be the same as before, because it was unlikely and because he would not allow it. Leaving him, Elena was convinced that he was right in many ways. She was poisoned by his closeness and is only now beginning to feel that maybe this is not irrevocable. In a Russian restaurant, the hero finds his acquaintance, Vladimir Petrovich Voznesensky, who had previously told him about Alexander Wolf (in particular, that his mistress, the gypsy Marina, had gone to Wolf). Voznesensky introduces the hero to the person sitting next to him; it turns out that this is Alexander Wolf. The hero, having seen Wolf the next day, tells his part of the story described in the story. The conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Voznesensky, and Wolf and the hero meet again. Wolf mentions the purpose of his arrival in Paris - it is "the solution of one complex psychological problem." Analyzing his impressions after meeting with Wolf, the hero understands that Wolf brings death with him or goes towards it, personifying a blind movement. The hero, having written an article about the sudden dramatic death of a Parisian robber, "curly Pierrot", with whom he was familiar, feels longing and depression. The only person he wants to see is Elena. And, without waiting for four o'clock, when she promised to come to him, he himself goes to her, opens the door with his key and hears raised voices from her room. Then Elena's terrible cry is heard: "Never, do you hear, never!" - and the sound of broken glass and a shot are heard. Pulling out a revolver, the hero runs into the room, sees Elena and a man with a weapon aimed at her, and shoots at him without aiming. He sees blood on Elena's white dress - she is wounded in the left shoulder. Then he leans over the fallen man and - "time swirled and disappeared" - sees the dead eyes of Alexander Wolf in front of him. V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (1904-1941) Timur and his team Tale (1940) Colonel Alexandrov for three months at the front. He sends a telegram to his daughter in Moscow, invites them to spend the rest of the summer at the dacha. The eldest, eighteen-year-old Olga, goes there with things, leaving thirteen-year-old Zhenya to clean up the apartment. Olga studies as an engineer, plays music, sings, she is a strict, serious girl. At the dacha, Olga meets a young engineer, Georgy Garayev. She waits until late for Zhenya, but her sister is still not there. And Zhenya at this time, having arrived in a dacha village, in search of mail to send a telegram to his father, accidentally enters someone's empty dacha, and the dog does not let her go back. Zhenya falls asleep. Waking up the next morning, he sees that there is no dog, and next to him is an encouraging note from an unknown Timur. Having found a sham revolver, Zhenya plays with it. A blank shot that broke a mirror frightens her, she runs away, leaving the key to the Moscow apartment and the telegram in the house. Zhenya comes to her sister and already foresees her wrath, but suddenly some girl brings her a key and a receipt from a telegram sent with a note from the same Timur. Zhenya climbs into an old barn, standing in the depths of the garden. There she finds a steering wheel and begins to turn it. And from the steering wheel there are rope wires. Zhenya, without knowing it herself, is giving signals to someone! The barn is filled with many boys. They want to beat Zhenya, who unceremoniously invaded their headquarters. But the commander stops them. This is the same Timur (he is the nephew of Georgy Garayev). He invites Zhenya to stay and listen to what the guys are doing. It turns out that they help people, especially the families of Red Army soldiers. But they do all this in secret from adults. The boys decide to "take special care" of Mishka Kvakin and his gang, which climbs other people's gardens and steals apples. Olga thinks that Timur is a bully and forbids Zhenya to hang out with him. Zhenya cannot explain anything: it would mean divulging a secret. In the early morning, the guys from Timur's team fill the barrel of the old milkmaid with water. Then they put firewood in a woodpile for another old woman - the grandmother of the lively girl Nyurka, they find her missing goat. And Zhenya plays with the little daughter of Lieutenant Pavlov, who was recently killed at the border. Timurovtsy make an ultimatum to Mishka Kwakin. They order him to appear with his assistant, Figura, and bring a list of members of the gang. Geik and Kolya Bells carry an ultimatum. And when they come for an answer, the Quakans lock them in the old chapel. Georgy Garaev rides Olga on a motorcycle. He, like Olga, is engaged in singing: he plays an old partisan in the opera. His "severe and terrible" make-up will frighten anyone, and the joker Georgy often uses this (he owned the sham revolver). The Timurites manage to free Geika and Kolya and lock Figure instead. They ambush the Kvakin gang, lock everyone up in a booth on the market square, and hang a poster on the booth that the "captives" are apple thieves. There is a noisy party in the park. George was asked to sing. Olga agreed to accompany him on the accordion. After the performance, Olga runs into Timur and Zhenya walking in the park. The angry older sister accuses Timur of setting Zhenya against her, she is also angry with George: why didn’t he admit earlier that Timur is his nephew? George, in turn, forbids Timur to communicate with Zhenya. Olga, in order to teach Zhenya, leaves for Moscow. There she receives a telegram: her father will be in Moscow at night. He only comes for three hours to see his daughters. And a friend comes to Zhenya's dacha - the widow of Lieutenant Pavlov. She urgently needs to go to Moscow to meet her mother, and she leaves her little daughter for the night with Zhenya. The girl falls asleep, and Zhenya leaves to play volleyball. Meanwhile, telegrams arrive from her father and from Olga. Zhenya notices the telegrams only late at night. But she has no one to leave the girl, and the last train has already left. Then Zhenya sends a signal to Timur and tells him about his trouble. Timur instructs Kolya Kolokolchikov to guard the sleeping girl - for this he has to tell Kolya's grandfather everything. He approves of the actions of the boys. Timur himself takes Zhenya on a motorcycle to the city (there is no one to ask permission from, his uncle is in Moscow). The father is upset that he never managed to see Zhenya. And when the time is already approaching three, Zhenya and Timur suddenly appear. Minutes fly by quickly - Colonel Alexandrov has to go to the front. George does not find either a nephew or a motorcycle in the country and decides to send Timur home to his mother, but then Timur arrives, and with him Zhenya and Olga. They explain everything. George receives a summons. In the form of a captain of tank troops, he comes to Olga to say goodbye. Zhenya transmits a "general call sign", all the boys from the Timurov team come running. Everyone goes to see George off together. Olga plays the accordion. George leaves. Olga says to the saddened Timur: "You always thought about people, and they will repay you the same." O. V. Butkova Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky (1904-1936) As the Steel Was Tempered Roman (1932-1934) The autobiographical novel by Nikolai Ostrovsky is divided into two parts, each of which contains nine chapters: childhood, adolescence and youth; then mature years and illness. For an unworthy act (he poured makhra into the dough for the priest), the cook's son Pavka Korchagin is expelled from school, and he gets "into the people." "The boy looked into the very depths of life, at its bottom, into the well, and musty mold, swamp dampness smelled of him, greedy for everything new, unknown." When the stunning news of “The Tsar was thrown off” burst into his small town like a whirlwind, Pavel had no time to think about his studies at all, he works hard and, like a boy, without hesitation, hides his weapon despite the ban from the bosses of the suddenly surging Germans. When the province is flooded with an avalanche of Petliura gangs, he becomes a witness to many Jewish pogroms, ending in brutal murders. Anger and indignation often seize the young daredevil, and he cannot but help the sailor Zhukhrai, a friend of his brother Artem, who worked in the depot. The sailor talked kindly with Pavel more than once: “You, Pavlusha, have everything to be a good fighter for the working cause, only now you are very young and you have a very weak concept of the class struggle. I’ll tell you, brother, about the real road "Because I know you'll be good. I don't like the quiet and the smug. Now a fire has begun all over the earth. The slaves have risen and the old life must be put to the bottom. But for this we need brave lads, not sissies, but people of a strong breed, who before a fight, he does not climb into the cracks, like a cockroach, but beats without mercy. Knowing how to fight, strong and muscular Pavka Korchagin saves Zhukhrai from under the escort, for which Petliurists seize him on a denunciation. Pavka was not familiar with the fear of an inhabitant protecting his belongings (he had nothing), but ordinary human fear seized him with an icy hand, especially when he heard from his escort: "Why carry him, sir cornet? A bullet in the back, and it's over" . Pavka was scared. However, Pavka manages to escape, and he hides with a girl he knows, Tonya, with whom he is in love. Unfortunately, she is an intellectual from the "rich class": the daughter of a forester. Having passed the first baptism of fire in the battles of the civil war, Pavel returns to the city where the Komsomol organization was created, and becomes its active member. An attempt to drag Tonya into this organization fails. The girl is ready to obey him, but not completely. Too dressed up, she comes to the first Komsomol meeting, and it is hard for him to see her among the faded tunics and blouses. Tony's cheap individualism becomes unbearable for Pavel. The need for a break was clear to both of them ... Pavel's intransigence leads him to the Cheka, especially in the province it is headed by Zhukhrai. However, the KGB work is very destructive on Pavel's nerves, his concussion pains become more frequent, he often loses consciousness, and after a short respite in his hometown, Pavel goes to Kyiv, where he also ends up in the Special Department under the leadership of Comrade Segal. The second part of the novel opens with a description of a trip to a gubernatorial conference with Rita Ustinovich, Korchagin is assigned to her as assistants and bodyguards. Borrowing a "leather jacket" from Rita, he squeezes into the carriage, and then drags a young woman through the window. “For him, Rita was inviolable. Ego was his friend and comrade on purpose, his political instructor, and yet she was a woman. He first felt it at the bridge, and that’s why he was so excited about her embrace. Pavel felt a deep, even breathing, somewhere then very close to her lips. From the proximity was born an irresistible desire to find these lips. Straining his will, he suppressed this desire. Unable to control his feelings, Pavel Korchagin refuses to meet with Rita Ustinovich, who is teaching him political literacy. Thoughts about the personal are pushed aside in the mind of a young man even further when he takes part in the construction of a narrow gauge railway. The season is difficult - winter, Komsomol members work in four shifts, not having time to rest. Work is delayed by bandit raids. There is nothing to feed the Komsomol members, there are no clothes and shoes either. Work to the full strain of strength ends with a serious illness. Pavel falls, stricken with typhus. His closest friends, Zhukhrai and Ustinovich, having no information about him, think that he is dead. However, after his illness, Pavel is back in the ranks. As a worker, he returns to the workshops, where he not only works hard, but also puts things in order, forcing the Komsomol members to wash and clean the workshop, to the great bewilderment of his superiors. In the town and throughout Ukraine, the class struggle continues, the Chekists catch the enemies of the revolution, and suppress bandit raids. The young Komsomol member Korchagin does a lot of good deeds, defending his comrades at meetings of the cell, and his party friends on the dark streets. “The most precious thing for a person is life. It is given to him once, and you need to live it in such a way that it is not excruciatingly painful for the aimlessly lived years, so that the shame for a mean and petty past does not burn, and so that, dying, he could say: all life "All forces were given to the most beautiful thing in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind. And we must hurry to live. After all, an absurd illness or some tragic accident can interrupt it." Having witnessed many deaths and killing himself, Pavka valued every passing day, accepting party orders and statutory orders as responsible directives of his being. As a propagandist, he also takes part in the defeat of the "workers' opposition", calling the behavior of his own brother "petty-bourgeois", and even more so in verbal attacks on the Trotskyists who dared to oppose the party. They do not want to listen to him, and after all, Comrade Lenin pointed out that we must bet on the youth. When it became known in Shepetovka that Lenin had died, thousands of workers became Bolsheviks. The respect of the party members pushed Pavel far ahead, and one day he found himself at the Bolshoi Theater next to Rita Ustinovich, a member of the Central Committee, who was surprised to learn that Pavel was alive. Pavel says that he loved her like a Gadfly, a man of courage and infinite endurance. But Rita already has a friend and a three-year-old daughter, and Pavel is sick, and he is sent to the sanatorium of the Central Committee, carefully examined. However, a serious illness, which led to complete immobility, progresses. No new best sanatoriums and hospitals are able to save him. With the thought that "it is necessary to remain in the ranks," Korchagin begins to write. Next to him are good kind women: first Dora Rodkina, then Taya Kyutsam. “Is it good, did he live his twenty-four years badly? Going through his memory year after year, Pavel checked his life like an impartial judge and decided with deep satisfaction that life was not lived so badly ... Most importantly, he did not sleep through the hot days, found his place in the iron struggle for power, and on the crimson banner of the revolution there are also a few drops of his blood. O. V. Timasheva Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov (1905-1984) Quiet Don Roman (1928-1940) At the end of the penultimate Turkish campaign, the Cossack Prokofy Melekhov brought home, to the village of Veshenskaya, a captive Turkish woman. From their marriage a son was born, named Panteley, as swarthy and black-eyed as his mother. Subsequently, Pantelei Prokofievich took up the arrangement of the economy and significantly expanded his land. He married a Cossack woman named Vasilisa Ilyinichna, and since then Turkish blood began to interbreed with Cossack. So, the eldest son of Panteley Prokofievich, Petro, went to his mother: he was short, snub-nosed and fair-haired; and the youngest, Grigory, was more reminiscent of his father: the same swarthy, hook-nosed, wildly handsome, of the same frenzied disposition. In addition to them, the Melekhov family consisted of their father's favorite Dunyashka and Peter's wife Daria. ... In the early morning, Pantelei Prokofievich invites Grigory to go fishing, during which he demands that his son leave alone Aksinya Astakhova, the wife of Stepan's neighbor Melekhovsky. Grigory and his friend Mitka Korshunov go to sell the caught carp to the rich merchant Mokhov and meet his daughter Elizabeth. Petro and Stepan leave for camps to collect, while Grigory continues to flirt with Aksinya. ... When Aksinya was sixteen years old, she was raped by her own father, who was then killed by the girl's mother and brother. A year later, she was given in marriage to Stepan Astakhov, who, without forgiving the "offense", began to beat Aksinya and walk around the zhalmerki. Therefore, when Grishka Melekhov began to show interest in her, Aksinya, who did not know love, to her horror, had a reciprocal feeling. Soon she converges with Gregory. The lovers do not hide their relationship, and everything becomes known to both Panteley Prokofievich and Stepan. He, having returned, begins to brutally beat Aksinya, and his father decides to quickly marry Grigory to Natalya, Mitka Korshunov's sister. Stepan Astakhov, having fought with the Melekhov brothers, becomes their sworn enemy. Aksinya tries, but cannot suppress her feelings for Grigory. The courtship of Panteley Prokofievich gives positive results, as Natalya Korshunova falls in love with Grigory. He, in turn, offers Aksinya to end their relationship. Grigory marries Natalya without feeling any feelings for her. Mitka Korshunov takes Elizaveta Mokhova out fishing and rapes her there. Dirty rumors begin to spread around the farm, and Mitka goes to woo Elizabeth. But the girl refuses him, and Sergei Platonovich Mokhov unleashes the dogs on Korshunov. Grigory realizes that his feelings for Aksinya have not died. She outwardly reconciles with her husband, but continues to love Gregory. Fedot Bodovskov meets Shtokman. Tom manages to stop the fight at the mill, during which Mitka Korshunov beats the merchant Mokhov. During interrogation by the investigator, Shtokman says that in 1907 he was in prison "for riots" and was serving a link. Grigory confesses to Natalya that he does not love her. During a trip for brushwood, the Melekhov brothers meet Aksinya. Aksinya's connection with Grigory is renewed. Jack, Khristonya, Ivan Alekseevich Kotlyarov and Mishka Koshevoy come to Shtokman for readings on the history of the Don Cossacks. Grigory and Mitka Korshunov take the oath. Natalia decides to return to live with her parents. There is a quarrel between Grigory and Panteley Prokofievich, after which Grigory leaves home. At the merchant Mokhov, he meets the centurion Yevgeny Listnitsky and accepts an offer to work as a coachman on his estate Yagodnoye. Aksinya is hired as a cook for yard and seasonal workers. Aksinya and Grigory leave the farm, and Natalya returns to her parents. From the very first days, Listnitsky begins to show interest in Aksinya. Valet and Ivan Alekseevich continue to visit Shtokman, who tells them about the struggle of the capitalist states for markets and colonies as the main reason for the impending world war. On Easter, Natalya, exhausted by the humiliation of her position, attempts suicide. Aksinya confesses to Grigory that she is expecting a child from him. Petro comes to visit his brother. Aksinya begs Grigory to take her with him to the mowing and gives birth to a girl on the way home. Gregory is summoned to military training; Pantelei Prokofievich unexpectedly comes to him and brings him "on the right". Gregory leaves for a four-year service; on the way, his father informs him that Natalya survived, although she remained a cripple, and asks if Grigory will live with her when he returns. At the medical commission, they want to enroll Gregory in the guards, but due to non-standard external data ("Gangster mug ... Very wild"), they are enrolled in the army's Twelfth Cossack Regiment. On the very first day, Grigory begins friction with his superiors. Natalia again comes to live with the Melekhovs. She still hopes for the return of Gregory to the family. Dunyashka begins to go to games and tells Natalya about her relationship with Mishka Koshev. An investigator arrives at the village and arrests Shtokman; during a search, illegal literature is found on him. During interrogation, it turns out that Shtokman is a member of the RSDLP. He is taken away from Veshenskaya. Gregory's regiment stands in the Radziwillovo estate. Watching the officers, Grigory feels an invisible wall between himself and them; this feeling is reinforced by the incident with Prokhor Zykov, who was beaten up by a sergeant-major during an exercise. Before the beginning of spring, the Cossacks, brutalized with boredom, rape Franya, the young maid of the manager, with the whole platoon; Gregory, who runs to her aid, is tied up and thrown into the stable, promising to kill if he let it slip. The war begins, and the Cossacks are taken to the Russian-Austrian border. In his first battle, Gregory kills a man, and the image of the hacked Austrian disturbs his conscience. The regiment of Gregory, withdrawn from the line of battle, receives reinforcements from the Don. Grigory meets his brother, Mishka Koshevoy, Anikushka and Stepan Astakhov. In a conversation with Peter, he admits that he is homesick and tormented by a forced murder. Petro advises to beware of Stepan, who promised to kill Gregory in the first battle. Grigory finds a diary from the murdered Cossack, which describes the latter's affair with the fallen Elizaveta Mokhova. A Cossack nicknamed Chubaty gets into Grigory's platoon; mocking Grigory's feelings, he says that it is a sacred thing to kill an enemy in battle. Gregory is seriously wounded in the head. Covered by a patriotic impulse, Yevgeny Listnitsky leaves for the army to command a platoon. Podsaul Kalmykov advises him to make acquaintance with the volunteer Ilya Bunchuk. The Melekhovs receive news of Grigory's death, and twelve days later, from Peter's letter, it turns out that Grigory is alive, moreover, he was awarded the St. George Cross for saving a wounded officer and promoted to junior officer. Having received a letter from Grigory, where he sends her "a bow and the lowest respect", Natalya decides to go to Yagodnoye, to beg Aksinya to return her husband. On the eve of the next offensive, a shell hits the house where Prokhor Zykov, Chubaty and Grigory are staying. Grigory, wounded in the eye, is sent to a hospital in Moscow. Tanya, the daughter of Grigory and Aksinya, falls ill with scarlet fever and soon dies. Aksinya converges with Listnitsky, who came on leave due to injury. Garanzha, Grigory's neighbor in the hospital ward, in conversations with the Cossack, speaks dismissively of the autocratic system and reveals the true causes of the war. Grigory feels with horror that all his former ideas about the tsar, the homeland and about his Cossack military duty are collapsing. Gregory is transferred to the hospital on Tverskaya, to heal the opened wound; there, a person of the imperial family visits his chamber. For disrespectful behavior in the presence of the highest guest, Gregory is deprived of food for three days, and then sent home. Grigory goes to Yagodnoe. From the stableman of Sasha's grandfather, he learns about Aksinya's connection with Listnitsky. Grigory beats the centurion with a whip and, leaving Aksinya, returns to his family, to Natalya. Having risen to the rank of officer, Bunchuk conducts Bolshevik propaganda among the troops. Listnitsky denounces him, Bunchuk deserts. At the front, Ivan Alekseevich meets Jack; it turns out that Shtokman is in Siberia. Grigory recalls how he saved the life of Stepan Astakhov in battle, which, however, did not reconcile them. Gradually, Grigory begins to develop friendly relations with Chubaty, who tends to deny the war. Together with him and Mishka Koshev, Grigory participates in the "arrest" of wormy cabbage soup and takes them to his hundredth commander. In autumn, Natalia gives birth to twins. During the next offensive, Grigory is wounded in the arm. Rumors reach Peter about the infidelity of Daria, who cohabited with Stepan Astakhov. Wounded on the battlefield, Stepan goes missing, and Petro decides to knock out Daria's eye so that no one else will covet her. In turn, Pantelei Prokofievich takes measures to rein in his daughter-in-law, but this does not lead to anything good. The February Revolution arouses restrained anxiety among the Cossacks. Listnitsky tells the merchant Mokhov that, as a result of Bolshevik propaganda, the soldiers turned into gangs of criminals, unbridled and wild, and the Bolsheviks themselves are "worse than cholera bacilli." The commander of the brigade, where Petro Melekhov serves, urges the Cossacks to stay away from the unrest that has begun. Hoping for a speedy end to the war, the Cossacks swear allegiance to the Provisional Government. They meet the order to return to the front with an open murmur. Daria comes to the front to see Peter. Listnitsky is assigned to a pro-monarchist regiment; soon, in connection with the July events, he was sent to Petrograd. Kornilov becomes supreme commander; officers pin their hopes on him to save Russia, the Cossacks "crumple". Ivan Alekseevich makes a coup in his regiment and is appointed centurion; he refuses to go to Petrograd. Bunchuk arrives at the front to agitate for the Bolsheviks and runs into Kalmykov. The deserter arrests Kalmykov to be shot later. In Petrograd, Listnitsky witnesses the Bolshevik coup. Having received news of the change of power, the Cossacks return home. Ivan Alekseevich, Mitka Korshunov, Prokhor Zykov, and after them Petro Melekhov, who had fled from the Bolshevik regiment, returned to the village. It becomes known that Grigory went over to the side of the Bolsheviks, already in the rank of platoon officer. After the coup, he receives an appointment as commander of a hundred. Gregory falls under the influence of his colleague Efim Izvarin, who advocates the complete autonomy of the Don Cossack Region. Izvarin explains to Grigory that the only thing the Bolsheviks have in common with the Cossacks is that the Bolsheviks are for peace, and the Cossacks have long been tired of fighting. But their paths will part as soon as the war is over and the Bolsheviks stretch out their hands to the Cossack possessions. In November XNUMX, Grigory met Podtelkov. Bunchuk leaves for Rostov, where he receives the task of organizing a machine-gun team. The machine gunners send Anna Pogudko to him. Ivan Alekseevich and Khristonya go to the congress of veterans and meet Grigory there. Podtelkov is elected chairman, and Krivoshlykov - secretary of the Cossack Military Revolutionary Committee, which declared itself the government on the Don. Another contender for power over the Cossacks is the ataman of the Military Circle Kaledin. Chernetsov's detachment breaks the forces of the Red Guards. Gregory, at the head of two hundred, supported by Bunchuk's machine gunners, goes into battle and receives another wound (in the leg). Chernetsov, along with four dozen young officers, was captured. All were brutally killed on the orders of Podtelkov, despite the opposition of Grigory and Golubov. Pantelei Prokofievich brings the wounded Grigory home. His father and brother are disapproving of his Bolshevik views; Gregory himself, after the massacre of Chernetsov, is experiencing a spiritual crisis. News arrives of Kaledin's suicide. Bunchuk recovers from typhus; begins his romance with Anna, who cared for him during his illness. Listnitsky leaves Rostov together with the Kornilovites. Golubov and Bunchuk arrest the leaders of the Military Circle. Bunchuk is appointed commandant of the Revolutionary Tribunal, and he begins to actively shoot "counter-revolutionaries". Jack calls on the Cossacks to go to the rescue of the Red Guard units, but he persuades only Koshevoy; Grigory, Khristonya and Ivan Alekseevich refuse. In connection with the raid of the Bolsheviks on the village of Migulinskaya, a Cossack meeting is held on the Maidan. A visiting centurion agitates the Cossacks to form a detachment to fight the Reds and protect Veshki. Miron Grigoryevich Korshunov, father of Natalya and Mitka, is elected ataman. The centurion offers Gregory for the post of commander, but he is reminded of the Red Guard past and Peter is appointed. Prokhor Zykov, Mitka, Khristonya and other Cossacks are enrolled in the regiment. However, they are convinced that there will be no war. Together with everyone, Grigory opposes Podtelkov. Anna dies in battle. Podtelkov negotiates the terms of surrender, to which Bunchuk objects. The prisoners are sentenced to death, Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov - to hanging. Mitka, who volunteered for the firing squad, kills Bunchuk. Before the execution, Podtelkov accuses Gregory of betrayal, in response, Gregory recalls the massacre of Chernetsov's detachment. The bear of Koshevoy and Jack is being caught by the Cossacks; Knave is killed, and Mishka, in the hope of correction, is sentenced to punishment with whips. April 1918 A civil war is going on on the Don. Pantelei Prokofievich and Miron Korshunov are elected delegates to the Military Circle; General Krasnov becomes the ataman of the army. Petro Melekhov leads a hundred against the Reds. In a conversation with Grigory, he tries to find out his brother's mood, to find out if he is going to return to the Reds. Instead of being sent to the front, Koshevoy is appointed as an atar. Listnitsky's shattered arm is amputated. Soon he marries the widow of a deceased friend and returns to Yagodnoye. Stepan Astakhov comes from German captivity; he goes to Aksinya and persuades her to return home. For a humane attitude towards the prisoners, Gregory is removed from the command of a hundred, he again accepts a platoon. Panteley Prokofievich comes to Grigory in the regiment and is engaged in looting there. During the retreat, Grigory arbitrarily leaves the front and returns home. Petro runs after him from the Bolshevik regiment. The Melekhovs decide to wait out the Red offensive without leaving the farm. Several Red Army soldiers come to stay with them, one of whom begins to look for a quarrel with Grigory. Panteley Prokofievich cripples the horses of Peter and Grigory so that they would not be taken away. Red becomes aware that Grigory is an officer; after crippling a Red Guard who tried to kill him, Grigory flees from the farm. Ivan Alekseevich is elected chairman of the executive committee. Koshevoy - his deputy. The Cossacks hand over their weapons. Rumors are spreading around the Don about the emergency and tribunals, which are administering a quick and unjust trial of the Cossacks who served with the Whites, and Petro seeks intercession from Yakov Fomin, head of the district revolutionary committee. Ivan Alekseevich quarrels with Grigory, who does not want to recognize the merits of Soviet power; Koshevoy offers to arrest Grigory, but he manages to leave for another village. According to the list compiled by Koshev, Miron Korshunov, Avdeich Brekh and several other old men are arrested. Shtokman is announced in Veshenskaya. The news comes about the execution of the Cossacks. Yielding to Lukinichna's persuasion, Petro digs out of the common grave at night and brings the corpse of Miron Grigorievich to the Korshunovs. Shtokman appears at the Cossack meeting and announces that the executed were enemies of the Soviet regime. The execution list also includes Pantelei and Grigory Melekhov and Fedot Bodovskov. Having learned about the return of Gregory, the Veshensky communists discuss his future fate; Grigory, meanwhile, runs away again and hides with relatives. Panteley Prokofyevich, who survived typhus, cannot avoid arrest. Riots begin in Kazanskaya. Antip Sinilin, son of Avdeich Brekh, takes part in the beating of Koshevoy; he, having rested up with Stepan Astakhov, is hiding from the farm. Having learned about the beginning of the uprising, Gregory returns home. Peter is chosen as the commander of the cavalry hundred. Defeated by the Reds, Petro, Fedot Bodovskov and other Cossacks, deceived by the promise to save their lives, surrender, and Koshevoy, with the silent support of Ivan Alekseevich, kills Peter; Of all the Cossacks who were with him, only Stepan Astakhov and Antip Brekhovich managed to escape. Gregory is appointed commander of the Veshensky regiment, and after that - the commander of one of the rebel divisions. Avenging for the death of his brother, he stops taking prisoners. In the battles near Sviridov and for Karginskaya, his Cossacks smashed squadrons of the red cavalry. moving away from black thoughts, Grigory begins to drink and walk around the zhalmerki. During another drinking bout, Medvedev proposes to remove Kudinov, the commander of all rebel forces, and appoint Grigory in his place in order to continue the war against the Reds and the Cadets; Gregory refuses. In the battle near Klimovka, he personally cuts down four Red Guards, after which he experiences a severe nervous attack. Having left with his messenger Prokhor Zykov for Veshki, Grigory on the way releases from prison the relatives of the Cossacks arrested by Kudinov who left with the Reds. Natalya learns about her husband's numerous infidelities, a quarrel occurs between them. Meanwhile, the Serdobsky regiment, where Koshevoy, Shtokman and Kotlyarov serve, goes over to the side of the rebels in full force; even before the riots begin, Shtokman manages to send Mishka with a report to the headquarters. During a spontaneous rally, Shtokman is killed, and Ivan Alekseevich, along with other communists of the regiment, is put under arrest. Panteley Prokofievich becomes a witness of a chance meeting between his son and Aksinya and, thinking about who Grigory was born into such a male, comes to a logical conclusion. In Aksinya, a long-term feeling for Grigory wakes up; that same evening, taking advantage of Stepan's absence, she asks Daria to call her loved one. Their connection is renewed. Having learned about the transition to the rebels of the Serdobsky regiment, Grigory rushes to Veshki to save Kotlyarov and Mishka and find out who killed Peter. The captives, beaten beyond recognition, are driven to the Tatarsky farm, where they are met by the relatives of the Cossacks who died together with Peter Melekhov, thirsting for revenge. Daria accuses Ivan Alekseevich of the death of her husband and shoots him, Antip Brekhovich helps to finish off Kotlyarov. An hour after the beating of the captives, Gregory, who had driven his horse to death, appears on the farm. Agreeing to lead a breakthrough to the Don, Grigory decides to take Aksinya with him, and leave Natalya and her children at home. Revenging for the death of Ivan Alekseevich and Shtokman, Mishka Koshevoy sets fire to the houses of the clergy and wealthy Cossacks. Before burning the Korshunovs' hut, Koshevoy kills old grandfather Grishaka. Landmarks begin to be subjected to intense artillery fire. The Reds are preparing to cross the Don in the area where the Gromkovskaya hundreds are located, where Grigory immediately goes. Soon Prokhor brings Aksinya to him in Veshki. To the complete surprise of the Gromkovskaya hundred Cossacks, occupied exclusively by moonshine and women, a Red Guard regiment is crossing the Don. Gromkovtsy in a panic run to Veshenskaya, where Grigory manages to pull up the horse hundreds of the Karginsky regiment. Soon he learns that the Tatars have abandoned the trenches. Trying to stop the farmers, Grigory beats Khristonya, who is walking at an unbridled camel gallop, with a whip; Pantelei Prokofievich, who runs tirelessly and briskly, also gets it, whom Grigory, who does not recognize from the back, calls a son of a bitch and threatens to hack to death. Having quickly gathered and brought the peasants to their senses, Grigory orders them to join the Semyonov hundred. The Reds are on the offensive; with machine-gun bursts, the Cossacks force them to return to their original positions. To the horror of Ilyinichna, the talkative Mishatka informs the Red Army soldier who has entered the house that his father is in command of all the Cossacks. On the same day, the Reds are knocked out of Veshki and Pantelei Prokofievich returns home. After leaving the banquet in honor of General Secrets, Grigory comes to visit Aksinya and finds only Stepan. Returning home, Aksinya willingly drinks to the health of her lover, and Prokhor, who is looking for Grigory, sees with amazement that he is sitting at the same table with Stepan. At dawn, Gregory arrives home. Talking to Dunyashka, he orders her to leave even thoughts of Koshevoy. Grigory experiences an unprecedented surge of tenderness for Natalia. The next day, tormented by vague forebodings, he leaves the farm. Grigory, together with his chief of staff Kopylov, is summoned to a meeting with General Fitskhelaurov. During the reception, a quarrel occurs between Grigory and the general, and the latter threatens to remove Grigory from command of the division, to which Grigory declares that he obeys only Kudinov, and promises, in which case, to set his Cossacks on Fitskhelaurov. After this skirmish, a strange indifference takes possession of Gregory; for the first time in his life, he decides to withdraw from direct participation in the battle. Mitka Korshunov arrives at the Tatarsky farm. The cruelty characteristic of him from childhood found a worthy application in the punitive detachment, and in a short time Mitka rose to the rank of coroner. First of all, having visited his native ashes, he goes to stay with the Melekhovs, who cordially welcome the guest. After making inquiries about the Koshevs and finding out that Mishka's mother and children remained at home, Mitka and his comrades kill them. Upon learning of this, Pantelei Prokofievich drives him out of the yard, and Mitka, returning to his punitive detachment, goes to restore order in the Ukrainian settlements of the Donetsk district. Daria goes to the front to deliver ammunition and returns in a depressed state. The commander of the Don Army, General Sidorin, arrives at the farm. Pantelei Prokofievich brings bread and salt to the general and representatives of the allies, and Darya, along with other Cossack widows, is awarded the St. George medal and handed her five hundred rubles. It categorically reflects all Panteley Prokofievich's attempts to take possession of the money received "for Peter", although she gives Ilyinichna forty rubles for a wake for the deceased. The old people suspect that Daria is going to remarry, but she has a different concern in her heart. Daria admits to Natalya that during her trip she contracted syphilis and, since this disease is incurable, she is going to lay hands on herself. Not wanting to suffer alone, she tells Natalya that Grigory has reunited with Aksinya. Shortly after the retreat of the Reds, Gregory is removed from the post of division commander and, despite his requests to be sent to the rear for health reasons, he is appointed centurion of the Nineteenth Regiment. The Cossack divisions are being disbanded: the entire command staff is being replaced, and the privates are replenishing the numbered regiments of the Don Army. Arriving at a new place of service, Grigory receives tragic news from home and, taking Prokhor with him, leaves, shocked by grief that suddenly fell upon him. ... After talking with Daria, Natalya lives like in a dream. She tries to find out something from Prokhor's wife, but the cunning woman remembers her husband's order to "be silent, like a dead one", and then Natalya goes to Aksinya. Having gone along with Ilyinichnaya to weed melons, Natalya tells her mother-in-law about everything. A black cloud covers the sky, a downpour begins, and during the peals of thunder, the exhausted, sobbing Natalya prays to God to punish Grigory. Having calmed down a little, she tells Ilyinichna that she loves her husband and does not wish him harm, but she will no longer give birth from him: she has been pregnant for the third month and is going to go to grandmother Kapitonovna to get rid of the fetus. On the same day, Natalya stealthily leaves the house and returns only in the evening, bleeding. An urgently called paramedic, after examining Natalia, says that her uterus is completely torn and she will die by lunchtime. Natalya says goodbye to the children, upset that she will not see Grigory. She dies soon after. Grigory arrives on the third day after Natalya's funeral. In his own way, he loved his wife, and now his suffering is exacerbated by guilt over this death. Grigory becomes close to the children, but after two weeks, unable to bear the anguish, he returns to the front. On the way, he and Prokhor now and then meet Cossacks carrying carts with looted goods, and deserters: the Don army is decomposing at the moment of its highest success. Shortly after Grigory's departure, Daria commits suicide by drowning herself in the Don. Ilyinichna forbids Mishatka to visit Aksinya, and a quarrel occurs between the women. In August, Panteley Prokofievich was called to the front; he deserts twice and eventually obtains a certificate of inability to walk. Because of the danger of the Reds approaching Veshki, the Melekhovs leave Tatarsky for two weeks. The murdered Christonya and Anikushka are brought from the front, followed by Grigory, who is ill with typhus. Having recovered, he, together with Aksinya and Prokhor, leaves the farm. On the way, Aksinya falls ill with typhus, and Grigory is forced to leave her. Arriving in Belaya Glina at the end of January, he learns that Pantelei Prokofievich had died of typhus the day before. After burying his father, Gregory himself falls ill with relapsing fever and survives only thanks to Prokhor's devotion and selflessness. Having moved to Novorossiysk, they try to evacuate by boat to Turkey, but, seeing the futility of their attempts, they decide to stay at home. Aksinya returns home; anxiety for Grigory's life brings her closer to the Melekhovs. It becomes known that Stepan left for the Crimea, and soon Prokhor, who lost his arm, returns and reports that he and Grigory entered the Cavalry, where Grigory took command of the squadron. Ilyinichna is looking forward to her son, but instead of him, Mishka Koshevoy comes to the Melekhovs; Ilyinichna, who is trying to drive him away, runs into Dunyashka's open resistance. Mishka continues to go to them, not at all embarrassed by the fact that his hands are stained with Peter's blood, and in the end he achieves his goal: Ilyinichna agrees to his marriage to Dunyashka and soon dies, never waiting for Grigory to return. Koshevoy ceases to take care of the household, believing that the Soviet power is still in danger, mainly because of such elements as Grigory and Prokhor Zykov, about which Koshevoy informs the latter. Mishka believes that Grigory's service in the Red Army does not wash away his guilt for participating in the White movement, and upon returning home he will have to answer for the rebel uprising. Soon Mishka was appointed chairman of the Veshensky Revolutionary Committee. Upon learning of the imminent demobilization and return of Grigory, Dunyashka asks her husband what awaits his brother for serving with the Cossacks, and Koshevoy replies that they might be shot. Grigory goes home with the firm intention of taking care of the household and living near his children, but a conversation with Koshev convinces him of the unrealizability of such plans. Having visited Prokhor, Grigory learns about the uprising that has begun in the Voronezh region and understands that this could threaten him, a former officer and rebel, with trouble. In the meantime, Prokhor talks about the death of Yevgeny Listnitsky, who shot himself because of his wife's infidelity. Yakov Fomin, met in Veshki, advises Grigory to leave the house for a while, as the arrests of officers began. Having taken the children, Grigory goes to live with Aksinya. Thanks to his sister, he manages to avoid arrest and escape from the farm. By the will of circumstances, he falls into the Fomin gang and is forced to stay in it. Fomin is going to destroy the commissars and communists and establish his own, Cossack power, but these good intentions do not find support among the population, who is even more tired of the war than of the Soviet regime. Gregory decides to leave the gang at the first opportunity. Having met a familiar farmer, he asks to convey a bow to Prokhor and Dunyashka, and to tell Aksinya to wait for his imminent return. Meanwhile, the gang suffers defeat after defeat and the fighters are engaged in looting with might and main. Soon, the red units complete the rout and out of the entire Fomin gang, only five people remain alive, including Grigory and Fomin himself. The fugitives settle on a small island opposite the Rubizhny farm. At the end of April, they crossed the Don to merge with Maslak's gang. Gradually, forty people from various small gangs join Fomin, and he invites Grigory to take the place of chief of staff. Grigory refuses and soon runs away from Fomin. Arriving at the farm at night, he goes to Aksinya and calls her to leave for the Kuban, temporarily leaving the children in the care of Dunyashka. Leaving the house and household, Aksinya leaves with Grigory. After resting in the steppe, they are about to move on when they come across an outpost on their way. The fugitives manage to get away from the chase, but one of the bullets fired after them mortally wounds Aksinya. Shortly before dawn, without regaining consciousness, she dies in the arms of Gregory. Having buried Aksinya, Grigory raises his head and sees above him the black sky and the dazzlingly shining black disk of the sun. Having wandered aimlessly across the steppe, he decides to go to the Slashchevskaya oak forest, where deserters live in dugouts. From Chumakov, whom Grigory met there, he learns about the defeat of the gang and the death of Fomin. For six months he lives, trying not to think about anything and driving poisonous longing from his heart, and at night he dreams of children, Aksinya and other dead loved ones. In early spring, without waiting for the amnesty promised by May Day, Gregory decides to return home. Approaching his native home, he sees Mishatka, and the son is all that still makes Gregory related to the earth and to the whole huge world shining under the cold sun. O. A. Petrenko Upturned virgin soil Novel (book 1 - 1932; book 2 - 1959-1960) On the extreme alley to the steppe on a January evening in 1930, a horseman rode into the Gremyachiy Log farm. I learned from passers-by the way to the hut of Yakov Lukich Ostrovny. The owner, recognizing the visitor, looked around and whispered: “Your honor! Otkel you? After dinner, they began to talk. Lukich was considered the first-class owner on the farm, a man of great intelligence and fox caution. He began to complain to the visitor: in the twentieth year he returned to the bare walls, left all the good at the Black Sea. Worked day and night. In the very first year, the new government swept all the grain out of the surplus, and then lost count of the change - it handed over bread, and meat, and butter, and skin, and poultry, paid countless taxes ... Now - a new misfortune. Some man came from the district and will drive everyone to the collective farm. He made money with his hump, and now give it to the common cauldron? "You have to fight, brother," explains Polovtsev. And at his suggestion, Yakov Lukich joined the Union for the Liberation of the Native Don. And the man they were talking about, in the past a sailor, and then a mechanic at the Putilov factory, Semyon Davydov, came to Gremyachy to carry out collectivization. At first, he held a meeting of the Gremyachny activists and the poor. Those present enrolled in the collective farm together and approved the list of kulaks: those who got into it were waiting for the confiscation of property and eviction from their homes. When discussing the candidacy of Tit Borodin, there was a hitch. The secretary of the farm cell of the Communist Party, Makar Nagulnov, a former Red partisan, explained to Davydov: Tit is a former Red Guard, from the poor. But, returning from the war, he clung to the economy with his teeth. He worked twenty hours a day, overgrown with wild hair, acquired a hernia - and began to grow rich, despite warnings and persuasion to wait for the world revolution. He answered the persuaders: "I was nothing and became everything, and I fought for this." "There was a partisan - honor to him for this, he became a fist - to crush," Davydov replied. The next day, under the tears of the evicted children and women, dispossession took place. The chairman of the Gremyachinsky village council, Andrei Razmetnov, at first even refused to take part in this, but was persuaded by Davydov. Not all of the Gremyachians aspired to the collective farm to be more prosperous. Dissatisfied with the authorities secretly gathered to discuss the situation. Among them were the middle peasants, and even some of the poor. Nikita Khoprov, for example, who was blackmailed by the fact that for some time he was in the punitive detachment of whites. But Khoprov refused Ostrovny's offer to participate in an armed uprising. He'd better take it upon himself. By the way, who is this living in Lukich's chaff - isn't it the same "your honor" who is inciting a rebellion? That same night, Khoprov and his wife were killed. Ostrovnov, Polovtsev and the son of the dispossessed, the first village handsome man and accordion player Timofey Rvany participated in this. The investigator from the district failed to get the leads leading to the disclosure of the murder. A week later, the general meeting of collective farmers approved the newcomer Davydov as the chairman of the collective farm, and Ostrovny as the supply manager. Collectivization in Gremyachye was difficult: at first they slaughtered cattle so as not to socialize it, then they hid seed grain from surrender. Party secretary Nagulnov divorced Lukerya due to the fact that she publicly voted for Timofei Rvany, her lover, who was being expelled. And soon Lushka, known for her flightiness, met Davydov and told him: “Look at me, comrade Davydov ... I am a beautiful woman, he is ready for love ...” Polovtsev and Yakov Lukich informed like-minded people from a neighboring farm that the uprising was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. But those, it turns out, changed their minds after reading Stalin's article "Dizziness from Success." They thought that to drive everyone to the collective farm with a fool was the order of the center. And Stalin said that "you can sit in your own individuality." So they will get along with the local authorities, who were rigidly bent on collectivization, "but it is useless to turn against all Soviet power." "Fools, damned by God! .. - Polovtsev seethed. - They do not understand that this article is a vile deceit, a maneuver!" And in Gremyachye, a week after the article appeared, about a hundred applications were submitted for leaving the collective farm. Including from the widow of Marina Poyarkova, the "darling" of the chairman of the village council Andrei Razmetnov. And half an hour later, Marina, personally harnessing herself to the shafts of her wagon, easily took away the harrow and plow from the brigade's yard. The relations between the people and the government became aggravated again. And then the carts from the farm Yarsky arrived and there was a rumor that for seed grain. And a riot broke out in Gremyachye: they beat Davydov, knocked down the locks from the barns and began to sort out the grain without permission. After the suppression of the rebellion, Davydov promised not to apply administrative measures to the "temporarily deluded". By May 15, the collective farm in Gremyachye had fulfilled the sowing plan. And Lushka began to visit Davydov: she took newspapers and asked if the chairman missed her. The resistance of the former naval one was short-lived, and soon the whole village found out about their connection. Ostrovnov met Timothy Rvany, who had escaped from exile, in the forest. He ordered to convey to Lukerya that he was waiting for grubs. But at home Lukich was in for an incomparably more bitter trouble: Polovtsev returned and, together with his comrade Lyatevsky, settled at Ostrovnov's for a secret residence. Davydov, tormented by the fact that relations with Lushka undermine his authority, suggested that she get married. Unexpectedly, this led to a violent quarrel. In separation, the chairman became homesick, entrusted the affairs to Razmetnov, and he himself drove off to the second brigade to help raise steam. The brigade constantly scoffed about the exorbitant thickness of Daria's cook. With the arrival of Davydov, another topic for rude jokes appeared - the young Varia Kharlamova was in love with him. He himself, looking into her blazing blush face, thought: "After all, I'm twice your age, wounded, ugly, chipped ... No ... grow up without me, dear." One day, before sunrise, a rider rode up to the camp. He joked with Daria, helped her peel the potatoes, and then ordered to wake Davydov. It was the new secretary of the district committee, Nesterenko. He checked the quality of the plowing, talked about collective-farm affairs, in which he proved to be very knowledgeable, and criticized the chairman for omissions. The sailor himself was going to the farm: he learned that the night before Makar had been shot at. In Gremyachy, Razmetnov outlined the details of the assassination attempt: at night, Makar was sitting at an open window with his newfound friend, joker and joker grandfather Shchukar, "they cut him down with a rifle." In the morning, it was determined by the cartridge case that a man who had not fought had fired: a soldier from thirty paces would not miss. Yes, and the shooter ran away so that the horse could not catch up. The shot did not cause any injuries to the party secretary, but he developed a terrible runny nose, audible throughout the whole farm. Davydov went to the forge to inspect the inventory repaired for sowing. The blacksmith, Ippolit Shaly, in a conversation warned the chairman to leave Lukerya, otherwise he would also get a bullet in the forehead. Lushka does not knit knots with him alone. And without that it is not clear why Timoshka Rvany (namely, he turned out to be an unlucky shooter) shot at Makar, and not at Davydov. In the evening, Davydov told Makar and Razmetnov about the conversation and offered to inform the GPU. Makar resolutely objected: as soon as the Gepeushnik appears on the farm, Timofei will immediately disappear. Makar and the middle peasants, and even some of the poor. Nikita Khoprov, for example, who was blackmailed by the fact that for some time he was in the punitive detachment of whites. But Khoprov refused Ostrovny's offer to participate in an armed uprising. He'd better take it upon himself. By the way, who is this living in Lukich's chaff - isn't it the same "your honor" who is inciting a rebellion? That same night, Khoprov and his wife were killed. Ostrovnov, Polovtsev and the son of the dispossessed, the first village handsome man and accordion player Timofey Rvany participated in this. The investigator from the district failed to get the leads leading to the disclosure of the murder. A week later, the general meeting of collective farmers approved the newcomer Davydov as the chairman of the collective farm, and Ostrovny as the supply manager. Collectivization in Gremyachye was difficult: at first they slaughtered cattle so as not to socialize it, then they hid seed grain from surrender. Party secretary Nagulnov divorced Lukerya due to the fact that she publicly voted for Timofei Rvany, her lover, who was being expelled. And soon Lushka, known for her flightiness, met Davydov and told him: “Look at me, comrade Davydov ... I am a beautiful woman, he is ready for love ...” Polovtsev and Yakov Lukich informed like-minded people from a neighboring farm that the uprising was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. But those, it turns out, changed their minds after reading Stalin's article "Dizziness from Success." They thought that to drive everyone to the collective farm with a fool was the order of the center. And Stalin said that "you can sit in your own individuality." So they will get along with the local authorities, who were rigidly bent on collectivization, "and turn against all Soviet power" is not good. "Fools, damned by God! .. - Polovtsev seethed. - They do not understand that this article is a vile deceit, a maneuver!" And in Gremyachye, a week after the article appeared, about a hundred applications were submitted to leave the collective farm. Including from the widow of Marina Poyarkova, the "darling" of the chairman of the village council Andrei Razmetnov. And half an hour later, Marina, personally harnessing herself to the shafts of her wagon, easily took away the harrow and plow from the brigade's yard. The relations between the people and the government became aggravated again. And then the carts from the farm Yarsky arrived and there was a rumor that for seed grain. And a riot broke out in Gremyachye: they beat Davydov, knocked down the locks from the barns and began to sort out the grain without permission. After the suppression of the rebellion, Davydov promised not to apply administrative measures to the "temporarily deluded". By May 15, the collective farm in Gremyachye had fulfilled the sowing plan. And Lushka began to visit Davydov: she took newspapers and asked if the chairman missed her. The resistance of the former naval one was short-lived, and soon the whole village found out about their connection. Ostrovnov met Timothy Rvany, who had escaped from exile, in the forest. He ordered to convey to Lukerya that he was waiting for grubs. But at home Lukich was in for an incomparably more bitter trouble: Polovtsev returned and, together with his comrade Lyatevsky, settled at Ostrovnov's for a secret residence. Davydov, tormented by the fact that relations with Lushka undermine his authority, suggested that she get married. Unexpectedly, this led to a violent quarrel. In separation, the chairman became homesick, entrusted the affairs to Razmetnov, and he himself drove off to the second brigade to help raise steam. The brigade constantly scoffed about the exorbitant thickness of Daria's cook. With the arrival of Davydov, another topic for rude jokes appeared - the young Varia Kharlamova was in love with him. He himself, looking into her blazing blush face, thought: "After all, I'm twice your age, wounded, ugly, chipped ... No ... grow up without me, dear." One day, before sunrise, a rider rode up to the camp. He joked with Daria, helped her peel the potatoes, and then ordered to wake Davydov. It was the new secretary of the district committee, Nesterenko. He checked the quality of the plowing, talked about collective-farm affairs, in which he proved to be very knowledgeable, and criticized the chairman for omissions. The sailor himself was going to the farm: he learned that the night before Makar had been shot at. In Gremyachy, Razmetnov outlined the details of the assassination attempt: at night, Makar was sitting at an open window with his newfound friend, joker and joker grandfather Shchukar, "they cut him down with a rifle." In the morning, it was determined by the cartridge case that a man who had not fought had fired: a soldier from thirty paces would not miss. Yes, and the shooter ran away so that the horse could not catch up. The shot did not cause any injuries to the party secretary, but he developed a terrible runny nose, audible throughout the whole farm. Davydov went to the forge to inspect the inventory repaired for sowing. The blacksmith, Ippolit Shaly, in a conversation warned the chairman to leave Lukerya, otherwise he would also get a bullet in the forehead. Lushka does not knit knots with him alone. And without that it is not clear why Timoshka Rvany (namely, he turned out to be an unlucky shooter) shot at Makar, and not at Davydov. In the evening, Davydov told Makar and Razmetnov about the conversation and offered to inform the GPU. Makar resolutely objected: as soon as the Gepeushnik appears on the farm, Timofei will immediately disappear. Makar personally set up an ambush at the house of his “pre-former” wife (Lushka was locked up for this time) and on the third day killed Timofey who appeared with the first shot. Lukerye gave the opportunity to say goodbye to the dead and let him go. In the meantime, new people appeared in Gremyachy: two bright-eyed cattle procurers. But Razmetnov stopped them, noticing that the newcomers' hands were white and their faces were not rustic. Here the "purchasers" showed the documents of the employees of the regional department of the OGPU and said that they were looking for a dangerous enemy, the captain of the white army, Polovtsev, and professional instinct tells them that he is hiding in Gremyachy. After the next party meeting, Varya waited for Davydov to say: her mother wants to marry her off, but she herself loves him, the blind fool. Davydov, after sleepless reflection, decided to marry her in the fall. In the meantime, he sent to study as an agronomist. Two days later, two procurers were killed on the road. Razmetnov, Nagulnov and Davydov immediately established surveillance over the houses of those from whom they bought livestock. Surveillance led to Ostrovny's house. The capture plan was proposed by Makar: he and Davydov burst through the door, and Andrei would lie down in the yard under the window. The door to them after a short negotiation was opened by the owner himself. Makar kicked open the bolted door, but did not have time to shoot. A hand grenade exploded near the threshold, followed by a machine gun. Nagulnov, mutilated by shrapnel, died instantly, and Davydov, who fell under machine-gun fire, died the next night. ... So the Don nightingales sang to Davydov and Nagulnov, the ripening wheat whispered to them, the nameless river rang over the stones ... The OGPU officers identified Lyatevsky in the man killed by Razmetnov. Polovtsev was taken three weeks later near Tashkent. After that, arrests swept across the region in a wide wave. In total, more than six hundred participants in the conspiracy were neutralized. I. N. Slyusareva Grigory Georgievich Belykh (1907-1938). L. Panteleev (1908-1987) Republic of Shkid Tale (1926) Shkid or Shkida - this is how the "detective" pupils shortened the name of their educational institution - the Dostoevsky School of Social and Labor Education. Shkida arose in 1920 in Petrograd. Its founders were Viktor Nikolaevich Sorokin-Vikniksor and his wife Ella Andreevna Lumberg, a teacher of German, later known as Elanlyum. The pupils were homeless children who got to the school from prisons or distribution points. So, one of the first Shkidians, Kolka Gromonosev, nicknamed Gypsy, came from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where the most inveterate juvenile thieves and criminals were kept. He immediately became the leader of a small team, with a grin accepting the innovations of the head of school: Vikniksor dreams of turning Shkida into a small republic with its own anthem and coat of arms - a sunflower reaching for the light. Soon Grishka Chernykh comes to school, a smart and well-read boy who abandoned his studies for the sake of books and eventually landed in a children's labor colony, and from there to Shkida, where Tsygan baptized him into Yankel. After a week in Shkida, Grishka demonstrates his remarkable abilities, stealing tobacco from the housekeeper together with Gypsy, but for the first time Vikniksor forgives the guilty. Gradually new pupils come, among them the one-eyed Mamochka and the Japanese - a connoisseur of the German language, an intelligent and developed buzila. Soon he acquires undeniable authority, having written together with Yankel and Vikniksor the Shkid hymn. Vikniksor distributes all the students into four classes - departments, however, the staff of teachers - Chaldeans in Shkids - has not been able to form for a long time: some applicants cannot cope with violent students, others, having no teaching experience, are trying to somehow settle down in hungry Petrograd . Fighting for one such "teacher", Yankel, Yaposhka, Gypsy and Sparrow raise the masses to fight the Chaldeans, and soon two teachers come, whom Shkida will fall in love with - Alnikpop and Kostalmed. Alarmed by the riots, Vikniksor decides to introduce self-government: attendants and wardens are elected by class, by the kitchen and by the wardrobe for a period of two weeks to a month. Yankel is elected headman for the kitchen; for the incorrigible, an insulator is introduced. Soon after these innovations, Slaenov, the "great usurer" of Shkida, comes: he begins to speculate in bread, feeding the elders, creates a powerful guard for himself, and soon the whole school, with the exception of Yankel, becomes dependent on him. Every day, receiving almost the entire bread ration, Slaenov gets slaves who fulfill all his whims. In the meantime, discontent is brewing - in Yankel's kitchen, Mamochka and Gog are discussing a plan of struggle. However, Slaenov preempts them - the defeat of the opposition begins with Yankel, whom Slaenov manages to beat in a point for a two thousandth supply of bread. Mommy and Yankel begin to manipulate the scales and slowly, weighing down Slaenov, repay his debt, but Vikniksor replaces Yankel, who has worked in the kitchen for a month and a half, with Savushka, who, under pressure from Slaenov, is forced to make entries in the bread distribution log. Upon learning of this, Vikniksor puts Savushka in an isolation cell, but the rising wave of "people's anger" sweeps away Slaenov, and he flees from Shkida. Slavery is abolished and debts are eliminated. In the spring, the gubono patronizing Shkida organizes a trip to the dacha. The fourth department, together with their teacher, Count Kosetsky, steals potatoes in the kitchen, and this somewhat diminishes his dignity as an educator in the eyes of the children. Angry, Kosetsky begins to apply repressive measures against the pupils, which leads to persecution of the teacher: they shower him with acorns, steal clothes while bathing, dedicate a special issue of the Buzovik wall newspaper to the teacher, and, in the end, bring the Chaldean to hysterics. Elanlyum does not say anything to Vikniksor, but Buzovik falls into his hands, and, having summoned the editors - Yankel and Yaposhka, the headmaster offers them to start publishing the school newspaper Zerkalo. Yankel, Japanese, Gypsy and others are happy to get down to business. Soon, interruptions in the delivery of food begin, and the starving Shkida repeatedly raids local vegetable gardens, digging up potatoes there. The enraged Vikniksor promises to transfer those caught stealing to the Lavra, and soon this fate almost befalls the representatives of the press - Yankel and Yaposhka, but the guarantee of the whole school saves them from a well-deserved punishment. Nevertheless, upon returning to the city, the headmaster announces the creation of a school "Chronicle" to record all the sins of the pupils, starting with Yankel's attempt to steal paint. The categories of behavior from the first to the fifth are introduced, designed for thieves and hooligans. In the fall, the fourth branch arranges a banquet on the occasion of the release of the twenty-fifth issue of the Mirror. Before leaving the classroom, Yankel inspects the cast-iron and does not attach any importance to the tiny coal that has fallen from the stove, and at night a terrible fire begins, destroying two classrooms and burning the Mirror file. Shortly after the fire, Lenka Panteleev comes to Shkida, met at first with hostility, but then becomes a full member of the friendly Shkida family. Meanwhile, newspaper fever begins in Shkid, engulfing Yankel and Gypsy, Yaposhka and Mamochka, Merchant and Sparrow and many others, including students of the junior departments. Three months later, the excitement subsides and only four out of sixty editions remain. However, the Chaldeans do not have to be bored: in Shkid, a new state of Uligania is created with the capital Uliganstadt; the main street of the capital bears the proud name of Kleptomanievsky Prospekt, on it are the residences of the dictator - the Merchant and the people's commissars: the people's commissar of the military and the book publisher Yankel, the people's commissariat post Pylnikov and the people's commissariat Yaposhka. The junior branches are declared colonies, an anthem, a coat of arms and a constitution are created, where the Chaldeans are declared enemies of the Empire. In the end, one of the colonies goes over to the side of the Chaldeans, arrests the dictator and makes a coup, proclaiming Soviet power in Uligania. And soon the Shkids begin to pester Vikniksor with questions why they do not have a Komsomol. On the 1st of January, registration takes place in Shkida - a knowledge test, to which the head of the Gubono Lilina arrives. And in the spring, Uligania is seized by a love fever, which is replaced by a passion for football. Languishing from idleness, Sasha Pylnikov and Panteleev knock out the windows of the laundry with stones, and Vikniksor expels them from Shkida, giving, however, the opportunity to return if they put in the windows. Having lost their political literacy teacher, the guys begin to educate themselves: at night, Yankel, Yaponets and Panteleev gather for secret meetings of their circle. Vikniksor offers them to legalize. This is how Yunkom and the eponymous printed organ arose, the editorial board of which includes the above-mentioned trinity. At first, a negative attitude towards the circle is formed in Shkid, and then Sasha proposes to arrange a Junkom reading room. Soon Vikniksor leaves for Moscow on business, and a buzz begins, which neither Junk nor Elanlum are able to resist. The tone is set by Gypsy and Guzhban, who steal with might and main, and use the proceeds to arrange drinking parties, one of which is attended by irresponsible Yunkom members Yankel and Panteleev. Returning Vikniksor, trying to save the situation, resorts to ostracism, as a result of which Gypsy, Guzhban and several other people are transferred to an agricultural technical school. Soon after seeing off, a split occurs in the Central Committee: Yankel and Panteleev, absorbed in the dream of becoming artists, completely abandon their yunkom duties, which causes Yaposhka's displeasure. The conflict flares up over the issue of accepting new members into the organization and the ban on smoking in the Yunkom premises. Enraged Yankel and Panteleev, who have recently become slammers (which means "faithful and devoted friends" in the Shkid dialect), go into a split and start publishing their own newspaper. This causes retaliatory measures on the part of Yaponchik: at an emergency plenum, Yankel and Panteleev are expelled from Yunkom, but the strikebreakers are doing well with the newspaper, and to top off the rout, they take their books from the reading room, and Yunkom is saved only by the fact that soon the slammers cool off to fight with Yaposhka and return to thoughts of a cinematic career, and in the end, Yankel and Panteleev are re-accepted at Yunk. Soon both leave Shkida; Sparrow, Merchant, Sasha Pylnikov and Yaponets leave after them. Meanwhile, a letter arrives in Shkida from Gypsy. He writes that he is happy and has fallen in love with rural life, has finally found his calling. ... Three years after leaving Shkida, in 1926, Yankel and Panteleev, who became journalists, accidentally meet a Japanese who is graduating from the Institute of Performing Arts. From him, the slammers learn that Sasha Pylnikov, who once hated the Chaldeans, is studying at the Pedagogical Institute. The merchant and Sparrow Yankel and Panteleev are met on the street; The merchant, after Shkida, entered a military university, became a red officer, Sparrow, together with Mamochka, works in a printing house. All of them became members of the Komsomol and activists, because, as the agronomist Gypsy, who arrived from the state farm on business, notes, “Shkida will change anyone.” O. A. Petrenko Vasily Semenovich Grossman (1905-1964) Life and destiny Roman (1960) Old communist Mikhail Mostovskoy, taken prisoner on the outskirts of Stalingrad, brought to a concentration camp in West Germany. He falls asleep to the prayer of the Italian priest Hardy, argues with the Tolstoyan Ikonnikov, sees the Menshevik Chernetsov's hatred for himself and the strong will of the "ruler of thoughts" Major Yershov. The political worker Krymov was sent to Stalingrad, to Chuikov's army. He must sort out a contentious case between the commander and the commissar of the rifle regiment. Arriving at the regiment, Krymov learns that both the commander and the commissar died under the bombing. Soon Krymov himself takes part in the night battle. Moscow physicist Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum and his family are evacuated to Kazan. Tesha Shtruma Alexandra Vladimirovna kept her mental youth even in the grief of the war: she is interested in the history of Kazan, streets and museums, everyday life of people. Shtrum's wife Lyudmila considers this interest of her mother to be senile selfishness. Lyudmila has no news from the front from Tolya, her son from her first marriage. She is saddened by the categorical, lonely and difficult character of her high school daughter Nadia. Lyudmila's sister Zhenya Shaposhnikova ended up in Kuibyshev. Nephew Seryozha Shaposhnikov - at the front. Shtrum's mother, Anna Semyonovna, remained in the Ukrainian town occupied by the Germans, and Shtrum understands that she, a Jewess, has little chance of surviving. His mood is heavy, he accuses his wife of the fact that, because of her harsh nature, Anna Semyonovna could not live with them in Moscow. The only person who softens the difficult atmosphere in the family is Lyudmila's friend, the shy, kind and sensitive Marya Ivanovna Sokolova, the wife of Shtrum's colleague and friend. Strum receives a farewell letter from his mother. Anna Semyonovna tells what humiliations she had to endure in the city where she lived for twenty years, working as an ophthalmologist. The people she had known for a long time amazed her. The neighbor calmly demanded to vacate the room and threw her things away. The old teacher stopped greeting her. But on the other hand, the former patient, whom she considered a gloomy and gloomy person, helps her by bringing food to the ghetto fence. Through him, she gave a farewell letter to her son on the eve of the extermination action. Lyudmila receives a letter from the Saratov hospital, where her seriously wounded son is lying. She urgently leaves there, but when she arrives, she learns about the death of Tolya. "All people are guilty before the mother who lost her son in the war, and in vain they try to justify themselves before her throughout the history of mankind." The secretary of the regional committee of one of the regions of Ukraine occupied by the Germans, Getmanov, was appointed commissar of the tank corps. Hetmanov worked all his life in an atmosphere of denunciation, flattery and falsehood, and now he transfers these life principles to the front-line situation. The corps commander, General Novikov, is a direct and honest man who tries to prevent senseless human casualties. Getmanov expresses his admiration to Novikov and at the same time writes a denunciation that the commander delayed the attack for eight minutes in order to save people. Novikov loves Zhenya Shaposhnikova and visits her in Kuibyshev. Before the war, Zhenya left her husband, political worker Krymov. She is alien to the views of Krymov, who approved of dispossession, knowing about the terrible famine in the villages, justified the arrests of 1937. She reciprocates Novikov, but warns him that if Krymov is arrested, he will return to his ex-husband. Military surgeon Sofya Osipovna Levinton, arrested on the outskirts of Stalingrad, ends up in a German concentration camp. The Jews are being taken somewhere in freight cars, and Sofya Osipovna is surprised to see how in just a few days many people go from a person to "dirty and unfortunate cattle, deprived of name and freedom." Rebekah Buchman, trying to escape from the raid, strangled her crying daughter. On the way, Sofya Osipovna meets six-year-old David, who, just before the war, came from Moscow for a vacation with his grandmother. Sofya Osipovna becomes the only support for a vulnerable, impressionable child. She has maternal feelings for him. Until the last minute, Sofya Osipovna calms the boy, reassures him. They die together in the gas chamber. Krymov receives an order to go to Stalingrad, to the surrounded house "six fraction one", where the people of Grekov's "manager" hold the defense. Reports reached the political department of the front that Grekov was refusing to write reports, was having anti-Stalinist conversations with the soldiers and, under German bullets, was showing independence from his superiors. Krymov must restore Bolshevik order in the surrounded house and, if necessary, remove Grekov from command. Shortly before the appearance of Krymov, the "house manager" Grekov sent the fighter Seryozha Shaposhnikov and the young radio operator Katya Vengrova from the surrounded house, knowing about their love and wanting to save them from death. Saying goodbye to Grekov, Seryozha "saw that beautiful, humane, intelligent and sad eyes were looking at him, which he had never seen in his life." But Bolshevik commissar Krymov is only interested in collecting dirt on the "uncontrollable" Grekov. Krymov revels in the consciousness of his significance, tries to convict Grekov of anti-Soviet sentiments. Even the mortal danger to which the defenders of the house are exposed every minute does not cool his ardor. Krymov decides to remove Grekov and take command himself. But at night he is wounded by a stray bullet. Krymov guesses that Grekov shot. Returning to the political department, he writes a denunciation of Grekov, but soon finds out that he was late: all the defenders of the house "six fraction one" died. Because of the Krymov denunciation, Grekov is not awarded the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the German concentration camp where Mostovskoy is sitting, an underground organization is being created. But there is no unity among the prisoners: Brigadier Commissar Osipov does not trust the non-party major Yershov, who comes from a family of dispossessed kulaks. He is afraid that the brave, direct and decent Ershov will gain too much influence. Abandoned from Moscow to the camp, Comrade Kotikov gives instructions - to act by Stalin's methods. The Communists decide to get rid of Yershov and put his card in the group selected for Buchenwald. Despite his spiritual closeness to Yershov, the old communist Mostovskoy submits to this decision. An unknown provocateur betrays an underground organization, and the Gestapo destroys its members. The institute where Shtrum works is returning from evacuation to Moscow. Strum is writing a paper on nuclear physics that is of general interest. A well-known academician says at the scientific council that a work of such significance has not yet been born within the walls of the Physics Institute. The work was nominated for the Stalin Prize, Shtrum is on the wave of success, this pleases and excites him. But at the same time, Strum notices that Jews are gradually surviving from his laboratory. When he tries to stand up for his employees, he is given to understand that his own position is not very reliable either due to the "fifth point" and numerous relatives abroad. Sometimes Shtrum meets with Maria Ivanovna Sokolova and soon realizes that he loves her and is loved by her. But Marya Ivanovna cannot hide her love from her husband, and he takes her word not to see Shtrum. Just at this time, the persecution of Shtrum began. A few days before the Stalingrad offensive, Krymov was arrested and sent to Moscow. Once in a prison cell on Lubyanka, he cannot recover from surprise: interrogations and torture are intended to prove his betrayal of his homeland during the Battle of Stalingrad. In the Battle of Stalingrad, the tank corps of General Novikov is distinguished. In the days of the Stalingrad offensive, the persecution of Shtrum intensifies. A devastating article appears in the institute's newspaper, he is persuaded to write a letter of repentance, to confess his mistakes at the academic council. Strum gathers all his will and refuses to repent, he does not even come to the meeting of the academic council. His family supports him and, in anticipation of his arrest, is ready to share his fate. On this day, as always in difficult moments of his life, Maria Ivanovna calls Shtrum and says that she is proud of him and yearns for him. Shtrum is not arrested, but only fired from his job. He is isolated, friends stop seeing him. But in an instant the situation changes. Theoretical work on nuclear physics attracted the attention of Stalin. He calls Strum and asks if the outstanding scientist is lacking in anything. Shtrum is immediately reinstated at the institute, and all conditions for work are created for him. Now he himself determines the composition of his laboratory, without regard to the nationality of the employees. But when it begins to seem to Shtrum that he has come out of the black streak of his life, he again faces a choice. He is required to sign an appeal to British scientists who defended their repressed Soviet colleagues. Leading Soviet scientists, to whom Shtrum is now included, must confirm by the strength of their scientific authority that there are no repressions in the USSR. Strum does not find the strength to refuse and signs the appeal. The most terrible punishment for him is the call of Marya Ivanovna: she is sure that Shtrum did not sign the letter, and admires his courage ... Zhenya Shaposhnikova arrives in Moscow after learning about Krymov's arrest. She stands in all the lines in which the wives of the repressed stand, and a sense of duty towards her ex-husband fights in her soul with love for Novikov. Novikov learns of her decision to return to Krymov during the Battle of Stalingrad. He thinks he will fall dead. But we must live and continue the offensive. After being tortured, Krymov lies on the floor in the Lubyanka office and hears the conversation of his executioners about the victory at Stalingrad. It seems to him that he sees Grekov walking towards him on the broken bricks of Stalingrad. The interrogation continues, Krymov refuses to sign the charge. Returning to the cell, he finds a transmission from Zhenya and cries. The Stalingrad winter is coming to an end. In the spring silence of the forest one hears the cry for the dead and the furious joy of life. T. A. Sotnikova I. Grekova (b. 1907) ladies' master Tale (1964) The director of the Institute of Information Machines, Professor Marya Vladimirovna Kovaleva, who lives with her two adult sons, idiots, feels that she is tired of everyday life, and decides to somehow diversify her existence, for example, cut her hair - change her hairstyle. While waiting in line at the hairdresser, Marya Vladimirovna thinks about how she will start a new life (her dad loved to repeat until his death: “I’ll cut my hair and start”) - you can go to Novosibirsk and get a one-room apartment there, or you can marry a friend of youth, in love with her, and go to him in Evpatoria ... Suddenly she hears a "sharp boyish voice" offering the ladies from the queue to "serve". It turns out that this is not yet a master, but a trainee, a boy of eighteen years old "with a tuft on the top of his head." He glances contemptuously at the line, but he himself is “not just skinny, but narrow: a narrow pale face, thin, bare hands to sharp elbows, and burning dark eyes on a pale, wild face. wolf cub." None of the women wants to go to him, but Marya Vladimirovna decides: "Let's disfigure." The boy laughs in response, and she is surprised to discover that there is "something wild not only in his eyes, but also in his smile. Teeth are sharp, bright white." However, Vitaly (that's his name) turns out to be a first-class hairdresser, downright an artist. He makes Marya Vladimirovna an amazing hairstyle, but she needs to be regularly kept in shape, which is why Marya Vladimirovna begins to go to Vitaly every week, and gradually they become friends. Marya Vladimirovna learns that Vitaly, in order not to sit on the neck of his stepmother and his drinking father, was able to finish only incomplete seven classes, but he has a craving for education and “on his general development” works according to the plan: he reads, for example, the Complete Works of Belinsky and dreams of going to college. Vitaly, oddly enough, is interested in dialectical materialism, he is fond of politics and feels that he would be useful in this area ("A curious guy!" - thinks Marya Vladimirovna). He has a peculiar, rather formal style of speech and at the same time - an unusual seriousness, love for work and knowledge. Once Vitaly tells Marya Vladimirovna that he spent his childhood in an orphanage, from where one glorious woman, Anna Grigoryevna, wanted to take him, but then his father, sister and stepmother were found (his mother, "according to rumors", an intelligent woman, died when he was completely small) and took him away, and for a long time he yearned for Anna Grigorievna, who now does not even want to see him. Marya Vladimirovna also unexpectedly discovers that Vitaly has amazing musical abilities, but Vitaly himself, knowing this, notes: "... in order to purchase a piano, you must first of all be provided with an area." At work, Marya Vladimirovna is a rather strict and harsh boss, whose deputy, Lebedev, is a "nonsensical, talkative old man", and her secretary is a beautiful, but stupid girl Galya ("not a secretary, but a grief ... a burden"); Maria Vladimirovna does not find a common language with Galya, who is carried away not so much by work as by young people, cinema, rags and dances, but the boss and secretary are still attached to each other. On the day when Marya Vladimirovna, to the amazement of her colleagues, comes with a new haircut, Galya once again asks to go to the store for scarce goods, a conflict arises with Lebedev, and the director remains at the workplace alone, but despite this, for the first time in a long time (apparently under the influence of a haircut) manages to solve a complex scientific problem. After some time, Galya, embarrassed, asks Marya Vladimirovna who cuts her hair so beautifully, and she directs her to Vitaly, who by this time has passed the exam for a master and has become a very popular hairdresser with a "solid" clientele. Galya and Vitaly come together to the youth evening at the club, and Galya has a beautiful hairstyle that turns her from a pretty girl into a beauty. After this evening, Galya and Vitaly begin to meet. Every three or four days, Galya comes to work with a new hairstyle and a happy face, but it only doesn't last long, and one day Maria Vladimirovna finds her in tears. It turns out that Galya fell in love with Vitaly seriously, and he is indifferent to her. Maria Vladimirovna invites Galya to talk to Vitaly, and she happily agrees. Vitaly explains to Marya Vladimirovna that "he was interested in Galya as a suitable material for a hairstyle," and now he "has exhausted her head." In addition, Vitaly talks about the lack of housing for him and Gali, that he is not ready for marriage "neither by age, nor economically." Marya Vladimirovna finds this approach cynical. In her opinion, the most important thing is whether Vitaly Galya loves. This question confuses Vitaly, because he is still young and does not understand what it means to love. Marya Vladimirovna believes that love is a constant feeling of the presence of a person. Vitaly "fully understands" this interpretation and comes to the conclusion that "in this understanding" he does not like Galya. And at work, Vitaly is in trouble: his employee, the oldest hairdresser Moses Borisovich, dies, and in his place comes the vulgar, dyed blonde Lyuba, "big, heavy, like a bityug." She immediately took a dislike to Vitaly, who beat off her entire clientele. There are also other envious people at the professional ladies' master, and once Marya Vladimirovna finds him in tears, and not Galya. It turns out that many do not like that Vitaly has formed his own clientele and that he does not serve everyone, but only those from whom he can "draw for his development"; as a result, Vitaly's notebook is stolen, containing the addresses and phone numbers of the clients, and handed over to "the trade union organization to investigate the case." Marya Vladimirovna wants to help and calls the head of the local hairdressing sector Matyunin, but in vain (later it turns out that Matyunin expects a monthly bribe from all employees, including Vitaly). Vitaly decides to leave the hairdressers - among other things, he's tired of "depending on the good wishes of clients, whom I don't even always respect." Marya Vladimirovna advises him not to rush, but soon he gets a job at the plant as a locksmith's apprentice, deciding to pass "for ten years, then for the institute", but Marya Vladimirovna promises to serve always. Marya Vladimirovna herself does not know whether to rejoice at her or be upset by this news. There is a vague feeling that she "missed something here", although in general she hopes that something good has happened, and mentally wishes her good friend Vitaly a happy journey ... A. D. Plisetskaya On trial Tale (1967) One day in the summer of 1952, a crew of eight went to the small regional center Likharevka for military trials. Among them - Major General Sivere, clever and erudite; Major Skvortsov, the officer put in charge of the flight, a dandy, a merry fellow and a favorite of women; designer Romnich, the only woman, petite, serious and intelligent (the astute General Sivere was the first to notice "what big gray eyes she has, what sad eyes"); as well as Senior Researcher Tetkin, who is friendly and reckless. Designer Lida Romnich, unlike officers and generals, is accommodated in an inexpensive barrack-type hotel along with two women; one of them, the life-loving Laura Sundukova, is not indifferent to Tetkin. Skvortsov, on the other hand, is very attractive to Lida, she seems to him a "self-sufficient woman", and he begins to court her. Although Lida has a husband and son, and Skvortsov has a wife and son, they feel mutual sympathy. Lida seeks to "marry" Laura and Tetkin. The local artist, Major Thousand, invites everyone to his name day. Skvortsov takes care of Lida Romnich, carefully considering every word and looking at her smile and eyes, "sad, like those of a jerboa"; heavily drunk Tetkin, under pressure from Lida, proposes to Laura and promises to adopt her two children, and General Sivere behaves carelessly: he speaks freely about prison, about the fact that one professor was imprisoned. Then both Lida and Skvortsov will have a strange feeling that Sievers hides deep anxiety and self-doubt behind this scurrilous manner, that something is wrong with him, but they will not find time and words to talk with him, ask "a simple human question "What's wrong with you?" Later it turns out that Major Thousand is an informer: having played a drunk in front of the guests, after they leave, he instantly sobers up, takes a folder out of his desk and writes: "Tonight, General S. showed objectivism four times ..." Lida Romnich amazes those around her with her seriousness, intelligence (it was she who designed the steel cylinder - a target for subversive tests) and a heightened sense of justice. For example, she is outraged by such a case: in the middle of the square for several days now a dead dog has been lying and exuding a bad smell. Lida goes to complain to General Gindin, an old, lonely, sick man. He is insanely glad to see her, immediately fulfills her request, and talks with her for a long time. Lida feels that the general is unwell, and indeed he soon ends up in the hospital with a third heart attack, where he will die, having passed away before his father ... Meanwhile, life goes on as usual, and the time of testing comes. The shooting goes on the fuselage of the aircraft, but due to the strong wind that is typical for these places, it is not possible to hit the target in any way. Finally, Skvortsov hits the tanks, but the fuse does not work. In order to "save a valuable target", Skvortsov decides to remove and neutralize the projectile. With him goes the frivolous Tetkin. But their attempt fails: an explosion occurs, and as a result, Tetkin is injured. Laura and Lida look after him. Tetkin's injury brings him even closer to Laura, and they finally decide to get married. The first of August is coming - the last day of the business trip. Major Skvortsov is packing his things and getting ready to shave. At this moment, Lida Romnich suddenly comes to him - to say goodbye. In surprise, Skvortsov cuts his cheek with a razor. It turns out that Lida is not going, but stays longer. They part sadly and quickly. Skvortsov flies home and keeps thinking, thinking - most of all, of course, about Lida Romnich, as well as about the strange General Sivers and also about the fact that if Tetkin had died during the tests, it would have been "guilt - wow, what guilt! ". In general, Skvortsov suddenly begins to regret something that he could not say or do. Previously, he “was somehow convinced that life is endless and every mistake can be corrected. But today I understood, and did not even understand, but I felt with my skin that life is finite, very finite, and in it every bare line. Officer Skvortsov will soon return home, where his kind, eternally loving and eternally waiting wife is waiting for him. Now his own apartment is already ... His wife came out into the hallway - “small, plump, with smoothly combed back hair. Bulging eyes shone with childish joy. Looking in amazement at his cheek, she wiped her hands with an apron and said subtly, in one breath:“ I shaved, I hurried , cut himself." A. D. Plisetskaya Lydia Korneevna Chukovskaya (1907-1966) Sofya Petrovna Tale (1939-1940, published 1965) USSR, 30s. After the death of her husband, Sofya Petrovna enters typing courses in order to get a specialty and be able to support herself and her son Kolya. Being literate and accurate and having received the highest qualifications, she easily gets a job at a large Leningrad publishing house and soon becomes the head of a typewriting bureau. Despite getting up early, unfriendly faces in transport, headaches from the clatter of cars, and the tiring production meetings, Sofya Petrovna really likes the work and seems to be exciting. In young typists, she values above all literacy and diligence; the same respect her and are a little afraid, calling her a classy lady behind her back. The director of the publishing house is a pleasant, well-mannered young man. Of all the girls in Sofya Petrovna's bureau, Natasha Frolenko, "a modest, ugly girl with a greenish-gray face" is the most attractive: she always writes elegantly and without a single mistake. Meanwhile, the son of Sofia Petrovna, Kolya, grew up completely, became a real handsome man, graduated from school and soon, together with his closest friend Alik Finkelstein, entered the engineering institute. Sofya Petrovna is proud of her smart, handsome and neat son and is worried that the adult Kolya does not have a separate room: they were compacted at the very beginning of the revolution, and now the former apartment of Sofya Petrovna's family has become communal. Although Sofya Petrovna regrets this, she accepts the explanations of her advanced son about the "revolutionary meaning of the compaction of bourgeois apartments." Sofya Petrovna was beginning to think about exchanging one room for two with a surcharge, but at that moment "excellent students, Nikolai Lipatov and Alexander Finkelstein, according to some sort of apportionment, are sent to Sverdlovsk, to Uralmash, as masters", while giving the opportunity to graduate from the institute in absentia. Sofya Petrovna yearns for her son, begins to work much more, and in her free evenings invites her workmate Natasha Frolenko to tea. One day, at her request, she gives Natasha to Colin the last photograph (later Sofya Petrovna realizes that Natasha is in love with Kolya). Often they go to the cinema "to see films about pilots and border guards." And Natasha shares her problems with Sofya Petrovna: she is not accepted into the Komsomol in any way, since she is from a "bourgeois-landlord family." Sofya Petrovna is very sympathetic to Natasha: such a sincere, warm-hearted girl; but her son in a letter explains to her that vigilance is necessary. Years go by, Sofya Petrovna is promoted, and meanwhile a holiday is approaching: a new one is coming, 1937. Sofya Petrovna is entrusted with organizing the holiday; she succeeds in everything, but the general celebration is overshadowed by strange news: many doctors have been arrested in the city, and among them is Dr. Kiparisov, a colleague of Sofya Petrovna's late husband. It follows from the newspapers that the doctors are connected with terrorists and fascist spies. It is hard to believe about Kiparisov: he seems to be a decent person, a "venerable old man", but they won't put us in jail in vain! And if Kiparisov is not to blame, then he will soon be released and the unpleasant misunderstanding will dissipate. After a while, an even stranger event occurs: the director of a publishing house is arrested. And just at the moment when Sofya Petrovna and Natasha are discussing the reasons for the arrest of the wonderful director, the “seasoned party member”, under whom the publishing house “always fulfilled the plan in excess”, the doorbell suddenly rings: Alik arrives with terrible news about Kolya’s arrest. Sofya Petrovna's first impulse was "to run away somewhere and explain this monstrous misunderstanding." Alik advises going to the prosecutor's office, but Sofya Petrovna doesn't really know where the prosecutor's office is, or what it is, and goes to prison, because she accidentally knows where it is. On the street, not far from the prison, she suddenly finds a large crowd of women with tired greenish faces, dressed warmly out of season: in coats, felt boots, hats. It turns out that this is a queue to the prison, consisting of relatives of those arrested. It turns out that in order to try to find out at least something about your son, you need to sign up and stand in a huge queue. But Sofya Petrovna manages to find out only that Kolya is in prison and that they will not take the parcel for him: "he is not allowed." She does not know what her son was arrested for, or whether the trial will take place, or “when this stupid misunderstanding will finally end and he will return home”: no information is given anywhere. Every day she continues to naively expect that, when she opens the door to the house, she will see her son there, but the house remains empty. Meanwhile, the secretary of the previously arrested director is fired as a person associated with him, and Natasha Frolenko is fired for a typo interpreted as a malicious anti-Soviet attack: instead of "Red Army", she accidentally printed "Rat Army". Sofya Petrovna decides to stand up for Natasha at the meeting, but this does not lead to anything other than an anonymous accusation of her complicity with Natasha, and Sofya Petrovna is forced to resign. And along the way, it turns out that Kolya was sentenced to ten years in the camps and that he himself confessed to terrorist activities. Unlike Sofya Petrovna, who is sure that young Kolya was simply confused, Natasha begins to wonder why the majority of those arrested confessed to their crimes, after all, they couldn’t confuse everyone ?! Meanwhile, Alik is expelled from the Komsomol, and soon arrested: one of the Komsomol members informs that Alik was friends with Kolya, and Alik refuses to "dissociate himself" from his comrade. Natasha commits suicide by writing in her suicide letter to Sofya Petrovna "I can't figure out the present moment of Soviet power." Months pass, the much aged Sofya Petrovna saves up canned food in case she needs to send it to her son. Out of grief, she invents and repeats to those around her that Kolya was released, and she herself believes in this, when suddenly a letter arrives from Kolya. He writes that he was arrested on a false denunciation by a classmate and that the investigator kicked him. Kolya very much asks her mother to do something, but Kiparisova, the wife of a repressed doctor, dissuades her: then she can be sent away, just as Kiparisova herself is sent after her husband, and this will not help her son in any way, only harm. Sofya Petrovna thought for a long time where she should go with this letter, but, realizing that there was nowhere to go, and completely desperate, she decided to burn the letter - dangerous evidence, "threw the fire on the floor and trampled it with her foot." A. D. Plisetskaya Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov (1907-1982) Kolyma stories (1954-1973) The plot of V. Shalamov's stories is a painful description of the prison and camp life of prisoners of the Soviet Gulag, their tragic destinies similar to one another, in which chance, merciless or merciful, helper or murderer, arbitrariness of bosses and thieves dominate. Hunger and its convulsive satiety, exhaustion, painful dying, slow and almost equally painful recovery, moral humiliation and moral degradation - this is what is constantly in the center of the writer's attention. FUNERAL WORDThe author recalls by name his comrades in the camps. Calling to mind a mournful martyrology, he tells who died and how, who suffered and how, who hoped for what, who and how behaved in this Auschwitz without stoves, as Shalamov called the Kolyma camps. Few managed to survive, few managed to survive and remain morally unbroken. THE LIFE OF ENGINEER KIPREEVAHaving never betrayed or sold anyone, the author says that he has developed for himself a formula for actively protecting his existence: a person can only consider himself a person and survive if he is ready to commit suicide at any moment, ready to die. However, later he realizes that he only built himself a comfortable shelter, because it is not known what you will be like at a decisive moment, whether you just have enough physical strength, and not just mental. Arrested in 1938, the engineer-physicist Kipreev not only withstood the beating during interrogation, but even rushed at the investigator, after which he was put in a punishment cell. However, they still try to get him to sign false testimony, intimidating him with the arrest of his wife. Nevertheless, Kipreev continued to prove to himself and others that he was a man, and not a slave, as all prisoners are. Thanks to his talent (he invented a way to restore burnt out light bulbs, repaired an X-ray machine), he manages to avoid the most difficult work, but not always. He miraculously survives, but the moral shock remains in him forever. FOR A PRESENTATIONCamp corruption, Shalamov testifies, affected everyone to a greater or lesser extent and took place in a variety of forms. Two thieves are playing cards. One of them is played down and asks to play for a "representation", that is, in debt. At some point, excited by the game, he unexpectedly orders an ordinary intellectual prisoner, who happened to be among the spectators of their game, to hand over a woolen sweater. He refuses, and then one of the thieves "finishes" him, and the sweater still goes to the thieves. AT NIGHTTwo prisoners sneak to the grave where the body of their deceased comrade was buried in the morning, and remove the linen from the dead man in order to sell or exchange it for bread or tobacco the next day. The initial squeamishness about the removed clothes is replaced by a pleasant thought that tomorrow they might be able to eat a little more and even smoke. SINGLE MEASUREMENTCamp labor, unequivocally defined by Shalamov as slave labor, is for the writer a form of the same corruption. A goner-prisoner is not able to give a percentage rate, so labor becomes torture and slow mortification. Zek Dugaev is gradually weakening, unable to withstand the sixteen-hour working day. He drives, turns, pours, again drives and again turns, and in the evening the caretaker comes and measures Dugaev's work with a tape measure. The mentioned figure - 25 percent - seems to Dugaev to be very large, his calves are aching, his hands, shoulders, head are unbearably sore, he even lost his sense of hunger. A little later, he is called to the investigator, who asks the usual questions: name, surname, article, term. A day later, the soldiers take Dugaev to a remote place, fenced with a high fence with barbed wire, from where the chirring of tractors can be heard at night. Dugaev guesses why he was brought here and that his life is over. And he regrets only that the last day was in vain. RAINRozovsky, who is working in the pit, suddenly, despite the threatening gesture of the escort, calls out to the narrator working nearby to share a heartbreaking revelation: "Listen, listen! I thought for a long time! And I realized that there is no meaning to life ... No ..." But before Rozovsky, for whose life has now lost its value, manages to rush at the guards, the narrator manages to run up to him and, saving him from a reckless and disastrous act, tell the approaching guards that he fell ill. A little later, Rozovsky attempts suicide by throwing himself under the trolley. He is tried and sent to another place. SHERRY BRANDYA prisoner-poet, who was called the first Russian poet of the twentieth century, dies. It lies in the dark depths of the bottom row of solid two-story bunks. He dies for a long time. Sometimes a thought comes - for example, that they stole bread from him, which he put under his head, and it is so scary that he is ready to swear, fight, search ... But he no longer has the strength for this, and the thought of bread too weakens. When a daily ration is put into his hand, he presses the bread to his mouth with all his strength, sucks it, tries to tear and gnaw with scurvy loose teeth. When he dies, two more annas do not write him off, and inventive neighbors manage to get bread for the dead man as if it were alive during the distribution: they make him raise his hand like a puppet puppet. SHOCK THERAPYPrisoner Merzlyakov, a man of large build, finds himself at common work, feels that he is gradually losing. One day he falls, cannot get up immediately and refuses to drag the log. He is beaten first by his own people, then by the escorts, they bring him to the camp - he has a broken rib and pain in the lower back. And although the pain quickly passed, and the rib grew together, Merzlyakov continues to complain and pretends that he cannot straighten up, trying to delay his discharge to work at any cost. He is sent to the central hospital, to the surgical department, and from there to the nervous department for research. He has a chance to be activated, that is, written off due to illness at will. Remembering the mine, aching cold, a bowl of empty soup, which he drank, without even using a spoon, he concentrates all his will so as not to be caught cheating and sent to a penal mine. However, the doctor Pyotr Ivanovich, himself a prisoner in the past, did not miss. The professional replaces the human in him. He spends most of his time exposing the fakers. This amuses his vanity: he is an excellent specialist and is proud that he has retained his qualifications, despite the year of general work. He immediately understands that Merzlyakov is a simulator and looks forward to the theatrical effect of a new exposure. First, the doctor gives him a round anesthesia, during which Merzlyakov's body can be straightened, and a week later, the procedure of the so-called shock therapy, the effect of which is similar to an attack of violent madness or an epileptic seizure. After it, the prisoner himself asks to be discharged. TYPHOSIS QUARANTINEPrisoner Andreev, ill with typhus, is quarantined. Compared to general work in the mines, the position of the patient gives a chance to survive, which the hero almost no longer hoped for. And then he decides, by hook or by crook, to stay here as long as possible, in transit, and there, perhaps, he will no longer be sent to the gold mines, where there is hunger, beatings and death. At the roll call before the next dispatch to work of those who are considered recovered, Andreev does not respond, and thus he manages to hide for quite a long time. The transit is gradually emptying, and the line finally reaches Andreev as well. But now it seems to him that he has won his battle for life, that now the taiga is full, and if there are shipments, then only for nearby, local business trips. However, when a truck with a selected group of prisoners who were unexpectedly given winter uniforms passes the line separating short trips from long ones, he realizes with an internal shudder that fate has cruelly laughed at him. ANEURYSM OF THE AORTICIllness (and the emaciated state of the “goal” prisoners is quite tantamount to a serious illness, although officially it was not considered such) and the hospital are an indispensable attribute of the plot in Shalamov’s stories. Ekaterina Glovatskaya, a prisoner, is admitted to the hospital. Beauty, she immediately liked the doctor on duty Zaitsev, and although he knows that she is in close relations with his acquaintance, the prisoner Podshivalov, the head of the amateur art circle, ("the serf theater", as the head of the hospital jokes), nothing prevents him in turn try your luck. He begins, as usual, with a medical examination of Głowacka, with listening to the heart, but his male interest is quickly replaced by a purely medical concern. He finds an aortic aneurysm in Glovatsky, a disease in which any careless movement can cause death. The authorities, who took it as an unwritten rule to separate lovers, had already once sent Glovatskaya to a penal female mine. And now, after the doctor's report about the prisoner's dangerous illness, the head of the hospital is sure that this is nothing more than the machinations of the same Podshivalov, who is trying to detain his mistress. Glovatskaya is discharged, but already when loading into the car, what Dr. Zaitsev warned about happens - she dies. LAST FIGHT OF MAJOR PUGACHEVAmong the heroes of Shalamov's prose there are those who not only strive to survive at any cost, but are also able to intervene in the course of circumstances, to stand up for themselves, even risking their lives. According to the author, after the war of 1941-1945. prisoners who fought and passed German captivity began to arrive in the northeastern camps. These are people of a different temper, "with courage, the ability to take risks, who believed only in weapons. Commanders and soldiers, pilots and scouts ...". But most importantly, they possessed the instinct of freedom, which the war awakened in them. They shed their blood, sacrificed their lives, saw death face to face. They were not corrupted by camp slavery and were not yet exhausted to the point of losing their strength and will. Their "guilt" was that they were surrounded or captured. And it is clear to Major Pugachev, one of those people who have not yet been broken: "they were brought to their deaths - to replace these living dead" whom they met in Soviet camps. Then the former major gathers just as determined and strong, to match, prisoners who are ready to either die or become free. In their group - pilots, scout, paramedic, tanker. They realized that they were innocently doomed to death and that they had nothing to lose. All winter they are preparing an escape. Pugachev realized that only those who bypassed the general work could survive the winter and then run away. And the participants in the conspiracy, one by one, advance into the service: someone becomes a cook, someone a cultist who repairs weapons in the security detachment. But spring is coming, and with it the day ahead. At five o'clock in the morning there was a knock on the watch. The attendant lets in the prisoner camp cook, who has come, as usual, for the keys to the pantry. A minute later, the duty officer is strangled, and one of the prisoners changes into his uniform. The same thing happens with another, who returned a little later on duty. Then everything goes according to Pugachev's plan. The conspirators break into the premises of the security detachment and, having shot the guard on duty, take possession of the weapon. Keeping the suddenly awakened fighters at gunpoint, they change into military uniforms and stock up on provisions. Having gone outside the camp, they stop a truck on the highway, drop off the driver and continue on their way in the car until the gas runs out. After that, they will go to the taiga. At night - the first night at liberty after long months of captivity - Pugachev, waking up, recalls his escape from the German camp in 1944, crossing the front line, interrogation in a special department, accusation of espionage and sentence - twenty-five years in prison. He also recalls the visits to the German camp of the emissaries of General Vlasov, who recruited Russian soldiers, convincing them that for the Soviet authorities all of them, who were captured, are traitors to the Motherland. Pugachev did not believe them until he could see for himself. He lovingly looks over the sleeping comrades who believed in him and stretched out their hands to freedom, he knows that they are "the best, most worthy of all *. And a little later a battle begins, the last hopeless battle between the fugitives and the soldiers surrounding them. Almost all of the fugitives die ", except for one, seriously wounded, who is cured to be shot later. Only Major Pugachev manages to escape, but he knows, hiding in a bear's lair, that he will be found anyway. He does not regret what he did. His last shot is in himself. E. A. Shklovsky Pavel Filippovich Nilin (1908-1981) Probation Tale (1955) The action takes place in the early 20s. in a large Siberian provincial city. Two seventeen-year-old working guys, Yegorov and Zaitsev, who were sent to work in the criminal investigation department on a Komsomol voucher, undergo an internship for a month - a probationary period. They both receive invitation cards to the evening dedicated to the anniversary of the October Revolution. Yegorov's sister Katya, who alone is raising three small children, is very pleased with this circumstance: she believes that now Yegorov will definitely be hired, because the ticket says very respectfully: "Dear comrade Yegorov!" With the money set aside for the purchase of felt boots for the children, Katya buys a jacket and a kosovorotka for her brother, otherwise he has nothing to go to the evening. At the celebration, Yegorov meets Zaitsev, who came with a girl, and is somewhat envious of him, because a lot of things come easily to Zaitsev in life: he has a girlfriend, and he always has money (it turns out that he writes notes for a newspaper), and he is on the criminal wanted list. I got used to it much faster than Yegorov. Senior Commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Zhur, who supervises the work of the interns, takes them with him on a case - an investigation into the suicide of the pharmacist Kolomeyets. Zaitsev helps Zhur take the suicide out of the noose, Egorov writes the protocol. At the moment when Zhur dictates the details of the examination of the corpse, Yegorov faints. Waking up, Egorov comes to the conclusion that he can no longer serve in the criminal investigation department, and is already ready to go home, but Zhur does not let him go. The next day, Zhur sends Yegorov to the dead room to check whether the pharmacist's body is frozen. The watchman of the mortuary invites Egorov to look for the pharmacist himself, and Egorov, feeling that he is feeling nauseous, finds the pharmacist and, moreover, having gathered his last courage, helps the old watchman put him on ice. He comes out of the dead room completely exhausted. On the same night, Zhur, taking with him interns and several other employees of the criminal investigation department, goes on a serious operation - to search for weapons hidden by bandits. When they drive past the cemetery, Zhur suddenly admits to Yegorov that he used to be afraid of the dead too, and this confession makes Zhur closer and more understandable to Yegorov. Zhur, Zaitsev and Yegorov come with a search to the house of the merchant Ozherelyev, who rents rooms to the tenants, open the floors and find three boxes of weapons. Suddenly, a tearful three-year-old boy appears, and the old woman, terrible as a Baba Yaga, explains that this is "Verka's son, and no one knows where Verka is now." Egorov picks up the child from the floor, and he hugs him tightly by the neck. One of the girls living in Ozherelyev's house says to the child: "This is your dad," and the boy kisses Yegorov. Having finished the search, the group leaves, and Yegorov takes the child with him in order to hand him over to an orphanage, but for now he brings him home to his sister. Katya, at first horrified that her brother had brought the boy, having washed and dressed him, decides to leave the child with her: where there are three, there are four. That same evening, Egorov receives his first salary for two weeks worked, and Katya arranges a festive dinner. An employee of the criminal investigation department, Vorobeichik, tells Zhur about how he took Zaitsev on a mission - to detain a murderer. The murderer, who had hacked to death his wife's lover with an ax, locked himself in the shed, but Zaitsev, not afraid of the murderer armed with an ax, disarmed him and, suddenly berserk, attacked him, so that Vorobeichik barely managed to snatch the killer from his hands. Zhur does not really like Vorobeichik's story, and when the killer is brought in, it turns out that this is Zhur's old comrade Afonya Solovyov. Zhur refuses to conduct the Solovyov case and reprimands Zaitsev for beating the arrested man. Zaitsev does not believe that he did wrong: if the killer is armed with an ax, you need to act decisively and boldly. "But do not beat the same!" - Zhur notes, but Zaitsev remains unconvinced. Finally the probationary period is over. At a meeting of the criminal investigation officers, everyone is in favor of leaving Zaitsev to work, only Zhur makes a remark that Zaitsev is too hot, you need to restrain him a little. As for Yegorov, only Zhur speaks for him, and then very carefully: "Why don't we try him again?" And then the rest agree that he is nothing but a shy guy. And Yegorov is given the last task - to go to the Golden Table casino. He doesn't have to do anything, just watch. Egorov, putting on a new jacket, comes to the casino, and suddenly a strange man with the eyes of a madman approaches him, offers to go out, they go out to the back stairs, Egorov sees some strange eyes shining in the dark and hears a sepulchral, but somewhat familiar voice: "Hands up!" Egorov knocks the pistol out of the hands of the unknown, fights with the madman and suddenly hears the voice of Vorobeichik, who, it turns out, decided to play a trick on him along with another criminal investigation officer, unfamiliar to Egorov: one pretended to be crazy, the other put on a terrible mask with luminous eyes. Angry Yegorov does not give them the gun taken from them and escorts the pranksters to the criminal wanted list. However, along the way, Yegorov succumbs to their persuasion, returns the gun to them and lets them go, promising not to tell anyone about the incident. Returning to the criminal investigation department, Yegorov finds out that his probationary period is over and from tomorrow he and Zaitsev are enrolled in the staff. N. V. Soboleva Cruelty Tale (1956) District Siberian town of Dudari. 20s The narration is conducted on behalf of the participant of the described events, which he recalls many years later. The author of the story, who is never mentioned by name in the story (hereinafter referred to as the Author), works in the criminal investigation department together with his friend Veniamin Malyshev, whose position is the assistant chief for the secret operational unit. Both of them are very young - they are not yet twenty years old. The main task of the criminal investigation department at the time described - after the end of the civil war - was to clear the Dudarinsky district from bandits hiding in the taiga. Bandits kill rural activists, attack cooperatives, try to recruit as many accomplices as possible into their ranks. The own correspondent of the provincial newspaper Yakov Uzelkov, who writes under the pseudonym Yakuz, arrives in Dudari, a young man of seventeen or nineteen years old. Yakuz gives the impression of an educated person on Venka Malyshev and his friend, since he loves to use tricky words in his speech, for example: patron of the arts, exaltation, pessimism, familiarity, etc., but his friends didn’t like him for some reason, and his Correspondence devoted to the everyday life of the criminal investigation department and written in an overly ornate style, they find untrue. Employees of the criminal investigation department are carrying out an operation to neutralize the gang of ataman Klochkov. During the operation, Venka was wounded. Klochkov and several members of the gang are killed, and the rest are arrested. Venka interrogates one of the arrested - Lazar Baukin, and comes to the conclusion that Baukin, a hunter and tar smoker, got to the bandits by accident. During interrogations, Venka talks for a long time with Baukin, learns the details of his life and clearly sympathizes with this arrested bandit, who, moreover, confessed that it was he who wounded Venka. Soon, Lazar and two other arrested people escape from custody. Venka is stunned by the escape of his ward. In a grocery store located not far from the criminal investigation department, a pretty young cashier appears, whom both friends really like, but they are shy and do not dare to get to know her. Soon they learn from Uzelkov that her name is Yulia Maltseva and he knows her - he goes to visit her, they talk, discuss the books they read. Friends, envying Uzelkov's education, write to the library and, despite the lack of time, read a lot. Soon they learn from a familiar librarian that Uzelkov's entire education was drawn by him from the encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron. Meanwhile, in a remote area of the Dudarinsky district, the Voevodsky corner, a gang of Konstantin Vorontsov, the "emperor of the whole taiga", as he calls himself, is announced. And the capture of the elusive Kostya Vorontsov becomes the main problem for the criminal investigation department. Venka Malyshev goes to the Voevodsky corner, and no one knows what he does there, even his best friend. In the absence of Venka, the Author accidentally meets Yulia Maltseva and, when Venka returns from the Voivodeship Corner, introduces him to her. Venka loves Yulia, but believes that he is not worth her: a few years ago he met a woman and then fell ill. Although he soon recovered, nevertheless he believes that he should tell Yulia about this. Venka writes a letter in which he explains his love to Yulia and admits that he is oppressed. Venka puts the letter in the mailbox that very night, and the next morning, as part of a detachment of six people, he goes to the taiga to catch Kostya Vorontsov. The detachment drives up to the zaimka where Kostya's beloved woman, Klanka Zvyagina, lives. After a signal, the detachment approaches the house, where they find Lazar Baukin, as well as Kostya and several members of his gang who are tied up. The detachment returns to Dudari, on the way it is surrounded by mounted police, who arrest Lazar. The head of the criminal investigation department informs Venka that he has been presented with a reward for organizing the operation to capture Kostya Vorontsov. Venka refuses the reward, believing that he did not deserve it - it was Lazar, whom Venka convinced of the merits of Soviet power, detained Kostya, and the fact that Lazar was imprisoned "for verification" is unfair: he himself wanted everything to be according to the law, that he be judged for what he is guilty of, and there is nothing to check him after what he did. Venka is waiting for a letter from Yulia in response to a confession sent the day before. Uzelkov arrives and asks Venka to let him see Vorontsov. Venka refuses this, and then Uzelkov says that Venka is a narrow-minded person, which he knew about before: today he accidentally read his love letter - it was in the book that he gave Yulia to read. That same evening, Venka commits suicide with a shot in the temple, never knowing that Yulia did not give Uzelkov his letters, and that he himself, in her absence, took his book with the letter enclosed in it. N. V. Soboleva Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov (1908-1986) Irkutsk history Drama (1959) On one of the construction sites in Irkutsk, two girls work in a grocery store - Valya and Larisa. Valya is a cashier, she is twenty-five years old. Ego is a cheerful girl who thinks little about her behavior and lifestyle, for which she earned the nickname Valka-cheap. Her friend Viktor Boytsov, the same age as Galya, introduces her to Sergei Seregin. Seregin is a master machinist on a walking excavator. Victor is his first assistant, an electrician. Victor promises Valya to go to the cinema and then to the dance, but since the boss, Stepan Yegorovich Serdyuk, gives him a task regarding the repair of the excavator, Victor asks Sergey to go with Valya instead of him. After the movie, Valya and Sergey sit on a park bench and talk. Valya says that she wants to be like Carmen - since such a wonderful opera was written about her, it means that she cannot be a negative hero. Sergey tells Valya that he was already married. When asked about the reason for the divorce, Valin answers that, apparently, "they did not need each other's help. Not real, which means there was love." Valya says that she would really like true love to exist, because one is scary. While they are talking, two guys come up to the bench and start insulting Valya. Sergei hits one of them in the face. Valya asks Sergey for forgiveness and runs away. The action is transferred to the bank of the Angara. Larisa and Valya drink beer and talk. Valya tells her friend that she received a letter from an unknown person. It was written there that a person does not live in vain and not in vain. His work should make everything around him better. Happiness cannot be experienced alone. Victor arrives. Larisa leaves them alone. Valya tells him that she was going to marry - even for him. He in response says that it would be funny, they are so good. Girls' dorm room. Vali's birthday. She invites Victor and Sergey. However, she does not tell Sergey about the reason for which guests are gathering with her. Victor is delighted that there will be Sergey. He "did not smile" to spend the evening in the company of two girls. Sergei advises Victor to marry Valya. He replies that he does not want to tie himself up. At the table, Valya reads aloud letters from an unknown person, including one where the unknown person asks her to marry him. Valya says that it would be better to marry Victor, but he backs down from her. Then Sergey admits that he wrote the letters and that he would never have said about it if Victor had not given up on Valya. Valya kicks Victor out. He promises to remember. Victor begins to drink, skip work. He asks Sergey to leave Valya, but Sergey loves her and refuses Victor. At the wedding of Valya and Sergey, Larisa meets Serdyukov. Victor gives Valya a ring as a keepsake and runs away. Time passes. Valya and Sergey gave birth to twins - Fedor and Lenochka. Sergei advises Valya to go to school and then work. He believes that for happiness a person needs his business to be at least a little better than himself. July thirtieth. A very hot day. Sergei takes a towel and goes to the Angara to take a dip. On the way to the river, he meets a boy and a girl who join him: the children go fishing. Meanwhile, Victor comes to Valya. He still cannot forget her and suffers a lot. Valya loves Sergei. Suddenly, their friend Rodik comes and tells that Sergei drowned. A boy and a girl who were fishing turned over on a raft. Sergei saved them at the cost of his life. After the death of Sergei, his entire team decides to work for him, and give the money to Valentina. Against one Victor. He believes that this should humiliate Valya. Valya, however, accepts the money. Then Victor accuses her of dependency. He loves Valya and wants her to keep her human dignity. He tells her the same thing that Sergei once said: that she should go to study and work. He invites her to join them. Valya agrees. A new feeling for Victor seems to be emerging in her, although she is in no hurry to admit it. Sergei's voice wishes Victor a happy journey in life. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Cruel Intentions Drama (1978) The action takes place in the late 70s. our century. Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for a few years, so he lives alone. One day, the girl Nelya comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. She, having arrived from Rybinsk, did not enter the medical institute. She has nowhere to live, and her friends sent her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and is indifferent to everything. Parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai left the institute, he draws. Kai allows Nela to stay. Kai is often visited by his friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev. They are his age, friends from school. Terenty left his father. Konstantinov Sr. also often comes to Kai, calling his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and is not going to return home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: Kai calls Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Openok. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He looks after every girl that appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take and give birth to his daughter. One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to Kai. This is Kai's cousin. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. In Moscow, Mikhail travel. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. He recently had a daughter. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys. Early March. Western Siberia. The settlement of the oil exploration expedition. Misha and his wife Masha are in the Zemtsovs' room. She is thirty-nine years old, she is a geologist. Just ten weeks ago, their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her job, which is why, according to Mikhail, three ex-husbands left her. Masha is burdened that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she has to sit alone with Lesya. Enter Loveiko, a neighbor of the Zemtsovs. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka, where they worked, is called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms. At this time, the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he sincerely rejoices, because "there is no one to guard his patients." Nelya wants to stay with them until autumn, so that she can again try to go to college. Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys always remember Nelya. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only good fortune. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai's stepfather, arrives for only two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother. The settlement of the oil exploration expedition, the second half of July, the Zemtsovs' room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya out of the nursery so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she "said goodbye yesterday in the nursery." Misha is summoned to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child. Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her "boy", but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He "guesses" Nele on the palm of his hand. He tells her that Nelya loves another: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly reports that Masha left them. Nelya asks him not to believe it. End of September. Moscow. Evening. Guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, Konstantinov Sr. comes, and Terenty is just as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelly's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for a daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Neli's mother tells that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter in the end and ask for forgiveness. The kids can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nely's departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he was alone. October twentieth. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but because of an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the manger - "so that life is warm here," she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then she admits that she invented it to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya to Nelya. In parting, Nelya turns on the tape recorder for Masha, where Misha recorded his song for her. Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is out of his mind. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. She says that she will leave when Lesya recovers, at least to her mother - she called after all. Nikita wants to find out who the child's father is, but Nelya won't tell him. He asks if he would like it to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him. Last days of December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai sorts out toys. Nelya again reminds her that she will leave soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights, spin to the music. Masha suddenly enters. He asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away, since Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita drives her away in a rage. Nelya is packing her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov Sr. asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya is silent. Kai slowly walks over to her, takes her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty - a handkerchief. They lit the Christmas tree, turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov his father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai dresses and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Yuri Osipovich Dombrovsky (1909-1978) Faculty of unnecessary things Roman (Book 1 - 1964; book 2 - 1975) Book one. GUARDIAN OF ANTIQUITS. Book two. FACULTY OF UNNEEDED THINGSAlready anticipating his fate, Georgy Nikolaevich Zybin, a thirty-year-old historian, an employee of the local history museum in Alma-Ata, persuaded himself to live “correctly”: “quietly, quietly, imperceptibly, imperceptibly, do not push anyone, do not hurt - I am the keeper of antiquities, and nothing more! " What can interfere with his quiet work and life? The director of the museum, a former military man, treats him with respect and almost paternal care. Nearby is a faithful friend and drinking buddy, the wise old Grandfather, who works as a carpenter in the museum. Nearby is the beautiful Clara, clever and charming, secretly in love with him. A young scientist Kornilov appeared in the museum, expelled from Moscow, a man for Zybin from the breed of "his own" - both by fate and by education. Yes, and the very nature of his work - the study of museum exhibits, should, it seems, protect Zybin from that incomprehensible and terrible thing that made the very air of the summer of 1937 to drink. All you need is - "quietly, quietly." Zybin does not succeed. First comes the old man Rodionov, a neophyte archaeologist and former partisan, with his "discoveries" and demands to begin excavations of the ancient capital in the place that he indicates. Zybin knows that it is senseless and dangerous in today's times to resist the force of the aggressive ignorance of the "broad masses" invading science. He knows, but resists as much as he can. In the museum itself there are constant clashes with the illiterate but ideologically savvy mass worker Zoya Mikhailovna, who is trying to "correct" Zybin's work. Cooperation with the newspaper, where Zybin writes, as it seems to him, absolutely neutral notes about culture, well, for example, about rarities stored in the republican library, but not worthy of the attention of library scientists, this cooperation ends with a showdown with the scientific secretary Dyupova's libraries. Zybin did not reflect the work of librarians in serving the broad masses of workers and students, she says, culture is something that can and should serve the needs of the broad masses, and not a bunch of highbrow specialists. These attacks are not so harmless - at the service of complainants are always ready to listen to their "native organs". The benevolent director warns Zybin: "Don't be a partisan, be more polite," and Grandfather asks him to calm down. Zybin would be glad to calm down, but he can't. He cannot watch from the sidelines how the newspaper hype around the gigantic boa constrictor allegedly living on the Gorny Giant collective farm, fanned by ignorant, sensationalist journalists, threatens to ruin the life of foreman Potapov, the only one who saw the snake. And polite and attentive "lawyers on vacation" have already become frequent in the collective farm - they circle around Potapov, look closely at museum workers who have come to excavate. A car "accidentally" met on a night road takes Zybin to the "lawyers", where they explain to him in a friendly manner that Potapov is a German intelligence agent, and the story with the snake is "a cunningly conceived sabotage." But on the same night, having met with the hiding Potapov, Zybin not only does not try to "neutralize the enemy", but does everything to help him - the desperate foreman was able to find and kill the "gigantic boa constrictor", which turned out to be very large, but still an ordinary snake. The bag with the dead snake, the last hope of the brigadier for salvation, they deliver together to the city, to the museum. That is how the story ends. But Zybin feels that this is only a delay. For a long time he tried not to see, not to understand the logic of what was happening around - deaf arrests, show trials, the hysteria of "vigilance" and "struggle with complacency" pumped up from above. Zybin, brought up on a humanistic culture with which the European world entered the XNUMXth century, is not easy to believe in the total savagery of people. The ease with which the souls of people are won by the last of the Grand Inquisitor. In his semi-delirious night dreams, Zybin talks to Stalin: “What if you are right, the world will survive and prosper. Then, then, reason, conscience, goodness, humanity - everything that has been forged for thousands of years and was considered the goal of the existence of mankind, is worth absolutely nothing. To save peace, we need iron and flamethrowers, stone cellars and people with browning guns in them ... And I, and people like me, will have to fall to your boots, like an icon. In such a situation, the problem of choice for Zybin is no longer a matter of personal courage. He is a part of that culture, that civilization, which is threatened with destruction, and the refusal of resistance means for Zybin an agreement with the uselessness of this culture, with the fact that all of it, and he himself, is a "faculty of unnecessary things" ... Unfamiliar workers bring a find to the museum - a handful of gold plaques, part of the treasure they found, making sure that they found really archaeological gold, the workers disappear without a trace. The treasure for the museum is lost. The incident is reported to the NKVD. But Zybin, not relying on the help of the authorities, he goes to the steppe in search of a treasure. And here, in the steppe, what he has long been waiting for is happening - Zybin is arrested. He was charged with anti-Soviet propaganda, theft of valuables and an attempt to flee abroad. The case is being handled by the head of the department, Neiman, an experienced investigator, an intellectual who serves the ideas of Stalinist legality not out of fear, but in good conscience, and a bright-eyed kid, a specialist in "extorting evidence" Khripushin. Investigators do not have evidence of guilt, they expect to receive evidence from Zybin. A cellmate, a prisoner with the experience of Buddo, shares with Zybin the wisdom of the camp: since there is no way out of here anyway, it is wiser to confess everything that is required - then the investigation will be easier and the term will be shorter. But this is exactly what is impossible for Zybin, it would mean his personal recognition of the right to the legality of such a system of legal proceedings. Zybin decides to fight. And the first who, oddly enough, helped him to establish himself in this, is Khripushin - pouring with professional anger, he begins to shout at Zybin, hoping to break the prisoner, and Zybin feels the surge of reciprocal rage and strength he needs - he crossed the threshold of fear. The method of "conveyor line" is applied to Zybin - he is interrogated for days on end by continuously changing investigators. Zybin holds firm, but he does not know that his arrest is only part of a larger plan conceived by Neiman. He intends to get material for a grandiose - on the model of Moscow - show trial in the case of mass sabotage in the sphere of culture. Zybin alone is, of course, not enough for such a process. Kornilov receives an invitation to appear at the NKVD. But they talk to him differently - first they ask about Zybin, but then they explain that their main request is to help the authorities close the case against another museum employee, former priest Andrei Ernestovich Kutorga. In the NKVD there is a denunciation of him, but the old man seems to be harmless, I feel sorry for him, the investigators confidentially share with Kornilov. "If you are ready to vouch for him, do it. Just do it conclusively and officially, in written reports." Kornilov, who lives in Alma-Ata as an exile and lately has been expecting his own arrest every day, greatly appreciates the imperious courtesy of the investigators. Yes, and there is nothing shameful in their request. Kornilov undertakes to fulfill the order. The conversations that he has with the former priest are mainly devoted to the history of the trial and execution of Christ, as well as the theme of betrayal by the disciples of their Teacher. And Kornilov, with a clear conscience, writes reports on meetings in which he characterizes Father Andrei as a completely loyal citizen. His reports are accepted with gratitude, but on his last, as Kornilov hopes, visit to the NKVD, he is invited to Colonel Gulyaev. The tone of the conversation with him changes dramatically - the colonel menacingly accuses Kornilov of trying to deceive the investigation. He shows written accounts of the same conversations written by Kutorga - the former priest performed a similar task. In the denunciations, Kornilov is accused of conducting anti-Soviet conversations. Kornilov is crushed. He is asked to go out into the corridor to wait a bit and "forget" about him almost for a day. And then, half-dead from fatigue and fear, Khripushin takes him to him, gives him tea, shames him, reports that this time they forgive him, but they count on his honesty in their further joint work, picks up Kornilov’s intelligence nickname Gadfly and warns again: "Will you feint, do you know where they will send you?" “I know,” answers Kornilov, already unresisting. And new people are involved in the stalled investigation into the Zybin case. After Zybin demanded to change his investigator and went on a hunger strike, he is kept in a punishment cell, prosecutor Myachin visits him and unexpectedly easily agrees with all the demands. Myachin is Neiman's enemy. The idea of a high-profile show trial seems crazy to him. And here one more circumstance is revealed, which the prosecutor, on occasion, can use against Neiman. An old and close acquaintance of Zybina, Polina Pototskaya, asks for an appointment with Colonel Gulyaev. The conversation with her takes place in the presence of Neiman and the prosecutor. And Polina, as if by the way, reports that there is another person with whom Zybin once had confidential conversations - Roman Lvovich Stern. Neiman is shocked - the introduction to this case of such a major figure as the head of the investigative department of the USSR Prosecutor's Office, a famous writer, and most importantly, Neiman's brother, complicates everything. Moreover, in the case of Zybin, the possibility of personal motives is revealed - Stern and Zybin once courted Polina, and she preferred Zybin. The situation becomes dangerous for Neumann. For not everything is so solid and stable in the life of the seemingly all-powerful enkavedeshniki - more and more often their department is shaken by some kind of internal shocks - the most reliable and trusted people suddenly disappear. Where they disappear to is not a secret for Neiman and colleagues, each of them subconsciously waits for his turn. In addition, clever Neiman is also tormented by another fear, which imprinted in his eyes the expression of "squeezed horror" - fear of the very essence of his work. He can no longer justify himself with words about the highest expediency, getting acquainted, for example, with the rationalization proposal of his colleagues on the rational use of the bodies of prisoners in their household, in particular, the use of the blood of dead or executed prisoners. And in order to improve his position in the NKVD, which threatens to shake, and in order to find inner peace, results in the Zybin case are needed. Neiman decides to replace the blockhead Khripushin with his niece, Tamara Dolidze, a just-beginner, but smart, educated, eager to work investigator; besides, she is good, which can disarm the person under investigation. Zybin is really shocked by the appearance of a young beautiful woman. But the result is the opposite. Zybin suddenly feels compassion for this unfortunate fool who has changed the theater for the romance of the secret work of the manager of human lives. Having easily destroyed the accusation scheme prepared by the new investigator, Zybin addresses her as a person who makes a tragic and irreparable mistake in life. And the girl is confused, she has nothing to object to. Their conversation is interrupted in mid-sentence - already feeling sick for a long time, Zybin loses consciousness right in the investigator's office. He is transferred to the hospital. The investigation stops again. Trying to help his niece correct the mistakes, Neiman decides to independently obtain irrefutable evidence against Zybin and repeats Zybin's route through the steppe. During the trip, he is overtaken by the news of a change in leadership in the NKVD department, of the arrests of investigators and that he is urgently summoned to the department. This is the end, Neumann realizes. He decides to spend his last hours at liberty at a barmaid he met by chance and discovers in her the very archaeological gold Zybin is accused of stealing. Having seized the gold and arrested the treasure hunters, Neumann returns to the city. A few days later, Zybin, in the presence of the colonel and the prosecutor, was shown the found gold and announced that his case was closed. Zybin is free. And even if this release occurs, thanks to a happy coincidence, Zybin feels like a winner - he was able to survive. The first person Zybin met when he left the NKVD administration building was Neiman. He specifically waited for Zybin. "Why is that?" - asks Zybin. "Yes, I myself think why? .. Congratulate me on my release. If necessary, take me home, run to the shop." Zybin strikes Neiman's face, his eyes are humanly simple and sad. the expression of that hidden horror that Zybin noticed a month ago left them. And in the park, where Zybin and Neiman go to drink for their release, Kornilov joined them. They are located on a bench, directly opposite the artist, who, noticing the expressive silhouette of Zybin, asked him to sit for a while and began to quickly sketch the figures. So these three remained on a square piece of cardboard: a expelled investigator, a drunken informer named Gadfly, and the third one, without whom these two could not exist. S. P. Kostyrko Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky (1910-1971) Vasily Terkin book about a fighter Poem (1941-1945) In the infantry company - a new guy, Vasily Terkin. He is fighting for the second time in his lifetime (the first war was Finnish). Vasily does not go into his pocket for a word, he is a good eater. In general, "a guy anywhere." Terkin recalls how, in a detachment of ten people, during the retreat, he made his way from the western, "German" side to the east, to the front. On the way there was the native village of the commander, and the detachment went to his house. The wife fed the fighters and put them to bed. The next morning the soldiers left, leaving the village in German captivity. Terkin would like to go to this hut on the way back to bow to the "good simple woman." There is a river crossing. The platoons are loaded onto the pontoons. Enemy fire breaks the crossing, but the first platoon managed to get over to the right bank. Those who remained on the left are waiting for the dawn, they do not know what to do next. Terkin sails from the right bank (winter, icy water). He reports that the first platoon is able to ensure the crossing if it is supported by fire. Terkin makes contact. A shell explodes nearby. Seeing the German "cellar", Terkin takes it. There, in ambush, waiting for the enemy. Kills a German officer, but he manages to wound him. Ours begin to beat on the "cellar". And Terkin is discovered by tankers and taken to the medical battalion ... Terkin jokingly talks about the fact that it would be nice to get a medal and come with it after the war to a party in the village council. Leaving the hospital, Terkin catches up with his company. They take him in a truck. Ahead is a stopped column of transport. Freezing. And there is only one accordion - for tankers. It belonged to their fallen commander. The tankers give the accordion to Terkin. He plays first a sad melody, then a cheerful one, and the dance begins. The tankers remember that it was they who delivered the wounded Terkin to the medical battalion, and they give him an accordion. In the hut - grandfather (old soldier) and grandmother. Terkin comes to them. He fixes saws and watches for old people. He guesses that the grandmother has a hidden fat ... The grandmother treats Terkin. And the grandfather asks: "Shall we beat the German?" Terkin answers, already leaving, from the threshold: "We'll beat you, father." The bearded fighter lost his pouch. Terkin recalls that when he was wounded, he lost his hat, and the nurse girl gave him hers. He keeps his hat to this day. Terkin gives the bearded man his pouch, explains: in the war you can lose anything (even life and family), but not Russia. Terkin hand-to-hand fights with the German. Wins. Returns from reconnaissance, leads with a "language". At the front - spring. The buzzing of the cockchafer is replaced by the hum of a bomber. The soldiers lie face down. Only Terkin gets up, fires at the plane with a rifle and shoots it down. Terkin is given an order. Terkin recalls how he met a boy in the hospital who had already become a hero. He proudly emphasized that he was from near Tambov. And the native Smolensk region seemed to Terkin an "orphan". That's why he wanted to be a hero. The general lets Terkin go home for a week. But the Germans still have his village ... And the general advises to wait for a vacation: "We are on the way with you." Fight in the swamp for the small village of Borki, of which nothing remains. Terkin encourages comrades. Terkin is sent to rest for a week. Ego "paradise" - a hut where you can eat four times a day and sleep as much as you like, on the bed, in the bed. At the end of the first day, Terkin thinks ... catches a passing truck and goes to his native company. Under fire, the platoon goes to take the village. Leads all "dapper" lieutenant. They kill him. Then Terkin understands that "to lead his turn." The village has been taken. And Terkin himself was seriously wounded. Terkin lies on the snow. Death persuades him to submit to her. But Vasily does not agree. People from the funeral team find him, carry him to the sanitary battalion. After the hospital, Terkin returns to his company, and there everything is different, the people are different. There… a new Terkin appeared. Only not Vasily, but Ivan. They argue who is the real Terkin? We are ready to cede this honor to each other. But the foreman announces that each company "will be given its own Terkin." The village where Terkin repaired the saw and clock is under the Germans. The German took the watch from his grandfather and grandmother. The front line ran through the village. The old people had to move to the cellar. Our scouts come to them, among them - Terkin. He's already an officer. Terkin promises to bring a new watch from Berlin. With the onset, Terkin passes by his native Smolensk village. Others take it. There is a crossing across the Dnieper. Terkin says goodbye to his native side, which is no longer in captivity, but in the rear. Vasily tells about an orphan soldier who came on vacation to his native village, and there was nothing left there, the whole family died. A soldier needs to keep fighting. And we need to remember him, his grief. Don't forget about it when victory comes. Road to Berlin. Grandma returns home from captivity. The soldiers give her a horse, a wagon, things ... "Tell me, they say, what did Vasily supply Terkin". Bath in the depths of Germany, in some German house. Soldiers are steaming. Among them is one - he has a lot of scars from wounds on him, he knows how to bathe great, he doesn’t climb into his pocket for a word, he dresses - on the tunic of the order, medal. The soldiers say about him: "It's like Terkin." O. V. Butkova Terkin in the other world Poem (1954-1963) Killed in battle Terkin is in the next world. It's clean, like a subway. The commandant orders Terkin to take shape. Accounting table, check table, pitch table. They demand a certificate from Terkin, they demand a photo card, a certificate from a doctor. Terkin is undergoing medical treatment. Everywhere signs, inscriptions, tables. Complaints are not accepted here. The editor of Grobgazeta does not even want to listen to Terkin. There are not enough beds, they don’t give drink ... Terkin meets a front-line comrade. But he doesn't seem happy to meet. He explains to Terkin: there are two other worlds - ours and the bourgeois one. And our that light is "the best and advanced". The comrade shows Terkin the Military Department, the Civil Department. Here, no one does anything, but only manage and take into account. Cut into dominoes. "Certain Members" are discussing the draft of the novel. Here is the "fiery speaker". Terkin is surprised: why is all this necessary? "Nomenclature," explains a friend. A friend shows the Special Department: here are those who died in Magadan, Vorkuta, Kolyma ... The Kremlin leader himself manages this department. He is still alive, but at the same time "with them and with us", because "during his lifetime he erects monuments to himself." The comrade says that Terkin can receive a medal, which was awarded posthumously. He promises to show Terkin the Stereotube: it's only "for foreign assets". You can see the neighboring, bourgeois world in it. Friends treat each other with tobacco. Terkin - real, and a friend - afterlife, smokeless. Terkin remembers everything about the earth. Suddenly, a siren is heard. This means - state of emergency: alive leaked into the next world. He must be placed in the "waiting room" so that he becomes a "full-fledged ghoul". A friend suspects Terkin and says that he must report to his superiors. Otherwise, he can be sent to the penal battalion. He persuades Terkin to give up the desire to live. And Terkin thinks how to return to the world of the living. The comrade explains: trains take people only there, but not back. Terkin guesses that empty people are going back. A friend does not want to run away with him: they say, on earth he might not get into the nomenklatura. Terkin jumps on the empty bandwagon, they do not notice him ... But at some point, both the bandwagon and the train disappeared. And the road is still far away. Darkness, Terkin goes to the touch. All the horrors of war pass before him. Here he is at the border. ... And then he hears through a dream: "A rare case in medicine." He is in the hospital, a doctor is above him. Behind the walls - the war ... Science marvels at Terkin and concludes: "He has another hundred years to live!" O. V. Butkova Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov (b. 1911) heavy sand Roman (1978) The author's father was born in Switzerland, in Basel. His grandfather Ivanovsky had three sons. The father was the youngest in the family, as they say - mizinikl, that is, the little finger. When my father graduated from college and was preparing to enter the university, the idea arose to go to Russia, to the homeland of his ancestors, to a small southern city. And they went - grandfather Professor Ivanovsky and the future father of the author, a handsome young blond Yakob. It was in 1909, almost seventy years ago. Then the future mother of the author saw Jacob - and this girl, this blue-eyed beauty, the daughter of the shoemaker Rakhlenko, became his fate. He clung to her for life, as our forefather Jacob clung to his Rachel. Jacob's mother was against this marriage. Yakob did not yield... In a word, a year passed, and Professor Ivanovsky again came to the city with his wife Elfrida, such a slender German woman, their son Yakob and the housekeeper. It must be said that here the author's mother hid away her impudence and obstinacy, and the quiet, modest beauty Rachel appeared before grandmother Elfrida. Unexpectedly, my grandmother put forward "heavy artillery": it turns out that she is not a Jew, but a Swiss of German origin, and when grandfather married her, he converted to Protestantism. But the Rakhlenki did not even want to think about Protestantism ... In general, everything ended with an agreement, and after the wedding, the young people left for Switzerland. So, the author's parents live in Basel. A year later, his brother Leva is born, and six months later, the mother with the baby in her arms comes to her parents in Russia. It was not easy for her in the prim professorial German house. Less than two months later, Yakob also came for her. Lyova has measles, Lyova has mumps, then the author comes into the world, and her mother stays to feed him, then she has to stay to give birth and feed Yefim. They lasted until August 1914, and dad got stuck in Russia. A handsome, educated, polite, kind person - but a person without a specialty. And grandfather Rakhlenko decided to let him go through the trading part. At first, my father was a clerk in a butcher's shop. Then my jealous mother found him a place where there was no smell of women - in an ironmongery shop. But then the revolution, the tsar was thrown off, the Pale of Settlement was canceled, and even grandfather Rakhlenko began to incline to the fact that his father and mother left for Switzerland. But mom doesn't care! For her absurd and extravagant character, her father loved her even more, he understood that she needed just such a husband as he was - calm, delicate and loving. It was precisely because he was such a person that he began to work in his father-in-law's shoe shop. Grandfather's eldest son was named Joseph (there were also Lazar, Grisha, Misha and my mother Rakhil). After one strong scandal between his father and Joseph, the author's family separated from his grandfather and bought a small house on a nearby street. In the 17th, Lyuba was born, in the 19th, Heinrich, in the 25th, Dina. The family organized a shoe artel and by the mid-20s. she lived decently ... Elder brother Leva was sent to study in Moscow, at the Sverdlovsk Communist University. In the 28th, my mother gave birth to a younger brother, Sasha, her seventh and last child. In the 30s. on the basis of the family artel, a state shoe factory was created, and director Ivan Antonovich Sidorov appointed his father as a warehouse manager for raw materials and accessories. In 1934, sister Lyuba entered the medical school in Leningrad, got married, and now Igorek, the first grandson, appeared in the house. Lyova also got married in Chernigov, did not show his bride to his parents, but they learned from people that his wife, Anna Moiseevna, an important person, teaches political economy. She is five years older than him, she has a girl from her first marriage. Thunder struck in broad daylight: an article "Strangers and robbers at a shoe factory" appeared in the regional newspaper. As a stranger, the father was mentioned, "a man of dubious social origin", some workers and, of course, the director Sidorov. There was a search, my father was arrested. Lev's brother said about his father's case that the investigation would look into it, and he had no right to interfere. A show trial was held - an exit session of the regional court. In general, the results had to wait for the worst. But thanks to the brilliant defense of the lawyer Tereshchenko, after the review of the case, his father was given a year on probation, Sidorov was also released ... After that, neighbor Ivan Karlovich arranged for his father to work in a depot in a warehouse. Soon terrible news came: brother Leva and his wife died. Her daughter Olechka and Olya's nanny Anna Yegorovna were first sent to the village to Anna Yegorovna's relatives - the mother did not want to hear about this girl. Is she her granddaughter? In a word, it all ended with the fact that her father got Anna Egorovna a cleaner at the FZU, she received a room, and Olya remained in the author's family. This is how they lived. Lyuba, Heinrich, Efim and the author were already working, the financial situation of the parents improved, but it was not brilliant. And the author decided: let Dina go to the conservatory, Lyuba will take Igor, Sasha and Olya will get on their feet, and then he will move somewhere to the industrial center, work in his specialty. ... On June XNUMX, the war began, the twenty-third author was called up. After the war, the author, step by step, found out the circumstances of the death of relatives. Why didn't the family evacuate? Mother didn't want to. She believed that everything they say about the Germans is fiction. But then the Germans entered the city, and an order was given to all Jews to move to the ghetto. Mom told dad to declare his half-German origin. But the father refused: he did not want to be saved without a family. Just at that time, Uncle Grisha appeared in the ghetto, secretly came from a partisan detachment. He confirmed that the Germans were exterminating the Jews. He showed little Igor the way to the forest. As for his father, he said that he had to leave the ghetto - he needed his own man at the station. The first extermination action was carried out in the ghetto. She was subjected to Proreznaya Street. Soon Uncle Grisha came to the ghetto again and said that the fate of the ghetto had been decided; you need to go into the forest, and for this you need a weapon. My father presented his Swiss passport to the authorities, and he was appointed head of the depot warehouse. He was forbidden to appear in the ghetto, to see anyone. The most fearless in the ghetto were children: they delivered food, showing unprecedented courage and bravery. Brother Sasha and another boy were carrying stuffing from an abandoned fruit and vegetable base, they were discovered by the SS men ... Ilya was shot down below, and the dead Sasha hung on the fence like that. He was fourteen, Ilya was twelve years old. Grandfather lived in the cemetery as part of a funeral brigade. In the spring of 1942 fifteen or twenty people per day were dying in the ghetto. Jewish customs prescribe to bury the dead in shrouds, there were not enough shrouds, and they began to be brought back from the cemetery, and weapons were in them. In the end, the policemen on duty at the cemetery tracked down the grandfather when he went into the forest for weapons, and killed him. Uncle Grisha wanted to take people from the ghetto into the detachment. And my mother sent Dina to the Judenrat to persuade Uncle Joseph, the chairman of the Judenrat, to show them as dead. When it turned out that Joseph was going to betray these people to the Germans, Dina shot him with his own pistol. The sister was crucified, and, dead, she hung on the cross for three days. My father participated in the operation to steal two vehicles with weapons from the station. The operation went brilliantly, and the father, in order to save the innocent, himself came to the commandant's office with a confession. He was tortured for six days. On the seventh day, they took him to the square in front of the ghetto, dragged him to the gallows (he could not stand) and hanged him. After the raid on the station, the regime tightened up, and the patrol grabbed little Igor when he was walking away from the partisans. The execution was again in the square. Igor called his grandmother. Mom told her grandson not to be afraid, to lower his head and close his eyes. The executioner cut him exactly in half. There were now weapons in the ghetto, and it was decided, having broken through the guards, to go into the forest. People simply did not leave many houses: they were seized with fear. But those who managed to overcome fear - there were six hundred of them - reached the saving forest. And then the mother ordered Olya to find the lawyer Tereshchenko and tell him that she was Rakhil Rakhlenko's granddaughter. And no one ever saw the mother again, either alive or dead. She disappeared, disappeared into the air, in a pine forest, near the place where she was born, lived her life, raised her children and grandchildren and saw their terrible death. After the war, the author found the place where, according to rumors, his father was buried. They dug through the whole wasteland and found nothing: only sand, sand, clean loose heavy sand ... I. N. Slyusareva Children of the Arbat Novel (1966-1983, publ. 1987) The largest house on the Arbat is between Nikolsky and Denezhny lanes. Four former classmates live in it. Three of them: Sasha Pankratov, the secretary of the school's Komsomol cell, the son of an elevator operator, Maxim Kostin, and Nina Ivanova, made up a tight-knit group of activists at the school. They were also joined by the daughter of a famous diplomat, a Bolshevik with pre-revolutionary experience, Lena Budyagina. The fourth is Yura Sharok, the tailor's son. This sly and cautious guy hates politics. In his family, the new masters of life are caustically called "comrades." School is over. Now Nina is a teacher, Lena is a translator. Maxim is graduating from an infantry school, Sasha is studying at a technical university, and Yura is at a law school. Vadim Marasevich, the son of a famous doctor, also joins their company; he aims at literary and theater critics. Schoolgirl Varya, Nina's sister. Beauty Vika Marasevich, Vadim's sister. They are sitting at the table, meeting a new one, 1934. They are young, they cannot imagine either death or old age - they are born for life and happiness. But Sasha is in trouble. As a matter of fact, he was expelled from the institute and from the Komsomol. An unpleasant story, a trifle: a wall newspaper was published on the anniversary of the revolution, and some of the faculty authorities regarded the epigrams placed in it as a hostile sortie. Sasha visited the Central Control Commission, and he was reinstated both at the institute and in the Komsomol. But now - a night call at two o'clock, Red Army soldiers, witnesses ... Arrest and Butyrka prison. "Why are you sitting here?" - the investigator Dyakov asked him at the first interrogation. Sasha is at a loss. What do they want from him? He has no disagreements with the party, he is honest with it. Maybe it's about Mark Ryazanov, his mother's brother - he is influential, the country's first metallurgist ... Mark, meanwhile, talked about Sasha with high-ranking people. Budyagin clearly understands: "they" know whose Sasha's nephew. When a person is introduced to the Central Committee, they cannot but know that his nephew has been arrested. Berezin, Yagoda's deputy (the head of the OPTU), knows better than Budyagin and better than Ryazanov that Pankratov is not to blame for anything. Honest, thoughtful guy. His case stretches much further and higher, going through the deputy director of the Sasha Institute Krivoruchko on Lominadze, the deputy commissar of heavy industry (and the people's commissar Ordzhonikidze). But even Berezin, a member of the collegium of the NKVD, does not know and cannot, of course, know what Stalin thinks of Ordzhonikidze, a man of his inner circle. And Stalin thinks this: they have known each other for a long time, too long. We started in the party together. And the leader has no like-minded people, there are only associates. Sergo, after the capitulation of the opposition, did not want to destroy them. Wants to maintain a counterweight to Stalin? And what, what political goals, explains the tender friendship between Sergo and Kirov? Sofya Alexandrovna was ordered to come to Butyrki to meet her son. Take warm clothes, money and food with you. So Sasha's sentence has been passed. All this time, Varya Ivanova helped her: she went for groceries, carried parcels. But that evening she didn’t come - the next day they saw off Maxim and another cadet to the Far East. At the station, Varya saw Sasha: he dutifully walked between two Red Army soldiers with a suitcase in his hand and a shoulder bag, pale and with a beard. So, Sasha has been expelled. What is left of their company? Max in the Far East. And Sharok - and this is wild for many - works in the prosecutor's office. Yurka Sharok is the arbiter of fate, and pure, convinced Sasha is an exile! Varya once met the beautiful Vika Marasevich on the Arbat with a smart man. Vika invited me to call and come in, although Varya never called her and did not come to her. But then she went. And got into a completely different world. There they stand in queues, live in communal apartments. Here - they drink coffee with liqueurs, admire foreign fashions. A new life began for Varya. "Metropol", "Savoy", "National" ... A native Muscovite, she had only heard these attractive names before. She's just not well dressed... A lot of new acquaintances. And among them - Kostya, the famous billiard player. He comes from Kerch, and Varya has never been to the sea. Upon learning of this, he immediately offers to go. Kostya is an independent, powerful person, he will not submit to anyone, he will not drag his suitcase along the platform under escort ... Returning from the Crimea, Varya and Kostya settle with Sasha's mother, Sofia Alexandrovna. Varya doesn't work. Kostya doesn't even let her cook. She dresses with the best tailors, has her hair done by the most fashionable hairdressers, they are constantly in theaters, restaurants ... Sasha sent his first telegram to his mother from the village of Boguchany, Kansk District. Comrade in exile, Boris Soloveichik, introduced him to local life: in these places you can see anyone - Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, anarchists, Trotskyists, national deviationists. And indeed, on the way to the place, Sasha meets a variety of people, and not all of them are interested in politics or ideology. Sasha’s place of exile is determined by the village of Mozgova, twelve kilometers from Kezhma up the Angara. He pays money for an apartment with food, sometimes he brings sour cream - he repairs a public separator. The separator was made at the end of the last century, the thread was worn out, and several times Sasha tells the chairman that a new one needs to be cut. The separator breaks again, the chairman accuses Sasha of intentional damage, and they swear big in public. Explanations have to be given to Alferov, authorized by the NKVD. He explains: the device is out of order, no one passed anything to the chairman about the thread - but the women simply don’t know the words “thread”, “nut”, “roller” ... In general, Sasha will be given at least ten years for wrecking. In addition, the discrediting of the collective farm leadership. Immediately after his arrest, Sasha hoped that everything would soon be cleared up and he would be released - he is clean, and the party does not punish the innocent. Now he understands well that he has no rights, but he does not want to give up. I decided to respond to an insult with an insult, to spit - with a spit. The conflict with the separator is somehow hushed up. How long? Sadness seizes Sasha: he grew up in the belief that he would build a new world, now he has neither hope nor purpose. The idea on which he grew up was taken over by soulless careerists, they trample on this idea and trample on people devoted to it. The teacher Nurzida, with whom he has an affair, offers him a variant of a future life: after the exile, they will register, Sasha will take his wife's surname and receive a clean passport, without marks of a criminal record. Cockroach, baking life? No, Sasha will never agree to such a thing! He feels that he is changing, and his comrade in exile tells him that it is not worth sculpting a new one from the fragments of the old faith. You can either return to your old beliefs, or leave them forever. Berezin invites Sharok to enter the Higher School of the NKVD. He refuses, as Zaporozhets takes him to the Leningrad apparatus of the NKVD. This confirms Berezin's suspicion that some kind of action is being prepared in Leningrad. Stalin is dissatisfied with the situation in the city, demands from Kirov repressions against the so-called members of the Zinoviev opposition, wants to unleash terror in Leningrad. For what? Like a detonator for terror across the country? The Zaporozhets must organize such things before which Kirov will have to retreat. But what? Sabotage, explosion - you can't fool Kirov on this. The murder of one of Kirov's associates? Caller, but not that. Berezin remembers well how in 1918 in Tsaritsyn Stalin instructively told him: "Death solves all problems. There is no man, and there are no problems." In the evening, Berezin went to Budyagin for the first time and, in a conversation, briefly said that the Zaporozhets, under the strictest secrecy, was picking up his people in St. Petersburg. Budyagin fully appreciated what was said and in the morning passed it on to Ordzhonikidze. But Ordzhonikidze and Budyagin did not come up with what the personnel Chekist Berezin immediately guessed. Varya has difficulties with Kostya - after all, in fact, approaching him, she did not know him. It turns out that he is married, although he allegedly married because of a residence permit. He is a player, today he is rich, tomorrow he will become the poorest of all. She can also lose herself. Enough! It's time for her to go to work. Her friends arrange for her to work as a draftsman at the Moskva Hotel Design Bureau. Kostya is getting worse. They are strangers, and the best thing is to disperse. With Sofia Alexandrovna and her communal neighbors, Varya talks more and more about Sasha, thinks about him more and more often. Yes, she appreciates her own and other people's independence, she decides everything herself, she is not careful, she does not know how to deny herself pleasures - she got caught on this. Well, it's over with Bones, it's not too late to change your life. In a letter from Sofya Alexandrovna addressed to Sasha, she makes an addition on her own behalf. After reading Varya's lines, Sasha experiences a sharp, aching feeling of love and attraction to this girl. Still ahead! But a comrade-exile who came to visit him is gloomy and preoccupied. He brought bad news - on December 1, Kirov was killed in Leningrad. And whoever did this, we can say with certainty: dark times are coming. I. N. Slyusareva Viktor Platonovich Nekrasov (1911-1987) In the trenches of Stalingrad Tale (1946) The action begins in July 1942 with a retreat near Oskol. The Germans approached Voronezh, and the regiment retreated from the newly dug defensive fortifications without firing a shot, while the first battalion, led by battalion commander Shiryaev, remained to cover. The protagonist of the story, Lieutenant Kerzhentsev, also remains to help the battalion commander. After lying down for the prescribed two days, the first battalion is also removed. On the way, they unexpectedly meet a liaison headquarters and a friend of Kerzhentsev, chemist Igor Svidersky, with the news that the regiment has been defeated, it is necessary to change the route and go to connect with it, and the Germans are only ten kilometers away. They walk for another day, until they are located in dilapidated barns. The Germans find them there. The battalion is on the defensive. Lots of losses. Shiryaev with fourteen fighters leaves, and Kerzhentsev with the orderly Valera, Igor, Sedykh and Lazarenko's headquarters liaison officer remain to cover them. Lazarenko is killed, and the rest safely leave the barn and catch up with their own. This is not difficult, since units retreating in disarray stretch along the road. They are trying to look for their own: regiment, division, army, but this is impossible. Retreat. Crossing the Don. So they reach Stalingrad. In Stalingrad, they stay with Marya Kuzminichna, the sister of Igor's former company commander in the reserve regiment, and live a long-forgotten peaceful life. Conversations with the hostess and her husband Nikolai Nikolaevich, tea with jam, walks with the neighbor girl Lucy, who reminds Yuri Kerzhentsev of his beloved, also Lucy, swimming in the Volga, the library - all this is a real peaceful life. Igor pretends to be a sapper and, together with Kerzhentsev, falls into the reserve, into a special group. Their job is to prepare the industrial facilities of the city for the explosion. But peaceful life is suddenly interrupted by an air raid and a two-hour bombing - the Germans launched an attack on Stalingrad. Sappers are sent to a tractor plant near Stalingrad. There is a long, painstaking preparation of the plant for the explosion. Several times a day, you have to repair the chain, torn during the next shelling. In between shifts, Igor argues with Georgy Akimovich, an electrical engineer at a thermal power plant. Georgy Akimovich is indignant at the inability of the Russians to fight: "The Germans drove from Berlin to Stalingrad by car, and here we are in the trenches in jackets and overalls with a three-line model of the ninety-first year." Georgy Akimovich believes that only a miracle can save the Russians. Kerzhentsev recalls a recent conversation between soldiers about their land, "fat as butter, about bread that covers you with your head." He doesn't know what to call it. Tolstoy called it "the hidden warmth of patriotism." "Perhaps this is the miracle that Georgy Akimovich is waiting for, a miracle stronger than German organization and tanks with black crosses." The city has been bombed for ten days now, probably there is nothing left of it, but there is still no order to blow it up. And without waiting for the order to explode, the reserve sappers are sent to a new assignment - to the front headquarters, to the engineering department, on the other side of the Volga. At headquarters, they receive appointments, and Kerzhentsev has to part with Igor. He is sent to the 184th division. He meets his first battalion and crosses with him to the other side. The beach is on fire. The battalion immediately gets involved in the battle. The battalion commander dies, and Kerzhentsev takes command of the battalion. At his disposal are the fourth and fifth companies and a platoon of foot scouts under the command of foreman Chumak. His position is the Metiz plant. Here they stay for a long time. The day begins with a morning cannonade. Then "sabantuy" or attack. September passes, October begins. The battalion is being transferred to positions more exposed to fire between the "Metiz" and the end of the ravine on Mamaev. The regiment commander, Major Borodin, enlists Kerzhentsev for sapper work and the construction of a dugout to help his sapper, Lieutenant Lisagor. There are only thirty-six men in the battalion instead of four hundred, and the area, small for a normal battalion, presents a serious problem. Soldiers begin to dig trenches, sappers lay mines. But it immediately turns out that positions need to be changed: a colonel, a divisional commander, comes to the command post and orders to occupy the hill, where the enemy machine guns are located. They will give scouts to help, and Chuikov promised "maize workers". The time before the attack drags on slowly. Kerzhentsev puts out political detachments from the CP who came with a check and, unexpectedly for himself, goes on the attack. They took the hill, and it turned out to be not very difficult: twelve of the fourteen fighters remained alive. They are sitting in a German dugout with the commander Karnaukhov and the commander of the scouts Chumak, a recent opponent of Kerzhentsev, and discuss the battle. But then it turns out that they are cut off from the battalion. They take up defensive positions. Unexpectedly, orderly Valera Kerzhentseva appears in the dugout, who remained at the command post, since three days before the attack he sprained his leg. He brings stew and a note from senior adjutant Kharlamov: the attack should be at 4.00. The attack fails. More and more people die - from wounds and direct hits. There is no hope of survival, but their own still break through to them. Kerzhentsev is attacked by Shiryaev, who was appointed battalion commander instead of Kerzhentsev. Kerzhentsev surrenders the battalion and moves to Lisagor. At first they are idle, go to visit Chumak, Shiryaev, Karnaukhov. For the first time in a month and a half of their acquaintance, Kerzhentsev talks about life with the commander of his former battalion, Farber. This is the type of an intellectual in the war, an intellectual who is not very good at commanding a company entrusted to him, but feels responsible for everything that he did not learn to do in time. On the nineteenth of November, Kerzhentsev has a name day. A holiday is planned, but is disrupted due to a general offensive along the entire front. Having prepared the command post for Major Borodin, Kerzhentsev releases the sappers with Lisagor to the shore, and on the orders of the major he goes to his former battalion. Shiryaev figured out how to take the communication lines, and the major agrees with a military trick that will save people. But the chief of staff, Captain Abrosimov, insists on a frontal attack. He appears at Shiryaev's command post following Kerzhentsev and sends the battalion on the attack, not listening to arguments. Kerzhentsev goes on the attack with the soldiers. They immediately fall under the bullets and lie in the funnels. After nine hours spent in the funnel, Kerzhentsev manages to get to his own. The battalion lost twenty-six men, almost half. Karnaukhov died. Wounded, he ends up in the medical battalion Shiryaev. Farber takes command of the battalion. He was the only one of the commanders who did not take part in the attack. Abrosimov kept it to himself. The next day, the trial of Abrosimov took place. Major Borodin says in court that he trusted his chief of staff, but he deceived the regiment commander, "he exceeded his authority, and people died." Then a few more people speak. Abrosimov believes that he was right, only a massive attack could take the tanks. "The battalion commanders take care of people, so they don't like attacks. Tanks could only be taken with an attack. And it's not his fault that people reacted unscrupulously to this, got scared." And then Farber rises. He cannot speak, but he knows that those who died in this attack did not flinch. "Courage is not to go with a bare chest to a machine gun" ... The order was "not to attack, but to seize." The technique invented by Shiryaev would have saved people, but now they are gone ... Abrosimov was demoted to a penal battalion, and he leaves without saying goodbye to anyone. And for Farber, Kerzhentsev is now calm. At night, the long-awaited tanks arrive. Kerzhentsev is trying to make up for the lost name day, but again the offensive. Shiryaev, now chief of staff, who escaped from the medical battalion, comes running, the battle begins. In this battle, Kerzhentsev is wounded, and he ends up in the medical battalion. From the medical battalion, he returns to Stalingrad, "home", meets Sedykh, finds out that Igor is alive, is going to see him in the evening and again does not have time: they are transferred to fight with the Northern group. There is an offensive. E. S. Ostrovskaya Little sad story (1984) Early 80s Three inseparable friends live in Leningrad: Sasha Kunitsyn, Roman Krylov and Ashot Nikoghosyan. All three - up to thirty. All three - "litsedei." Sashka is a "ballerina" at the Kirov Theatre, Roman is an actor at Lenfilm, Ashot sings, plays, deftly imitates Marcel Marceau. They are different and at the same time very similar. Sasha from childhood conquered the girls with his "smoothness, grace, ability to be charming." Enemies consider him arrogant, but at the same time he is ready to "give away his last shirt." Ashot is not distinguished by beauty, but innate artistry and plasticity make him beautiful. He speaks beautifully, he is the ancestor of all plans. The novel is caustic and sharp on the tongue. On screen, he is funny, often tragic. There is something Chaplin in it. In their free time, they are always together. They are brought together by "a certain search for one's own path." They vilify the Soviet system no more than others, but "the damned question of how to resist dogmas, stupidity, one-linearity pressing on you from all sides" requires some kind of answer. In addition, it is necessary to succeed - not one of the friends suffers from the lack of ambition. This is how they live. From morning to evening - rehearsals, performances, shooting, and then they meet and relieve the soul, arguing about art, talent, literature, painting and much more. Sasha and Ashot live with their mothers, Roman is alone. Friends always help each other, including with money. They are called "Three Musketeers". There are also women in their lives, but they are kept somewhat aloof. Ashot has a love - a Frenchwoman Henriette, who is "training at Leningrad University." Ashot is going to marry her. Sashka and Ashot rush about with the idea of putting on Gogol's "Overcoat", in which Sashka is to play Akaky Akakievich. In the midst of this work, foreign tours "fall" on Sasha. He flies to Canada. There, Sasha has great success and decides to ask for asylum. Roman and Ashot are completely at a loss, they can’t come to terms with the idea that their friend hasn’t said a word about his plans. Ashot often visits Sasha's mother - Vera Pavlovna. She is still waiting for a letter from her son, but Sasha does not write and only once gives her a parcel with a bright knitted jacket, some little things and a big - "miracle of printing" - album - "Alexandre Kunitsyn". Soon Ashot marries Henriette. After some time, they and Ashot's mother, Ranush Akopovna, are given permission to leave: it is very difficult for Henriette to live in Russia, despite her love for everything Russian. Despite the fact that Roman is left alone, he approves of Ashot's act. Roman's last picture is on the shelf, and he believes that it is impossible to live in this country. Ashot madly does not want to part with his beloved city. In Paris, Ashot gets a job as a sound engineer for television. Soon Sasha performs in Paris. Ashot comes to the concert. Sasha is magnificent, the audience gives him a standing ovation. Ashot manages to get backstage. Sasha is very happy with him, but there are a lot of people around, and friends agree that Ashot will call Sasha at the hotel the next morning. But Ashot cannot get through: the phone is not answered. Sasha himself does not call. When Ashot arrives at the hotel after work, the porter informs him that Monsieur Kunitsyn has left. Ashot cannot understand Sasha. Gradually, Ashot gets used to French life. He lives rather closed - work, home, books, TV. He eagerly reads Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Bulgakov, Platonov, who can easily be bought in a store, watches the classics of Western cinema. Although Ashot becomes, as it were, a Frenchman, "all their elections and discussions in parliament" do not touch him. One fine day, Romka Krylov appears on Ashot's doorstep. He managed to come to the Cannes Film Festival as a consultant for his own money, and he did this because he really wanted to see Ashot. For three days, friends walk around Paris, remembering the past. Roman says that he managed to trick the Soviet Minister of Culture and "smuggle", in essence, an "anti-Soviet" film. Roman leaves. Soon Sasha appears, flying to Ceylon, but the flight is delayed in Paris. Before Ashot is the same Sashka, who is "executed" because of what he did. Ashot understands that he cannot be angry with him. But there is so much rationality in what Sasha is now talking about art. Ashot recalls the "Overcoat", while Sashka claims that the rich American "balletomaniacs" do not need the "Overcoat". Ashot is offended that Sasha never asks about his "material well-being". More friends do not meet. Roman's film, not without success, passes through the country. Roman envies Ashot because there is no "Soviet mura" in his life. Ashotik envies Roman because in his life there is "struggle, sharpness, victories." Henriette is expecting a baby. Sasha lives in New York in a six-room apartment, tours, he constantly has to make important decisions. From the publisher. While the text of the story was being typed in the printing house, Ashot received a telegram from Sashka with a request to immediately fly to him. "Costs are being paid," the telegram said. E. A. Zhuravleva Emmanuil Genrikhovich Kazakevich 1913-1962 Star Tale (1946) A platoon of Soviet intelligence officers entered the village. It was an ordinary Western Ukrainian village. The commander of the scouts, Lieutenant Travkin, thought about his people. Of the eighteen former, proven fighters, he had only twelve left. The rest were just recruited, and what they will be in business is unknown. And ahead was a meeting with the enemy: the division was advancing. Travkin was extremely characteristic of a selfless attitude to business and absolute disinterestedness - it was for these qualities that the scouts loved this young, withdrawn and incomprehensible lieutenant. A light reconnaissance raid showed that the Germans were not far away, and the division went on the defensive. Little by little the rears pulled up. The head of the army reconnaissance department, who arrived at the division, set the task for divisional commander Serbichenko to send a group of scouts behind enemy lines: according to available data, a regrouping took place there, and it was necessary to find out the presence of reserves and tanks. The best person to lead this unusually difficult operation was Travkin. Now Travkin conducted classes every night. With his characteristic tenacity, he drove the scouts through the icy brook ford, forced them to cut the wire, check fake minefields with long army probes and jump over the trench. Junior Lieutenant Meshchersky, a slender, blue-eyed twenty-year-old youth, who had just graduated from a military school, asked the scouts. Looking at how zealous he was, Travkin thought approvingly: "It will be an eagle ..." Arranged the last training lesson on communication. The call sign of the reconnaissance group was finally established - "Star", the call sign of the division - "Earth". At the last moment, it was decided to send Anikanov instead of Meshchersky, so that in which case the scouts would not be left without an officer. The ancient game of man with death began. After explaining to the scouts the order of movement, Travkin silently nodded to the officers remaining in the trench, climbed over the parapet and silently moved towards the river bank. Other scouts and escort sappers did the same for him. The scouts crawled through the cut wire, went through the German trench ... an hour later they went deep into the forest. Meshchersky and the commander of the sapper company peered intently into the darkness. Every now and then other officers came up to them - to find out about those who went on the raid. But the red rocket - the signal "detected, retreat" - did not appear. So they passed. The forests where the group was walking were teeming with Germans and German equipment. Some German, shining a pocket torch, came close to Travkin, but when he was awake, he did not notice anything. He sat down to recover, grunting and sighing. For a kilometer and a half they crawled almost over the sleeping Germans, at dawn they finally got out of the forest, and something terrible happened at the edge. They literally ran into three sleepless Germans lying in the truck, one of them, accidentally glancing at the edge, was dumbfounded: seven shadows in green robes were walking along the path completely silently. Travkin was saved by composure. He realized that he couldn't run. They walked past the Germans with an even, unhurried step, entered the grove, quickly ran across this grove and meadow and went deeper into the next wood. After making sure that there were no Germans here, Travkin transmitted the first radiogram. We decided to move on, adhering to swamps and forests, and at the western edge of the grove we immediately saw a detachment of SS men. Soon the scouts came out to the lake, on the opposite bank of which stood a large house, from which either groans or screams were heard from time to time. A little later, Travkin saw a German leaving the house with a white bandage on his arm and realized that the house served as a hospital. This German was discharged and goes to his unit - no one will look for him. The German gave valuable testimony. And, despite the fact that he turned out to be a worker, he had to be killed. Now they knew that the SS Viking Panzer Division was concentrating here. Travkin decided, in order not to reveal himself prematurely, not to take "languages" yet. Only a well-informed German is needed, and he will have to be obtained after reconnaissance of the railway station. But prone to dashing Black Sea Mamochkin violated the ban - a hefty SS man kicked him into the forest right at him. When the Hauptscharführer was thrown into the lake, Travkin contacted "Earth" and handed over everything he had established. From the voices from the "Earth" he realized that his message was accepted there as something unexpected and very important. Anikanov and Mamochkin took the well-informed German, as they had planned, at the station. The pigeon had died by then. The scouts went back. Brazhnikov died on the way, Semyonov and Anikanov were wounded. The radio station hanging on Bykov's back was flattened by bullets. She saved his life, but she was no longer fit for work. The detachment was moving, and around it the loop of a huge round-up was already tightening. The reconnaissance detachment of the Viking division, the forward companies of the 342nd Grenadier Division and the rear units of the 131st Infantry Division were raised in pursuit. The Supreme High Command, having received the information obtained by Travkin, immediately realized that something more serious was hidden behind this: the Germans wanted to avert a breakthrough of our troops to Poland with a counterattack. And the order was given to strengthen the left flank of the front and transfer several units there. And the good girl Katya, a signalman, who was in love with Travkin, sent call signs day and night: "Star". "Star". "Star". No one was waiting, but she was waiting. And no one dared to remove the radio from reception until the offensive began. I. N. Slyusareva Alexander Yakovlevich Yashin (1913-1968) Levers Story (1956) In the evening, four people sat on the board of the collective farm: the bearded livestock breeder Tsipyshev, the storekeeper Shchukin, the foreman of the field-growing brigade Ivan Konoplev, and the chairman of the collective farm Pyotr Kuzmich Kudryavtsev. They were waiting for the beginning of the party meeting, but the teacher Akulina Semyonovna, the fifth member of the party organization, was late. We talked while waiting. “They said - plan from below, let the collective farm decide for itself what to sow,” the sore chairman said. “But in the district we are not approved of our plan: the district plan is lowered from above. called the first secretary of the district committee.) Well, I say, are you doing with us? And he says: “We need to overfulfill the plan, actively introduce new things. You, he says, are now our levers in the village." "He won't sit here long," said Tsipyshev. - He does not listen to people, he decides everything himself. People are just leverage for him. It cannot be without severity. At the meeting, as soon as he looks around at everyone, as he grumbles, his soul goes to his heels. "" We must not only be taught, we must also be listened to, - Konoplev added. - And then everything from above and from above. Plans from above, productivity from above. If you don't do it, then you've loosened the reins. But aren’t we rooting for the same thing, do we have different interests?” Taking the pot of cigarette butts in both hands, Konoplev went to the threshold and dumped the cigarette butts into the corner. And suddenly, from behind a wide Russian stove, an imperious old woman's cry was heard: "Where are you pouring, dead? It's not for you to sweep. The floor has just been washed, it's all dirty again." The men jumped in surprise and looked at each other. It turns out that another person was always present in the hut. The conversation ended. They were silent for a long time, smoking ... One Shchukin could not stand it and finally laughed loudly: "Oh, the damned woman scared us!" Pyotr Kuzmich and Konoplev looked at each other and also laughed. "Suddenly, from behind the stove, it will bark. Well, I think he came himself, caught us ..." Laughter defuses tension and restores people to their normal state of health. “And what are we afraid of, peasants?” Pyotr Kuzmich suddenly said thoughtfully and a little sadly. “After all, we are afraid of ourselves!” Finally the teacher came. It was necessary to open a party meeting. But what happened to Tsipyshev? His voice acquired firmness and authoritativeness, his eyes became stern. In the same dry, stern voice that the secretary of the district committee spoke before the start of the meetings, he uttered the same words: "Let's begin, comrades! Is everyone assembled?" And there were only five of them. Everyone's faces became concentrated, tense and dull. The meeting has begun. And the same thing began, about which they had just spoken so frankly among themselves, blaspheming treasury and bureaucracy. "Comrades," said the chairman, "the district committee and the district executive committee did not approve our production plan. The essence of the report boiled down to the fact that the crop rotation plan of the collective farm should be corrected in accordance with the instructions of the district committee and the district executive committee. Differences in opinion were not found, it was decided to write in the resolution as follows: "In the context of a high labor upsurge throughout the collective farm, it is deploying ..." Suddenly, the radio started talking: materials about the preparations for the XNUMXth Congress were being transmitted. The peasants now had all their hope in the congress: it would determine how to live. And when, on the way home, Kudryavtsev and Konoplev resumed their conversation - the same one that went before the meeting - they were again cordial, direct people. People, not levers. I. N. Slyusareva Vologda wedding Tale (1962) The author came to the village for a wedding. It is almost impossible to see the bride Galya - so she rushes around the house: a lot of work. In the village, she was considered one of the best brides. Her virtues - short, not tall, not strong - is that she is from a very hard-working family. The mother of the bride, Maria Gerasimovna, fills with kerosene and hangs lamps under the ceiling, straightens photographs, shakes towels so that the embroidery is better visible ... On the day of the wedding, long before the groom arrived, her peers gathered in the kitchen (here she is called kut) to the bride. The bride is supposed to cry, but she, happy, pink-faced, cannot begin. Finally made up her mind, she sighed. But the mother is not enough. She brought a weeper, a neighbor, Natalya Semyonovna. “And why are you shorties singing?” Natalya Semyonovna turned to everyone reproachfully. “At a wedding, you have to sing fibrous.” She drank beer, wiped her lips with the back of her hand and sang sadly: "The sun is setting, the divya age is passing by ..." The voice is high and clear, it sings slowly, diligently, and no, no, yes, let it explain something: so little believes that the content of the old saying is understandable to the current, shakeheads ... The groom, matchmaker, thousand man, boyfriend and all the guests from the groom's side came for the bride in a dump truck: there was no other free car at the flax mill where the bride and groom work. Before entering the village, the guests were greeted by a barricade - according to custom, a ransom should be taken for the bride. But, of course, the guys were trampling around in the cold (XNUMX degrees below zero) not because of a bottle of vodka. In the huge village of Sushinovo, there is still no electricity, no radio, no library, no club. And youth needs holidays! The groom, named Pyotr Petrovich, burst into the kitchen already drunk - they poured it so as not to freeze - and proud of himself beyond measure. The matchmaker solemnly seated the young. They brought "sweet pies", which are obligatory at northern rural weddings. Each invited family comes with its own pie - this is the same folk art in the North as carved platbands on windows, cockerels and skates on lids. Among the men at the feast very soon appeared typically Russian truth-seekers, standing up for justice, for happiness for everyone. The braggarts also showed up: the whole first evening an elderly collective farmer walked from table to table and boasted of his newly inserted plastic teeth. Immediately got drunk and went to twirl the groom's uncle. His wife Grunya, found herself a friend in misfortune, and all evening in the kitchen they poured out their souls to each other: either they complained about their husbands, or they were praised for their strength and fearlessness. Everything is going "as it should be," as Maria Gerasimovna wanted. She herself has no time to eat or drink. The women seated the accordionist on a high couch and chirped with choruses and shouts until the accordionist fell out of his hands. The young prince got drunk and began to swagger. And Maria Gerasimovna just creeps in front of her dear son-in-law, fawning, flattering: "Petenka, Petenka, Petenka!" And the prince swaggers, swaggers, tears his shirt. "Who are you?" He approaches Galya's weepy, rosy-cheeked face with a skinny fist. "Are you my wife or not? I'm Chapai! Is that clear?" When all the beer in the bride's house was drunk, the wedding went forty kilometers to the groom's homeland. In the morning, the bride, in the presence of guests, swept the floor, and they threw various garbage at her: they checked whether she knew how to manage. Then the bride - she was already called a young woman - carried pancakes around the guests and then distributed gifts to her new relatives. Everything that was sewn and embroidered for many weeks by the bride herself, her friends and mother. I. N. Slyusareva Victor Sergeevich Rozov (b. 1913) Looking for Joy Comedy (1957) Klavdia Vasilievna Savina lives in an old Moscow apartment. She has four children, all live with her. The elder Fedor is a chemist, candidate of sciences, recently married. His wife's name is Lena. Daughter Tatyana - she is nineteen years old - is studying at the institute. Eighteen-year-old Nikolai works in repair shops. The youngest, Oleg, is fifteen. In the morning, Lena rushes to the sale of Czech sideboards. They should soon be given a separate apartment, and therefore Lena spends all day waiting in line for beautiful, expensive furniture. The room in which the action of the play takes place is full of already bought furniture. The furniture is covered with covers and rags, and no one touches it, as Lena is afraid of "spoiling" something. She talks to her husband only about furniture and money, "grinds him and grinds him." Ivan Nikitich Lapshin and his son Gena visit the Savins. For several years now they have been coming to Moscow to visit Ivan Nikitich's brother, who is Savin's neighbor. Lapshin came to ask for "brews". Gene is embarrassed. He is in love with Tanya and is shy of his father, who would rather borrow from someone else than spend his own. Ivan Nikitich is still trying to marry his son and for this he bought an accordion for him, so that he would "lure the girls", because with the instrument "there will be respect." He believes that young people are growing up too smart, they began to talk a lot. At breakfast, he laughs at his son, telling everyone about him various funny and ridiculous details. Oleg sympathizes with Genya, and when Lapshin tries to lecture him too, he explodes and reprimands Lapshin. He gets offended and leaves. Oleg apologizes to Gena and says that he cannot stand it when people are insulted. Gena says that over time Oleg will get used to it. He dispassionately talks about how his father beats him and his mother. Oleg is horrified, and Gena says that "there is no wear and tear on tanned leather," he pulls out a hundred from his father's jacket and hides it. Oleg is horrified again, but for Gena everything is in the order of things. Leonid Pavlovich comes to Fyodor. He is thirty-two years old, he is a graduate student, he earns well, his parents are now in China. Leonid takes care of Tanya. Gena, seeing him, wants to leave, but Oleg stops him to look at the fish, the aquarium with which is on the window. Departing from the window, Oleg jumps over the new desk, at which Fyodor allowed Tanya to study, and knocks over the bottle of ink. Ink floods the table. Oleg is horrified. He and Gena are trying in vain to wipe the puddle. Gena is going to take the blame, but Oleg does not agree: Lena must understand that he did it by accident. Lena brings a sideboard. She beams, admires the thing and tells what she endured because of him. Oleg tries to talk to her, but she brushes it off, starts a conversation with Tanya about Leonid, persuades her to marry him, since he is a brilliant match. Oleg finally manages to tell everything. Before that, he takes the word from Lena that she will not scold him. But Lena, as if off the chain, calls Oleg a "reptile" and a "hooligan", and after learning that this happened because of the fish, she grabs the aquarium and throws it out the window. Oleg rushes after them into the yard, but does not have time: the cats eat the fish. Returning, weeping, he tears off the covers from the furniture, grabs the saber hanging over the sofa, and begins to cut things. Then he runs away. Gena and Kolya rush after him. Lena, like crazy, rushes from thing to thing. Fedor, confused, runs after her. Some things are taken out. Lena is bad. Uncle Vasya, the Savins' neighbor, promises to fix the damaged furniture. Claudia Vasilievna is worried that Oleg has run away from home. Leonid and Tanya are left alone. Leonid uses the moment to once again remind Tanya of his feelings. Tanya does not listen to him: she needs to speak out. She remembers how amicably and happily they once lived. Now all this has changed, as Fedor, whom everyone loved very much, has changed. Tanya is interested in how Fedor is treated at work. Leonid says that their team is an eternal squabble, a struggle. Fedor "dances at the same height, wanting to take everything from her." He became envious. According to Leonid, Fedor develops his behavior in life. Tanya is shocked and disappointed. Fedor tries to calm Lena. She reproaches her husband that he is accustomed to living in a "bughouse with a whole kagal", that he does not care about her, that everyone insults and hates her, and that she does not want to live here for a single day. leaves. Fedor tries to justify Lena in front of his mother. But she only regrets that her son is becoming different, a tradesman, that he has long abandoned his "cherished" business and it is unlikely that he will have the strength to continue it. He says that a good wife should first of all take care of the human dignity of her husband. Fyodor's name is Lena. The conversation is interrupted. Oleg and Gennady arrive, who hid Oleg in his room until the scandal subsided. Gena is taken away by his father to go home. Fyodor and Lena enter. Lena tries to beat Oleg. Fedor separates them. When Lena leaves, Oleg says that he will give all the money for the furniture when he grows up, and notices that Fyodor is crying. Gena comes and gives Oleg a new aquarium. Oleg at first rejoices, but, remembering that the fish were bought for the stolen hundred, he refuses the gift. Lena asks Leonid to let them live with Fedor until the fall. Leonidas agrees. Fedor is not happy about the move. Gena asks Fyodor for a loan of one hundred rubles. Lena refuses him, but under the persuasion of her husband, she still gives money. Gena brings her an accordion as a pledge. When Gena and Tanya are left alone, he gives Tanya perfume and confesses his love. Tanya is surprised by Gena's eloquence. She invites him to have tea with his father before leaving. Unexpectedly, Gena confesses to his father that he stole money from him, and gives him a hundred. Oleg runs into the corridor and brings the aquarium donated by Gena, puts it in its place. There is another argument at the table. Claudia Vasilievna is sure that Lena sells the best human qualities for things, that life is too short to leave everything you strive for, just to furnish an apartment. Tanya calls Lena a breakthrough. Lena says that they will never understand her and that it is better for them to live apart. Claudia Vasilievna against Fedya's move. Fedor hesitates, but under pressure from Lena and Leonid, he succumbs to them. He gives his mother his master manuscript and asks her to keep it. Lapshin, in anger that Gena confessed about the money in front of everyone, wants to beat him, but for the first time, he resists him. Gena is stronger than his father and from that moment forbids him to beat himself and his mother. Lapshin is surprised and very proud of his son's behavior. Tanya calls Gena to Moscow next year and promises to write. Leonid, Fedor and Lena leave. Yu. V. Polezhaeva capercaillie nest Drama (1978) Sudakov's apartment in Moscow. Its owner - Stepan Alekseevich - serves somewhere in the field of work with foreigners. His son Prov is finishing school. The father wants him to enter MIMO. Daughter Iskra works for a newspaper in the letter department. She is twenty eight years old. She is married. Iskra's husband Georgy (Egor) Samsonovich Yesyunin works with her father. Prov comes home with his friend Zoya. Zoya's mother is a saleswoman in a stall, and her father is in prison. Prov introduces Zoya to his mother Natalya Gavrilovna. She does not object to such an acquaintance of her son, she is more concerned about Iskra's condition - she has depression after a recent operation, besides, there are some problems with Yegor, which she does not talk about. Iskra takes to heart all the letters that come to the editor, trying to help everyone. Egor believes that you need to be able to refuse. Stepan Alekseevich returns home with an Italian and an interpreter. The foreigner really wants to look at the life of a "simple Soviet family." Such guests are a common thing with the Sudakovs. After dinner and exchange of souvenirs, the foreigner leaves. Sudakov tells the family the story of his colleague Khabalkin: his son committed suicide. In addition to mental trauma, this means the end of his career for him. Sudakov believes that now he will be appointed to replace Khabalkin. There's a rise coming. I have to go to the funeral, but he has things to do, so it would be better for his wife or son to go there. Sudakov, in order to please his son-in-law, tells him that he could also be appointed to Khabalkin's place. He believes that Yegor will go far, over the years he can replace Koromyslov himself. He remembers how quiet, timid and helpful Yegor was when Iskra first brought him into the house. Unexpectedly, Valentina Dmitrievna arrives. Sudakov hardly remembers that this is his school friend. She is not a Muscovite, she came with a request for help, she is in trouble: her youngest son, a fifth-year student at one of the Tomsk institutes, went to Poland with a group of students. There he fell in love with a Polish girl, did not come to spend the night in a hotel. Naturally, everything became known at the institute, and now Dima is not allowed to defend his diploma. Valentina Dmitrievna, crying, begs Sudakov to help Dima, because after this incident he withdrew into himself, walks gloomy, and she is afraid for him. Sudakov promises to help. Valentina Dmitrievna leaves, leaving a school photo as a keepsake. Spark goes out for a little walk. Natalya Gavrilovna tells her husband that it seems to her that Yegor is going to leave their house - to leave Iskra. Sudakov is sure that this is all nonsense. He goes to himself. A very interesting girl comes. Ego Ariadna Koromyslov. She came to Yegor under the pretext of preparing a term paper. Natalya Gavrilovna leaves them alone. This is the same girl for whom Yegor is thinking of leaving his wife. Yegor tells Ariadne about his past. From childhood, he sought to "crawl up", "break out into the people." And here she is - Iskra. Egor has always been half-starved, almost a beggar, and suddenly there is an opportunity to enter such a family. And of course, he could not miss this opportunity. He marries Iskra. Ariadne wants Yegor to tell his wife everything directly and go to her. Egor promises. Prov catches them kissing. Ariadne leaves. Prov gives Yegor his word not to tell anyone. Spark returns from a walk. Avoids her husband. Egor thinks that Prov told her something. Iskra goes to his father's office, where he keeps a collection of icons, kneels in front of the icons, whispers something. Yegor notices this, goes after her father. Sudakov makes a scandal, yells at his daughter. He is afraid that someone will find out that his daughter is praying - then the end of his career. Tries to make her daughter spit on the icons. And here Natalya Gavrilovna cannot stand it. She forces her husband to shut up, and Sudakov obeys. He knows that his wife is a strong woman, strong-willed (from the war she has a medal for courage and two military orders). Natalya Gavrilovna takes Iskra away. Prov kneels before the icons and asks Yegor to die. May Day morning. Valentina Dmitrievna sent a congratulatory telegram. Dima is not allowed to defend. Prov reproaches his father that he did not help. Yegor says that it was not necessary to violate discipline. The phone rings. Prov picks up the phone. This is Zoya. Prov is going to leave. The father asks who he is going to. Then Prov tells what kind of person Zoya is, from what family. Sudakov is furious. He forbids Prov to communicate with her, but he leaves. Natalya Gavrilovna defends them: she likes the girl. Reminds her husband of Kolya Khabalkin. Zolotarev arrives. This is a young man from Sudakov's work. Zolotarev congratulates Yegor on his appointment to Khabalkin's place. Sudakov has a bad heart: he did not expect Yegor to bypass him at work, and even on the sly. He and his wife move to another room. Doorbell. The spark opens and returns with Ariadna Koromyslova. Ariadna tells Iskra that Yegor no longer wants to live with them, but wants to marry her, that he never loved Iskra. Iskra calmly listens to all this and warns Ariadne to beware of Yegor: he will wean her from loving everything that she loves now, and if her father’s boss has a daughter, he will calmly exchange Ariadne for her, if it’s better for him. careers. In parting, she warns Ariadne that they will not have children: Yegor recently persuaded her to have a second abortion. Ariadne runs away, asking him not to tell Yegor that she was here. Enter Sudakov. Natalya Gavrilovna tells him that they had a daughter, Koromyslova, whom Yegor proposed to. For Sudakov, this is a huge shock. Iskra is going to fly to Tomsk to help Valentina Dmitrievna. In the meantime, she wants to move into her parents' rooms, and board up the entrance to Yegor's half. The phone rings. Sudakov is informed that Prov was taken to the police station because he stole some briefcase. Zoya, who came, says that her mother went to Prova to help out. Indeed, soon Vera Vasilievna brings Prov. In the police station, she knows everyone, and he is released on her word of honor. Sudakov believes that Prov got into the police on purpose to annoy his father. leaves. Prov says he did it so as not to end up like Kolya Khabalkin. They studied together. That day, Kolya wanted to say something to Prov, but the conversation did not work out. Now Prov blames himself for this. Prov, Zoya, and Natalya Gavrilovna are carrying Iskra's belongings to them. Egor arrives. He wants to talk to Sudakov about his appointment, but no one wants to talk to him, they don't notice him. Sudakov and his wife are going to visit old friends. At this time, two Negroes with an interpreter come to them. Noticing the black African masks that Sudakov hung instead of icons, the blacks begin to pray. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Sergei Pavlovich Zalygin (b. 1913) On the Irtysh Tale (1963) It was March in the year nine hundred and thirty-one. In the village of Krutyye Luki, the windows of the collective-farm office were burning until late - either the board was in session, or the peasants simply gathered and endlessly judged and argued about their affairs. Spring was coming. Sowing. Just today, the collective farm barn was completely filled up - this is after the floor was raised in the barn of Alexander Udartsev. The conversation now went on how not to confuse the seeds of different varieties. And suddenly someone shouted from the street: "We're on fire!" They rushed to the windows - a barn with grain was on fire ... They extinguished it with the whole village. The fire was covered with snow, the grain was pulled out. Stepan Chauzov was at work in the inferno. They pulled out of the fire as much as they could. But, and burned a lot - almost a quarter of the prepared. After they started talking: "But it caught fire for a reason. It couldn't happen by itself" - and they remembered about Udartsev: where is he? And then his wife Olga came out: "He is gone. He ran away." - "How?" - "He said that he was dressed up for the city. He got ready and the equestrian went somewhere." - "Maybe he's already at home?" Chauzov asked. "Let's go and see." Only old Udartsev met them in the house: "Well, get out of here, you damned ones! - And with a crowbar he moved on the peasants. - I'll kill anyone!" The men jumped out, but Stepan did not budge. Olga Udartseva hung on her father-in-law: "Dad, come to your senses!" The old man stopped, trembled, dropped the crowbar... "Come on, get everyone alive out of here," Chauzov commanded and ran out into the street. "Knock the wreath out of the basement, guys! Put the bed on the other side! And... pile on." The peasants rested against the wall, pressed on, and the house crawled down the slope along the beds. The shutters flew open, something cracked - the house hung over the ravine and collapsed down, crumbling. “The house was kind,” sighed Deputy Chairman Fofanov. “Where did it come from, our common life…” The excited peasants did not disperse, met again in the office, and a conversation began about what kind of life awaits them on the collective farm. “If the authorities continue to divide us into kulaks and the poor, then where will they stop,” Lame Nechai reasoned. After all, a man, he is the owner from the very beginning. Otherwise, he is not a man. And the new government will not recognize the owners. "The worker does not need property. He works on the whistle. And the peasant? And it turns out that any of us can be declared a kulak." Nechay said this and looked at Stepan, right? Stepan Chauzov was respected in the village - both for his thriftiness, and for his courage, and for his smart head. But Stepan was silent, not just everyone. And when he returned home, Stepan also discovered that his wife Klasha settled Olga Udartseva with their children in their hut: “You ruined their house,” said the wife. “Are you really going to let the kids die?” And Olga stayed with them until spring. And the next day, Yegorka Gilev, a peasant from the most unlucky people in the village, went into the hut: "I'm behind you, Stepan. The investigator has arrived and is waiting for you." The investigator began sternly and forcefully: "How and why was the house destroyed? Who was in charge? Was it an act of class struggle?" No, Stepan decided, it's impossible to talk about this - what does he understand in our life, except for the "class struggle"? And he answered evasively to the questions of the investigator, so as not to harm any of his fellow villagers. It seems that he fought back, and in the paper that he signed, there was nothing superfluous. It would be possible to continue to live normally, calmly, but then the chairman Pavel Pechura returned from the district and immediately - to Stepan with a serious conversation: "I used to think that collective farms were a rural matter. But no, they are dealt with in the city. Yes, how! And I realized that I was not fit. Not only a peasant's mind and experience are needed here. Here you need a strong character, and most importantly, to be able to handle the new policy. I'll stay chairman until spring, and then I'll leave. Stepan: Think about it. A day later, Egorka Gilev showed up again. He looked around and quietly said: "Lyaksandra Udartsev summons you to his place this afternoon." - "Like this?!" - "He is buried in my hut. He wants to talk to you. Maybe they, the fugitives, want to attract a man like you." - "What am I to do with them together? Against whom? Against Fofanov? Against Pechora? Against Soviet power? I am not an enemy to my children when she promises them life ... And you need to be beaten to death, Yegorka! So as not to push. From people like you - the main harm! “And what kind of life is this,” Stepan was angry, “one day is not given for a peasant to take a breath and take care of the household. He would lock himself in a hut, say that he fell ill, and lie on the stove.” But Stepan went to the meeting. He already knew what the meeting would be about. In the Pechura region, he received a task - to increase crops. Where to get seeds? The last one, left for food, to carry to the collective farm? .. There were people in the reading room - they couldn’t breathe. Koryakin himself came from the district. He was from Krutoluchensky, but now he is no longer a man, but a boss. The speaker, the investigator, began to talk about justice, about social labor, as the most correct thing: "Now the cars have gone, and who can buy them? Only the rich. So, and therefore - we must unite." “Yes, a car is not a horse,” Stepan thought, “it really requires a different management.” Finally, it came to seeds: "Conscientious people, devoted to our cause, I think, will set an example, from their personal stock they will replenish the seed fund of the collective farm." But the men were silent. "I'll give you a pood," said Pechura. "And how many Chauzov will give?" the speaker asked. Stepan got up. He stood. Looked. "Not a grain!" - and sat down again. Then Koryakin raised his voice: "To feed his family and the wife of a class enemy with children, there is grain, but not for the collective farm?" - "Because it is not, that there are more eaters." - "So, no grain?" - "Not a single one..." The meeting ended. And that very night the troika met to expose the kulaks. No matter how Pechura and the investigator defended Chauzov, Koryakin insisted: to declare a fist and evict him with his family. “I immediately sent Gilev to him, to say that Udartsev allegedly wants to meet with him, so even though he didn’t go to the meeting, he didn’t tell us anything. Clearly, the enemy.” ... And now Klashka collects junk on a long journey, Stepan says goodbye to the hut in which he grew up. "Where they will take you, what they will do with you - it's none of your business," he argues. : "Got it, Styopa? I'll take you. We are neighbors. And friends." Pechura ran to say goodbye when the sleigh had already started. “And why is such a price set for our, for the peasant’s truth?” Pechura asked Nechai. “And who is it for the future? Eh?” Nechai did not answer. S. P. Kostyrko Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov (1915-1979) Living and dead Trilogy (Book 1 - 1955-1959; Book 2 - 1960-1964; Book 3 - 1965-1970) Book one. LIVING AND DEADJune 1941, 176 Masha Artemyeva escorts her husband Ivan Sintsov to the war. Sintsov goes to Grodno, where their one-year-old daughter has remained and where he himself served for a year and a half as secretary of the editorial office of an army newspaper. Grodno, located not far from the border, gets into reports from the very first days, and it is not possible to get to the city. On the way to Mogilev, where the Front's Political Directorate is located, Sintsov sees many deaths, several times comes under bombardment, and even keeps records of interrogations carried out by the temporarily created "troika". Having reached Mogilev, he goes to the printing house, and the next day, together with the junior political instructor Lyusin, he goes to distribute a front-line newspaper. At the entrance to the Bobruisk Highway, journalists witness an air battle between a trio of "hawks" and significantly superior German forces and in the future they try to help our pilots from a downed bomber. As a result, Lyusin is forced to stay in the tank brigade, and Sintsov, who was wounded, ends up in the hospital for two weeks. When he is discharged, it turns out that the editors have already left Mogilev. Sintsov decides that he can return to his newspaper only if he has good material in his hands. By chance, he learns about thirty-nine German tanks shot down during the battle in the location of the regiment of Fedor Fedorovich Serpilin, and goes to the XNUMXth division, where he unexpectedly meets his old friend, photojournalist Mishka Weinstein. Acquainted with brigade commander Serpilin, Sintsov decides to stay in his regiment. Serpilin tries to dissuade Sintsov, because he knows that he is doomed to fighting in the encirclement if the order to retreat does not come in the next few hours. Nevertheless, Sintsov stays, and Mishka leaves for Moscow and dies on the way. ... The war brings Sintsov together with a man of tragic fate. Serpilin ended the civil war, commanding a regiment near Perekop, and until his arrest in 1937 he lectured at the Academy. Frunze. He was accused of promoting the superiority of the fascist army and exiled to a camp in Kolyma for four years. However, this did not shake Serpilin's faith in Soviet power. The brigade commander considers everything that happened to him an absurd mistake, and the years spent in Kolyma were mediocrely lost. Released thanks to the efforts of his wife and friends, he returned to Moscow on the first day of the war and went to the front, without waiting for re-certification or reinstatement in the party. The 176th division covers Mogilev and the bridge across the Dnieper, so the Germans throw significant forces against it. Before the start of the battle, division commander Zaichikov arrives at Serpilin's regiment and soon gets seriously wounded. The battle continues for three days; the Germans manage to cut off three regiments of the division from each other, and they begin to destroy them one by one. In view of the losses in the command staff, Serpilin appoints Sintsov as a political instructor in the company of Lieutenant Khoryshev. Having broken through to the Dnieper, the Germans complete the encirclement; having defeated the other two regiments, they throw aircraft against Serpilin. Suffering huge losses, the brigade commander decides to start a breakthrough. The dying Zaichikov transfers command of the division to Serpilin, however, the new division commander has no more than six hundred people at his disposal, of which he forms a battalion and, having appointed Sintsov as his adjutant, begins to leave the encirclement. After a night battle, one hundred and fifty people remain alive, but Serpilin receives reinforcements: he is joined by a group of soldiers who carried the banner of the division, artillerymen who came out from under Brest with a gun and a little doctor Tanya Ovsyannikova, as well as a fighter Zolotarev and Colonel Baranov walking without documents, whom Serpilin, despite his former acquaintance, orders to be demoted to the soldiers. Zaichikov dies on the very first day of leaving the encirclement. On the evening of October 1, a group led by Serpilin fought their way into the location of the tank brigade of Lieutenant Colonel Klimovich, in which Sintsov, returning from the hospital where he took the wounded Serpilin, recognizes his school friend. Those who have left the encirclement are ordered to hand over captured weapons, after which they are sent to the rear. At the exit to Yukhnovskoe highway, part of the column collides with German tanks and armored personnel carriers, which begin to shoot unarmed people. An hour after the disaster, Sintsov meets Zolotarev in the forest, and soon a little doctor joins them. She has a fever and a dislocated leg; the men take turns carrying Tanya. Soon they leave her in the care of decent people, and they themselves go further and come under fire. Zolotarev does not have enough strength to drag Sintsov, who was wounded in the head and lost consciousness; not knowing whether the political instructor is alive or dead, Zolotarev takes off his tunic and takes the documents, and he goes for help: the surviving soldiers of Serpilin, led by Khoryshev, returned to Klimovich and broke through the German rear with him. Zolotarev is about to go after Sintsov, but the place where he left the wounded man is already occupied by the Germans. In the meantime, Sintsov regains consciousness, but cannot remember where his documents are, whether in unconsciousness he himself took off his tunic with commissar stars, or whether Zolotarev did it, considering him dead. Without going even two steps, Sintsov collides with the Germans and is captured, but during the bombing he manages to escape. Crossing the front line, Sintsov goes to the location of the construction battalion, where they refuse to believe his "fables" about the lost party card, and Sintsov decides to go to the Special Department. On the way, he meets Lyusin, who agrees to take Sintsov to Moscow until he finds out about the missing documents. Dropped off not far from the checkpoint, Sintsov is forced to get to the city on his own. This is facilitated by the fact that on October 16, due to the difficult situation at the front, panic and confusion reign in Moscow. Thinking that Masha might still be in the city, Sintsov goes home and, finding no one, collapses on a mattress and falls asleep. ... Since mid-July, Masha Artemyeva has been studying at the communications school, where she is being trained for sabotage work in the rear of the Germans. On October 16, Masha is released to Moscow to collect her things, as soon she will have to start the task. Arriving home, she finds Sintsov sleeping. The husband tells her about everything that happened to him during these months, about all the horror that he had to endure during more than seventy days of leaving the encirclement. Masha returns to school the next morning and is soon thrown into the German rear. Sintsov goes to the district committee to explain his lost documents. There he meets Aleksey Denisovich Malinin, a personnel officer with twenty years of experience, who at one time prepared Sintsov's documents when he was accepted into the party, and who enjoys great authority in the district committee. This meeting turns out to be decisive in the fate of Sintsov, since Malinin, believing his story, takes a lively part in Sintsov and begins to fuss about restoring him to the party. He invites Sintsov to enroll in a volunteer communist battalion, where Malinin is the eldest in his platoon. After some delay, Sintsov ends up at the front. Moscow replenishment is sent to the 31st Infantry Division; Malinin is appointed political commissar of the company, where, under his patronage, Sintsov is enrolled. Near Moscow there are continuous bloody battles. The division retreats from its positions, but gradually the situation begins to stabilize. Sintsov writes a note addressed to Malinin outlining his "past". Malinin is going to present this document to the political department of the division, but for now, taking advantage of the temporary lull, he goes to his company, resting on the ruins of an unfinished brick factory; in a nearby factory chimney, Sintsov, on the advice of Malinin, installs a machine gun. The shelling begins, and one of the German shells gets inside the unfinished building. A few seconds before the explosion, Malinin falls asleep with fallen bricks, thanks to which he remains alive. Having got out of the stone grave and dug up the only living fighter, Malinin goes to the factory chimney, from which the abrupt sound of a machine gun has been heard for an hour, and together with Sintsov repels one after another the attacks of German tanks and infantry on our height. On November XNUMX, Serpilin meets Klimovich on Red Square; this latter informs the general of the death of Sintsov. However, Sintsov also takes part in the parade on the occasion of the anniversary of the October Revolution - their division was replenished in the rear and after the parade they are transferred beyond Podolsk. For the battle at the brick factory, Malinin is appointed commissar of the battalion, he introduces Sintsov to the Order of the Red Star and offers to write an application for reinstatement in the party; Malinin himself had already managed to make a request through the political department and received a response, where Sintsov's belonging to the party was documented. After replenishment, Sintsov is credited as the commander of a platoon of submachine gunners. Malinin gives him a testimonial, which should be attached to the application for reinstatement in the party. Sintsov is being approved by the party bureau of the regiment, but the divisional commission is postponing the decision on this issue. Sintsov has a stormy conversation with Malinin, and he writes a sharp letter about the Sintsov case directly to the political department of the army. The division commander, General Orlov, arrives to present awards to Sintsov and others and soon dies from a random mine explosion. Serpilin is appointed in his place. Before leaving for the front, Baranov's widow comes to Serpilin and asks for details of her husband's death. Upon learning that Baranova's son volunteers to avenge his father, Serpilin says that her husband died a heroic death, although in fact the deceased shot himself while leaving the encirclement near Mogilev. Serpilin goes to Baglyuk's regiment and on the way passes Sintsov and Malinin, who are going on the offensive. At the very beginning of the battle, Malinin is seriously wounded in the stomach. He does not even have time to really say goodbye to Sintsov and tell about his letter to the political department: the battle resumes, and at dawn Malinin, along with other wounded, is taken to the rear. However, Malinin and Sintsov accuse the divisional commission of delay in vain: Sintsov’s party file was requested by an instructor who had previously read Zolotarev’s letter about the circumstances of the death of political instructor IP Sintsov, and now this letter lies next to junior sergeant Sintsov’s statement about reinstatement in the party. Having taken the Voskresenskoye station, Serpilin's regiments continue to move forward. Due to losses in the command staff, Sintsov becomes a platoon commander. Book two. SOLDIERS ARE NOT BORNNew, 1943 Serpilin meets near Stalingrad. The 111th Rifle Division, which he commands, has already surrounded the Paulus grouping for six weeks and is waiting for the order to attack. Unexpectedly, Serpilin is summoned to Moscow. This trip is due to two reasons: firstly, it is planned to appoint Serpilin as chief of staff of the army; secondly, his wife dies after a third heart attack. Arriving home and asking a neighbor, Serpilin learns that before Valentina Egorovna fell ill, her son came to her. Vadim was not native to Serpilin: Fedor Fedorovich adopted a five-year-old child, marrying his mother, the widow of his friend, the hero of the civil war Tolstikov. In 1937, when Serpilin was arrested, Vadim disowned him and took the name of his real father. He renounced not because he really considered Serpilin an "enemy of the people", but out of a sense of self-preservation, which his mother could not forgive him. Returning from the funeral, Serpilin runs into Tanya Ovsyannikova on the street, who is in Moscow for treatment. She says that after leaving the encirclement, she was a partisan and went underground in Smolensk. Serpilin informs Tanya about the death of Sintsov. On the eve of departure, the son asks his permission to transport his wife and daughter from Chita to Moscow. Serpilin agrees and, in turn, orders his son to file a report about being sent to the front. After seeing off Serpilin, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Artemiev returns to the General Staff and learns that a woman named Ovsyannikova is looking for him. Hoping to get information about his sister Masha, Artemyev goes to the address indicated in the note, to the house where the woman he loved lived before the war, but managed to forget when Nadia married another. ... The war began for Artemiev near Moscow, where he commanded a regiment, and before that, since 1939, he served in Transbaikalia. Artemiev ended up at the General Staff after being seriously wounded in the leg. The consequences of this injury still make themselves felt, but he, weighed down by his adjutant service, dreams of returning to the front as soon as possible. Tanya tells Artemyev the details of his sister's death, about whose death he learned a year ago, although he did not stop hoping that this information was wrong. Tanya and Masha fought in the same partisan detachment and were friends. They became even closer when it turned out that Mashin's husband Ivan Sintsov took Tanya out of the encirclement. Masha went to the turnout, but she never appeared in Smolensk; later the partisans found out about her execution. Tanya also reports the death of Sintsov, whom Artemiev has long been trying to track down. Shocked by Tanya's story, Artemiev decides to help her: provide food, try to get tickets to Tashkent, where Tanya's parents live in the evacuation. Leaving the house, Artemiev meets Nadia, who has already managed to become a widow, and returning to the General Staff, once again asks to be sent to the front. Having received permission and hoping for the position of chief of staff or regiment commander, Artemyev continues to take care of Tanya: he gives her Machina outfits that can be exchanged for food, organizes negotiations with Tashkent - Tanya learns about the death of her father and the death of her brother and that her husband Nikolai Kolchin is in the rear. Artemiev takes Tanya to the station, and, parting with him, she suddenly begins to feel something more than just gratitude for this lonely man, rushing to the front. And he, surprised at this sudden change, thinks about the fact that once again, senselessly and irresistibly, his own happiness flashed by, which he again did not recognize and mistook for someone else's. And with these thoughts, Artemiev calls Nadya. ... Sintsov was wounded a week after Malinin. While still in the hospital, he began to make inquiries about Masha, Malinin and Artemiev, but he never found out anything. After being discharged, he entered the school of junior lieutenants, fought in several divisions, including in Stalingrad, rejoined the party and, after another wound, received the position of battalion commander in the 111th division, shortly after Serpilin left it. Sintsov comes to the division just before the start of the offensive. Soon the regimental commissar Levashov summons him and introduces him to journalists from Moscow, one of whom Sintsov recognizes as Lyusin. During the battle, Sintsov is wounded, but the commander Kuzmich stands up for him before the regiment commander, and Sintsov remains at the forefront. Continuing to think about Artemiev, Tanya arrives in Tashkent. At the station, she is met by her husband, with whom Tanya actually broke up before the war. Considering Tanya dead, he married another, and this marriage provided Kolchin with armor. Directly from the station, Tanya goes to her mother at the factory and there she meets the party organizer Alexei Denisovich Malinin. After being wounded, Malinin spent nine months in hospitals and underwent three operations, but his health was completely undermined and returning to the front, which Malinin so dreams of, is out of the question. Malinin takes a lively part in Tanya, assists her mother and, having summoned Kolchin, seeks to send him to the front. Soon Tanya receives a call from Serpilin, and she leaves. Arriving at Serpilin's reception, Tanya meets Artemyev there and understands that he has nothing but friendly feelings for her. Serpilin completes the rout by saying that a week after Artemyev arrived at the front as assistant chief of the operations department, "one impudent woman from Moscow" flew to him under the guise of his wife, and Artemyev was saved from the wrath of his superiors only by the fact that he, according to Serpilin, an exemplary officer. Realizing that it was Nadia, Tanya puts an end to her hobby and goes to work in the medical unit. On the very first day, she goes to receive our prisoner of war camp and unexpectedly runs into Sintsov there, who participated in the liberation of this concentration camp, and is now looking for his lieutenant. The story about the Death Machine does not become news to Sintsov: he already knows about everything from Artemiev, who read an article in the Red Star about a battalion commander - a former journalist, and who tracked down his brother-in-law. Returning to the battalion, Sintsov finds Artemiev, who has come to spend the night with him. Recognizing that Tanya is an excellent woman, whom one should marry if one is not a fool, Pavel tells about Nadia's unexpected arrival at the front and that this woman, whom he once loved, belongs to him again and literally tries to become his wife. However, Sintsov, who has harbored antipathy towards Nadia since school, sees a calculation in her actions: thirty-year-old Artemyev has already become a colonel, and if they don’t kill him, he can become a general. Soon an old wound opens up at Kuzmich, and commander Batyuk insists on his removal from the 111th division. In this regard, Berezhnoy asks Zakharov, a member of the military council, not to remove the old man at least until the end of the operation and give him a deputy in combat. So Artemyev comes to the 111th. Arriving at Kuzmich with the inspection. trip, Serpilin asks to say hello to Sintsov, about the resurrection of which from the dead he learned the day before. A few days later, in connection with the connection with the 62nd Army, Sintsov was given a captain. Returning from the city, Sintsov finds Tanya at his place. She has been assigned to a captured German hospital and is looking for soldiers to guard her. Artemyev manages to quickly find a common language with Kuzmich; for several days he worked intensively, participating in the completion of the defeat of the German VI Army. Suddenly he is summoned to the divisional commander, and there Artemyev witnesses the triumph of his brother-in-law: Sintsov captured a German general, division commander. Knowing about Sintsov's acquaintance with Serpilin, Kuzmich orders him to personally deliver the prisoner to the army headquarters. However, a joyful day for Sintsov brings great grief to Serpilin: a letter arrives announcing the death of his son, who died in his first battle, and Serpilin realizes that, in spite of everything, his love for Vadim has not died. Meanwhile, from the headquarters of the front comes the news of the surrender of Paulus. As a reward for her work in a German hospital, Tanya asks her boss to give her the opportunity to see Sintsov. Levashov, who met along the way, escorts her to the regiment. Using the delicacy of Ilyin and Zavalishin, Tanya and Sintsov spend the night together. Soon the military council decides to build on the success and conduct an offensive, during which Levashov dies, and Sintsova tears off the fingers on his once crippled hand. Having handed over the battalion to Ilyin, Sintsov leaves for the medical battalion. After the victory at Stalingrad, Serpilin is summoned to Moscow, and Stalin offers him to replace Batyuk as commander. Serpilin meets his son's widow and little granddaughter; the daughter-in-law makes the most favorable impression on him. Returning to the front, Serpilin calls at Sintsov's hospital and says that his report with a request to remain in the army will be considered by the new commander of the 111th division - Artemiev has recently been approved for this position. Book three. LAST SUMMERA few months before the start of the Belarusian offensive operation, in the spring of 1944, Army Commander Serpilin was hospitalized with a concussion and a broken collarbone, and from there to a military sanatorium. Olga Ivanovna Baranova becomes his attending physician. During their meeting in December 1941, Serpilin concealed from Baranova the circumstances of her husband's death, but she still learned the truth from Commissar Shmakov. Serpilin's act made Baranova think a lot about him, and when Serpilin got to Arkhangelskoye, Baranova volunteered to be his doctor in order to get to know this person better. Meanwhile, a member of the military council Lvov, having summoned Zakharov, raises the question of removing Serpilin from his post, arguing that the army preparing for the offensive has been without a commander for a long time. Sintsov arrives at Ilyin's regiment. After being wounded, having fought off a white ticket with difficulty, he got a job in the operational department of the army headquarters, and his current visit is connected with checking the state of affairs in the division. Hoping for a quick vacancy, Ilyin offers Sintsov the position of chief of staff, and he promises to talk to Artemiev. It remains for Sintsov to go to one more regiment when Artemyev calls and, saying that Sintsov is being summoned to the army headquarters, calls him to his place. Sintsov talks about Ilyin's proposal, but Artemiev does not want to breed nepotism and advises Sintsov to talk about returning to duty with Serpilin. Both Artemiev and Sintsov understand that the offensive is not far off, in the immediate plans of the war - the liberation of all of Belarus, and hence Grodno. Artemiev hopes that when the fate of his mother and niece is revealed, he himself will be able to escape at least for a day to Moscow, to Nadya. He did not see his wife for more than six months, however, despite all the requests, he forbids her to come to the front, since on her last visit, before the Kursk Bulge, Nadia greatly spoiled her husband's reputation; Serpilin then almost removed him from the division. Artemiev tells Sintsov that he works much better with Chief of Staff Boyko, who acts as commander in Serpilin's absence, than with Serpilin, and that he, as a divisional commander, has his own difficulties, since both of his predecessors are here, in the army, and often they call in their former division, which gives many ill-wishers of young Artemiev a reason to compare him with Serpilin and Kuzmich in favor of the latter. And suddenly, remembering his wife, Artemiev tells Sintsov how bad it is to live in a war with an unreliable rear. Having learned by phone that Sintsov is going to travel to Moscow, Pavel sends a letter to Nadya. Arriving at Zakharov's, Sintsov receives letters from him and Chief of Staff Boyko for Serpilin with a request to return to the front as soon as possible. In Moscow, Sintsov immediately went to the telegraph office to give a "lightning" to Tashkent: back in March, he sent Tanya home to give birth, but for a long time he had no information about her or her daughter. After sending a telegram, Sintsov goes to Serpilin, who promises that by the start of the fighting, Sintsov will be back in service. From the commander, Sintsov goes to visit Nadya. Nadia begins to ask about the smallest details concerning Pavel, and complains that her husband does not allow her to come to the front, and soon Sintsov becomes an unwitting witness to a showdown between Nadia and her lover and even participates in the expulsion of the latter from the apartment. Justifying herself, Nadia says that she loves Pavel very much, but she is not able to live without a man. Saying goodbye to Nadia and promising not to tell Pavel anything, Sintsov goes to the telegraph office and receives a telegram from Tanya's mother, which says that his newborn daughter has died, and Tanya has flown to the army. Having learned this gloomy news, Sintsov goes to Serpilin's sanatorium, and he offers to become his adjutant instead of Yevstigneev, who has married Vadim's widow. Soon Serpilin passes a medical commission; before leaving for the front, he proposes to Baranova and receives her consent to marry him at the end of the war. Zakharov, who meets Serpilin, reports that Batyuk has been appointed the new commander of their front. On the eve of the offensive, Sintsov gets leave to visit his wife. Tanya talks about their dead daughter, about the death of her ex-husband Nikolai and the "old party organizer" from the factory; she does not give her last name, and Sintsov will never know that it was Malinin who died. He sees that something is oppressing Tanya, but he thinks that this is connected with their daughter. However, Tanya has another misfortune that Sintsov does not yet know about: the former commander of her partisan brigade told Tanya that Masha, Artemyev’s sister and Sintsov’s first wife, might still be alive, since it turned out that instead of being shot, she was taken to Germany. Without saying anything to Sintsov, Tanya decides to part with him. According to Batyuk's plans, Serpilin's army should become the driving force behind the upcoming offensive. Under the command of Serpilin are thirteen divisions; The 111th was taken to the rear, to the displeasure of Divisional Commander Artemiev and his chief of staff Tumanyan. Serpilin plans to use them only when taking Mogilev. Reflecting on Artemiev, in whom he sees experience combined with youth, Serpilin credits the division commander and the fact that he does not like to flicker in front of his superiors, even in front of Zhukov, who recently arrived in the army, for whom, as the marshal himself recalled, Artemyev served in 1939 city of Khalkhin Gol. On June 111, Operation Bagration begins. Serpilin temporarily takes Ilyin's regiment from Artemiev and hands it over to the advancing "mobile group", which is tasked with closing the enemy's exit from Mogilev; in case of failure, the XNUMXth division will enter the battle, blocking the strategically important Minsk and Bobruisk highways. Artemiev rushes into battle, believing that together with the "mobile group" he will be able to take Mogilev, but Serpilin finds this inexpedient, since the ring around the city has already closed and the Germans are still powerless to break out. Having taken Mogilev, he receives an order to attack Minsk. ... Tanya writes to Sintsov that they must part because Masha is alive, but the offensive that has begun deprives Tanya of the opportunity to convey this letter: she is transferred closer to the front to monitor the delivery of the wounded to hospitals. On July 3, Tanya meets Serpilin's "jeep", and the commander says that with the end of the operation he will send Sintsov to the front line; Taking the opportunity, Tanya tells Sintsov about Masha. On the same day, she is wounded and asks her friend to give Sintsov a letter that has become useless. Tanya is sent to a front-line hospital, and on the way she learns about the death of Serpilin - he was mortally wounded by a shell fragment; Sintsov, as in 1941, brought him to the hospital, but the commander was already dead on the operating table. By agreement with Stalin, Serpilin, who did not learn about the assignment of the rank of colonel general to him, is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, next to Valentina Yegorovna. Zakharov, who knows about Baranova from Serpilin, decides to return her letters to the commander. Having escorted Serpilin's coffin to the airfield, Sintsov stops by the hospital, where he learns about Tanya's injury and receives her letter. From the hospital, he comes to the new commander Boyko, who appoints Sintsov chief of staff to Ilyin. This is not the only change in the division - Tumanyan became its commander, and Artemyev, after the capture of Mogilev, who received the rank of major general, Boyko takes to himself the chief of staff of the army. Arriving at the operations department to get acquainted with new subordinates, Artemyev learns from Sintsov that Masha may be alive. Stunned by this news, Pavel says that the neighbor's troops are already approaching Grodno, where his mother and niece remained at the beginning of the war, and if they are alive, then everyone will be together again. Zakharov and Boyko, returning from Batyuk, commemorate Serpilin - his operation is completed and the army is being transferred to the neighboring front, to Lithuania. O. A. Petrenko Vladimir Dmitrievich Dudintsev (b. 1918) Not by bread alone Roman (1956) Worker's settlement in Siberia. The first post-war year. The teacher Nadezhda Sergeevna Drozdova, Nadia, a tall, young, beautiful woman with constant sadness in her gray eyes, hears from her husband about a certain half-crazy Lopatkin. This eccentric, you see, invented a machine for casting iron pipes and is trying to introduce it into production, not realizing that the time of lone geniuses has passed. Nadia listens to her husband with confidence - Leonid Ivanovich Drozdov is the director of the plant, he is much older and more experienced than his wife. But soon, while visiting her student, Nadya finds herself in the dugout house of a simple worker, Pyotr Syanov, and here she unexpectedly meets Dmitry Alekseevich Lopatkin, a tall, thin man with a military bearing and the gray eyes of a sufferer. He lives in a tiny windowless room, spending days and nights at the drawing board. Lopatkin tells her how the idea of a machine was born to him, a graduate of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, a former front-line soldier, then a teacher. And the car worked. The project was approved in Moscow and Lopatkin was invited for development. having quit his job, he came to the capital, but two months later he heard from ministerial officials: there was no money for development. But Lopatkin knows that this is not true - the project was hacked to death by the Moscow professor Avdiev, who is trying to introduce his own machine. Lopatkin did not lose heart, he continues to work and fight - he writes complaints to various authorities ... Nadia understands that she is not crazy, but a real hero. Soon, Lopatkin's efforts bear fruit - after a second consideration of the issue, a positive decision was made in the ministry. And Lopatkin goes to the regional city, where his project will be finalized in the design bureau. At the same time, Drozdov, having received a post in the ministry, moved with his wife to Moscow. At the design bureau, Lopatkin collaborates with design engineers Uryupin and Maksyutenko, but soon discovers that the designers are trying to design their own car using his ideas. Lopatkin breaks their plans. Before leaving for Moscow, he receives a letter from Nadya, from which he learns that Avdiev's model has begun to be made at the factory. Lopatkin understands that the struggle will not be easy. Indeed, at a meeting of the technical council at the central institute "Giprolito", his project was failed miserably by Avdiev's henchmen - Fundator and Tepikin. Lopatkin writes a complaint to the ministry with his usual hand. Useless. The complaint gets to his enemies: Drozdov and Deputy Minister Shutikov. And again Lopatkin begins his struggle - he writes letters and complaints. By chance, Lopatkin meets a gray-haired, exhausted old man - a brilliant, but just as unrecognized and persecuted inventor, Professor Busko. Busko offers shelter and help. Two inventors begin to lead the ascetic life of lone heroes. They get up strictly according to the regime, have breakfast with tea and black bread and get to work, at exactly twelve Lopatkin leaves the house and goes through his daily eight-kilometer route, thinking and breathing fresh air; exactly at three he is already at home, and their joint dinner awaits him - a pot of boiled potatoes and a pickle. Sometimes the doorbell rings, and neighbors in a communal apartment pass a package from some high authority with another refusal. Glancing casually at the paper, the inventors continue their work. Money is earned by unloading wagons and spent as sparingly as possible. But one day the postman handed them a package with a dense pack of hundred rubles and a note without a signature: "Your money, use it at your discretion." Now, when a mysterious well-wisher gave them the opportunity to work without being distracted by everyday life, Lopatkin heard an inner voice that reminded him that he needed to live. He began to go to the theater and the conservatory. The music of Chopin, and then Bach, helped him to formulate important attitudes in life: a person is not born for fatty foods and well-being, this is the joy of worms. Man must be a comet and shine. "Here's my clue!" Once at the conservatory, Lopatkin saw a young, beautiful, plump girl with a suede mole and recognized Nadya in her. Their eyes collided, and Dmitri Alekseevich felt a pleasant suffocation. From a conversation with Nadia, he learned that she had nothing in common with her husband, Lopatkin’s heroism arouses her admiration, she was the donor of money and is ready to help further. For her, a permanent job was found - to write on a typewriter and send statements and complaints from inventors to several instances at once ... And now, finally, many months of work is over - a new version of the machine is ready, and Lopatkin decides that it's time to reappear on the surface. A familiar secretary arranges for him a meeting with the minister. And he, after listening to Lopatkin, ordered to send the project for review to the scientific enemy of Avdiev. At the new meeting of the technical council, Lopatkin's project passed with a bang. Work on preparation for implementation began to boil. And it was at that moment that the pipes cast by Avdiev's machine were brought from the plant. Work stops. But a long-time well-wisher Lopatkina candidate of sciences and director of the plant Galitsky comes to the rescue. Lopatkin is invited for a conversation to a certain institute, the director of which, in a general's uniform, offers to work on a secret order. Lopatkin can use his new invention, made in collaboration with Nadia. He continues to work at Giprolit, but in a closed laboratory. And again, at the final stage of the work, the sinister figures of Avdiev and Uryupin appear. A denunciation is being written in which Lopatkin is accused of criminal negligence: he allowed an outsider, Drozdov, to access secret documentation. Lopatkin is on trial, sentence: eight years in prison. It was decided to destroy the papers of the laboratory. But the honest engineer Antonovich saves part of the documents. Thanks to these documents, the case is being reviewed and Lopatkin is released ahead of schedule, after a year and a half. Lopatkin is back in Moscow and learns that, at the request of Galitsky, the engineers working under the direction of Lopatkin have recreated the destroyed drawings and the machine has already been built, it is successfully producing products. Avdiev, Shutikov, Uryupin and others, intoxicated with their victory, still do not know anything. They have other concerns: serious shortcomings of the machine made under the direction of Avdiev were discovered, it overspends the metal. And this overexpenditure brought serious damage to the country. Uryupin invites Shutikov to petition for a change in metal consumption standards, that is, to legalize marriage. At that moment, it became known about the existence of an economical Lopatkin machine. The offended inventor had the opportunity not only to prove his case, but also to accuse Shutikov, Drozdov and others of deliberate sabotage. Drozdov and company decide to seize the initiative. An order appears from the ministry, in which the blame for what happened is assigned to Uryupin and Maksyutenko, who even tried to hide the marriage and the criminal unprofitability of their car through a change in standards. Fundator and Tepikin are also brought to justice. Lopatkin's victory is complete. The minister gives him the opportunity to work at Giprolit and guarantees support. At a solemn banquet at the institute, Lopatkin meets his not completely defeated enemies, Avdiev, Shutikov, Fundator, Tepikin, and hears from them an offer to drink peace. "No," he replies with fighting enthusiasm. "We will still fight with you!" Lopatkin and Nadya went out onto the balcony covered with snow. “What are you thinking about?” Nadya asked. “About a lot,” Dmitry Alekseevich answered, seeing with his inner eye the endless road in the darkness, which beckoned with its mysterious curves and severe responsibility. “If I tell you: “Let's go further ...”?” Nadia didn't answer. Just got closer... S. P. Kostyrko Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918) One day of Ivan Denisovich Tale (1959, published in 1962 in a distorted form. Complete ed. 1973) The peasant and front-line soldier Ivan Denisovich Shukhov turned out to be a "state criminal", a "spy" and ended up in one of Stalin's camps, like millions of Soviet people who were convicted without guilt during the "cult of personality" and mass repressions. He left home on June 23, 1941 (on the second day after the start of the war with Nazi Germany), "... in February of the forty-second year on the North-Western (front. - P. B.) they surrounded their entire army, and from aircraft they They didn’t throw anything to eat, and there weren’t even those planes. They got to the point that they cut hooves from horses that had died, soaked that cornea in water and ate, "that is, the command of the Red Army abandoned its soldiers to die surrounded. Together with a group of fighters, Shukhov ended up in German captivity, fled from the Germans and miraculously reached his own. A careless story about how he was captured led him to a Soviet concentration camp, since the state security agencies indiscriminately considered all those who escaped from captivity to be spies and saboteurs. The second part of Shukhov's memoirs and reflections during the long camp work and a short rest in the barracks refers to his life in the countryside. From the fact that his relatives do not send him food (in a letter to his wife he himself refused to send parcels), we understand that the people in the village are starving no less than in the camp. His wife writes to Shukhov that the collective farmers make a living painting fake carpets and selling them to the townspeople. Leaving aside flashbacks and incidental details about life outside the barbed wire, the whole story takes exactly one day. In this short period of time, a panorama of camp life unfolds before us, a kind of "encyclopedia" of life in the camp. Firstly, a whole gallery of social types and at the same time bright human characters: Caesar is a metropolitan intellectual, a former filmmaker, who, however, leads a "lordly" life in the camp compared to Shukhov: he receives food parcels, enjoys some benefits during work ; Kavtorang - repressed naval officer; an old convict who was still in tsarist prisons and hard labor (the old revolutionary guard, who did not find a common language with the policy of Bolshevism in the 30s); Estonians and Latvians - the so-called "bourgeois nationalists"; sectarian Baptist Alyosha - the spokesman for the thoughts and way of life of a very heterogeneous religious Russia; Gopchik is a sixteen-year-old teenager whose fate shows that repression did not distinguish between children and adults. Yes, and Shukhov himself is a characteristic representative of the Russian peasantry with his special business acumen and organic way of thinking. Against the background of these people who suffered from repression, a figure of a different series emerges - the head of the regime, Volkov (obviously a "speaking" surname), who regulates the life of prisoners and, as it were, symbolizes the merciless communist regime. Secondly, a detailed picture of camp life and work. Life in the camp remains life with its visible and invisible passions and subtlest experiences. They are mainly related to the problem of obtaining food. They feed little and badly with a terrible gruel with frozen cabbage and small fish. A kind of art of life in the camp is to get yourself an extra ration of bread and an extra bowl of gruel, and if you're lucky, a little tobacco. For the sake of this, one has to go to the greatest tricks, currying favor with "authorities" like Caesar and others. At the same time, it is important to preserve one's human dignity, not to become a "degraded" beggar, like, for example, Fetyukov (however, there are few such people in the camp). This is important not even from lofty considerations, but out of necessity: a “descended” person loses the will to live and will surely die. Thus, the question of preserving the human image in oneself becomes a matter of survival. The second vital issue is the attitude towards forced labor. Prisoners, especially in winter, work hunting, almost competing with each other and brigade with brigade, in order not to freeze and in a peculiar way "reduce" the time from bed to bed, from feeding to feeding. On this stimulus the terrible system of collective labor is built. But nevertheless, it does not completely destroy the natural joy of physical labor in people: the scene of building a house by a team where Shukhov works is one of the most inspired in the story. The ability to work "correctly" (not overworking, but not shirking), as well as the ability to get extra rations for oneself, is also a high art. As well as the ability to hide from the eyes of the guards a piece of saw that turned up, from which the camp craftsmen make miniature knives to exchange for food, tobacco, warm clothes ... In relation to the guards, who constantly carry out "shmons", Shukhov and the other prisoners are in the position of wild animals: they must be more cunning and more dexterous than the armed men, who have the right to punish them and even shoot them for deviating from the camp regime. To deceive the guards and the camp authorities is also a high art. That day, which the hero narrates about, was, in his own opinion, successful - “they didn’t put them in a punishment cell, they didn’t kick out the brigade to Sotsgorodok (work in a bare field in winter. - P.B.), at lunchtime he mowed down the porridge (he got an extra portion. - P. B.), the brigadier closed the percentage well (the system for evaluating camp labor. - P. B.), Shukhov laid the wall cheerfully, he didn’t get caught with a hacksaw, he worked part-time with Caesar in the evening and bought tobacco. And he didn’t get sick, overcame. The day went by, nothing clouded, almost happy. There were three thousand six hundred and fifty three such days in his term from bell to bell. Due to leap years, three extra days were added ... ". At the end of the story, a brief dictionary of thieves' expressions and specific camp terms and abbreviations that are found in the text is given. P. V. Basinsky Matrenin yard Story (1959, publ. 1963) In the summer of 1956, at one hundred and eighty-four kilometers from Moscow, a passenger disembarked along the railway line to Murom and Kazan. This is a narrator whose fate is reminiscent of the fate of Solzhenitsyn himself (he fought, but from the front "was ten years late with the return", that is, he spent time in the camp, which is also evidenced by the fact that when the narrator got a job, every letter in his document "perepal"). He dreams of working as a teacher in the depths of Russia, away from urban civilization. But living in the village with the wonderful name High Field did not work out, because they did not bake bread and did not sell anything edible there. And then he is transferred to a village with a monstrous name for his hearing Peat product. However, it turns out that "not everyone is around peat extraction" and there are also villages with the names Chaslitsy, Ovintsy, Spudni, Shevertni, Shestimirovo ... This reconciles the narrator with his share, for it promises him "kondo Russia". In one of the villages called Talnovo, he settles. The mistress of the hut in which the narrator lodges is called Matryona Ignatievna Grigoryeva, or simply Matryona. The fate of Matryona, about which she does not immediately, not considering it interesting for a "cultured" person, sometimes in the evenings tells the guest, fascinates and at the same time stuns him. He sees in her fate a special meaning, which is not noticed by fellow villagers and relatives of Matryona. The husband went missing at the beginning of the war. He loved Matryona and did not beat her like village husbands beat their wives. But Matryona herself hardly loved him. She was supposed to marry her husband's older brother, Thaddeus. However, he went to the front in the First World War and disappeared. Matryona was waiting for him, but in the end, at the insistence of the Thaddeus family, she married her younger brother, Yefim. And suddenly Thaddeus returned, who was in Hungarian captivity. According to him, he did not kill Matryona and her husband with an ax just because Yefim is his brother. Thaddeus loved Matryona so much that he found a new bride for himself with the same name. The "second Matryona" gave birth to Thaddeus six children, but the "first Matryona" had all the children from Yefim (also six) died before they even lived for three months. The whole village decided that Matrena was "spoiled", and she herself believed in it. Then she took on the education of the daughter of the "second Matryona" - Kira, raised her for ten years, until she got married and left for the village of Cherusti. Matryona lived all her life as if not for herself. She constantly works for someone: for a collective farm, for neighbors, while doing "peasant" work, and never asks for money for it. Matryona has a huge inner strength. For example, she is able to stop a rushing horse on the run, which men cannot stop. Gradually, the narrator realizes that it is precisely on such people as Matryona, who give themselves to others without a trace, that the whole village and the whole Russian land still rests. But this discovery hardly pleases him. If Russia rests only on selfless old women, what will happen to her next? Hence the absurdly tragic end of the story. Matryona dies helping Thaddeus and his sons to drag a part of their own hut hung with Kira across the railway on a sleigh. Thaddeus did not want to wait for the death of Matryona and decided to take the inheritance for the young during her lifetime. Thus, he unwittingly provoked her death. When relatives bury Matryona, they cry more out of duty than from the heart, and think only about the final division of Matryona's property. Thaddeus doesn't even come to the commemoration. P. V. Basinsky In the circle the first Roman (1955-1968) On December 1949, XNUMX, at five o'clock in the evening, State Councilor Second Rank Innokenty Volodin almost ran down the stairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, jumped out into the street, took a taxi, rushed along the central Moscow streets, got off at the Arbat, went into a telephone booth near the Khudozhestvenny cinema and dialed the number of the American embassy. A graduate of the Higher Diplomatic School, a capable young man, the son of a famous father who died in the civil war (his father was one of those who dispersed the Constituent Assembly), the son-in-law of the prosecutor for special affairs, Volodin belonged to the highest strata of Soviet society. However, natural decency, multiplied by knowledge and intelligence, did not allow Innocent to fully put up with the order that exists on one sixth of the land. The trip to the village, to his uncle, who finally opened his eyes, told Innokenty both about what violence against common sense and humanity the state of workers and peasants allowed itself, and about the fact that, in essence, the cohabitation of father Innokenty with his mother was also violence. , a young lady from a good family. In a conversation with his uncle, Innokenty also discussed the problem of the atomic bomb: how terrible it would be if the USSR had it. Some time later, Innokenty learned that Soviet intelligence had stolen the drawings of the atomic bomb from American scientists and that these drawings would be handed over to agent Georgy Koval one of these days. This is what Volodin tried to inform the American embassy over the phone. How much they believed him and how much his call helped the cause of peace, Innokenty, alas, did not find out. The call, of course, was recorded by the Soviet secret services and produced the effect of a bombshell. Treason! It is terrible to report to Stalin (who these days is engaged in important work on the foundations of linguistics) about high treason, but it is even more terrible to report right now. It is dangerous to pronounce the very word "telephone" under Stalin. The fact is that back in January last year, Stalin ordered the development of a special telephone connection: especially high-quality so that it could be heard, as if people were talking in the same room, and especially reliable so that it could not be overheard. The work was entrusted to a scientific special facility near Moscow, but the task turned out to be difficult, all the deadlines have passed, and things are barely moving forward. And very inopportunely there was this insidious call to someone else's embassy. Four suspects were arrested near the Sokolniki metro station, but it is clear to everyone that they have nothing to do with it at all. The circle of suspects in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is small - five to seven people, but they cannot be arrested. As Abakumov's deputy Ryumin wisely said: "This ministry is not the food industry." You need to recognize the voice of the caller. There is an idea to entrust this task to the same special facility near Moscow. Marfino's object is the so-called sharashka. A kind of prison in which the color of science and engineering is collected from all the islands of the Gulag to solve important and secret technical and scientific problems. Sharashkas are convenient for everyone. State. In the wild, it is impossible to gather two great scientists in one group: the struggle for glory and the Stalin Prize begins. And here fame and money do not threaten anyone, one half a glass of sour cream and another half a glass of sour cream. All work. It is also beneficial for scientists: it is very difficult to avoid camps in the Land of Soviets, and sharashka is the best of prisons, the first and softest circle of hell, almost paradise: it is warm, well fed, you don’t have to work in terrible hard labor. In addition, men, securely cut off from families, from the whole world, from any fate-building problems, can indulge in free or relatively free dialogues. The spirit of male friendship and philosophy soars under the sailing vault of the ceiling. Perhaps this is the bliss that all philosophers of antiquity tried in vain to define. The Germanist philologist Lev Grigorievich Rubin was at the front a major in the "Department for the Decomposition of the Enemy Troops." From the POW camps, he chose those who were willing to return home to cooperate with the Russians. Rubin not only fought against Germany, not only knew Germany, but also loved Germany. After the January offensive of 1945, he allowed himself to doubt the slogan "blood for blood and death for death" and ended up behind bars. Fate brought him to the sharashka. The personal tragedy did not break Rubin's faith in the future triumph of the communist idea and in the genius of Lenin's project. An excellent and deeply educated man, Rubin, even in prison, continued to believe that the red cause wins, and innocent people in prison are only an inevitable side effect of a great historical movement. It was on this topic that Rubin had heavy arguments with his sharashka comrades. And he remained true to himself. In particular, he continued to prepare for the Central Committee the "Project for the Creation of Civil Temples", a distant analogue of churches. Here, ministers in snow-white robes were supposed to be, here the citizens of the country had to take an oath of allegiance to the party, the Fatherland, and their parents. Rubin wrote in detail: on the basis of what territorial unit temples are built, what dates are celebrated there, the duration of individual rites. He didn't chase fame. Realizing that the Central Committee might find it difficult to accept an idea from a political prisoner, he assumed that one of the free front-line friends would sign the draft. The main thing is the idea. In the sharashka, Rubin deals with "sound types", the problem of searching for the individual features of speech, captured in a graphic way. It is Rubin who is offered to compare the voices of those suspected of treason with the voice of the person who made the treacherous call. Rubin takes on the task with great enthusiasm. First, he is filled with hatred for a man who wanted to prevent the Motherland from seizing the most advanced weapons. Secondly, these studies can be the beginning of a new science with great prospects: any criminal conversation is recorded, compared, and the attacker is caught without hesitation, like a thief who left fingerprints on the safe door. For Rubin, cooperating with the authorities in such a case is a duty and the highest morality. The problem of such cooperation is solved for themselves by many other prisoners of the sharashka. Illarion Pavlovich Gerasimovich went to jail "for sabotage" in 30, when all the engineers were imprisoned. In 35, he left, his fiancee Natasha came to him on the Amur and became his wife. For a long time they did not dare to return to Leningrad, but they did - in June XNUMX. Illarion became a gravedigger and survived at the expense of other people's deaths. Even before the end of the blockade, he was imprisoned for his intention to betray the Motherland. Now, on one of the dates, Natasha prayed that Gerasimovich would find an opportunity to achieve offsets, to complete some super-important task, so that the deadline would be reduced. To wait another three years, and she is already thirty-seven, she was fired from her job as the wife of an enemy, and she no longer has the strength ... After a while, Gerasimovich has a happy opportunity: to make a night camera for door jambs to take pictures of everyone entering and leaving. Will do: early release. Natasha was waiting for his second term. A helpless lump, she was on the verge of extinction, and with her the life of Illarion would also fade away. But he answered nevertheless: "Putting people in jail is not my specialty! It's enough that they put us in prison ..." Counts on early release and Rubin's friend-enemy in disputes Sologdin. He is developing, secretly from his colleagues, a special model of the encoder, the project of which is almost ready to be put on the table of the authorities. He passes the first examination and receives "good". The path to freedom is open. But Sologdin, like Gerasimovich, is not sure that it is necessary to cooperate with the communist secret services. After another conversation with Rubin, which ended in a major quarrel between friends, he realizes that even the best of the communists cannot be trusted. Sologdin burns his blueprint. Lieutenant Colonel Yakonov, who has already reported Sologdin's successes to the top, is horrified by indescribable horror. Although Sologdin explains that he realized the fallacy of his ideas, the lieutenant colonel does not believe him. Sologdin, who has been in prison twice already, understands that a third term awaits him. “From here, half an hour’s drive to the center of Moscow,” says Yakonov. “You could take this bus in June - in July of this year. But you didn’t want to. Black Sea. Swim! How many years have you not entered the water, Sologdin?" Whether these conversations worked or something else, Sologdin concedes and undertakes to do everything in a month. Gleb Nerzhin, another friend and interlocutor of Rubin and Sologdin, becomes a victim of the intrigues that two competing laboratories lead inside the sharashka. He refuses to move from one lab to another. The work of many years is perishing: a secretly recorded historical and philosophical work. It is impossible to take him to the stage where Nerzhin will now be sent. Love is dying: lately, Nerzhin has been experiencing tender feelings for a free laboratory assistant (and part-time lieutenant of the MTB) Simochka, who reciprocates. Simochka has never had a relationship with a man in her life. She wants to get pregnant from Nerzhin, give birth to a child and wait for Gleb for the remaining five years. But on the day when this should happen, Nerzhin unexpectedly gets a meeting with his wife, whom he had not seen for a very long time. And decides to abandon Simochka. Rubin's efforts are bearing fruit: the circle of suspects of treason has narrowed to two people. Volodin and a man named Shchevronok. A little more, and the villain will be deciphered (Ruby is almost sure that this is Chevronok). But two people are not five or seven. A decision was made to arrest both (it cannot be that the second one was completely innocent of anything). At that moment, realizing that through his efforts an innocent person was going to the hell of the Gulag, Rubin felt terribly tired. He remembered about his illnesses, and about his term, and about the hard fate of the revolution. And only the map of China with the communist territory painted over in red, pinned by him to the wall, warmed him. No matter what, we win. Innokenty Volodin was arrested a few days before leaving for a business trip abroad - to that same America. With terrible bewilderment and with great torment (but also with some astonished curiosity) he enters the territory of the Gulag. Gleb Nerzhin and Gerasimovich leave for the stage. Sologdin, who is putting together a group for his developments, offers Nerzhin to petition for him if he agrees to work in this group. Nerzhin refuses. Finally, he makes an attempt to reconcile former friends, and now ardent enemies of Rubin and Sologdin. Unsuccessful attempt. Prisoners sent to the stage are loaded into a car with the inscription "Meat". The correspondent of the newspaper "Liberation", seeing the van, makes an entry in a notebook: "On the streets of Moscow, every now and then there are vans with food, very neat, sanitary and impeccable." V. N. Kuritsyn cancer corps Roman (1968) Everyone was gathered by this terrible corps - the thirteenth, cancerous. The persecuted and the persecutors, the silent and the vigorous, the hard workers and money-grubbers - he gathered and depersonalized everyone, all of them are now only seriously ill, torn from their usual environment, rejected and rejected everything familiar and dear. They now have no other house, no other life. They come here with pain, with doubt - cancer or not, live or die? However, no one thinks about death, it does not exist. Ephraim, with a bandaged neck, walks around and forces "Our Sikiverny case", but he does not think about death, despite the fact that the bandages rise higher and higher, and the doctors are more and more silent - he does not want to believe in death and does not believe . He is an old-timer, for the first time his illness let him go and now he will let him go. Rusanov Nikolai Pavlovich is a responsible worker who dreams of a well-deserved personal pension. I came here by accident, if you really need to go to a hospital, then not to this one, where there are such barbaric conditions (neither you a separate ward, nor specialists and care befitting his position). Yes, and the people crept into the ward, one Ogloyed is worth something - an exile, a rude person and a malingerer. And Kostoglotov (the same shrewd Rusanov called him a gobbler) doesn't even consider himself ill. Twelve days ago, he crawled into the clinic not sick - dying, and now he even has some kind of "vaguely pleasant" dreams, and it's a lot to go to visit - a clear sign of recovery. It couldn’t be otherwise, he had already endured so much: he fought, then he sat, he didn’t finish the institute (and now he’s thirty-four, it’s too late), they didn’t take him to the officers, he was exiled forever, and even now - cancer. You cannot find a more stubborn, corrosive patient: he is ill professionally (he studied the book of pathological anatomy), he seeks answers from specialists for every question, he found the doctor Maslennikov, who treats with a miracle cure - chaga. And he is already ready to go in search of himself, to be treated, like any living creature is treated, but he can’t go to Russia, where amazing trees grow - birches ... A wonderful way to recover with the help of tea from chaga (birch fungus) revived and interested all cancer patients, tired, lost faith. But Oleg Kostoglotov is not such a person to reveal all his secrets to these free, but not taught "wisdom of life sacrifices", who do not know how to throw off all unnecessary, superfluous and be treated ... Oleg Kostoglotov, who believed in all folk medicines (including chaga and the Issyk-Kul root - aconite), is very wary of any "scientific" intervention in his body, which annoys the attending physicians Vera Kornilievna Gangart and Lyudmila Afanasievna Dontsova. With the latter, Ogloyed is trying to have a frank conversation, but Lyudmila Afanasyevna, "yielding in small things" (cancelling one session of radiation therapy), with medical cunning, immediately prescribes a "small" injection of sinestrol, a drug that kills, as Oleg later found out, that only joy in the life that was left to him, having passed through fourteen years of deprivation, which he experienced every time he met Vega (Vera Gangart). Does a doctor have the right to cure a patient at any cost? Should the patient and does he want to survive at any cost? Oleg Kostoglotov cannot discuss this with Vera Gangart with all his desire. Vega's blind faith in science collides with Oleg's confidence in the forces of nature, man, in his own strength. And both of them make concessions: Vera Kornilievna asks, and Oleg pours out an infusion of the root, agrees to a blood transfusion, to an injection that destroys, it would seem, the last joy available to Oleg on earth. The joy of loving and being loved. And Vega accepts this sacrifice: self-denial is so in the nature of Vera Gangart that she cannot even imagine another life. Having passed through fourteen deserts of loneliness in the name of her only love, which began very early and ended tragically, having gone through fourteen years of madness for the sake of the boy who called her Vega and who died in the war, she only now fully convinced herself that she was right, it was today that she acquired a new, complete meaning. her many years of loyalty. Now, when a person has been met who, like her, endured years of hardship and loneliness on his shoulders, like her, who did not bend under this weight and therefore is so close, dear, understanding and understandable, it is worth living for the sake of such a meeting! A person has to go through a lot and change his mind before he comes to such an understanding of life, this is not given to everyone. Here is Zoenka, the bee-Zoenka, no matter how much she likes Kostoglotov, he will not even sacrifice his nurse’s place, and even more so he will try to save himself from a person with whom you can secretly kiss from everyone in the corridor dead end, but you can’t create real family happiness ( with children, floss embroidery, pillows and many more joys available to others). The same height as Vera Kornilievna, Zoya is much denser, and therefore seems larger, more portly. Yes, and in their relationship with Oleg there is no that fragility-understatement that reigns between Kostoglotov and Gangart. As a future doctor, Zoya (a student at a medical institute) perfectly understands the "doom" of the sick Kostoglotov. It is she who opens his eyes to the secret of the new injection prescribed by Dontsova. And again, like a pulsation of the veins - is it worth living after this? Is it worth it?.. And Lyudmila Afanasievna herself is no longer convinced of the impeccability of the scientific approach. Once upon a time, about fifteen or twenty years ago, radiation therapy that saved so many lives seemed to be a universal method, just a godsend for oncologists. And only now, the last two years, patients began to appear, former patients of oncological clinics, with obvious changes in those places where especially strong radiation doses were applied. And now Lyudmila Afanasievna has to write a report on the topic "Radiation Sickness" and sort out in her memory the cases of the return of "radiation workers". Yes, and her own pain in the stomach, a symptom familiar to her as an oncologist, suddenly shook her former confidence, determination and authority. Is it possible to raise the question of the doctor's right to treat? No, Kostoglotov is clearly wrong here, but even this does little to reassure Lyudmila Afanasyevna. Depression - this is the state in which the doctor Dontsova is, this is what really begins to bring her, so inaccessible before, to her patients. "I did what I could. But I'm hurt and I'm falling too." Rusanov's swelling has already subsided, but this news brings him neither joy nor relief. His illness made him think too much, made him stop and look around. No, he does not doubt the correctness of his life, but others may not understand, not forgive (neither anonymous letters, nor signals, which he was simply obliged to send on duty, on duty as an honest citizen, finally). Yes, he was not so much worried about others (for example, Kostoglotov, but what does he even understand in life: Ogloeed, one word!), As much as his own children: how to explain everything to them? One hope for daughter Avieta: that right, the pride of the father, clever. The hardest thing is with my son Yurka: he is too trusting and naive, spineless. It's a pity for him, how to live something so spineless. This very much reminds Rusanov of one of the conversations in the ward, even at the beginning of treatment. Ephraim was the main speaker: having stopped itching, he read for a long time some little book slipped to him by Kostoglotov, thought for a long time, was silent, and then he said: "How does a person live?" Content, specialty, homeland (native places), air, bread, water - many different assumptions fell down. And only Nikolai Pavlovich confidently minted: "People live by ideology and the public good." The moral of the book written by Leo Tolstoy turned out to be completely "not ours." Lu-bo-view ... For a kilometer it carries drooling! Ephraim thought, felt homesick, and left the ward without uttering another word. The wrongness of the writer, whose name he had never heard before, seemed to him not so obvious. Ephraim was discharged, and a day later they returned him from the station back, under the sheet. And it became quite sad for everyone who continued to live. That's who is not going to succumb to his illness, his grief, his fear - so this is Demka, who absorbs everything no matter what is said in the ward. He experienced a lot in his sixteen years: his father left his mother (and Demka does not blame him, because she "fell bad"), the mother was not at all up to her son, and he, in spite of everything, tried to survive, learn, get on his feet. The only joy left to the orphan is football. He suffered for it: a blow to the leg - and cancer. For what? Why? A boy with a too grown-up face, a heavy look, not a talent (according to Vadim, a roommate), but very diligent, thoughtful. He reads (a lot and stupidly), studies (and so much is missed), dreams of going to college in order to create literature (because he loves the truth, his "social life is very inflaming"). Everything is first for him: reasoning about the meaning of life, and a new unusual look at religion (Aunt Stefa, who is not ashamed to cry), and the first bitter love (and that one is hospital, hopeless). But the desire to live is so strong in him that even the taken leg seems to be a good way out: more time to study (no need to run to dances), you will receive disability benefits (enough for bread, but it will cost without sugar), and most importantly - alive! And Demkin's love, Asenka, struck him with an impeccable knowledge of all life. As if only from the skating rink, or from the dance floor, or from the cinema, this girl jumped into the clinic for five minutes, just to get checked out, but here, behind the walls of the cancer cell, all her conviction remained. Who would need her now, single-breasted, from all her life experience only came out: there is no need to live now! Demka, perhaps, said why: he thought up something for a long treatment-teaching (the teaching of life, as Kostoglotov instructed, is the only true teaching), but it does not add up to words. And all Asenkina's swimsuits, not worn and not bought, are left behind, all Rusanov's profiles are unchecked and unfinished, all Efremov's construction projects are unfinished. The whole "order of world things" has overturned. The first coping with the disease crushed Dontsova like a frog. Dr. Oreshchenkov no longer recognizes his beloved student, he looks and looks at her confusion, realizing how modern man is helpless in the face of death. Dormidont Tikhonovich himself, over the years of medical practice (both clinical, advisory, and private practice), over the long years of losses, and especially after the death of his wife, seemed to understand something of his own, something different in this life. And this otherness manifested itself primarily in the eyes of the doctor, the main "tool" of communication with patients and students. In his gaze, to this day, attentively firm, a reflection of some kind of renunciation is noticeable. The old man does not want anything, only a copper plate on the door and a bell available to any passer-by. From Ludochka, he expected greater stamina and endurance. Always collected Vadim Zatsyrko, who all his life was afraid to spend at least a minute in inactivity, lies in the ward of the cancer ward for a month. A month - and he is no longer convinced of the need to accomplish a feat worthy of his talent, leave people behind a new method of searching for ores and die a hero (twenty-seven years old - Lermontov's age!). The general despondency that reigned in the ward is not disturbed even by the variegated change of patients: Demka descends into the surgical room and two newcomers appear in the ward. The first one occupied Demkin's bed - in the corner, by the door. Owl - christened him Pavel Nikolaevich, proud of his insight. Indeed, this patient is like an old, wise bird. Very stooped, with a worn-out face, with bulging swollen eyes - "ward silent"; life seems to have taught him only one thing: to sit and quietly listen to everything that was said in his presence. A librarian who once graduated from an agricultural academy, a Bolshevik from the age of seventeen, a participant in the civil war, a man who renounced life - that's who this lonely old man is. Without friends, his wife died, his children forgot, his illness made him even more lonely - an outcast, defending the idea of moral socialism in a dispute with Kostoglotov, despising himself and a life spent in silence. Kostoglotov, who loved to listen and hear, will find out all this on one sunny spring day ... Something unexpected, joyful oppresses Oleg Kostoglotov's chest. It began on the eve of discharge, the thoughts of Vega delighted, the impending “release” from the clinic pleased, new unexpected news from the newspapers delighted, nature itself, which finally burst through with bright sunny days, turned green with the first timid greenery, delighted. I was pleased to return to eternal exile, to my dear native Ush-Terek. Where the Kadmin family lives, the happiest people he has ever met in his life. In his pocket are two pieces of paper with the addresses of Zoya and Vega, but it is unbearably great for him, who has experienced a lot and refused a lot, it would be such a simple, such earthly happiness. After all, there is already an unusually tender flowering apricot in one of the courtyards of the abandoned city, there is a pink spring morning, a proud goat, a nilgai antelope and a beautiful distant star Vega ... What people are alive with. T. V. and M. G. Pavlovets Daniil Alexandrovich Granin (b.1919) I'm going to the storm Roman (1962) The calm course of the working morning in laboratory No. 2 was disturbed by the sudden arrival of the chief of Corresponding Member A. N. Golitsyn. He badmouthed the employees, and then in a grumpy voice ordered Sergey Krylov to apply for the position of chief labor officer. Silence reigned. It was believed that Agatov would have to fill the vacancy. He had a reputation as a mediocre scientist, but a good organizer. Krylov's institute friend, the brilliant Oleg Tulin, a cheerful, sociable handsome man and a talented scientist, came to Krylov that morning. He came to Moscow to seek permission to study from an airplane, which is very risky. General Yuzhin allowed it with great difficulty, but all the same, Tulin had the feeling that it could not have happened otherwise - luck always accompanied him. But Krylov - did not accompany. While Tulin was with the general, the ambitious Agatov carried out a small intrigue, and as a result, Krylov left the institute. This crash at Sergei was far from the first. Having issued the calculation, he went to the place where he carried out research work in the winter. Natasha worked with him on the lake. Then Sergey wanted everything that happened between them to remain just a pleasant event. Now he knew that he couldn't live without Natasha. But on the spot I learned that Natasha Romanova, having taken her son, left her husband, a fairly well-known artist. Nobody had her address. With Krylov, in contrast to Tulin, everything always went through a stump-deck. In the first year, he barely pulled in all subjects, and an excellent student Tulin was attached to him. Sergey bowed before Oleg's abilities, while Oleg happily took care of a new friend. Sergei awakened interest in science. By the end of his third year, Krylov was expelled (he quarreled with one assistant professor), despite the protection of Tulin, who was then the Komsomol leader. The elder sister of the same Tulin arranged for Krylov to work at her plant as an OTK controller. Here his head was free, and he pondered several global physical problems. Comrades at work and the hostel considered him a weirdo. But they stopped when the chief designer of the plant, Gatenyan, took him to his office. Krylov began to be published in a technical magazine, they began to talk about him at the factory, prophesied a quick and brilliant career. Gatenyan organized a report for Krylov at a seminar at the Institute of Physics. After that, the guy filed a letter of resignation. There, at the institute, he first understood what real scientists are. They seemed to him a host of gods. Sitting astride ordinary chairs, smoking ordinary cigarettes, they exchanged phrases, the meaning of which he could understand only after hours of intense thought. Jupiter among these gods was Dankevich. Over time, Krylov became Dankevich's senior laboratory assistant, then a research assistant, and he was given an independent topic. He sat, surrounded by devices, turned on, turned off, adjusted - he worked continuously. He needed nothing more to be happy. But gradually it began to seem to Krylov that his boss was aiming for more than what he was able to achieve, that the work had come to a standstill and they would never achieve results. I tried to explain. He said that he would like to do atmospheric electricity. “I didn’t know that you were interested in quick success,” Dan said and signed a characteristic for Krylov for an annual round-the-world expedition on a geophysical ship. When Sergei returned, he learned that his girlfriend Lena was getting married and that Dankevich had died, and Dan's hypotheses were brilliantly justified, opening up huge opportunities. In this new situation, the deputy director of the institute, Lagunov, began to carry Krylov from one important meeting to another. To present to reputable people as a student of Dankevich ... The opportunity to make a career again dawned ahead ... But when Golitsyn, a coryphaeus in the field of atmospheric electricity, who arrived from Moscow, told him that shortly before his death, Dan asked him to hire Krylov, saying that he had left the approved and started dissertation. They worked gloriously with Golitsyn - until the moment when the old man offered him the position of chief labor officer and a move followed from Agatov. Parting with Golitsyn - and Krylov was again out of work. Tulin helped again: he invited me to work for him, in the newly approved experiment on controlling a thunderstorm. Krylov hesitated: much in Oleg's work seemed to him raw and unsubstantiated. But it was still worth the risk. And they flew south with a group of employees. A thundercloud is compared to an electric machine, an ordinary generator. But the cloud has no wires, and it is not clear how it "turns on" and why it stops. Agatov, who oversaw the work, interfered with work - he categorically forbade entering a thundercloud. Formally, he was right, but it was difficult to get decisive results outside the cloud. At some point, Tulin needed to go on a business date. Krylov was to lead the flight. Tulin left with Zhenya, and Richard, a member of their group, in love with the girl, sat indifferent, with fixed eyes. Then Krylov clearly remembered that, contrary to instructions, the guy's parachute was lying on the chair. The rendezvous was perfectly good. In flight, Agatov noticed that the batteries he was working with had run out of batteries, and switched them to power from the lightning detector batteries. There was no need for a pointer. After all, they had no right to go into a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm suddenly swooped in from the west and closed. The pointer did not work, the pilot could not orient himself. People began to jump out with parachutes. Richard rushed to pull out the cassettes with instrument records and noticed an unscrewed power connector for the pointer ... Only he and Agatov remained in the cabin. Agatov kicked the graduate student and felt Richard's hand, which was holding on to the straps of his parachute, loosen. Then he pulled himself up to the hatch and went over the edge. The day after Richard's funeral, a commission of inquiry arrived. Krylov, in the opinion of many, behaved stupidly - he argued that the pointer should have worked, he sought to continue the work. Tulin refused the topic. General sympathy was on his side - he was so talented, he was worried, and this Krylov ... They began to sympathize with Tulin even more when it became known that Krylov had gone against him. By the way, many believed that there would have been no accident if Tulin, lucky and lucky, had flown that day. Lagunov demanded that Krylov be put on trial. Yuzhin was offended that Tulin, in whom he believed so much, became limp. It was Tulin who had to stand firm, and not this simpleton Krylov. Topic closed. Lucky Tulin was taken to work on satellites. And Krylov, oddly enough, continued to work on a closed topic. In parting, his lucky friend tried to explain to him: the authorities would not allow him to continue the experiment. Ah, Krylov is only interested in science? But in the best case, everything will have to start from scratch. All right, he, Tulin, will pull him out of another puddle later. Krylov now clearly understood that his former friend had compromised, because he needed success, recognition, fame, as if a scientific result was not enough for a scientist. Every day Krylov sat down to work. At times it was hopeless, but soon things became clear. Then he showed the results to Golitsyn. Soon it became known that Academician Likhov, Golitsyn and some others demanded the restoration of the experiment. And then the permission was given, signed, approved and certified. Krylov learned that he would meet Natasha on the expedition. And then I accidentally met Golitsyn. He asked: how are you? “Wonderful,” said Krylov, “an excellent group is being selected.” “Who?” asked Golitsyn. “I am the only one. But a strong, cohesive team.” “And Richard,” he thought. I. N. Slyusareva Alexander Moiseevich Volodin (b.1919) five evenings Play (1959) The action takes place in Leningrad. Evening first. Zoya and Ilyin are sitting in the room. Zoya is a saleswoman in a grocery store. Ilyin is on vacation in Leningrad, he lives somewhere in the North. Vacation ends - leaving soon. He tells Zoya that in the next house, above the pharmacy, lived his first love, a beauty, whom her friends called Zvezda. He corresponded with her throughout the war, and then stopped writing. Ilyin wants to see what she is now. He promises Zoya to return soon, quickly gets ready and goes to find out if she still lives there. Tamara's room. At first, she cannot remember Ilyin, only the passport shown to him explains everything. Tamara tells him that she works as a foreman at the Red Triangle, that her work is interesting, responsible, that she lives with her nephew Slava. But there is no sister Lucy - she died in the blockade. Slava is studying at the technological school, where Ilyin studied before the war. Ilyin says that he works as a chief engineer at a chemical plant in Podgorsk. This is one of the largest factories in the Union. And here - on a business trip. For three or four days. Tamara invites him to live these days with them on the condition that he will not bring anyone here. Ilyin agrees and goes into a small room. Tamara goes to bed. Katya and Slava enter the apartment. Tamara makes a remark to them that it is already midnight, that it is not good for young girls to behave this way, that Katya distracts Slava from classes. Katya in response says that Slava gets deuces not because of her, but because of her neighbor Lidochka, with whom Slava quarreled and who therefore does not give him her notes. Katya leaves. Tamara tries to convince Slava, but Slava says that he is saturated with theory. Ilyin enters and listens. This is unpleasant for Slava, so he immediately agrees with Ilyin that it's time to sleep, and goes into a small room with a folding bed. Ilyin tells Slava their story with Tamara and promises to let seven skins off Slava if he offends Tamara in his presence. He says that he intends to provide this woman with a happy life, at least for the days that she lives here. Second evening. Ilyin, Slava and Katya are festively cleaning the whole apartment for Tamara's arrival. Tamara, who came, at first does not like that someone is in charge of her house without her, but then she gladly invites everyone to the table - to have dinner. When Katya and Slava leave, Tamara sings a song with a guitar that she and Ilyin sang many years ago: “You are my dear ...” Suddenly she says that it would be terrible if she married someone. Ilyin asks to repeat, but Tamara does not answer. The light goes out in the room. Evening the third. Katya, who works on the switchboard, overhears Ilyin telling Zoya that he can't come. The action is transferred to Tamara's room. Ilyin is about to leave and calls Tamara to go with him, however, not to Podgorsk, but to the North, where he thinks to get a job as a driver, leaving his engineering. Tamara does not understand why he should leave everything and go to the North, and refuses the invitation. Ilyin sends her to the store under the pretext of buying him food for the journey, and he leaves without saying goodbye. Slava forbids Tamara to catch up with the departed Ilyin. He doesn't want Tamara to humiliate herself. Evening the fourth. The room of Timofeev, a friend of Ilyin. Tamara is looking for Ilyin here. Hearing her voice, he asks Timofeev not to betray him and hides. Timofeev tells Tamara that he has not seen Ilyin for a long time. At this time, Timofeev receives a call from the chemical plant, from Podgorsk. Tamara learns that Ilyin told her a lie about his life, having appropriated Timofeev's biography, that in fact he is a driver in the North. Timofeev considers Ilyin careless, but Tamara defends him fervently. She leaves her address for Ilyin and leaves. Timofeev advises Ilyin to catch up with Tamara and beg her forgiveness. For Ilyin, this is out of the question. He's leaving. Evening fifth. Katya tells the worried Tamara about Zoya's existence. Tamara decides to look for Ilyin there. However, Ilyin broke up with Zoya. Tamara does not find him. Zoya speaks insultingly to her, and Tamara leaves without achieving anything. Katya is looking for Ilyin at the station. Ilyin wants to get drunk before leaving. Katya tries to stop him, then starts drinking with him. Katya tells him about Slava, Ilyin tells her about Tamara, about how she saw him off to the front, and finally tells the whole truth about herself. At this time, Tamara tells Slava the same story about their farewell. Katya comes. She is drunk. He gives Slava a notebook of notes, which she copied for him in one night. Tamara puts her on the bed. Timofeev arrives. He is looking for Ilyin. It is taken to repair a burned-out reflector. Here comes Ilyin. He says that he is not a loser, that he is useful to society, that he is a free and happy person. Tamara tells him that she knows everything and that she is proud of him. Reminds Ilyin that he called her to the North with him. Now she is ready to go. Ilyin kisses her hands and promises that she will never regret it. Tamara, either rejoicing or fearing for her happiness, wishes aloud that there would be no war. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Elder sister Play (1961) Sisters live in Leningrad - Nadya and Lida Ryazaev. They were left without parents early and grew up in an orphanage. Now Nadia works at a construction site and studies at a technical school. Linda is a schoolgirl. Arriving home one day, Nadya finds her school friend Kirill at Lida's. They argue about happiness. Lida believes that happiness lies in work, when you work not for yourself, but for others. However, when Cyril asks her if she herself is happy, Lida answers "no." Uncle Ryazaevs comes - ears. He believes that Cyril's philosophizing about life is "handicraft". Kirill argues with him and eventually leaves. Suddenly, a certain Ogorodnikov appears. He was summoned to the party committee and accused of pursuing Nadia with his courtship. Nadia explains that she was just fantasizing, telling her friends about him. Ogorodnikov demands that she explain this to his wife. He dials a phone number and hands it to Nadia. Nadia listens to everything and admits that she was joking. Ogorodnikov leaves without saying goodbye. Ukhov, angered by Nadya's antics, leaves after him. Left alone, the girls begin to read "War and Peace" aloud. Lida graduates from school and is going to enter the theater school according to Nadya's desire. She is afraid that she will not succeed, but Nadia is sure that her sister has a huge talent. The theater patronized their orphanage, they were often taken to performances, and she always remembered how Lida's eyes burned then. Now she helps her sister prepare a monologue and with all her soul wants her to pass the selection. The action is transferred to the theater school, where exams are taking place. Lida is worried that she doesn't know anything and doesn't remember anything. Nadia almost pushes her into the office, where the commission is receiving. When Lida leaves after some time, it is clear that she did not pass. Nadia doesn't believe her. She goes to speak with the commission herself, in which the director Vladimirov sits, with whom Nadia was once familiar. Vladimirov remembers her and demands that she read the monologue. Nadia does not listen to him and persuades him to accept her sister. Vladimirov stands his ground. Then Nadia reads the only thing she remembers by heart - an excerpt from an article about the theater. Returning home, where their ears are already waiting for them, the girls talk about the fact that Nadia passed the selection, but Lida did not. Uncle persuades Nadya not to leave the technical school and work, says that this is a profession, and you can do theater at your leisure, that artists almost always have difficult times, there are no roles, there are no plays, there is nothing, he asks Nadya to think about her sister - for one they can't live on a scholarship. Nadia agrees: unfortunately, he is right. Two years pass. Lida is in bed, she is sick: the consequences of a ski trip organized by Kirill. Cyril, who came to visit her, listens to the numerous reproaches of the sisters. Ukhov is coming. He kicks Kirill out so that he no longer dares to approach Lida. Lida tries to catch up with him, but Ukhov forcibly puts her back into bed. The doorbell is ringing. Ukhov brings a shy man in his thirties. This is Vladimir Lvovich, with whom Ukhov wanted to introduce Nadya, hoping that marriage could grow out of this acquaintance. Vladimir asks Nadia to tell about herself, but she does not want to. She directly tells Vladimir that it is better for him to leave. The indignant ear also leaves. Nadya apologizes to Lida for letting Kirill get kicked out, however, she thinks it will be better this way. She says that she only wants happiness for Lida, recalls their childhood and does not believe that none of this can be returned. Two more years pass. Kirill and Lida meet again, only Kirill is now married. He hides his relationship with Lida from his wife. For Cyril, this situation is disgusting. He hates lies, but systematically lies to his wife. But he cannot lose everything that connects him with Lida. Lida doubts whether this is love, but she does not blame Kirill for anything. Ukhov asks Nadia not to let Cyril into the house, Nadia does not listen to him. She went to the theater and asked for a small role for herself: she doesn’t care which one - as long as they give at least something. Vladimirov tells her that she has lost her individuality. Unexpectedly, Kirill's wife, Shura, comes. She is looking for a husband as she was offered concert tickets. She is a teacher, she has a cheerful character, she is a very good person. Cyril and Lida arrive. Nadia promises the departing Shura that Kirill will not come here again. Lida tells her sister that she will not live the way she wants, accuses her sister of driving Kirill away, says that common sense does not bring happiness. Nadia slaps Lida in the face in anger, then says that she is to blame and has no right to demand anything from them and Kirill. She notices that she has all the words and thoughts, like Ukhov. Linda is about to leave. Nadia tries to keep her, but she still leaves. Nadia collapsed on the bed, shakes her head and repeats only one thing: "What to do?" Yu. V. Polezhaeva Boris Isaakovich Balter (1919-1974) Goodbye boys Tale (1962) We were in ninth grade that spring. Each of us had plans for the future. I (Volodya Belov), for example, was going to become a geologist. Sascha Krieger had to go to medical school because his father was a doctor. Vitka Anikin wanted to become a teacher. Sasha and Vitka were friends with Katya and Zhenya. I am with Inka Ilyina; she was two years younger than us. We lived in a city on the Black Sea coast. After the final exam in mathematics, the three of us and Pavel Baulin, a sailor from the port (he was the champion of the Crimea in boxing), were summoned to the Komsomol city committee and offered to enter a military school. We agreed. But what will our parents say? Although I was calm for my mother. I was proud of my mother, her fame in the city, I was proud that she was in the royal prison and was serving a link. My sisters Lena and Nina worked in the Arctic. The eldest, Nina, was married. Her husband Seryozha was already commanding a squadron at the age of eighteen, then he studied at the workers' faculty, graduated from the Industrial Academy. He was a geologist. Vitka woke me up in the morning. There was no need to ask him about the conversation with his father: there was a purple bruise under his right eye. The fact is that his father, Uncle Petya, really lived with a dream of seeing his son as a teacher. When we went for Sasha, they were shouting in his apartment. "The state needs your son," his father shouted. "This is his and our happiness." - "Let this bandit and his party mother take such happiness for themselves ..." - answered the mother. By "bandit" I meant, of course, me. Sashka came up with a way out: to talk to the Komsomol secretary Alyosha Pereverzev, so that there would be an article about us in the city newspaper "Kurortnik". And then the parents will not stand it and agree to let us go We wandered around the city together with Inca. I suddenly saw something that I had not noticed before: the oncoming men were staring at her intently. "I want everything to be in the past, so that you graduate from college ... Now we would go to our home. Do you understand?" Inka said. We entered the entrance. Her eyes glowed in the darkness. Then Inka's lips touched my lips. I thought I was falling. After the last exam, we decided to become finally adults. We confirmed the firmness of this decision by the fact that we left the school on our hands. On the way to the city committee, we suddenly decided that it was time for us to smoke, and bought a box of "Northern Palmyra". We thought that such sea guys like us would be sent only to the sea school. A reasonable world, the only one worthy of man, was embodied in our country. The rest of the planet was waiting for release from suffering. We believed that the mission of the liberators would fall on our shoulders. Sasha asked me: "Are you already kissing Inka?" And I suddenly realized: Sasha and Katya have been kissing for a long time, and Vitka and Zhenya too. And I had no idea! In the evening we went to the kursaal to listen to the king of the ukulele John Denker. I didn't like it in the afternoon when Inka said that she met him on the beach. And at the concert, I clearly understood: among the many voices, he heard Inka's voice and sang what she asked. The street we were returning to ended in a wasteland. And our girls (they always walked in front) heard a woman screaming in the wasteland. Everyone in the city knew that Stepik's gang was operating in the wasteland, raping single women. Then we saw Stepik come out from around the corner. There were still people with him. We helped Katya and Zhenya over the fence, and they ran away to the sanatorium. Sasha was beaten with brass knuckles, apparently they hit me on the head: my tooth was broken, but my chin was intact. It would have been worse, but Inka, it turns out, was running after the boxer Baulin, and he and his friends helped us out. We celebrated the end of school in the restaurant "Float". In the afternoon they were waiting for us on the beach, but Inka and I climbed into the most remote part of the wasteland. "I can't leave you like this," I told Inka. And we all happened. An article about us appeared in Kurortnik, and the parents could not stand it. We were given orders: Vitka and I got an infantry school. And Sasha - Naval Medical Academy. Then I will be destined to find out that Vitka was killed near Novo-Rzhev in 41, and Sasha was arrested in 52. He died in prison: his heart could not stand it. When our train started, my mother appeared on the platform: she was late for seeing me off because of the bureau. I never saw her again - even dead ... Behind the station on an empty road, I spotted a small figure, went down, hung on the railing. Close, under their feet, the earth flew back. "Inca, my Inca!" The wind pushed the words, and the roar of the train drowned out the voice. I. N. Slyusareva Konstantin Dmitrievich Vorobyov (1919-1975) This is us, Lord! Tale (1943) Lieutenant Sergei Kostrov in the fall of 1941 was taken prisoner. After keeping the prisoners for several days in the basements of the destroyed Klin glass factory, they, built five people in a row, are escorted along the Volokolamsk highway. From time to time, shots are heard - the Germans are shooting the wounded who have fallen behind. Sergey walks next to a bearded elderly prisoner - Nikiforych, whom he met last night. Nikiforich has crackers in his duffel bag, one of which he offers to Sergei, and an ointment that helps with beatings - he smeared Sergei's broken temple with it. When the column passes through the village, the old woman throws cabbage leaves to the prisoners, which the hungry prisoners greedily grab. Suddenly, an automatic burst is heard, the old woman falls, the prisoners fall, and Nikiforych, mortally wounded, says to Sergei: “Take a bag ... my son looks like you ... run ... " Sergei with a column of prisoners reaches the Rzhev camp and only on the seventh day receives a tiny piece of bread: for twelve people a day one loaf of bread weighing eight hundred grams is given out. Sometimes prisoners receive a gruel consisting of slightly heated water whitened with oatmeal waste. Every morning, those who died during the night are carried out of the barracks. Sergei gets typhus, and he, sick, with a temperature of over forty, is thrown from the upper bunk by the inhabitants of the barracks in order to take a good place: "he will die anyway." However, two days later, Sergei crawls out from under the lower bunk, dragging his right weaned leg, and in a helpless whisper asks to free his place. At this moment, a man in a white coat enters the barracks - this is Dr. Vladimir Ivanovich Lukin. He transfers Sergei to another barracks, where about twenty commanders, sick with typhus, lie behind a fence; brings him a bottle of alcohol and tells him to rub his unconscious leg. In a few weeks, Sergei can already step on his foot. The doctor, working in the camp dispensary, carefully looks for his people among the prisoners in order to arrange an escape by the summer with a large armed group. But it turns out differently: the captured commanders, including Sergei, are transferred to another camp - to Smolensk. Sergei and his new friend Nikolaev are constantly looking for an opportunity to escape here, but the opportunity still does not appear. The prisoners are again taken somewhere, and this time, apparently, far away: each is given a whole loaf of bread from sawdust, which is a four-day norm. They are loaded into hermetically sealed wagons without windows, and by the evening of the fourth day the train arrives in Kaunas. The column of prisoners at the entrance to the camp is met by SS men armed with iron shovels, who, with a whoop, pounce on the exhausted prisoners and begin to chop them with shovels. Nikolaev dies in front of Sergei's eyes. A few days later, the guards take one hundred prisoners to work outside the camp; Sergei and another prisoner, still a boy, named Vanyushka, try to escape, but they are overtaken by escorts and severely beaten. After fourteen days in the punishment cell, Sergei and Vanyushka are sent to a penal camp located not far from Riga - the Salaspils camp "Death Valley". Sergey and Vanyushka do not leave hope of escape here either. But a few days later they are sent to Germany. And then, knocking the bars off the car window, Sergei and Vanyushka jump out of the car at full speed. Both miraculously survive, and their wanderings through the forests of Lithuania begin. They go at night, heading east. From time to time the fugitives go into the houses - to ask for food. In case it suddenly turns out that policemen live in the house, in their pockets there are always large round stones-pebbles. In one house, a working girl gives them homemade cheese, in another - bread, lard, matches. One day, on the day when Vanyushka turned seventeen, they decide to arrange a "holiday" for themselves: ask for potatoes in a house standing on the edge of the forest, cook it with mushrooms and rest not for two hours, as usual, but for three. Vanyushka goes for potatoes, and Sergey gathers mushrooms. After some time, Sergei, worried about the absence of Vanyushka, crawls up to the house like a plastuna, looks out the window, sees that Vanyushka is not there, and understands that he is lying tied up in the house! Sergei decides to set fire to the house in order to save Vanyushka from the inevitable torture in the Gestapo. Sergey has been walking alone for two weeks. Getting food, he uses a trick that has saved his life more than once: entering the house, he asks for bread for eight: "My seven comrades are behind the house." But then autumn comes, the leg hurts more and more, less and less it is possible to go through the night. And one day Sergei does not have time to hide for the day, he is detained by the police and taken to the Subachai prison, and then transferred to the Panevezys prison. Here, in the same cell with Sergei, Russians are sitting, who, judging by his appearance, suggest that he is forty years old, while he is not yet twenty-three. Several times Sergei is taken for interrogation by the Gestapo, he is beaten, he loses consciousness, he is again interrogated and beaten again; they want to know from him where he came from, with whom, which of the peasants gave him food. Sergei comes up with a new name for himself - Pyotr Russinovsky - and replies that he was not in any camp, but fled as soon as he was captured. Sergei and his new friends Motyakin and Ustinov, who had been partisans in the Lithuanian forests before prison, are planning an escape. Prisoners work on the territory of the sugar factory unloading wagons; Sergei throws beets at Motyakin and Ustinov, who had hidden in the pile, and he himself hides under the car, settling there on the brake cables. Having discovered at the end of the working day the disappearance of three prisoners, the escorts, rushing to look for them, find Sergei: he is betrayed by a footcloth unwound and hanging from under the car. To the question of the guards about the missing comrades, Sergei replies that they left under the wagons. In fact, in accordance with the plan, they should try to climb over the fence at night and go into the forest. After a failed escape, Sergei is transferred to the Šiauliai prison, and then to the Šiauliai POW camp. The spring of 1943 is already underway. Sergei begins to think over a plan for a new escape. N. V. Soboleva Killed near Moscow Tale (1963) A company of Kremlin cadets goes to the front. The action takes place in November 1941; front is approaching Moscow. On the way, the cadets meet a special detachment of the NKVD troops; when the company comes under the command of an infantry regiment from the Moscow militia, it turns out that there are no machine guns: the cadets have only self-loading rifles, grenades and bottles of gasoline. We need to dig trenches, and the platoon of Lieutenant Alexei Yastrebov quickly completed the task. German planes appear, but so far they have not bombed. The fighters who left the encirclement approach the position of the platoon, among them is a major general, the division commander. It turns out that the front has been broken through and the neighboring village is occupied by the Germans. The shelling begins, six cadets and a political instructor are killed. Captain Ryumin, the company commander, receives an order to retreat, but while he was sending a messenger to the regimental headquarters, the company was surrounded by the Germans. The captain decides to go on the offensive. The company surrounds the village occupied by the Germans and occupies it with a sudden blow. Alexey in the first close fight feels fear and disgust - he has to kill the German. The fighters approach the forest - but then an air raid, bombardment begins, and German tanks and infantry enter the forest behind the aircraft. Falling to the ground, into a funnel, Alexei finds himself next to a cadet from the third platoon, who, as the lieutenant understands, is "a coward and a traitor" - after all, there is a battle going on and others are dying. But the cadet frantically whispers to Alexei: “We can’t do anything ... We need to stay alive ... We will then all of them, like last night ...” He asks the lieutenant to shoot him so as not to be captured by the Germans. After the battle, the two of them walk out of the forest and go to the place where they had previously met the NKVD detachment. There they meet Captain Ryumin and three other fighters, stay overnight in stacks of hay. The next morning, Alexey and the captain see in the sky a battle between Soviet fighters and German Messerschmitts; our "hawks" are dying. Captain Ryumin shoots himself, and Alexey, together with the cadets, dig his grave. Here two German tanks appear - one of them goes to Alexei, he throws a bottle of gasoline into the tank, falls to the bottom of the grave - it turns out that he manages to knock out the tank. The cadets who hid in stacks perished; Alexey gets out and goes to the east. L. I. Sobolev Aunt Egorich Tale (1966) The story takes place in 1928. The story is told in the first person; the narrator reminisces about his childhood many years later. Ten-year-old Sanka is an orphan: his father died in the civil war, his mother died of typhus. He lives in the village of Kamyshinka with his aunt Yegorikha and uncle Ivan. Egorikh's aunt, Tatyana Yegorovna, is not his own aunt, but they love each other very much, and they like the same thing: to whisper at night, telling each other the news of the day; to slurp borscht from a bowl filled to the very brim - otherwise it is not fun to eat; they like everything interesting that happens in Kamyshinka to last longer, and do not like one-day holidays; they love festivities, accordion, round dances. Uncle Ivan, in the street style - Tsar, Sanka is brought by his own uncle, he is the brother of his late mother, but he is not a worker, he is "a fool, crazy", and therefore they are probably the poorest in the village. Now Sanka understands that the aunt and the Tsar were husband and wife, but then it didn’t occur to him, and if he knew about it then, he probably would have left Kamyshinka, because such a Tsareva would have become him stranger. Maxim Evgrafovich Motyakin, in the street - Momich, a neighbor of Sanka, aunt and Tsar, helps them survive: he brings flour, then ham, then honey; in the spring he plows his garden. Momich is a widow, he has an adult daughter, Nastya. Uncle Ivan does not like Momich, and Sanka notices that he only plays pranks when Momich is near: then he takes off his trousers and, turning his bare bottom to his aunt, shouts loudly and quickly "Dyak-dyak-dyak!" At Momich's, a klunya (shed) burned down, which the Tsar secretly set fire to, once again angry with his aunt. Momich fails to put out the clod, and they build a new clown together with Sanka. From the top of the new kluny, Momich shows Sanka the world surrounding Kamyshinka: fields with undergrowth bushes, meadows and swamps, and further, in the west, the endless jagged wall of the forest, which, together with the sky, clouds and winds blowing from there, Momich calls a strange word - Bryansk. This summer, Sanka strikes up a friendship with fifty-year-old Momich. Aunt Yegorikha was summoned to the village council, and, returning from there, she told Sanka that she had been chosen as a delegate from all of Kamyshinka and that tomorrow she would be taken to Lugan in a village Soviet cart. In Lugan, she is offered to move to live in a commune: "That's it, San, under the wind pipes, and go to bed, and get up, and have breakfast, and dine"; - says the aunt. The next day, a cart comes for them, and at the last moment they decide to take the Tsar with them: "Why is he going to roam here alone?" Life in the commune turns out to be not as wonderful as it seemed to Sanka and his aunt. On the ground floor of a two-story manor house in a large hall, partitioned off by two rows of marble columns, there are bunks: women sleep on the right, men on the left, nineteen people in total. My aunt is appointed cook, and from morning to evening she cooks peas - the only food of the Communards. After some time, tired of the hungry communitarian life, Sanka invites his aunt to return to Kamyshinka, but the aunt thinks that it is a shame to return. However, a few days later Momich appears in the commune, and Sanka and his aunt, leaving the chest they brought with their simple goods in the former manor house, secretly leave the commune on Momich's cart. A few days later the Tsar returns home. On the fourth day of Maslenitsa, Kamyshin women go to the church, from which the cross was removed the day before and a red flag was put in its place. The women are screaming and making noise: they want the cross to be returned to its place, and suddenly Sanka, who also ran to the square, sees that a rider is rushing from the village council straight to the women - this is the policeman Golub, about whom they say that he is never sober. The women rush in all directions, and only the aunt remains standing in the middle of the square, raising her hands to the muzzle of Golubov's horse; the horse rears up, suddenly a shot is heard, the aunt falls. Sanka shouting "The dove killed the aunt!" runs into Momich's house, the two of them run to the square, and sobbing Momich carries the body of his aunt in his outstretched arms. The next day, Momich and Sanka go to the cemetery and choose a place for the grave - under the only tree in the entire cemetery. Sanka and the Tsar, sitting in a sleigh on both sides of the coffin, go to the cemetery, Momich walks all the way. Returning from the funeral, Sanka hides in the chest all his aunt's things and all the things connected with his aunt. Living together with the Tsar, they do not sweep the floor, cannot stand slops, and the hut quickly becomes lousy. A towel hangs under the window of Momicheva’s hut and there is a dish of water: the aunt’s soul will fly here for six weeks, and she needs something to wash and dry herself with. Momich goes somewhere every day, returns late. Then Sanka found out that Momich was looking for justice against Golub in Lugan, but Golub met him himself. One day, looking out the window, Sanka sees a cart and mounted policemen in the yard. When Momich was taken away, there were many rumors in Kamyshinka about his meeting with Golub, but no one knew what they were talking about. Only Golub appeared in Lugan late at night tied up, and his revolver and saber, broken into pieces, were later found by the police in the Mare's den. Summer is coming. The king is sick. There is absolutely nothing in the house, the gardens are unplowed. Sanka goes at night to the other end of the village to steal onions, and he and the Tsar eat them, dipping them in salt. One day, returning with another portion of onions, Sanka still on the porch hears a numb silence in the house. Having laid out an onion in the closet from his bosom, he leaves the house and, having waited for the sunrise on the pasture, leaves Kamyshinki. N. V. Soboleva Fedor Alexandrovich Abramov (1920-1983) Pryasliny Tetralogy BROTHERS AND SISTERSRoman (1958) Pekashin peasant Stepan Andreyanovich Stavrov cut down a house on a mountainside, in the cool dusk of a huge larch. Yes, not a house - a two-story mansion with a small side hut to boot. There was a war. Old people, children and women remained in Pekashin. Buildings crumbled and crumbled before our eyes. But Stavrov's house is strong, solid, for all time. A strong old man was knocked down by a funeral for his son. He stayed with the old woman and grandson Yegor-shey. The trouble did not bypass the family of Anna Pryaslina: her husband Ivan, the only breadwinner, died. And Anna's guys are smaller and smaller - Mishka, Lizka, the twins Petka and Grishka, Fedyushka and Tatyanka. In the village, the woman was called Anna the Doll. She was small and thin, with a good face, but no worker. Two days have passed since we received the funeral and Mishka, the eldest, sat down in the father's empty seat at the table. Mother wiped a tear from her face and silently nodded her head. She herself could not pull the guys out. Even so, in order to fulfill the norm, she remained on arable land until night. One day, when we were working with the wives, we saw a stranger. Arm in a sling. It turned out he was from the front. He sat, talked with the women about collective farm life, and at parting they asked him what his name was, what name he was from, and what village he was from. "Lukashin," he answered, "Ivan Dmitrievich. From the district committee he was sent to you for the sowing season." The sowing campaign was oh so difficult. There are few people, but the district committee ordered to increase the area under crops: the front needs bread. Unexpectedly for everyone, Mishka Pryaslin turned out to be an indispensable worker. Something he didn't do when he was fourteen years old. On the collective farm, he worked for an adult man, and even for a family. His sister, twelve-year-old Lizka, also had a lot of work to do. Heat the stove, handle the cow, feed the children, clean the hut, wash the linen ... For sowing - mowing, then harvesting ... The chairman of the collective farm, Anfisa Minina, returned to her empty hut late in the evening and, without undressing, fell on the bed. And as soon as it was light, she was already on her feet - she was milking a cow, and she herself thought with fear that the collective farm pantry was running out of bread. And yet, happy. Because I remembered how I spoke with Ivan Dmitrievich on the board. Autumn is not far off. The guys will soon go to school, and Mishka Pryaslin will go to logging. We have to pull the family. Dunyashka Inyakhina decided to study at a technical school. She gave Misha a lace handkerchief as a farewell gift. Reports from the front are getting more and more alarming. The Germans have already reached the Volga. And in the district committee, finally, they responded to Lukashin's persistent request - they let him go to fight. He wanted to finally explain himself to Anfisa, but it didn’t work out. The next morning, she herself purposely left for the hay station, and Varvara Inyakhina rushed to her. She swore to everyone in the world that she had nothing with Lukashin. Anfisa rushed to the translation, at the very water she jumped off her horse onto the wet sand. On the other side, the figure of Lukashin flashed and melted. TWO WINTERS AND THREE SUMMERRoman (1968) Mishka Pryaslin did not have to live at home for long. From autumn to spring - at logging, then rafting, then suffering, then again the forest. And as soon as he appears in Pekashin, the women pile on: fix the roof of this one, lift the door on that one. There are no men in Pekashin. This time, as always, they were waiting for him at home. Mishka arrived with a hay cart, asked about the guys, yelled for omissions, then got the gifts - Yegorsha Stavrov, his best friend, gave him his manufactured goods coupons. But the guys reacted to the gifts with restraint. But when he took out a loaf of rye bread ... For many years there was no such wealth in their house - they ate moss, crushed pine sapwood in a mortar. The younger sister posted the news: tomorrow morning the women will drive the cow into the silo pit. The trick is this: you can’t slaughter collective farm cattle, but if you bring it under an accident and draw up an act ... The chairman went to such expense because the women demanded: it’s summer, but they still didn’t celebrate the victory. Anfisa got up at the feast and drank to Mishka - he stood the whole war for the first man! All the women splashed him from their glasses, and as a result, the guy found himself in the lead of Varvara Inyakhina. When Anna Pryaslina found out that her son was going to Varvara, at first she rushed to swear, then she began to take pity: "Misha, have pity on us ..." She persuaded the chairman, and, in a word, it began that Varvara went to live in the regional center. With a new husband. What kind of torment the Pekshinites did not accept for the war, and the forest is torment for all torments. Teenagers were removed from school, old people were sent, and there were no discounts for women. At least die in the forest, but give me a plan. "Be patient, women," Anfisa kept repeating. "The war will end." And the war was over, the task was squandered more than before. The country needs to be rebuilt - this is how Comrade Podrezov, the secretary of the district committee, explained. In autumn, in addition, hand over taxes: grain, wool, leather, eggs, milk, meat. For taxes, the explanation is different - cities need to be fed. Well, it's clear that city people can't live without meat. So think, man, how much they will give for workdays: what if nothing? There is a drought in the south, the state has to get bread from somewhere. Party members have already been summoned to the board on the issue of the voluntary delivery of grain. A little later, the government announced the Loan Law. Ganichev, authorized by the district committee, warned: it is possible to go above the control figure, but not below it. With that, they went to the huts. The Yakovlevs were not given a penny - the subscription started badly. Pyotr Zhitov offered to give away three of his monthly earnings, ninety workdays, which in money amounted to 13 rubles 50 kopecks. I had to scare him with the dismissal of my wife (she worked as an accountant). The house of Ilya Netesov was left in the end - his man, a communist. Ilya and his wife saved up for a goat, the house is full of kids. Ganichev began to agitate about consciousness, and Ilya did not disappoint, signed up for one thousand two hundred, preferred the state interest to personal. Since the beginning of navigation, the first two tractors have arrived in the area. Yegorsha Stavrov, who completed mechanization courses, sat on one of them. Mishka Pryaslin was appointed foreman, and Liza went to work in the forest. Lukashin, who returned from the front, became the chairman in Pekashin. The Pryaslins also had joy. In this suffering, a whole Pryaslin brigade left for mowing. Mother, Anna, looked at the harvest - here it is, her holiday! There have been no mowers equal to Mikhail in Pekashin for a long time, and Lizka is mowing with envy. But after all, there are twins, Peter and Grisha, both with pigtails ... The news of the trouble was brought to them by Lukashin: Zvezdonia fell ill. The nurse had to be slaughtered. And life changed. They could not see the second cow. Then Yegorsha Stavrov came to Lizka and said that in the evening he would bring a cow from the region. But then Lizka should marry him. Lisa Yegorsha liked it. She thought that, after all, Semyonovna, a neighbor, was given away in the sixteenth year, and nothing, she lived her life. And agreed. At the wedding, Ilya Netesov told Mikhail that his eldest daughter, Valya's father's favorite, had contracted tuberculosis. A goat came around. WAY-CROSSROADSRoman (1973) Mikhail spared his sister and never told her, but he himself knew why Yegorsha married her - to put his old grandfather on her, the fool, and to be a free Cossack himself. But she loves him just as much - as soon as you talk about Yegorsha, your eyes will sparkle, your face will flare up. But he betrayed her, went into the army immediately after the wedding. He's de benefit ceased to operate. It is doubtful. Lisa sat down to read another letter from her husband, as always, washed up, combed smoothly, with her son in her arms. The dear spouse reported that he was staying for extra-long service. Lizaveta chuckled. If not for my son Vasya, not for my father-in-law, I would have violated myself. And Anfisa and Ivan were tasked by the secretary of the district committee, Podrezov. In the morning he collapsed into the house, then went with Lukashin to look at the household. They returned, sat down to dinner (Anfisa did her best with dinner - the owner of the district, after all), drank, and then Anfisa broke through: six years have passed since the war, and the women still haven’t seen their fill of a piece. You won't get through the undercut. He had previously told Lukashin that he removed his wife from the chairmen for woman's pity. She stands up for everyone, and who will give the plan? We are soldiers, not pityers. Podrezov could convince people, especially since he knew how to do everything himself: plow, sow, build, cast a net. Cool, but the owner. Lizka has a new trouble - her father-in-law was brought from the mowing near death. He immediately, as he could speak, asked the authorities to call. And when Anfisa came, he ordered to draw up a paper: the whole house and all the buildings - to Lisa. Stepan Andreyanovich loved her like his own. A drunkard came to Yegorsh's grandfather's funeral: he began to remember ahead of time. But, as he sobered up and played enough with his son Vasya, he got down to business. He replaced the steps, rejuvenated the porch, bathhouse, gates. However, Pekshin's people had the most ahs and oohs when he brought home the ohlupen with a horse - his grandfather's idea. And on the seventh day I got bored. A new cowshed in Pekashin was laid down quickly, and then it started to bog down. Lukashin understood that the main snag here was in the peasants. When, from what time did their axes become dull? Lukashin went from house to house to persuade the carpenters to go to the barn. Those - in any. The ORS was contracted to carry loads - both bread and money. What about on a collective farm? But in the winter the cattle will shake. And Lukashin decided to give them fifteen kilograms of rye each. Just asked to be quiet. Why, everyone in the village knows. The women rushed to the grain warehouse, raised the op, and then, unfortunately, they brought the authorized Ganichev. Lukashin was arrested for squandering collective farm grain during the grain procurement period. Mikhail Pryaslin decided to write a letter in defense of the chairman. But dear countrymen, at least they praised the chairman, but only Mishka himself and one more person from all Pekashin signed. Yes, sister Lisa, even though her husband forbade her. Here Yegorsha showed himself: since your brother is dearer to you than your husband, happily stay. And left. And the next morning, Raechka Klevakina came and also put her signature. So Mishkin's bachelor life ended. For a long time Raisa did not break through his heart - he still could not forget Varvara. And now, in five months, everything was decided forever. HOUSERoman (1978) Mikhail Pryaslin came from Moscow, visited his sister Tatyana there. Like being in communism. The dacha is two-storied, the apartment has five rooms, the car… I arrived and began to wait for the guests from the city, the brothers Peter and Grigory. He showed them his new house: a polished sideboard, a sofa, tulle curtains, a carpet. Workshop, cellar, sauna. But they paid little attention to all this, and it is clear why: dear sister Lizaveta sat in her head. Mikhail abandoned his sister after she gave birth to twins. I could not forgive her that after the death of her son, very little time had passed. For Liza, there are no guests more desirable than brothers. We sat at the table and went to the cemetery: to visit my mother, Vasya, Stepan Andreyanovich. There, Gregory had a seizure. And although Lisa knew that he had epilepsy, her brother's condition still frightened her. And Peter's behavior was alarming. What are they doing? Fedor does not get out of prison, Mikhail and Tatyana do not recognize her, but it turns out that Peter and Grigory are still in trouble. Lisa told her brothers, and they themselves saw that the people in Pekashin had become different. Before, they worked hard. And now they have worked out the prescribed - to the hut. The state farm is full of peasants, full of all kinds of equipment - but things are not going well. For state farmers - these are the times! - allowed the sale of milk. In the mornings, and an hour, and two are behind him. And there is no milk - and they are not in a hurry to work. After all, a cow is hard labor. The current ones won't mess with it. The same Viktor Netesov wants to live like a city. Mikhail took it into his head to reproach him: his father, they say, he used to be killed for a common cause. “At the same time, he killed Valya and his mother,” Viktor answered. “And I don’t want to arrange graves for my family, but life.” During the days of vacation, Peter went up and down his sister's house. If I didn’t know Stepan Andreyanovich live, I would say that the hero staged him. And Peter decided to rebuild the old Pryaslinsky house. And Grigory became the nanny for Liza's twins, because Lisa Taborsky, the manager, put herself on a calf-house behind a swamp. I went to the calf - towards the postal bus. And the first to jump off his footboard was Yegorsha, from whom there was neither a word nor a spirit for twenty years. Yegorsha told his friends: he had been everywhere, traveled all over Siberia up and down and went through every woman - not to count. Praying grandfather Yevsey Moshkin and tell him: "You did not ruin the girls, Egory, but yourself. The earth rests on such as Mikhail and Lizaveta Pryaslin!" “Ah, so!” Yegorsha flared up. “Well, let's see how these very ones, on which the earth rests, will crawl at my feet.” And he sold the house to Pakhe-Rybnadzor. And Lisa did not want to sue Yegorsha, her own grandson Stepan Andreyanovich. Well, the laws - and she lives according to the laws of her conscience. At first, Mikhail liked the manager Taborsky as much as it is rare for someone from the authorities to be businesslike. He saw through it when they began to sow corn. The "queen of the fields" did not grow in Pekashin, and Mikhail said: sow without me. Taborsky tried to reason with him: does it matter what you are paid for at the highest rate? Since that time, they went to war with Taborsky. Because Taborsky was dexterous, but dexterous, not to be caught. And then the men at work reported the news: Viktor Netesov and the agronomist wrote a statement to Taborsky in the region. And the bosses came - to scratch the manager. Pryaslin now looked at Viktor with tenderness: he had resurrected faith in man in him. After all, he thought that in Pekashin people now only think about how to make money, fill the house with sideboards, attach children and crush a bottle. We waited a week to see what would happen. And finally, they found out: Taborsky was removed. And the new manager was appointed ... Viktor Netesov. Well, this one will have order, it’s not for nothing that they called him a German. A machine, not a person. Pakha-rybnadzor, meanwhile, cut down the Stavrovsky house and took away half. Yegorsha began to approach the village, threw his eyes to the familiar larch - and an ugly thing sticks out in the sky, the remnant of his grandfather's house with fresh white ends. Only Pakh did not take the horse from the roof. And Liza caught fire to put him on the former Pryaslinskaya hut, repaired by Peter. When Mikhail found out that Liza was crushed by a log and she was taken to the district hospital, he immediately rushed there. He blamed himself for everything: he did not save either Liza or his brothers. He was walking and suddenly remembered the day when his father went to war. I. N. Slyusareva Yuri Markovich Nagibin (1920-1994) Get up and go Tale (1987) The story "Get up and go" is the story of the relationship between father and son, on whose behalf the narrator-author speaks. Divided into relatively short twenty-two chapters, it honestly tells of filial feelings, sincere and spontaneous, moving from adoration to pity, from deep devotion to duty, from sincere love to condescension and even malice. The well-established fate of the writer's son comes into constant conflict with the fate of his father, a prisoner, an exiled father who does not have a decent and permanent place of residence. The son's first impressions of his father are beautiful old banknotes associated with the word "exchange", where the father works, they are given to children to play with. Then the boy gets the impression that his father is the strongest, the fastest and the most resourceful. This opinion is supported by the home legend. In the First World War, my father earned two St. George's crosses, went to a bayonet attack, and replaced a killed commander in battle. He was impudent, his mother's admirers were afraid of him. He was the winner. A beautiful woman writer well-known in Moscow wrote a whole book about how she loved her father and how jealous he was of her sister, an even more famous and beautiful woman. But one day my father was arrested and sentenced to three years of "free" settlement in Siberia. The son and mother, left with almost no money and no support, perceive the summer trip to their father in Irkutsk as a gift. The next place of his father's exile is Saratov, where the son feels happy, he begins to collect butterflies here and receives the first lesson from the exiled biologist, who extinguished his collecting frenzy, which became the destructive beginning of his character. Having matured a little, he begins to collect maps and atlases. All the walls of his room are hung with maps of the globe and five continents, terrestrial flora and fauna. The father, who finally returned from exile, is glad to meet his changed home and family, but is forced to leave for residence in the village of Baksheevo, the center serving the Shatura power plant. However, even here, during the May pre-holiday purge of 1937, my father was arrested, accused of setting fire to peat mines. The proven fact that he was in Moscow at the time of the fire does not help either. In 40, a new meeting between the son and his father took place in the corrective labor camp. This is one of the happiest days they have lived together. During a feast in a cold barracks, the son feels kind and heroic, bosses and prisoners, nice people and scoundrels bow to him. Everyone looks at him with delight and hope, as if he is endowed with some kind of power, and "this power is undoubtedly from literature", from the replicated printed word. “And you look like a real man,” says the father. “This is the most beautiful time, youth is much better than adolescence and youth.” After the war, the father lives in Rohma, in the wilderness forgotten by God. He is thin, skin and bones, covered with yellowish skin, forehead, cheekbones, jaws, nose and some kind of bony bumps near the ears, which only those who die of starvation have. He wears boots made from car tires, burlap pants with two blue knee patches, and a washed shirt. The despoiled son, who became a rich writer, married to the daughter of a Soviet nobleman, feels a deep pity for his father, mixed with disgust. “I felt a touch, or rather, a shadow of a touch on my knee. I lowered my eyes and saw something yellow, spotted, slowly, with timid caress, crawling along my leg. and that frog's leg was the father's hand!" It is sad and hard to see the son of his father at the ultimate stage of physiological humiliation. But with all this, the father, as a man with pride, tells his son about the past years of grief and humiliation very sparingly, without complaining, without being indignant, perhaps because he wanted to spare his son, who is young and who still has to live and live. In Rokhma, father again works in the planning department with an adding machine in his hands, but without the former brilliance, often wrinkling his forehead, apparently forgetting some figure. He is still conscientious, but employees do not understand him and often humiliate him. The son is oppressed by the futility of the father's fate. But finally, the father gets the opportunity to come to Moscow, enter the old familiar apartment, take a bath, sit down with his family at the table. Relatives hide the father from friends and acquaintances, for which they often ask him to go out into the corridor, stay in a dark room or in the restroom. The return to Moscow was not the way my father saw it. His generation has greatly thinned out, who disappeared in exile, who died in the war. The surviving Mohicans are old-fashioned decent people, the father meets with them, but from the very first attempts he refuses to renew his former ties. Hopelessly aged, who have not succeeded in anything, crushed by fear, people are not interesting to him. Shortly before his death, rejuvenated, as if regaining his former confidence, his father comes to Moscow and, as it were, gets to know her again: so much has changed around. But, having left for Rohma, he falls ill and no longer gets up. The son never managed to return him to the bosom of the family. O. V. Timasheva Vyacheslav Leonidovich Kondratiev (1920-1993) Sasha Tale (1979) Sashka flew into the grove, shouting: "Germans! Germans!" - to preempt their own. The commander ordered to move behind the ravine, lie down there and not a step back. The Germans by that time suddenly fell silent. And the company that took up the defense also fell silent in anticipation that a real battle was about to begin. Instead, a young and some kind of triumphant voice began to fool them: "Comrades! In the areas liberated by the German troops, the sowing campaign begins. Freedom and work await you. Drop your weapons, let's light up cigarettes ..." A few minutes later the commander figured out their game: it was reconnaissance. And then he gave the order "forward!". Sashka, though for the first time in the two months that he fought, came across so close to a German, but for some reason he did not feel fear, but only anger and some kind of hunting rage. And such luck: in the first battle, a fool, he took the "tongue". The German was young and snub-nosed. The company commander chatted with him in German and ordered Sashka to take him to headquarters. It turns out that Fritz did not say anything important to the company commander. And most importantly, the Germans outwitted us: while our soldiers listened to German chatter, the Germans left, taking a prisoner from us. The German walked, often looking back at Sasha, apparently afraid that he might shoot him in the back. Here, in the grove along which they were walking, there were many Soviet leaflets lying around. Sashka picked one up, straightened it and gave it to the German - let him understand, the parasite, that the Russians do not mock prisoners. The German read it and muttered: "Propaganda." It’s a pity, Sasha didn’t know German, he would have spoken ... None of the commanders were at the battalion headquarters - everyone was called to the brigade headquarters. And they didn’t advise Sashka to go to the battalion commander, saying: “Yesterday our Katenka was killed. When they buried, it was scary to look at the battalion commander - everything turned black ...” Sasha decided to go to the battalion commander anyway. That Sashka with the orderly ordered to leave. Only the voice of the battalion commanders was heard from the dugout, and the German seemed not to be there. Silence, infection! And then the battalion commander called to him and ordered: the Germans - at the expense. Sasha's eyes darkened. After all, he showed a leaflet, where it is written that the prisoners are provided with life and return to their homeland after the war! And yet - he had no idea how he would kill someone. Sasha's objections pissed off the battalion commander even more. While talking to Sasha, he unambiguously laid his hand on the handle of the TT. The order ordered to fulfill, to report on the fulfillment. And the orderly Tolik was supposed to follow the execution. But Sasha couldn't kill an unarmed man. I couldn't, that's all! In general, we agreed with Tolik that he would give him a watch from a German, but now that he left. But Sasha decided to take the German to the brigade headquarters. This is far and dangerous - they can even consider a deserter. But let's go... And then, in the field, the battalion commander caught up with Sasha and Fritz. He stopped, lit a cigarette ... Only the minutes before the attack were just as terrible for Sasha. The captain's gaze met directly - well, shoot, but I'm right anyway ... And he looked sternly, but without malice. Finished his cigarette and, already leaving, threw: "Take the German to the headquarters of the brigade. I cancel my order." Sashka and two other wounded walkers did not receive food for the journey. Only prodattestats, which can be purchased only in Babin, twenty miles from here. Toward evening, Sashka and his fellow traveler Zhora realized that they couldn’t get to Babin today. The hostess, to whom they knocked, let her spend the night, but she said there was nothing to feed. Yes, and themselves, while walking, they saw: the villages were in desolation. There are no cattle to be seen, no horses, and there is nothing to talk about technology. It will be hard for collective farmers to spring. In the morning, waking up early, they did not linger. And in Babin, they learned from a lieutenant, also wounded in the arm, that the produkt was here in winter. And now they have been transferred to an unknown place. And they are nezhramshi for days! Lieutenant Volodya also went with them. In the nearest village, they rushed to ask for food. Grandfather did not agree to give or sell food, but advised: to dig up potatoes in the field, which remained from autumn, and fry the cake. Grandfather allocated a frying pan and salt. And what seemed like inedible rot was now going down the throat for a sweet soul. When they passed by the potato fields, they saw how other crippled people were swarming there, smoking fires. They are not alone, so they feed like that. Sasha and Volodya sat down to smoke, and Zhora went ahead. And soon there was an explosion ahead. Where? Far from the front ... They rushed along the road. Zhora lay ten paces away, already dead: apparently, he turned off the road behind a snowdrop ... By the middle of the day we reached the evacuation hospital. They registered them, sent them to the bathhouse. I would have stayed there, but Volodya was eager to go to Moscow - to see his mother. Sasha also decided to hit the road home, not far from Moscow. On the way to the village fed: it was not under the Germans. But it was still hard to go: after all, they trampled a hundred miles, and the wounded, and on such grub. We had dinner at the next hospital. When dinner was brought, the materok went to the bunks. Two spoonfuls of porridge! For this boring millet, Volodka had a big quarrel with his superiors, so much so that a complaint about him got to the special officer. Only Sasha took the blame. What is a soldier? They won’t send the advanced forward, but it’s all the same to return there. Only the special officer advised Sasha to get out as quickly as possible. But the doctors did not let Volodya go. Sashka went back to the field, to make potato cakes for the road. The wounded were swarming there decently: the guys did not have enough grub. And waved to Moscow. He stood there on the platform, looked around. Will I wake up? People in civilian clothes, girls knocking with their heels ... as if from another world. But the more strikingly this calm, almost peaceful Moscow differed from what was on the front line, the more clearly he saw his work there ... I. N. Slyusareva Boris Andreevich Mozhaev (1923-1996) Alive Tale (1964-1965) Fyodor Fomich Kuzkin, nicknamed Alive in the village, had to leave the collective farm. And after all, Fomich, a collective farm forwarder, was not the last person in Prudki: he got sacks for the farm, then tubs, then harness, then carts. And Avdotya's wife worked just as indefatigably. And they earned sixty-two kilograms of buckwheat in a year. How to live if you have five children? Fomich's difficult life on the collective farm began with the arrival of a new chairman, Mikhail Mikhailovich Guzenkov, who had managed to manage almost all the regional offices before that: the Potrebsoyuz, and Zagotskot, and the consumer services complex, and so on. Guzenkov disliked Fomich for his sharp tongue and independent character, and therefore he put him on such work, where things were above his head, and there was no earnings. All that remained was to leave the collective farm. Fomich began his free life as a mower for hire from a neighbor. And then the milkmaids, busy up to their necks on the farm, rushed to him with orders. Fomich just took a breath - I'll live without a collective farm! - as Spiryak Voronok showed up to him, no worker, but due to kinship with the foreman Pashka Voronin, who has power on the collective farm, and presented Fomich with an ultimatum: either take me as a partner, earned - in half, and then we will issue you mowing on the collective farm as a social burden, or, if you do not agree, the chairman and I will declare you a parasite and bring you under the law. Alive put the uninvited guest out the door, and the next day Guzenkov himself came to Fomich's mowing and immediately in his bossy throat: "Who are you, a collective farmer or an anarchist? Why don't you go to work?" - "And I left the collective farm." - "No, my dear. They don't just leave the collective farm. We will give you a firm task and throw them out of the village with all the giblets." Fomich took the threat seriously - he experienced the Soviet and collective farm orders in his own skin. In 35 he was sent to a two-year course for junior lawyers. However, less than a year later, half-educated lawyers began to be sent as chairmen to collective farms. By this time, Zhivoi already understood the mechanics of the collective farm leadership: that chairman is good, who will back up the authorities with extra-planned deliveries and feed his collective farmers. But with the insatiability of the authorities, or inhuman resourcefulness, one must have, or live without a conscience. Fomich flatly refused to chair, for which he flew out of the course as a "hidden element and saboteur." And in 37, there was another misfortune: at a rally on the occasion of elections to the Supreme Soviet, he joked unsuccessfully, and even threw a local boss, who tried to force him "where necessary", so that the boss already had galoshes from chrome boots. Judge Fomich "troika". But Zhivoy did not get stuck in prison either, in the 39th he wrote a statement about his desire to volunteer for the Finnish war. His case was reviewed and released. In the meantime, the commissions were meeting, the Finnish war was over. Fomich fought to the fullest in the Patriotic War, left three fingers on it from his right hand, but returned with the Order of Glory and two medals. ... Fomich was expelled from the collective farm in the area where they were summoned by summons. And Comrade Motyakov himself presided over the meeting of the executive committee, recognizing only one principle of leadership: "We will break the horns!" - and no matter how hard the secretary of the district committee of the party Demin tried to reason with Motyakov, - all the same, the autumn of the 53rd, other methods are needed, - but the meeting decided to exclude Kuzkin from the collective farm and impose a double tax on him as an individual farmer: to hand over 1700 rubles, 80 kg within a month meat, 150 eggs and two skins. I'll give everything, everything to the penny, Fomich promised swearingly, but I'll hand over the skin only one - the wife can resist so that I rip off the skin from her for you parasites. Returning home, Fomich sold the goat, hid the gun and began to wait for the confiscation commission. They didn't hesitate. Under the leadership of Pashka Voronin, they ransacked the house and, not finding anything of material value, brought an old bicycle out of the yard. Fomich, on the other hand, sat down to write a statement to the regional party committee: "I was expelled from the collective farm because I worked 840 workdays and received 62 kg of buckwheat for my entire horde of seven people. The question is, how to live?" - and at the end he added: "Elections are coming up. The Soviet people are rejoicing ... But my family will not even vote." The complaint worked. Important guests from the region have come. The poverty of the Kuzkins made an impression, and again there was a meeting in the district, only the arbitrariness of Guzenkov and Motyakov was already sorted out. They were reprimanded, and Alive - a passport of a free man, material assistance, and even a job - as a watchman in the forest. In the spring, when the watch was over, Fomich managed to get a job as a security guard and storekeeper at rafts with timber. So Fomich turned out to be at home and at work. The former collective farm authorities gritted their teeth, waiting for a chance. And waited. Once a strong wind arose, the wave began to rock and shake the rafts. A little more, and it will tear them off the shore, scatter them all over the river. We need a tractor, just for an hour. And Fomich rushed to the board for help. They didn't give me a tractor. Fomich had to look for an assistant and a tractor driver for money and a bottle - they saved the forest. When Guzenkov forbade the collective farm store to sell bread to the Kuzkins, Fomich fought back with the help of a correspondent. And finally, the third blow followed: the board decided to take away the garden from the Kuzkins. Fomich balked, and then they declared Zhivogo a parasite who had seized the collective farm land. They set up a court in the village. He was threatened with imprisonment. It was difficult, but Alive turned out at the trial, quick wits and a sharp tongue helped. And then fate became generous - Fomich got a place as a skipper on the pier near his village. A calm and unhurried summer life flowed. In winter it is worse, navigation ends, we had to weave baskets for sale. But spring came again, and with it navigation, Fomich took up his skipper duties and then he found out that the pier was being abolished - so the new river authorities decided. Fomich rushed to this new boss and, as such, found his sworn friend Motyakov, who had risen again for leadership work. And again, Fyodor Fomich Kuzkin faced the same eternal question: how to live? He still does not know where he will go, what he will do, but he feels that he will not be lost. Not the times, he thinks. Kuzkin is not such a person as to be lost, the reader thinks, as he reads the final lines of the story. S. P. Kostyrko Grigory Yakovlevich Baklanov (b. 1923) span of land Tale (1959) The last summer of World War II. Its outcome is already predetermined. The fascists put up desperate resistance to the Soviet troops in a strategically important direction - the right bank of the Dniester. A bridgehead one and a half square kilometers above the river, held by entrenched infantry, is fired upon day and night by a German mortar battery from closed positions on a commanding height. The number one task for our artillery reconnaissance, which was literally entrenched in a gap in the slope in the open space, is to establish the location of this very battery. With the help of a stereo tube, Lieutenant Motovilov with two privates maintain vigilant control over the area and report the situation on the other side to the division commander Yatsenko to correct the actions of heavy artillery. It is not known whether there will be an offensive from this bridgehead. It begins where it is easier to break through the defenses and where there is operational space for tanks. But there is no doubt that much depends on their intelligence. No wonder the Germans tried twice during the summer to force the bridgehead. At night, Motovilov is suddenly relieved. Having crossed to the location of Yatsenko, he learns about the promotion - he was a platoon commander, became a battery commander. This is the third military year in the track record of the lieutenant. Immediately from the school bench - to the front, then - the Leningrad Artillery School, at the end - the front, a wound near Zaporozhye, a hospital and again the front. A short vacation is full of surprises. Formation ordered to present awards to several subordinates. Acquaintance with medical instructor Rita Timashova inspires confidence in the inexperienced commander in the further development of hazing with her. From the bridgehead comes a continuous roar. The impression is that the Germans went on the offensive. Communication with the other bank is interrupted, artillery hits "in the white light." Motovilov, anticipating trouble, volunteers to make contact himself, although Yatsenko offers to send another. He takes Private Mezentsev as a signalman. The lieutenant is aware that he has an irresistible hatred for his subordinate and wants to force him to complete the entire "course of science" at the forefront. The fact is that Mezentsev, despite his military age and the ability to evacuate, remained with the Germans in Dnepropetrovsk, played the horn in the orchestra. The occupation did not prevent him from marrying and having two children. And he was released already in Odessa. He is from that breed of people, Motovilov believes, for whom others do everything difficult and dangerous in life. And so far others have fought for him, and others have died for him, and he is even sure of this right of his. On the bridgehead, all signs of retreat. Several surviving wounded infantrymen talk about a powerful enemy pressure. Mezentsev has a cowardly desire to return while the crossing is intact ... Military experience tells Motovilov that this is just a panic after mutual skirmishes. NP is also abandoned. Motovilov's replacement was killed, and two soldiers ran away. Motovilov restores communication. He begins to have an attack of malaria, which most here suffer from due to dampness and mosquitoes. Rita suddenly appears and treats him in the trench. For the next three days there was silence on the bridgehead. It turns out that infantry battalion commander Babin from the front line, "a calm, stubborn man", is connected with Rita by long-standing strong ties. Motovilov has to suppress the feeling of jealousy in himself: "After all, there is something in him that is not in me." A distant artillery rumble upstream heralds a possible battle. The nearest hundred-kilometer bridgehead is already occupied by German tanks. Connections are being redeployed. Motovilov sends Mezentsev to lay a connection through the swamp for greater security. Before a tank and infantry attack, the Germans carried out massive artillery preparation. When checking the connection, Shumilin, a widower with three children, dies, managing only to report that Mezentsev did not make a connection. The situation is much more complicated. Our defense withstood the first tank attack. Motovilov managed to arrange an OP in a wrecked German tank. From here, the lieutenant and his partner fire at enemy tanks. The entire bridgehead is on fire. Already at twilight, ours are undertaking a counterattack. Hand-to-hand is tied. From behind, Motovilov loses consciousness. Coming to himself, he sees retreating fellow soldiers. He spends the next night in the field, where the Germans finish off the wounded. Fortunately, an orderly is looking for Motovilov and they go to their own. The situation is critical. There are so few people left of our two regiments that they all fit under the cliff on the shore, in holes in the slope. There is no crossing. Babin takes command of the last battle. There is only one way out - to escape from the fire, mix with the Germans, drive without stopping and take the heights! Motovilov was entrusted with the command of the company. At the cost of incredible losses, ours are victorious. There is information that the offensive was carried out on several fronts, the war moved west and spread to Romania. In the midst of general rejoicing on the conquered heights, a stray shell kills Babin in front of Rita. Motovilov is acutely worried about both Babin's death and Rita's grief. And the road leads back to the front. A new combat mission has been received. By the way, on the way we meet the regimental trumpeter Mezentsev, proudly sitting on a horse. If Motovilov lives to win, he will have something to tell his son, whom he already dreams of. M. V. Chudova Vladimir Fedorovich Tendryakov (1923-1984) The demise Tale (1968) The action takes place in the village of Fires of the collective farm "Power of Labor". The people gather at the house of the dying chairman. Evlampy Nikitich Lykov was famous not only in the region, but also in the country. Everyone understands that changes are coming, and they remember the thirty years that Lykov headed the collective farm. The old man Matvey Studenkin, the first chairman, who has not left the hut for five years, also appears. It was he who carried out collectivization in the village, organized the commune. At first, the commune had few supporters, but "vociferous poor freemen" gathered around him, unexpectedly supported by the young, quickly rich Ivan Slegov. Studenkin's goal was to "beat the counter", and not to establish a new economy. He sat on the board, and the peasants did not want to work in the field. The fists tried to kill him, but by mistake they burned his wife alive instead of him in the bathhouse. He forcibly drove everyone to the collective farm. But when the time came to choose the chairman of the newly formed collective farm, they chose not him, but his assistant Piyko Lykov. Since then, he headed the collective farm, and Matvey Studenkin later worked as a groom. Now hardly anyone remembers him. The second person on the collective farm, accountant Ivan Ivanovich Slegov, also comes to the dying man. Once he himself dreamed of bringing happiness to his native village. Returning home after the gymnasium, when post-revolutionary devastation reigned in the village, he managed to get rich by making an incredible exchange for the village of a horse for a pig, and began to breed pigs. But he wanted happiness and wealth for everyone. That is why he joined the collective farm. However, the men did not believe him. His thoroughbred cattle died on the collective farm, and Ivan himself no longer had the same appearance as before. Then he decided to take revenge - to set fire to the collective farm stable. But the chairman found him at the scene of the crime and beat him with a shaft, and then he himself took him to the hospital. He did not tell anyone, but took Ivan, whose spine was broken, to be his accountant. So all his life the cripple sat on the board of the collective farm. With Ivan's wise management and Lykov's approach to people, they achieved a harvest in the very first year. The collective farm had bread when famine raged around. The surplus immediately went in exchange for bricks for the cowshed, and the foundations of collective farm welfare were gradually laid. Piiko knew how to find a common language with the right people. But he also found an enemy - the secretary of the district committee of Chistykh. He was about to remove Lykov from his post. But then a large regional meeting of collective farmers took place, where Lykov managed to distinguish himself. Then - the congress of collective farmers-shock workers in Moscow, even climbed into the photo with Comrade Stalin himself. But it turned out that all of Lykov's powerful friends were enemies of the people. Clean and under him knocked out a wedge, but he landed in the camps. Lykov came out victorious, they began to fear him. Suddenly, a scandal erupts at the deathbed of the chairman. The eternally quiet and silent wife of Lykov, Olga, falls upon the secretary Alka Studenkina, who has come to say goodbye, the former mistress of the chairman, and now his "pimp". While the scandal is going on, Lykov is dying. Ivan Slegov is arguing about the replacement with Lykov's deputy, the son of that very Chistykh, Valerka, who was once caught stealing, but forgiven and served Lykov faithfully. Slegov names a man whose name must not be spoken in this house, the chairman's nephew, Sergei Lykov. Everyone considered this man lucky. Happy childhood in a rich uncle's collective farm. Then the war, and also lucky - not a single scratch during the whole war. When he returned, the collective farm sent him to the Timiryazev Academy to study as an agronomist: his uncle wanted to have his own candidate of sciences, or even a professor, on the collective farm. But, having studied well for two courses, Sergey returned home to save the neighboring village, in which hunger reigned. At that time, the collective farms were just being enlarged, and the neighboring Petrakovskaya entered the "Power of Labor". Sergey asked to be a foreman there. The brigade was transferred to self-financing - they had to pay for their help in equipment and seed grain from the harvest. But Sergei managed to instill hope in the souls of women who have not seen anything in life for many years. And a miracle happened - bread in Petrakovskoi was born better than in Pozhary. It was then that Ivan Slegov noticed him, saw himself young in him. But Sergei was not afraid that they would not understand him, because he did not count on his own strength, he did not consider himself a folk hero, but he believed in the women of Petrakov. "A wick without a lamp will not burn." But the next year, Uncle Yevlampiy removed the equipment from Petrakovskaya during sowing. Sev was inundated. Sergei was transferred from the foreman to the assistant foreman, and the hopes of the Petrakovites faded away, and it seems forever. Sergei poured vodka over his grief. At this time, his love for his former assistant Ksyusha Shcheglova flared up. He wanted to leave, but she could not leave her mother and asked Sergei to obey his uncle. There was no exit. The reason for the unexpected happy ending is Ksyusha's uncle's passion. The duel between uncle and nephew develops into hand-to-hand combat between Sergei and the chairman's chauffeur and lackey, Lekha Shablov: this is usually how problems were solved in Pozhary. The forces were unequal, and Sergei ended up in a ditch unconscious. I also had to endure my uncle's contempt: you wallow drunk in a ditch. But the knot was untied - Ksyusha moved to Petrakovskaya. Yevlampy Lykov dies. On the same night, Matvey Studenkin also dies. One remains Alka Studenkina. The sons of the chairman, drunk as usual, get drunk on the same night with axes to kill the faithful lackey Lekha Shablov, who once flogged his eldest son in the middle of the street for disrespect to his father. By recommending Sergei, Slegov ends his career. The collective farm buries the chairman. But the battle is not over, you also have to argue with the dead. And Sergey to fight this battle. E. S. Ostrovskaya sixty candles Tale (1980) Nikolai Stepanovich Echevin celebrates his sixtieth birthday. He worked as a teacher for forty years, and his anniversary became an event for the entire city of Karasin: his portrait was printed in the local newspaper, congratulatory telegrams rained down, and musicians played for him in a local restaurant and solemnly brought in a cake with sixty candles. A little over a month later, Nikolai Stepanovich, as always, comes home from school, checks his notebooks, then reads the belated congratulatory telegrams. One of them is from the past - from a friend of the long-dead student of the Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Bukhalov. But the next telegram unexpectedly turns out to be not congratulatory. It's an anonymous threat to kill. Its author, an "alcoholic", a "suspicious philosopher of eateries", calls Nikolai Stepanovich "a source of social infection", from which the author himself has already suffered, and in the name of saving others he is ready to end him, since he has nothing to lose. Echevin at first perceives the telegram as a joke of one of his students, but from the style of writing he concludes that a teenager could not have written it, and then a long search for an anonymous person begins. Nikolai Stepanovich suddenly realizes how unprotected he is in his apartment. He wants to call the police, but something stops him. The next day he is afraid to go to school and still goes. And all this time he goes over his life, trying to figure out an unknown enemy. Isn't this Tanya Graube? He heard that she had recently returned to the city. Tanya's father, Ivan Semyonovich Graube, brother of a railway magnate, was Echevin's first teacher. At home, the boy did not know love. His father, a shoemaker, was always drunk, his mother also did not indulge her son with affection. And Ivan Semenovich believed in the boy and made his parents believe in him. In winter, through his efforts, the boy received felt boots and a short fur coat, and when they were fourteen years old, Kolya was carried away by Ivan Semenovich's daughter, Tanya. But then Graube was removed from the post of director, and a man from the people, Ivan Sukov, took his place. It was he who spoke with Kolya about Tanya, the daughter of a millionaire's henchman, an inappropriate couple for the son of a shoemaker. Kolya at first could not understand why she was to blame. Well, let him prove that he is his own, give up his father. With this, he went on a date with Tanya. But she didn't want... And then there was a meeting where the best student Kolya Echevin spoke out against the teacher. In his final speech, Ivan Semenovich said that he had been punished enough anyway: he had not taught his student to distinguish lies from truth. And the next day, Graube was gone: a suicide note and a key to a cabinet with chemical reagents. The whole village buried Graube ... Could it be Tanya? Nikolai Stepanovich could not believe this. He also remembers his student Anton Elkin. They say he returned to the city, settled down - his wife, children, himself a high-class turner. All this does not fit the definition of "alcoholic". But this man became an enemy from their first meeting, when he poured glue on the teacher's chair as a fourth-grade student. Then war was declared. Nikolai Stepanovich was picky about Elkin, but fair. Elkin first accepted the challenge, prepared for the lessons, but then gave up. And one day, approaching the school, Nikolai Stepanovich was met by a brick falling from the roof. The investigation did not take long: Yelkin was immediately caught on the roof. Then he was expelled from school ... Could it be him? The day before, while checking notebooks, Nikolai Stepanovich discovered one work that differed from a pile of identical ones. The theme was Ivan the Terrible, "cruel but fair", in the opinion of the majority ... Even Lev Bocharov, who always threw something out, this time wrote "like everyone else." But the unremarkable student Zoya Zybkovets cited a quote from Kostomarov about the murder of two deacon wives by Ivan and delivered a different verdict: "If there was any progress in his time, then this is not Ivan's merit." Nikolai Stepanovich hesitated for a long time what to do with this work. Put two - you will discourage looking somewhere other than a textbook. Do not put it - he will decide that Kostomarov is the truth, he will get used to thinking old-fashioned. He nevertheless put this deuce, and now he decided to commit a "non-pedagogical" act - to bring his doubts to the discussion in the class. He asks his favorite student Lena Shorokhova - she always knows what the teacher wants to hear. Here and now she chattered smartly about the progressive role of Ivan the Terrible and with a victorious look went to her place. And then Nikolai Stepanovich realizes that, having taught Lena progressive views, he did not bring up indignation at the murder. And this student, whom he always thought of as his luck, turned out to be his puncture. He was afraid to walk along the streets, but he could not afford to hide, and that is why he did not immediately go home, but turned into a public garden, sat down and thought. There he was found by Anton Elkin. But instead of the expected bullet, Echevin heard from a former student words of gratitude for science, for justice, for the fact that he was against his expulsion from school. These unexpectedly warm words support Nikolai Stepanovich, and he goes home. And there already awaits him a new meeting with the past and his mistakes, his own daughter Vera. Vera was Echevin's favorite, and until she was sixteen he only rejoiced looking at her. But at sixteen, Vera became pregnant. Morality was strict then. He himself was for the exclusion of his daughter from school. This did not affect his career, although it could. Vera went to work at a car depot, married a driver who drank and beat her. A year ago, Vera became a Baptist. Nikolai Stepanovich could not admit that his grandson would be brought up in such an atmosphere, he wanted to take him away, but hesitated. And so Vera came to talk about her son. Her rigidity outraged her father, and he firmly decided to take his grandson, but suddenly he saw something in her eyes that he understood: she could be the author of the note, and abandoned his intention. The possibility that his own daughter might want him dead horrified him. He felt the need to tell someone about his fears and his pain. But to whom? Friends will begin to groan and regret, but he did not need it. And then he goes to the young literature teacher Ledenev, an opponent of his pedagogical methods. This one would not have taught Lena Shorokhova not to value human life. But Ledenev did not listen: he was waiting for the guest and sent the inappropriate visitor out. But Nikolai Stepanovich needs to talk to someone. He decides to go to his daughter anyway. However, this was not required: his accuser becomes his listener, who catches up after an unsuccessful attempt to escape. "Court" takes place in the cafe "Birch". Nikolai Stepanovich would never have remembered his accuser if he had not introduced himself. It was Sergei Kropotov. During the war, his father was captured, became a policeman, but was associated with the partisans. After the war, he was in the camp, and when he returned, his comrades began to demand that Serezha renounce his father. He refused. Then they began to demand that he be expelled from school. Nikolai Stepanovich wanted to help the boy and, leaving him after school, advised him to oppose his father. At that moment, Sergei's life ended. He could not forgive himself for being wrong, he could not look his father in the eyes ... They left the city, but peace did not come in their family. Nikolai Stepanovich was given the opportunity to justify himself, but even justifying himself, he was disgusted with himself. And then Sergei did not shoot, but simply gave him a gun, with which he went home. And yet he could not shoot himself, because living is harder than dying. He must see the sixty-first candle on the birthday cake. E. S. Ostrovskaya Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev (b. 1924) Тишина Roman (1962) The euphoria of the New Year's Eve in Moscow in December 45 perfectly coincided with the mood of Captain Sergei Vokhmintsev, recently demobilized from Germany, "when it seemed that he had just understood everything beautiful in himself and in life and it should not disappear." Four years of war, command of an artillery battery, orders and wounds - such is the payment of a twenty-two-year-old guy for the "bright future" that he expects from fate. And she sends him two chance meetings at the same time in the Astoria's restaurant bustle, which predetermined his fate for many years to come. Already the first invitation of a lady to dance becomes "fateful" for Sergey. The geologist Nina, who celebrated with friends her return from an expedition from the North, powerfully and decisively, by the right of seniority, takes possession of his feelings and desires. In her company, Vokhmintsev runs into Arkady Uvarov, the main culprit of the terrible tragedy that broke out at the front. Twenty-seven people and four guns were surrounded and shot by the Nazis at direct fire in a Carpathian village solely because of the mediocre tactics of the battalion commander Uvarov. After sitting in the dugout, he also managed to shift all responsibility onto Vasilenko, an innocent platoon commander. By the decision of the tribunal, he was sent to the penal battalion, where he died. Vokhmintsev, the only witness to this crime, does not want to pretend that he has forgotten everything, he publicly accuses Uvarov. A conflict in a public place is regarded by others as just a violation of decency. The denouement is a call to the police and a fine for hooliganism. The burden of a person without certain occupations does not weigh Sergei for long. On the advice and patronage of Nina, he enters the preparatory department of the Mining and Metallurgical Institute. At Nina's New Year's party, Vokhmintsev meets Uvarov again. He is eager to make friends with him. To the sound of the chiming clock, Uvarov makes a toast "to the great Stalin." Sergei defiantly refuses to drink with someone who is not worthy to "speak on behalf of the soldiers." Passions run high, and Vokhmintsev forces his diplomatic girlfriend to leave the guests for him... Three and a half years have passed. Lectures, seminars, exams - Sergey's life was filled with new content. It cannot be said that the figure of Uvarov has disappeared from the horizon. He is not just in plain sight, but in the center of student life. He has a reputation as a "first-class fellow": five-man, social activist, member of the party bureau, do not spill water with Sviridov, the released secretary of the institute's party organization. Sergei notices that over time, hatred for Uvarov is replaced by fatigue and "an evil feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself." Suddenly, events of a different social scale burst into Vokhmintsev's life. However, a hidden warning of impending danger can be seen in the misadventures of his neighbor in a communal apartment, the artist Mukomolov. From the high podium, the landscape painter is ranked among the cosmopolitans and renegades, his canvases are proclaimed an ideological sabotage. At best, the unfortunate person is threatened with deprivation of membership in the Union of Artists and day labor as a decorator. And now the punishing hand of totalitarian lawlessness is reaching out to the Vokhmintsev family. Authorities of the MGB issued a search and arrest warrant for Nikolai Vokhmintsev, Sergei's father, an old communist. Before the war, he was in a leading position, at the front - a regimental commissar. In the autumn of 45, the high courts tried the case of the loss of a safe with party documents of his regiment during a breakout from the encirclement. As a result, the father was content with the quiet work of a factory accountant. There is reason to suspect that another neighbor in the communal apartment, the greedy and unscrupulous Bykov, is a denunciator. Naturally, Sergei is worried about the fate of his father, and he is also tormented by remorse: after the death of his mother (and the son saw the cause of her death in the betrayal of his father with a field hospital nurse), their relationship ceased to be related ... And all this in front of his younger sister Asya, standing on on the threshold of adulthood and now experiencing a nervous depression. Sergey's attempts to prove his father's innocence in the relevant offices lead nowhere. Meanwhile, Sergei has to go with classmates to practice. Released from practice in the dean's office. Members of the party bureau Uvarov and Sviridov are present in the dean's office. With the help of psychological pressure, party bosses get to the bottom of the facts that disgrace the honor of a communist. "You can't deceive the Party," the "guilty" is warned. The next warning is from Nina. Uvarov informs her that the nearest party bureau will consider Vokhmintsev's case. For Uvarov, this is a real chance to take revenge, female intuition suggests. But even the most daring hypotheses pale before the cunning of the enemy. Coolly and cynically, Uvarov accuses Vokhmintsev of a crime that he committed himself. After a well-directed performance, organizational conclusions followed immediately - to be excluded from the ranks of the CPSU (b). Here Vokhmintsev submits an application for resignation from the institute. Sergei draws moral support for his decisive steps from a letter from his father, handed over to freedom. The elder Vokhmintsev is convinced that he and the others are "victims of some strange mistake, some kind of inhuman suspicion and some kind of inhuman slander." Far from Moscow, in Kazakhstan, Sergey tries himself in his chosen profession as a miner. The local secretary of the district party committee helps him get a job with a bad profile. It is possible that Nina will come here. M. V. Chudova Victor Petrovich Astafiev (b. 1924) Shepherd and shepherdess Contemporary pastoral Tale (1971) A woman walks along the desert steppe along the railway line, under the sky, in which the ridge of the Urals appears like a heavy cloudy delirium. There are tears in her eyes, it's getting harder to breathe. At the dwarf kilometer post, she stops, moving her lips, repeats the number indicated on the post, leaves the embankment and, on the signal mound, looks for a grave with a pyramid. The woman kneels in front of the grave and whispers "How long I have been looking for you!" Our troops were finishing off an almost strangled grouping of German troops, whose command, as at Stalingrad, refused to accept the ultimatum of unconditional surrender. The platoon of Lieutenant Boris Kostyaev, along with other units, met the enemy breaking through. The night battle with the participation of tanks and artillery, "Katyushas" was terrible - due to the onslaught of the Germans distraught from frost and despair, due to losses on both sides. Having beaten off the attack, having collected the dead and wounded, Kostyaev's platoon arrived at the nearest farm for rest. Behind the bath, in the snow, Boris saw an old man and an old woman killed by a volley of artillery fire. They lay, covering each other. A local resident, Khvedor Khvomich, said that the dead came to this Ukrainian farm from the Volga region during a famine year. They grazed collective farm cattle. Shepherd and shepherdess. The hands of the shepherd and the shepherdess, when they were buried, could not be disengaged. The fighter Lantsov quietly read a prayer over the old people. Khvedor Khvomich was surprised that the Red Army soldier knew prayers. He himself forgot them, in his youth he went to the atheists and agitated these old people to eliminate the icons. But they didn't listen to him... The soldiers of the platoon stopped at the house where the mistress was the girl Lyusya. They warmed up and drank moonshine. Everyone was tired, drunk and eating potatoes, only foreman Mokhnakov did not get drunk. Lucy drank along with everyone, saying at the same time: "Welcome back ... We have been waiting for you for so long. So long..." The soldiers went to bed one by one on the floor. Those who still retained their strength continued to drink, eat, joke, remembering a peaceful life. Boris Kostyaev, going out into the hallway, heard fuss in the dark and Lucy's breaking voice: "No need. Comrade foreman ..." The lieutenant resolutely stopped the foreman's harassment and led him out into the street. Between these people, who together went through many battles and hardships, enmity broke out. The lieutenant threatened to shoot the foreman if he tried to offend the girl again. Angry Mokhnakov went to another hut. Lucy called the lieutenant to the house, where all the soldiers were already asleep. She led Boris to the clean quarters, gave her dressing gown to him to change, and prepared a trough of water behind the stove. When Boris washed himself and went to bed, his eyelids filled with heaviness of their own accord, and sleep fell upon him. Even before dawn, the company commander called Lieutenant Kostyaev. Lucy did not even have time to wash his uniform, which was very upset. The platoon received an order to drive the Nazis out of the neighboring village, the last stronghold. After a short battle, the platoon, along with other units, occupied the village. Soon the commander of the front arrived there with his retinue. Never before had Boris seen the legendary commander up close. In one of the sheds they found a German general who had shot himself. The commander ordered to bury the enemy general with full military honors. Boris Kostyaev returned with the soldiers to the same house where they spent the night. The lieutenant fell into a deep sleep again. At night, Lucy, his first woman, came to him. Boris talked about himself, read his mother's letters. He recalled how, as a child, his mother took him to Moscow and they watched ballet in the theater. A shepherd and a shepherdess danced on the stage. "They loved each other, were not ashamed of love and were not afraid for it. In gullibility they were defenseless." Then it seemed to Boris that the defenseless were inaccessible to evil... Lucy listened with bated breath, knowing that such a night would never happen again. On this night of love, they forgot about the war - a twenty-year-old lieutenant and a girl who was one military year older than him. Lusya learned from somewhere that the platoon would stay at the farm for another two days. But in the morning they transmitted the order of the company commander: by cars to catch up with the main forces that had gone far behind the retreating enemy. Lyusya, stricken by the sudden parting, at first remained in the hut, then she could not stand it, she caught up with the car in which the soldiers were driving. Not embarrassed by anyone, she kissed Boris and with difficulty broke away from him. After heavy fighting, Boris Kostyaev asked the political officer for a vacation. And the political officer had already decided to send the lieutenant to short-term courses so that he could visit his beloved for a day. Boris already imagined his meeting with Lyusya ... But none of this happened. The platoon was not even taken to the reorganization: heavy fighting interfered. In one of them, Mokhnakov heroically died, throwing himself under a German tank with an anti-tank mine in a duffel bag. On the same day, Boris was wounded by a shrapnel in the shoulder. There were a lot of people in the medical battalion. Boris waited a long time for dressings and medicines. The doctor, looking at Boris's wound, did not understand why this lieutenant was not on the mend. Tosca ate Boris. One night, a doctor came to him and said: "I appointed you for evacuation. In field conditions, souls are not treated ..." The sanitary train took Boris to the east. At one of the stations, he saw a woman who looked like Lyusya... Arina, the car nurse, looking at the young lieutenant, wondered why he was getting worse and worse every day. Boris looked out the window, felt sorry for himself and his wounded neighbors, felt sorry for Lyusya, who remained in the deserted square of the Ukrainian town, the old man and the old woman, buried in the garden. He no longer remembered the faces of the shepherd and the shepherdess, and it turned out: they looked like a mother, like a father, like all the people he once knew ... One morning, Arina came to wash Boris and saw that he had died. He was buried in the steppe, having made a pyramid from a signal post. Arina shook her head sadly: "Such a slight wound, but he died..." After listening to the ground, the woman said: "Sleep. I'll go. But I'll come back to you. No one there can separate us..." "And he, or what he once was, remained in the silent land, entangled in the roots of herbs and flowers that subsided until spring. He was left alone - in the middle of Russia." V. M. Sotnikov Sad detective Roman (1985) Forty-two-year-old Leonid Soshnin, a former operative of the criminal investigation department, returns home from a local publishing house, to an empty apartment, in the worst mood. The manuscript of his first book "Life is the most precious" after five years of waiting finally accepted for production, but this news does not please Soshnin. A conversation with the editor, Oktyabrina Perfilyevna Syrokvasova, who tried to humiliate the author-policeman who dared to call herself a writer with arrogant remarks, unraveled Soshnin's already gloomy thoughts and feelings. "How in the world to live? Lonely?" - he thinks on the way home, and his thoughts are heavy. He served his time in the police: after two wounds, Soshnin was sent to a disability pension. After another quarrel, his wife Lerka leaves him, taking his little daughter Svetka with her. Soshnin remembers all his life. He cannot answer his own question: why is there so much place in life for grief and suffering, but always close to love and happiness? Soshnin understands that, among other incomprehensible things and phenomena, he will have to comprehend the so-called Russian soul and he needs to start with the closest people, with the episodes that he witnessed, with the fate of the people with whom his life collided ... Why are Russian people ready to pity the bone breaker and a bloodletter and not notice how a helpless war invalid dies nearby, in a neighboring apartment? .. Why does a criminal live so freely and courageously among such kind-hearted people? .. In order to distract himself from gloomy thoughts for at least a minute, Leonid imagines how he will come home, cook a bachelor's dinner for himself, read, sleep a little so that he has enough strength for the whole night - to sit at the table, over a blank sheet of paper. Soshnin especially loves this night time, when he lives in some kind of isolated world created by his imagination. Leonid Soshnin's apartment is located on the outskirts of Veisk, in an old two-story house where he grew up. From this house my father left for the war, from which he did not return, here, by the end of the war, my mother also died from a severe cold. Leonid stayed with his mother's sister, aunt Lipa, whom he used to call Lina from childhood. Aunt Lina, after the death of her sister, went to work in the commercial department of the Wei railway. This department was "conversed and jailed at once." My aunt tried to poison herself, but she was saved and after the trial was sent to a colony. By this time, Lenya was already studying at the regional special school of the Internal Affairs Directorate, from where he was almost expelled because of his convicted aunt. But the neighbors, and mainly Father Lavr's brother-soldier, a Cossack, interceded for Leonid with the regional police authorities, and everything worked out. Aunt Lina was released under an amnesty. Soshnin had already worked as a district police officer in the remote Khailovsky district, from where he also brought his wife. Before her death, Aunt Lina managed to babysit Leonid's daughter, Sveta, whom she considered her granddaughter. After Lina's death, the Soshnins passed under the patronage of another, no less reliable aunt named Granya, a switchman on a shunting hill. Aunt Granya spent her whole life taking care of other people's children, and even little Lenya Soshnin learned the first skills of brotherhood and hard work in a kind of kindergarten. Once, after returning from Khailovsk, Soshnin was on duty with a police squad at a mass celebration on the occasion of the Day of the Railwayman. Four guys drunk to the point of loss of memory raped Aunt Granya, and if it weren’t for a patrol partner, Soshnin would have shot these drunken fellows sleeping on the lawn. They were convicted, and after this incident, Aunt Granya began to avoid people. Once she expressed the terrible thought to Soshnin that, having condemned the criminals, they thereby ruined young lives. Soshnin yelled at the old woman for pitying non-humans, and they began to avoid each other ... In the dirty and spit-stained entrance of the house, three drunkards pester Soshnin, demanding to say hello, and then to apologize for their disrespectful behavior. He agrees, trying to cool their ardor with peaceful remarks, but the main one, the young bull, does not calm down. Flushed with alcohol, the guys pounce on Soshnin. He, having gathered his strength - the wounds, the hospital "rest" affected - defeats the hooligans. One of them, when falling, hits his head on the heating battery. Soshnin picks up a knife on the floor, staggers, goes to the apartment. And he immediately calls the police, reports a fight: “I cracked one hero’s head on the battery. Coming to his senses after what happened, Soshnin again recalls his life. He and his partner were chasing a drunk who stole a truck on a motorcycle. With a deadly ram, the truck raced through the streets of the town, having already cut off more than one life. Soshnin, the patrol leader, decided to shoot the criminal. His partner fired, but before his death, the truck driver managed to push the motorcycle of the pursuing policemen. On the operating table, Soshnin was miraculously saved from amputation of her leg. But he remained lame, and learned to walk for a long time. During his recovery, the investigator tormented him for a long time and stubbornly with the investigation: was it lawful to use weapons? Leonid also recalls how he met his future wife, saving her from hooligans who tried to take off the girl's jeans right behind the Soyuzpechat kiosk. At first, their life with Lerka went on in peace and harmony, but gradually mutual reproaches began. His wife especially did not like his studies in literature. "What a Leo Tolstoy with a seven-shot pistol, with rusty handcuffs in his belt! .." - she said. Soshnin recalls how one "took" a stray guest performer, a recidivist Demon, in a hotel in the town. And finally, he recalls how Venka Fomin, who had drunk and returned from prison, put an end to his career as an operative ... in the barn of old women and threatens to set fire to them if they do not give him ten rubles for a hangover. During the detention, when Soshnin slipped on the manure and fell, Venka Fomin, frightened, put a pitchfork into him ... Soshnin was barely taken to the hospital - and he barely passed certain death. But the second group of disability and retirement could not be avoided. At night, Leonid is awakened from his sleep by the terrible scream of the neighbor girl Yulka. He hurries to the apartment on the ground floor, where Yulia lives with her grandmother Tutyshikha. After drinking a bottle of Riga balsam from the gifts brought by Yulka's father and stepmother from the Baltic sanatorium, grandmother Tutyshikha is already in a dead sleep. At the funeral of grandma Tutyshikha, Soshnin meets his wife and daughter. At the wake, they sit side by side. Lerka and Sveta stay with Soshnin, at night he hears his daughter sniffing behind the partition, and feels his wife sleeping next to him, timidly clinging to him. He rises, approaches his daughter, straightens her pillow, presses his cheek against her head and is forgotten in some kind of sweet grief, in resurrecting, life-giving sorrow. Leonid goes to the kitchen, reads "Proverbs of the Russian people" collected by Dahl - the section "Husband and Wife" - and is surprised at the wisdom contained in simple words. "Dawn, a damp, snowball, was already rolling in through the kitchen window, when, having enjoyed peace among a quietly sleeping family, with a feeling of confidence unknown to him for a long time in his abilities and strengths, without irritation and longing in his heart, Soshnin clung to the table, placed a clean sheet of paper in a spot of light and froze over him for a long time. V. M. Sotnikov Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (b. 1924) Stay healthy student Tale (1961) Mozdok steppe. There is a war with Nazi Germany. I am a fighter, mortar. I am a Muscovite, I am eighteen years old, the second day on the front line, a month in the army, and I carry a "very responsible package" to the regiment commander. Where this commander is is unknown. And for failure to complete the task - execution. Someone forcefully pulls me into the trench. They explain that another hundred meters, and I would have run into the Germans. They take me to the commander of the regiment. He reads the report and asks me to tell my commander not to send such reports again. I dream about how I will come back, report back, drink hot tea, sleep - now I have the right. In our battery, Sashka Zolotarev, Kolya Grinchenko, Shongin, Gurgenidze, the platoon commander is Junior Lieutenant Karpov. Kolya Grinchenko, no matter what he says, always "smiles charmingly." Shongin - "old soldier". He served in all armies during all wars, but he never fired a shot, he was never wounded. Gurgenidze is a little Georgian, he always has a drop on his nose. Yesterday Nina came, "beautiful signalman", she is married. "You're still a little kid, aren't you?" she asked. Will Nina come today or not? Here she comes, next to her is an unfamiliar signalman. Suddenly there is a gap in the distance. Someone shouts: "Lie down!" I see how Nina slowly rises from the dirty snow, and the other one lies motionless. This is our first mine. I lost my spoon. There is nothing. I eat porridge with a bite. We're on the offensive. "What's wrong with your palms?" - asks the foreman. My palms are in blood. "It's from mine boxes," Shongin says. Sasha Zolotarev makes notches on a stick in memory of the dead. There is no more space left on the stick. I come to the headquarters of the regiment. "And you have good eyes," says Nina. These words make wings grow behind my back. "I'll come to you tomorrow, I like you," I say. “Many people like me, because there is no one here but me,” she replies. We are changing positions. We're going by car. It's snowing and raining. Night. We stop and knock on a door. The hostess lets us in. Everyone goes to bed. "Climb to me," a quiet voice says from the stove. "And who are you?" I ask. "Maria Andreevna". She was sixteen years. "Come closer," she says. "Let go," I say. "Well, go to your shop, since you are crowded with people." The next day he wounds Gurgenizde. "Gotcha," he smiles sadly. He is sent to the hospital. Sasha Zolotarev learns that cars with cereals are standing nearby, and the drivers are sleeping. “It would be nice for us to pour a bowler hat,” says Sasha and goes to the cars. The next day, the battalion commander scolds Sasha for stealing. I say that Sashka handed it out to everyone, but I myself think where he was, this battalion commander, when we took the first battle near state farm No. 3. I ate according to the regime at the school. I remember how at the last Komsomol meeting, when the boys swore one by one to die for their Motherland, Zhenya, whom I loved then, said: "I feel sorry for you boys. The war needs silent, gloomy soldiers. No need to make noise." - "And you?" someone shouted. "I'll go too. Just don't scream and crucify." We - Karpov, the foreman, Sashka Zolotarev and I - are going to the army base for mortars. We are traveling in a lorry. On the way, we meet a girl in the uniform of a foreman. Her name is Masha. She asks for a ride to the rear. We stop for the night in the village. The mistress of our house is very similar to my mother. She feeds us a pie from our crackers, pours alcohol to keep us warm. We go to bed. We get into the car in the morning. We are returning to divisional headquarters. I meet Nina. "Did you come to visit?" she asks. "I was looking for you," I answer. "Oh, my dear ... Here's a real friend. Didn't forget, then?" she says. We have lunch with Nina in the staff canteen. We talk about what happened before the war, that in the middle of the war we have a date, that I will be waiting for her letters. We leave the dining room. I touch her shoulder. She gently takes my hand away. "Don't," she says, "it's better that way." She kisses my forehead and runs into the blizzard. We get an American armored personnel carrier. We ride on it and carry a barrel of wine - for the entire battery. We decide to taste the wines. It pours into the kettles through the gasoline hose and smells of gasoline. After drinking, Sasha Zolotarev begins to cry and remember his Klava. The car is moving forward. A figure is running towards us. This is a soldier. He says that "the guys were beaten with bullets", seven. Only two survived. We help them bury the dead. There is a fight. Suddenly it hits me in the side, but I'm alive, only in the mouth of the earth. They didn't kill me, they killed Shongin. Sasha brings a bunch of German aluminum spoons, but for some reason I can't eat them. "Rama" is playing around, "says Kolya. I feel pain in my leg, my left thigh is bleeding. I was wounded! How is it - no fight, nothing. They take me to the medical battalion. My sister asks me for documents. I take them out of my pocket. A spoon falls out after them. "Shongin" is scratched on it. And when did I manage to pick it up? That's the memory of Shongin. New wounded are brought into the barracks. One of them is angry, from a mortar. He says that all of ours were killed: and Kolya , and Sasha, and the battalion commander. He was left alone. "You're all lying," I shout. "He's lying," someone says. "Don't listen," says my sister. “He’s not himself.” “Our people are moving forward,” I say. I want to cry, and not from grief. E. A. Zhuravleva A Sip of Freedom, or Poor Avrosimov Roman (1965-1968) Petersburg, January 1826. Ivan Evdokimovich Avrosimov works as a clerk in the highest approved commission, writing down the testimony of participants in the rebellion on Senate Square. This shy provincial found himself in the commission thanks to the patronage of his uncle, the retired staff captain Artamon Mikhailovich Avrosimov, who rendered an unforgettable service to Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich on the day he was sworn in, December 14th. Courage did not leave the clerk until the commission began interrogating Colonel Pestel. From that moment mysterious things began to happen to him. Some mysterious stranger seeks a meeting with him. A member of the committee, Count Tatishchev, pursues Avrosimov in his carriage, asking extremely uncomfortable questions: is it possible to fall under the spell of a state criminal - such as Pestel? (The poor hero finds nothing better than to ask the same questions again to his serf Yegorushka. He keeps silent in horror.) The only rest is an unexpected night adventure with the officers (including Pavel Buturlin, Tatishchev's secretary) and their frivolous girlfriends, whom the clerk takes for decent women and one, Delfinius, in the heat of the night passion even offers to marry him. Soon there is a meeting with a mysterious stranger. She turns out to be the wife of Pestel's brother, Vladimir Ivanovich Pestel, who spoke on December 14 on the side of Nikolai - against his brother. During the meeting, Avrosimov swears to her to fulfill any of her requests. During a visit to his uncle, he meets a certain Arkady Ivanovich Mayboroda, a captain who served with Pestel (before whom the clerk himself unconsciously reveres), who betrayed his boss. Avrosimov leads the captain to familiar officers, where he repeats the story of his relationship with Pestel, and at the end of the conversation receives an unexpected slap in the face from Buturlin. The next morning Mayboroda again appears before the eyes of Avrosimov: he testifies before the committee. After that, our hero discusses more specifically with Amalia Petrovna the ways to save Pestel, and then wants to marry again - this time with Delfinia's girlfriend, the hay girl Milorode. Waking up, he rushes to the place of service, where he receives an order to accompany the arrested Lieutenant Zaikin to Little Russia, who is ready to show the authorities the place where the Russian Truth is hidden (his sister, Nastenka Zaikina, who regularly waits for her brother in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress, has more than once aroused in Avrosimov a sincere desire to at least do something to help her). Having handed questionnaires to Pestel in his cell, he again meets the Minister of War's carriage on the way home, and Tatishchev, as before, asks the hero extremely unpleasant questions about the secret of Pestel's charm. Get on the road faster! The criminal is also accompanied by captain Sleptsov, who offers to spend the night on the road at his estate, Kolupanovka. Half-asleep, the colonel constantly appears to Avrosimov, who conducts his dangerously intelligent conversations about the fate of Russia - and he himself is still damn charming! Evening at the estate - with the singing of a girl's choir, a sumptuous meal - was a success. At night, Avrosimov and the prisoner confess to each other their sympathy for Pestel. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that Zaikin still cannot indicate the place where the manuscripts are buried - he simply does not know this. But, succumbing to the pressure of Sleptsov, he points to a person who knows this place exactly: his brother Fedya. He indicates the real place of storage of Pestel's papers, but was too frank with the captain, and he arrests his brother as well (Avrosimov slaps him; the duel is postponed until St. Petersburg). On the way back, the trinity again calls in Kolupanovka. Out of some not entirely clear sense of superiority, Sleptsov (already inclined almost simultaneously to demonstrate both the most gentle, it would seem, manifestations of care and consideration, and the most vile qualities) staged an attack by robbers, and Avrosimov wounded one of the attackers - to the horror of everyone the rest, confident that no one else had a weapon. Zaikin, who called the captain's joke "bordering on meanness," asks Avrosimov to hand over the note to his sister Nastenka. He fulfills the request. After that, he goes to Amalia Petrovna (she is just talking with her husband, Pestel's brother - Avrosimov, accidentally overhearing the conversation, understands who she loves) and offers to arrange an escape from the fortress. Individuals who have appeared from somewhere out of nowhere (someone Filimonov, Starodubtsev and Gordon) offer their services - first disinterestedly, then, "for speed", demand money. Avrosimov refuses: but the escape car seemed to have already started spinning against his will, but Amalia Petrovna herself betrays all plans to Tatishchev. The minister sends a note to Buturlin demanding that Avrosimov be arrested - they are just discussing the terms of the upcoming duel with Sleptsov. During the arrest, Avrosimov denies everything, and he is sent to the village, where, having married, apparently, Nastenka, he is waiting for Myatlev and Lavinia (see "Travel of Amateurs"). A. B. Mokrousov Travel of amateurs From the notes of retired lieutenant Amiran Amilakhvari Roman (1976-1978) The novel, which takes place in 1845-1855, begins with the return of Prince Sergei Myatlev and the narrator Amiran Amilakhvari after a duel (which ended in nothing) to the prince's spacious St. Petersburg house, filled with copies from ancient masterpieces. The living room has been turned into a fencing hall here, the card tables have been demolished into one room, and the living quarters have been boarded up, except for the third floor, where the prince is located. The son of an adjutant general, he belongs to the elite of his time, but, despite this, he is unloved by the sovereign. Having entered the cavalry guard regiment after the page corps, he was soon sent for an innocent prank in the Life Guards of the Grodno Hussar Regiment, and then, after distinction in the Caucasus and the death of the old prince, he returned to St. Petersburg, where, having retired, he keeps a portrait of a state criminal at home Muravyov, leads an idle life, in conversations with Amilakhvari and the lame-legged Andrei Vladimirovich Priimkov, a descriptor of genealogical trees, expelled from the capital for his anti-patriotic works, exposing the immorality of Russian history. It seems to Myatlev that he is in love with the cold-blooded Aneta, the wife of Baron Frederiks, but their romance is short-lived: she leaves the prince for the sake of the emperor. But the baron will soon become the chief of Myatlev. At the same time, Myatlev met in his park with an eight-year-old child who called himself Mr. van Schonhoven. He will constantly appear in the Myatlyov park, and then in the house itself, where he will drink tea and talk with his owner. In reality, this is Lavinia Tuchkova in disguise (Bravura - that was the name of her father, but the general who adopted the girl gave her his last name), who falls in love with the prince for life. But their romance is not destined to come true soon. The prince is still young, and on Nevsky, during the rain, he meets twenty-two-year-old Alexandrina Zhiltsova, the daughter of a Decembrist (who became such “by negligence”), who came to St. Petersburg to pray for her father languishing in the mines. Her petition was refused, and, despite the free life in Myatlev's house, consumption finally undermines her strength, and Alexandrina rushes (seemingly) to the Neva (later, during her journey, Myatlev will stop in the garrison, where, it seems, she fled to in fact, Alexandrina - but he will never be able to understand this for sure). Myatlev remains in the house with his faithful servant Athanasius. The prince, however, quite quickly starts an affair with Countess Natalie Rumyantseva. She seduces the prince, becomes pregnant from him, and then raises a wave of rumors throughout St. Petersburg - the prince is even summoned by the chief of the gendarme corps, Count Orlov. In the meantime, the mother gives Lavinia, who lives in Moscow (she is in her sixteenth year), for the landlord, Mr. Ladimirovsky. Myatlev rushes to the capital, but the meeting with Lavinia and the acquaintance with her mother end in nothing. But upon returning to the northern capital, the prince was forced to schedule a wedding with Natalie, who had become pregnant (as if from him), at the end of October. The bride begins a decisive alteration of her beloved princely house. The prince is even forced to enter the service of Count Nesselrode. Returning from the latter, Myatlev goes into the shop of Mr. Sverbeev, where he meets a certain Mr. Kolesnikov, who, for no reason at all, preaches rather seditious ideas - a revolution in Europe, etc. After which his life takes on an almost mystical character: someone enters the house Mr. Timothy Katakazi, pulling information from the prince about the years. Priimkov and Kolesnikov. The emperor personally joins the hands of Natalie and the prince - there is nowhere to go, Myatlev marries, but influenza takes the life of his young wife and baby. Having recovered from the shock, Myatlev sits down to write his memoirs about his deceased fellow poet, Mr. Lermontov. "Rereading what he had written, he suddenly realized that he was writing not so much about a murdered comrade, as he was settling personal scores with the king." However, having accidentally met Mr. Kolesnikov, the prince for some reason decides to show him his manuscript. The writer is horrified. And the prince, tormented by the blues and a vague desire for Lavinia, decides to visit her mother - supposedly to buy a portrait of Prince Sapieha, in fact - in order to scout out the plan of the house and try to steal Lavinia one day. Mrs. Tuchkova, however, turns out to be more perceptive than the prince and, in a conversation full of allegory, points out to him the impracticability of such intentions. He, however, begins to experience a burning longing for Lavinia. Finally, she herself arrives in St. Petersburg (it was 1850) and personally visits the prince in his house! A decisive explanation takes place, during which Lavinia asks the prince to simply be patient, and then happiness will overtake them on its own. Here, the former Mr. van Schonhoven admits that two poetic lines (which have long become the leitmotif of the entire novel): "Do you remember the mournful sounds of the trumpets, / Splashes of rain, half light, half darkness? .." - taken from Nekrasov. But the attempt of the lovers to talk at the October ball in the Anichkov Palace ends in failure: the husband does not lag behind Lavinia, the emperor himself shows an increased (but unsuccessful) interest in the young beauty, some horse guard speaks unflatteringly about her (this is the reason for the duel with which novel) ... Only a meeting with Aneta brings joy: she takes up the arrangement of their dates at home. But Lavinia for some reason confesses her relationship to her husband, and he takes her to the village. Returning to St. Petersburg in the spring, Mr. Ladimirovsky nevertheless loses his wife: on May 5, she runs away with the prince, after which the Myatlev family house collapses on its own. Nikolai orders to seize the fugitives, for which they are chased in all possible directions. The lovers flee to Moscow. On the way, they get acquainted with the dear landowner Ivan Evdokimovich, with whom they stay for a long time and who was also somehow connected with the events of December 14th. Only on the day of departure does it become clear that this is Avrosimov (see the novel "Poor Avrosimov"). Through Moscow and Tula, the fugitives set off towards Pyatigorsk, but an unexpected meeting with the friendly Colonel von Müfling (who is actually instructed to detain the lovers, but who sincerely likes the lovers) makes them turn to Tiflis, to Amiran's relatives. Following, drawn by intuition, the colonel goes, but the hospitable Georgians convince him not to do anything against the happy couple. Von Müfling makes a promise - but then, unfortunately, Timothy Katakazi appears, who delays Lavinia with the prince. They are escorted to St. Petersburg: the prince - to the fortress, Lavinia - to her lawful spouse. The latter hopes for the restoration of family relations, but to no avail. Although the prince is deprived of his title, fortune and sent to an indefinite private in the Caucasus, Lavinia still loves him. The tortures of the soldiery are intensified by the fact that they have to be endured in the very garrison where the lovers regained their strength during their journey and where, apparently, Alexandrina ended her days. After the wounding of Prince Lavinia, she again leaves her husband and, under a false name, enters the sisters of mercy - in order to be close to her beloved, but she is again returned to the capital under escort. After some time, Amiran (who has already married Margo, Lavinia's friend) receives a letter from her, where she announces her desire to reconcile with her husband and go with him to Italy. Soon Nikolai dies, and the prince, already desperate, receives a full pardon. He settles in his estate in the Kostroma province, where, under the guise of a housekeeper, Lavinia, exhausted by this life, arrives. Their happiness is short-lived: having tried to open a hospital for the peasants, and then a school, the prince dies. The letters published in the epilogue shed light on some of the details of this story. So, the sudden departure of Lavinia to Italy was caused by a letter from Elizabeth, Myatlev's sister, where she declared the unfortunate cause of all the troubles of the prince. A. B. Mokrousov Boris Lvovich Vasiliev (b. 1924) And the dawns here are quiet Tale (1969) May 1942 Countryside in Russia. There is a war with Nazi Germany. The 171st railway siding is commanded by foreman Fedot Evgrafych Vaskov. He is thirty two years old. He has only four grades. Vaskov was married, but his wife ran away with the regimental veterinarian, and his son soon died. It's quiet on the road. Soldiers arrive here, look around and then begin to "drink and walk." Vaskov stubbornly writes reports, and, in the end, they send him a platoon of "non-drinking" fighters - anti-aircraft gunners. At first, the girls laugh at Vaskov, but he does not know how to deal with them. Rita Osyanina is in command of the first squad of the platoon. Rita's husband died on the second day of the war. She sent her son Albert to her parents. Soon Rita got into the regimental anti-aircraft school. With the death of her husband, she learned to hate the Germans "quietly and mercilessly" and was harsh with the girls from her department. The Germans kill the carrier, instead they send Zhenya Komelkova, a slender red-haired beauty. In front of Zhenya a year ago, the Germans shot her loved ones. After their death, Zhenya crossed the front. She was picked up, protected "and not that he took advantage of defenselessness - Colonel Luzhin stuck to himself." He was a family man, and the military authorities, having found out about this, the colonel "took into circulation", and sent Zhenya "to a good team." Despite everything, Zhenya is "sociable and mischievous". Her fate immediately "crosses out Rita's exclusivity." Zhenya and Rita converge, and the latter "thaws". When it comes to transferring from the front line to the patrol, Rita is inspired and asks to send her squad. The crossing is located near the city where her mother and son live. At night, Rita secretly runs into the city, carries her products. One day, returning at dawn, Rita sees two Germans in the forest. She wakes up Vaskov. He receives an order from his superiors to "catch" the Germans. Vaskov calculates that the route of the Germans lies on the Kirov railway. The foreman decides to go a short way through the swamps to the Sinyukhina ridge, stretching between two lakes, along which you can only get to the railway, and wait for the Germans there - they will certainly go by the roundabout. Vaskov takes Rita, Zhenya, Lisa Brichkina, Sonya Gurvich and Galya Chetvertak with him. Lisa is from Bryansk, she is the daughter of a forester. For five years, she took care of her terminally ill mother, because of this she could not finish school. A visiting hunter, who awakened her first love in Liza, promised to help her enter a technical school. But the war began, Liza got into the anti-aircraft unit. Liza likes Sergeant Major Vaskov. Sonya Gurvich is from Minsk. Her father was a local doctor, they had a large and friendly family. She herself studied for a year at Moscow University, she knows German. Neighbor on lectures, Sonya's first love, with whom they spent only one unforgettable evening in the park of culture, volunteered for the front. Galya Chetvertak grew up in an orphanage. It was there that she met her first love. After the orphanage, Galya got into the library technical school. The war caught her in her third year. The path to Lake Vop lies through the swamps. Vaskov leads the girls along a path well known to him, on both sides of which there is a quagmire. The fighters safely reach the lake and, hiding on the Sinyukhina ridge, are waiting for the Germans. Those appear on the shore of the lake only the next morning. There are not two of them, but sixteen. While the Germans are about three hours away from Vaskov and the girls, the foreman sends Lisa Brichkin back to the junction to report on the change in the situation. But Lisa, crossing the swamp, stumbles and drowns. No one knows about this, and everyone is waiting for help. Until then, the girls decide to mislead the Germans. They portray lumberjacks, shouting loudly, Vaskov felling trees. The Germans retreat to Lake Legontov, not daring to go along the Sinyukhin ridge, on which, as they think, someone is cutting down the forest. Vaskov with the girls moves to a new place. He left his pouch in the same place, and Sonya Gurvich volunteers to bring it. While hurrying, she stumbles upon two Germans who kill her. Vaskov and Zhenya are killing these Germans. Sonya is buried. Soon the fighters see the rest of the Germans approaching them. Hiding behind bushes and boulders, they shoot first, the Germans retreat, fearing an invisible enemy. Zhenya and Rita accuse Galya of cowardice, but Vaskov defends her and takes her on reconnaissance for "educational purposes". But Vaskov does not suspect what mark Sonya's death left in Gali's soul. She is terrified and gives herself away at the most crucial moment, and the Germans kill her. Fedot Evgrafych takes the Germans on himself to lead them away from Zhenya and Rita. He is wounded in the arm. But he manages to get away and reach the island in the swamp. In the water, he notices Lisa's skirt and realizes that help will not come. Vaskov finds the place where the Germans stopped to rest, kills one of them and goes to look for the girls. They are preparing to take the final stand. The Germans appear. In an unequal battle, Vaskov and the girls kill several Germans. Rita is mortally wounded, and while Vaskov is dragging her to safety, the Germans kill Zhenya. Rita asks Vaskov to take care of her son and shoots herself in the temple. Vaskov buries Zhenya and Rita. After that, he goes to the forest hut, where the five remaining Germans sleep. Vaskov kills one of them on the spot, and takes four prisoners. They themselves tie each other with belts, because they do not believe that Vaskov is "alone for many miles." He loses consciousness from pain only when his own, Russians, are already coming towards him. Many years later, a gray-haired, stocky old man without an arm and a rocket captain, whose name is Albert Fedotovich, will bring a marble slab to Rita's grave. E. A. Zhuravleva Vasil Bykov (b. 1924) Kruglyansky bridge Tale (1968) Sitting in a pit due to the lack of a special room for the arrested in the partisan detachment, Styopka Tolkach went over the circumstances of the last days in his memory. Styopka was not lucky in this detachment, he was not very trusted here and he was assigned to serve in an economic platoon. And suddenly the bomber Maslakov suggested that he go on a mission. Styopka was delighted, despite his youth, he was still an experienced demolition worker. The four of us went - Maslakov, Styopka, Britvin, a former battalion commander, demoted for some reason and now trying to earn forgiveness, and Danila Shpak, who knows these places well. Task: burn the wooden bridge near the village of Krugliany. When we got to the right place, dusk was approaching and it was going to rain. “We need to go now,” Maslakov decided. “Night guards have not yet been set up near the bridge. Besides, if the rain clears, the bridge will not catch fire. Who is with me?” Britvin and Shpak refused under various pretexts. "You will go," Maslakov ordered Styopka. When they came out of the forest, the road and the bridge seemed completely deserted. But already on the approach to the bridge in the rainy fog, some figure suddenly cut through. It was too late to hide, and they continued to move. A shot rang out from the bridge. Maslakov and Styopka rushed out of the way, Styopka one at a time, and Maslakov on the other side of the embankment. Holding a rifle in one hand and a canister in the other, Styopka ran along the embankment, which became lower, and finally saw the figure of the shooter. Styopka threw the canister and fired almost without aiming. He jumped across the road and stumbled upon the lying Maslakov. Looks like he was dead. There was silence, no one fired. Styopka shouldered the body of the commander and dragged himself back. He kept expecting that Britvin and Shpak would come out to help, but he met them only in the forest. Styopka almost cried from grief and despair: Maslakov was wounded, the canister remained near the bridge, and there would be no sense from it anymore - the Germans will now strengthen the guards and they won’t get close to the bridge. "Go look for a cart," ordered Styopka Britvin, who took command of the group. Styopka quickly found a horse grazing in the forest. But its owner, a fifteen-year-old teenager Mitya, rested: "I can’t give it. I have to take milk to Kruglyany in the morning." - "Okay," Styopka suggested, "let's go together. You'll be back home with the horse in the morning." Styopka was greeted gloomily: "I tried in vain." Maslakov died. They decided to leave the boy until the morning, Britvin did not like that Mitya was the son of a policeman. But Styopka sensed that Britvin had an idea when he heard that tomorrow morning Mitya was to carry milk across that same bridge. Britvin immediately sent Shpak for explosives, and sent Mitya home, agreeing that he would come to them with milk in the morning. The ammonite brought by Shpak turned out to be very damp, and Britvin ordered to dry it right on the fire. Styopka and Shpak dried, Britvin watched them from a distance. "Well," when the explosive dried up, he said, "this is not some kind of canister of gasoline for you. The explosives also wanted to destroy the bridge for me. And even without the help of local residents." “Maybe Maslakov didn’t want to risk anyone,” Styopka objected. "Risk? Do you know what war is? It's a risk with people. Whoever risks more wins. I can't stand smart people who argue what is right and what is wrong. And no matter how innocent people suffer. What does the innocent have to do with war! " And Styopka thought that perhaps Britvin understood the war better than Maslakov. In the morning Mitya appeared with a cart and milk cans. From one can they poured milk and stuffed it with explosives, inserted a fuse and brought out the fuse fuse. “The cord burns for fifty seconds. This means that it will be necessary to set fire to the cord thirty meters from the bridge, and on the bridge throw off this can and whip the horses. Until the policemen come to their senses, the bridge will no longer be,” Britvin explained to the boy. "And who will go?" Styopka asked. "And you run quickly to the bridge. Your place is there!" - Instead of an answer, Britvin shouted at Styopka. And Styopka went to the bridge. Styopka got very close to him. The road was empty for a long time. And finally, a supply appeared on it. Mitya was sitting in the cart and clumsily smoking a cigarette. Britvin and Shpak were not there. "Where are they?" Mitya got worried. One of the guards shouted something, and the boy stopped the cart and jumped to the ground some ten meters from the bridge. "That's it," Styopka decided. "Now the policeman will come up and see the fuse cord. Mitya is gone." Styopka raised his machine gun and fired a burst. The horse rushed forward, flew out onto the bridge and suddenly, as if stumbling, fell to his knees. Mitya rushed to the bridge to the horse. On the other side, three policemen ran. Styopka took aim at the fleeing, but did not have time to pull the trigger - a powerful blast wave threw him back. The half-stunned Styopka was already running towards the forest. Behind it was burning, and in the middle of the bridge there was a huge breach. Britvin and Shpak were waiting for him in the forest. "That's great, huh!" Britvin rejoiced. But Styopka still could not ask the question: where were they, why did they put Mitya alone? “Are you unhappy?” Britvin finally asked him. “We blew up the bridge! And everything turned out as planned. When the cart was on the bridge, we shot the horse.” "That's why Mitya rushed to the bridge," Styopka understood everything. "He rushed to the wounded horse." "Bastard!" he shouted at Britvin. "You bastard!" - "Surrender weapons," Britvin ordered harshly and went to Styopka, expecting the usual obedience. But Styopka raised his machine gun and pulled the trigger. Britvin hunched over, clutching his stomach... And now Styopka is sitting in a pit and awaiting trial. Shpak visited him, said that Britvin was undergoing an operation, that he would survive and that Britvin did not hold a grudge against him, he only asked Styopka not to tell anything about Mitya and in general about this whole story. Styopka sent Shpak away. No, he's not afraid. He is, of course, guilty, and he will be punished. But first he will tell how everything happened, and call Mitya ... S. P. Kostyrko Sotnikov Tale (1970) On a winter night, burying themselves from the Germans, Rybak and Sotnikov circled the fields and copses, having received the task of obtaining food for the partisans. The fisherman walked easily and quickly, Sotnikov lagged behind, he should not have gone on a mission at all - he fell ill: he coughed, his head was spinning, he was tormented by weakness. He could hardly keep up with Rybak. The farm to which they were heading turned out to be burned down. We reached the village, chose the elder's hut. "Hello," Rybak said, trying to be polite. "Guess who we are?" - "Hello," - without a shadow of obsequiousness or fear, the elderly man who was sitting at the table over the Bible answered. "Do you serve the Germans?" continued Rybak. "Aren't you ashamed to be an enemy?" “I am not an enemy to my people,” the old man replied just as calmly. "Do you have cattle? Let's go to the barn." They took a sheep from the headman and moved on without delay. They were walking across the field towards the road when they suddenly heard a noise ahead. Someone was driving down the road. "Let's run," Rybak commanded. Two carts full of people were already visible. There was still hope that they were peasants, then everything would have worked out. "Well, stop!" An angry shout came. "Stop, we'll shoot!" And Rybak added to the run. Sotnikov backed off. He fell on the slope - dizzy. Sotnikov was afraid that he would not be able to get up. He groped for his rifle in the snow and fired at random. Having been in a good dozen hopeless situations, Sotnikov was not afraid of death in battle. I was only afraid to become a burden. He was able to take a few more steps and felt his thigh burned and blood flowed down his leg. Shot. Sotnikov lay down again and began to shoot back at the pursuers, already visible in the darkness. After a few of his shots, everything was quiet. Sotnikov could make out the figures returning to the road. "Sotnikov!" he suddenly heard a whisper. "Sotnikov!" This is Rybak, who has already gone far, yet returned for him. Together in the morning they reached the next village. In the house where they entered, the partisans were met by a nine-year-old girl. "What's your mother's name?" Rybak asked. “Demikha,” the girl replied. “She is at work. And the four of us are sitting here. I am the oldest.” And the girl hospitably put a bowl of boiled potatoes on the table. "I want to leave you here," said Rybak to Sotnikov. "Lie down." "Mommy is coming!" the children shouted. The woman who entered was not surprised or frightened, only something quivered in her face when she saw an empty bowl on the table. "What else do you want?" she asked. "Bread? Salo? Eggs?" "We are not Germans." - "And who are you? Red Army men? So those are fighting at the front, and you are roaming around the corners," the woman reprimanded angrily, but immediately took up Sotnikov's wound. The fisherman looked out the window and recoiled: "Germans!" - "Quickly to the attic," Demikha ordered. The police were looking for vodka. "I have nothing," Demikha scolded angrily. "To stab you." And then from above, from the attic, a cough rang out. "Who do you have there?" The policemen were already climbing up. "Hands up! Gotcha, darlings." Bound Sotnikov, Rybak and Demikha were taken to a nearby town to the police. That they were gone, Sotnikov had no doubt. He was tormented by the thought that they were the cause of death for this woman and her children ... Sotnikov was the first to be taken for interrogation. "Do you think I'll tell you the truth?" Sotnikov asked investigator Portnov. “You will say,” the policeman said quietly. “You will say everything. We will make minced meat out of you. We will pull out all the veins, break the bones. - ordered the investigator, and a buffalo-like fellow appeared in the room, his huge hands tore Sotnikov from the chair ... The fisherman, meanwhile, was languishing in the basement, in which he unexpectedly met the headman. "And what were you imprisoned for?" - "For not informing on you. I will not be spared," the old man answered somehow very calmly. "What humility!" thought Rybak. "No, I'll still fight in my life." And when he was brought in for interrogation, Rybak tried to be accommodating, not to irritate the investigator in vain - he answered in detail and, as it seemed to him, very cunningly. “You seem to be a guy with a head,” the investigator approved. “We will check your testimony. Perhaps we will save your life. You will also serve the great Germany in the police. Think about it.” Returning to the basement and seeing Sotnikov's broken fingers - with torn nails, caked in blood clots - Rybak experienced a secret joy that he had avoided this. No, he will dodge to the last. There were already five of them in the basement. They brought the Jewish girl Basya, from whom they demanded the names of those who hid her, and Demichikha. Morning has come. Voices were heard outside. We talked about shovels. "What shovels? Why shovels?" - painfully ached in Rybak. The basement door opened: "Come out: liquidation!" The police were already standing in the yard with weapons at the ready. German officers and police authorities came out onto the porch. "I want to make a message," shouted Sotnikov. But the elder only waved his hand: "Lead." "Mr. Investigator," Rybak rushed. "You offered me yesterday. I agree." - "Come closer, - offered from the porch. - Do you agree to serve in the police?" - "I agree," - with all the sincerity that he was capable of, Rybak answered. "Bastard," - like a blow, Sotnikov's shout hit him on the back of the head. Sotnikov was now painfully ashamed of his naive hopes to save at the cost of his life people in trouble. The policemen led them to the place of execution, where the inhabitants of the town had already been rounded up and where five hemp loops were already hanging from above. The condemned were brought to the bench. Rybak had to help Sotnikov climb it. "Bastard," Sotnikov thought about him again and immediately reproached himself: where did you get the right to judge ... Rybak knocked out the support from under Sotnikov's feet. When it was all over and the people dispersed, and the policemen began to line up, Rybak stood aside, waiting for what would happen to him. “Come on!” the elder shouted at him. “Become in line. March on!” And this was usual and familiar to Rybak, he mindlessly stepped in time with the others. What's next? The fisherman glanced down the street: he had to run. Now, let's say, thump into a passing sleigh, hit a horse! But, meeting the eyes of the peasant sitting in the sleigh, and feeling how much hatred was in those eyes, Rybak realized that this would not work. But who will he go out with? And then he, like a butt on the head, was deafened by the thought: there is nowhere to run away. After liquidation - nowhere. There was no way out of this formation. S. P. Kostyrko Trouble sign Tale (1983) Stepanida and Petrok Bogatka live on the Yakhimovshchina farm, three kilometers from the town of Vyselki. Their son Fedya serves in the tank troops, their daughter Fenya is studying "to become a doctor" in Minsk. The war begins. The front is rapidly rolling to the east, the Germans are coming. There comes a terrible life in the unpredictability of new troubles. At first, the Germans run only in the town and do not visit the farm. The first are "their own" - the policemen Guzh and Kolondenok. Kolondenok once, at the time of collectivization, was an errand boy at the village council. Although Guzh is a distant relative of Petrok, he rudely humiliates the owners, demanding unquestioning obedience. Petrok endures insults and threats, Stepanida behaves proudly and defiantly. Gouge recalls that she was a collective farm activist and threatens to kill her. Finally, the policemen leave, having drunk the moonshine they brought with them. Stepanida scolds her husband for his ingratiating behavior. The arrival of the policemen was not accidental - Guzh looked after the farm for a German officer with a team. A few days later the Germans arrive in a heavy truck. They order the owners to wash the hut for the officer, while Stepanida and Petrok themselves are driven out to live in a furnace. The Germans are wreaking havoc on the economy. The owners watch all this with fear and expect even greater troubles. When Stepanida tries to show that the cow does not give enough milk, the Germans milk the cow themselves and beat the mistress for "resistance". The next time, Stepanida secretly milks all the milk into the grass. Having received no milk, the sergeant-major shoots the cow. While the Germans are busy with the cow carcass, Stepanida manages to hide behind the farm, in a badger hole, the surviving piglet. The deaf-mute shepherd Yanka helps her in this. At night, Stepanida steals the cook's rifle and throws it into the well. The next morning, the Germans shake up the entire furnace in search of a rifle, taking away Petrok's violin. During the day he is forced to dig a closet for an officer. Encouraged by the fact that the officer praised him for his work, Petrok decides to go in the evening to ask for a violin. He has been playing the Germans for a long time. The violin is returned. At night, close shots and shouts of "Banditen!" are heard. The Germans are dragging the shot Yanka into the yard, who, for some unknown reason, has approached the farm. The next day, after the arrival of a messenger on a motorcycle, the Germans gather and leave the farm. It seems to Stepanida that she ceases to feel herself in this world, and thinks only: why? Why did such a punishment fall on her, on people? And her memory takes her ten years back... Then a collective farm was organized in Vyselki. At the next meeting, a representative from the district spoke, scolded everyone for their irresponsibility - except for the members of the committee, no one signed up for the collective farm. The eighth meeting ended the same way. A day later, Novik, a representative of the Okrug Committee, applied a new method of organizing a collective farm: the question of dispossessing those who did not want to sign up was raised at the Kombed. Intimidating members of the committee with the often repeated words "sabotage", "deviationism", Novik sought to ensure that the majority in the vote was in favor of dispossession. At these meetings there was an errand boy at the village council - an overgrown Potapka Kolondenok, who used everything he heard in his notes to the district newspaper. With horror, the members of the committee later read these notes, signed with the pseudonym Literacy. They mentioned many shtetl members, not kulaks at all. But since they used hired force, they were dispossessed. Stepanida recalls the grief of families thrown out of their houses on the snow, taken along with small children into the unknown. Local policeman Vasya Goncharik, after dispossessing the family of his girlfriend, shot himself. He was the elder brother of Yanka, who was then three years old and who, having become deaf and dumb for life, would be shot by the Germans on the farm of Yakhimovshchina. Stepanida also recalls how he and Petrok got this farm. It belonged to Pan Yachimovsky, an impoverished nobleman, a lonely old man. Stepanida and Petrok, having married, worked for the old man and lived on his farm. After the revolution, they began to take property and land from the pans and divide among the poor. The farm went to the rich; of the vast land holdings that Yakhimovsky rented out, Stepanide and Petrok cut two acres on the mountain. To avert troubles from the earth, Petrok put a cross on the mountain, and the people called this mountain Golgotha. When Stepanida came to Yakhimovsky to ask for forgiveness - she was tormented by her conscience that she owns someone else's property - the old man replied: "Pan Yesus will forgive." Stepanida justified herself, - they say, it’s not for them, they would have given it to others anyway, and the old man said with suffering: “But you didn’t refuse ... It’s a sin to covet someone else’s.” They fed the old man, took care of him, but he did not eat anything and one terrible day he hanged himself in the barn. On this day, before finding the old man in the barn, Stepanida and Petrok found a frozen lark in the field, which was deceived by the first warmth. And Stepanida decided that this was an omen of trouble, her sign. And so it happened. The horse died, the clay earth did not give birth, and all the hard life did not bring the rich either happiness or joy. Then - collectivization with its human grief, hopeless collective farm labor, and now - the war ... For the murdered Yanka, Guzh arrives with Kolondenok in a cart. Guzh orders Petrok to go to work to finish building the bombed-out bridge. Petrok comes home from work barely alive. He decides to drive out the moonshine in order to pay off the policemen. He exchanges his violin for the serpentine for the apparatus. But moonshine does not help - the policemen demand it more and more, one day the policemen from a distant village tumble in. Not finding the moonshine, which Guzh has already taken, "foreign" policemen beat the owners half to death. Petrok decides to put an end to the moonshine - he breaks the apparatus, digs out a bottle of pervach hidden in the forest, and takes it home to treat the beaten Stepanida. Guzh is already waiting for him. Desperation makes Petrok shout out all the curses that have accumulated in his soul at the policemen and Germans. The policemen beat him, drag him, half-dead, to the town - and Petrok disappears forever ... A man disappears who has never done harm to anyone in his whole life, weak-willed, but still once touched the merciless millstones of history. Once, in a snowy winter, some cars got stuck on the highway near the farm. The people from the cars went into the hut to warm up. The chief of them, looking at the hard life of the owners, gave them a gold piece - for medicine for a sick daughter. This man was the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Belarus Chervyakov. And when the collective farm chairman Levon was arrested, Stepanida collected signatures from the collective farmers under a letter of innocence of the chairman and sent Petrok to Minsk to give the letter to Chervyakov and at the same time repay the debt - a gold piece. Petrok was a day late - Chervyakov had already been buried ... Stepanida, recovering from the beatings, after hearing Guzh's massacre of Petrok, decides to take revenge on the policemen, the Germans - everyone who destroyed the already miserable life. She knows that at the bridge, one of the locals took the unexploded bomb. Stepanida is sure that only Kornila could do this. She goes to the shtetl to try to get something to eat for Petrok in the prison and ask Kornila for a bomb. They drive her from prison, taking away the transfer. The cunning Kornila agrees to bring a bomb to her on a cart - in exchange for the surviving pig. Stepanida decides to use a bomb to blow up the bridge, which has already been rebuilt. Stepanida buries the bomb into the ground for the time being. In the town, she meets a convoy leading somewhere to Kornila, and in fear returns home to hide the bomb better. Exhausted, Stepanida lies down to rest in the fire. The police are bursting in the door, they demand that she show where the bomb is. Stepanida does not open. The door starts to break, they shoot through it. Stepanida douses the furnace from the inside with kerosene and sets it on fire. Thinking that the bomb is inside, the policemen scatter. No one puts out the blazing flames, fearing a powerful bomb explosion. "But the bomb was biding its time." V. M. Sotnikov Leonid Genrikhovich Zorin (b.1924) Warsaw melody Drama (1967) Moscow. December 1946 Evening. Great Hall of the Conservatory. Victor sits down in an empty seat next to the girl. The girl tells him that the place is occupied, as she came with a friend. However, Victor shows her his ticket and describes the girl who sold it to him. In it, Gelya - and that's the name of the girl - recognizes her friend. During the intermission, it turns out that Victor is here for the first time. He tries to find out where Gelya came from - she speaks Russian with errors and with an accent that betrays a foreigner in her. Viktor thinks she is from the Baltics, but it turns out she is from Poland. He and his girlfriend study at the conservatory. She is a singer. Gelya is angry that her friend preferred a walk with a young man to the concert. After the concert, Victor escorts Gelya to her hostel. On the way, Gelya tells Viktor about herself. Her father taught her Russian. Victor talks about his life. He is studying to be a technologist: he will create wines. He reads to her poems by Omar Khayyam. Victor wants to meet her again and makes an appointment. At the bus stop, Victor looks at his watch. Gela appears. Victor tells her that he was afraid she wouldn't come. He doesn't know where they should go. Gela likes that he is frank, that he has character. He advises him to understand: every woman is a queen. Negotiation point. An empty hall, Gelya is going to talk to Warsaw. While they are waiting for her turn, she tells Victor how she was ill for two days, how she was treated with raspberry tea. Finally, Gela is given a cabin. When she comes back, Victor wants to know who she was talking to, but Gelya laughs, going over the names of different young people aloud. It's almost midnight. Gelya wants Viktor to take her to the hostel. But Victor does not even think of parting with her and begs for tea. Museum. Victor brings Gelya here, since they have nowhere else to go: he himself is not a Muscovite. Gelya tells him about the Polish city of Wawel. The Polish Queen Jadwiga is buried there. She was the patroness of the university in Krakow, and all the students still write notes to her asking her to help her pass the exam or make her studies easier. Gelya herself also wrote to her. So, while talking, Gelya and Victor walk around the museum, sometimes they go behind the statues and kiss. Dormitory room. Gelya, in a dressing gown, puts her hair in front of a mirror. Viktor enters. Gelya scolds him that he came late: so they may not be in time for friends to meet the New Goal. Victor brought her a gift - new shoes. Gelya, in return, gives him a new tie, leaves for a few minutes to put on a dress. When Gelya returns, she sees that Victor is sleeping. Gelya steps aside, puts out the big light. Then he sits down opposite Victor and looks at him attentively. Silence. The clock slowly starts to strike. Twelve. Then, after a while, an hour. Gelya continues to sit in the same position. Victor opens his eyes. Gelya wishes him a Happy New Year. Victor asks her forgiveness for overslept everything. It turns out that he was unloading the wagons in order to earn Gela a gift. Gelya is not angry with him. They drink wine, listen to music, dance. Then Gelya sings to Victor an old cheerful song in Polish. Victor tells her that he dreams of her marrying him. He wants to make her happy, so that she will never be afraid of anything ... Same room. Gelya stands at the window with her back to the door. Viktor enters. They have been living at the camp site for ten days already, because Gelya decided that they need to get used to each other. Victor returned from the tasting. He is cheerful and again speaks with Gels about marriage. Gelya is cold with him. She tells him the news: a new law has been issued prohibiting marriages with foreigners. Victor promises the crying Gela to come up with something so that they can be together. However, he can't come up with anything. Soon he is transferred to Krasnodar, where he has no news about Gel. Ten years pass. Viktor arrives in Warsaw. He calls Gela and arranges a meeting. Victor says that he came to his colleagues, that he became a scientist, defended his dissertation. Gelya congratulates him and invites him to a small restaurant where her friend Julek Stadtler sings. From there you can see all of Warsaw. In a restaurant, during a conversation, Victor says that he is married. Gelya is also married. Her husband is a music critic. Stadtler notices Helena and asks her to sing. She goes on stage and sings a song that she sang to Victor ten years ago - on New Year's Eve. When she returns, she tells Victor that when she comes to Wawel, she always writes notes to Queen Jadwiga so that she returns Victor to her. Victor tells her that he remembers everything. Street. Flashlight. Gela accompanies Victor to the hotel. He needs to leave already, but Gelya does not let him in, saying that he must understand: if he leaves now, they will never see each other again. She calls Viktor to Sokhachev - it's not far. Victor will be back tomorrow. But he does not agree, asks her to understand that he is not alone here and cannot leave like this, for the whole night. Helena recalls: once he laughed that she was constantly afraid of everything. Victor replies: that's how life happened. Helena says that she understood everything, and leaves. Another ten years pass. In early May, Victor arrives in Moscow and goes to a concert in which Gelya participates. During the intermission, he visits her in the dressing room. She meets him calmly, even rejoices at his arrival. Victor says that everything is going well for him, now he is a doctor of science. He is on a business trip in Moscow. And he separated from his wife. Helena says he is a hero. She herself also broke up with her husband and even with the second. Her friend Julek Stadtler has died. She says that life goes on, that everything has its own meaning: in the end, she became a good singer. He notices that now young people even marry foreign women. Then she realizes that she did not rest at all, and the intermission ends soon. Asks Victor not to forget and call her. Victor apologizes for disturbing her and promises to call. They say goodbye. Victor's voice Victor complains that there is never enough time. And that's just fine. Yu. V. Polezhaeva royal hunt Drama (1977) Moscow. Early spring 1775 House of Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov. Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov, thanks to the fact that he is in the retinue of Empress Catherine, who comes to Moscow, gets the opportunity to see his brother. He finds his brother in drunkenness and all kinds of amusements. Alexey flirts with women, the other day he fought with someone. Grigory shames his brother, and he says that his melancholy takes, boredom in Moscow, there is no business for the hero Chesma. Grigory, on the other hand, believes that Alexei mellowed early - the time is disturbing, even the air is filled with malice: the more merit, the more enemies. Grigory tells his brother that Catherine has changed towards him: she used to count for a minute before they met, but now she is calm and condescending, even pities him. And that's the worst. Alexei tells him that he is too jealous. Gregory wants to leave so that Catherine will remember him. They report on Lieutenant Martynov. Entering, he reports that the Empress is asking for Alexei Orlov, and immediately. Alexei leaves. Catherine's office. She has Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova. Her son has completed his course in Edinburgh, and she asks permission to spend with him in Europe the time necessary to complete his education. Ekaterina is not happy about this, but promises to think about it. When they report on Alexei Orlov, Dashkova quickly leaves: she cannot stand this man, since he has the blood of Catherine's husband on him. Catherine speaks with Orlov about a certain woman who calls herself the daughter of Elizaveta Petrovna from Alexei Razumovsky. She lives in Rome, writes letters to the Sultan, the Pope, the Russian fleet, signing herself as Elizabeth of All Russia. Catherine is very concerned about this. Pugachev's uprising had just been suppressed, but "the fire under the ashes is still smoldering", Pugachev had associates and sympathizers in all sectors of society. She is afraid that the appearance of this woman can lead to big trouble, so Catherine orders Alexei Orlov to grab her and bring her here. If it is not possible to do without noise, then she allows the use of the fleet. Alexey promises to fulfill everything. In parting, Catherine warns him that the girl, as they say, is very pretty and has already killed many. Pisa. House of Lombardi, a wealthy merchant, many guests. Everyone is talking about Elizabeth. She enters with Pietro Boniperti, her secretary, who is madly in love with her and genuinely devoted to her. Everyone considers it their duty to tell her something pleasant, flattering, to somehow support her. Elizabeth thanks everyone and says that she needs friends immensely, as she has lost a lot in her life. Padre Paolo, a Jesuit, warns her that Count Orlov is in Pisa. Elizabeth is introduced to Carlo Gozzi, who tells her about his plays. Aleksey Orlov and the poet Kustov appear, a drunkard whom Orlov has taken in. Elizabeth is amazed: she imagined Orlov differently. She feels a long-awaited change in her destiny. Boniperti asks her not to tempt fate. Alexei introduces himself to her. Since she wants to talk without witnesses, Elizabeth invites him to her house on Via Condoti, saying that she is immensely happy. Alexey echoes her. Elizabeth's house on Via Condoti. Evening. She is waiting for Alexei. Boniperti once again tells her about his feelings and warns that Orlov will not put everything he has at stake for her, as he once did, because then he had nothing to lose. Elizabeth tells him that it's too late to change anything. Alex appears. He calls Elizabeth with him, home, promising to help her achieve the throne. Elizabeth, who is sure that Alexey loves her, agrees to go. On the ship, Alexei plays out a wedding with the help of sailors in disguise. Kustov tries to shame him. Alexei becomes furious, and he falls silent. The sailors are playing a wedding. Elizabeth is sure that they are now married. Peter-Pavel's Fortress. Prince Golitsyn persuades Elizabeth to change her mind and confess everything. Elizabeth persists and asks for an audience with the empress. Then Golitsyn hands her over to Sheshkovsky, who is going to torture her. He tells her that Orlov went after her on the orders of Catherine, that there was no wedding, that they were crowned by a dressed sailor. Elizabeth refuses to believe him. The hall next to Catherine's chambers. Ekaterina allows Dashkova to go to her son. Both remember the past and hope that their next meeting will be happier. When Dashkova leaves, Grigory Orlov appears. He complains and is angry that Catherine did not entrust him with such an important task for her. The empress answers him that he is too kind, and here a hard heart was required. Gregory alludes to Catherine's inconstancy. The same woman explains to him that "courage and beauty ... do not make a husband out of a young man." She needs a man capable of great deeds, since "stagnation is more dangerous for a great power than defeat." She advises Grigory to follow Dashkova's example and go to Europe. Gregory leaves. Aleksey appears instead. Catherine blames him that, "having parted from a dissolute girl," he "fell down with anguish." Alexei says that he is already healthy. Catherine orders him to interrogate Elizabeth. Alexei refuses. Then Catherine hits him in the face. As she says, this is a reward to Orlov from her, as from a woman. To reward, like an empress, she calls Alexei to the inner chambers. Peter-Pavel's Fortress. Golitsyn tells Elizaveta that Catherine sent a letter in which she refuses an audience and reminds her that if she persists in lying, she will be betrayed by the most severe and severe court. Enter Alexei. They are left alone. Elizabeth asks him to say that everything she heard about him is slander. Alexei does not deny that all this is true. He says that he would become a traitor if he violated the oath and the word given to the empress. Elizabeth is horrified. She does not believe that it is possible to keep the word given to the murderer. Elizabeth curses Alexei and drives him away, asking him to tell "her sovereign" that she is not afraid of human judgment, but she is not afraid of God's judgment, since she is pure before Him. Alexei leaves. Elizabeth calls him by name, shouts after him that his child is already breathing in her. Moscow. House of Alexei Orlov. Both brothers drink and listen to the gypsies sing. Grigory came to say goodbye: he is going to Europe. At first, Alexey also wanted to go with him, but now he has changed his mind. Gregory leaves. Alexey drinks everything and says that imposture destroys the kingdom. Kustov remembers Elizabeth and says that people are stupid. He is going to leave Orlov. The gypsies sing. Alexei orders them to sing louder. He hears the voice of Elizabeth, who calls him. He sits, looking at one point, covering his ears with his fists. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Yuri Vladimirovich Davydov (b. 1924) Silent time of leaf fall Roman (1969) Yablonsky (secret agent of the secret police) arrives in St. Petersburg; he meets with Sudeikin, an inspector of the secret police. Recently, in Kharkov, Yablonsky betrayed Vera Figner to the police (she was arrested, brought to St. Petersburg and "showed" to the director of the police department Plehve, the commander of the gendarme corps Orzhevsky and the Minister of Internal Affairs D. A. Tolstoy). Yablonsky demands an audience with the minister (Tolstoy) and the sovereign; Sudeikin expects various awards for himself. Sergei Degaev, revolutionary, arrives in St. Petersburg; he recalls his childhood in Moscow, his younger brother Volodya (now he lives in Saratov), his sister Liza (she studies at the conservatory), his wife Lyuba. When Degaev comes to his sister, he meets her friend Nikolai Blinov, a student at the Mining Institute. Blinov is also busy with revolutionary work - he shows Degaev a "dove" - a non-commissioned officer who transfers the notes of the convicts from the Peter and Paul Fortress to freedom. Degaev attends conspiratorial gatherings with the Karaulov brothers, where he meets with the poet Yakubovich and other revolutionaries - Flerov, Kunitsky, Yuvachev. Ensign Yuvachev recalled his meetings with Degaev in Odessa - he called for terror, which provoked protest from Yuvachev; in addition, the ensign was alarmed by the arrests "in the footsteps of Degaev." Degaev sends his sister to Moscow, and Blinov on a trip to Russia with secret missions. The director of the police department, Plehve, receives agent Yablonsky; secretly, behind the curtains, there is the chief prosecutor Pobedonostsev, who is interested in the agent Yablonsky. The agent assures director Plehve that he is guided not by career or materialistic considerations; he believes that the activities of the terrorist faction should be stopped. Plehve recalls practical concerns - soon the coronation, the possibility of an attempt on the sovereign should be prevented. Yablonsky "cannot give guarantees", Plehve says goodbye to him. Sudeikin in Moscow - checks readiness for the coronation; Liza Degaeva in Moscow is looking for the worker Nil Sizov (she has a note to him from her brother Sergei), but, not finding him, she gives the letter to his mother; The coronation proceeds without incident. Nil Sizov lives near Moscow with the father of his fiancee Sasha. He was a skilled locksmith and turner, and previously, together with his older brother Dmitry, he worked in railway workshops. The Sizovs began to stand up for the offended workers, they were arrested - Nil managed to escape, and Dmitry, the head of the Moscow search, Skandrakov, began to persuade him to cooperate. Driven to despair, Dmitry rushes at Skandrakov with a knife, and he himself jumps out the window; Skandrakov recovered from his wound after some time, and Dmitry, who broke his spine, dies in a prison hospital. After long wanderings around the Moscow bunkhouses, Nil settles with the lineman Fyodor, Sasha's father. Volodya Degaev serves in Saratov, is under secret police supervision; Blinov arrives in Saratov and meets Volodya. In a conversation between Sudeikin and Plehve, the idea of an attempt on the life of Minister Tolstoy arises. Sudeikin shares this plan with Yablonsky. An assassination attempt on Tolstoy is being prepared; Nil Sizov makes shells: he is helped by Volodya Degaev, who was transferred to St. Petersburg. Degaev comes abroad, meets with Tikhomirov and Oshanina - the revolutionaries of the old guard. Before that, one of the revolutionaries who arrived in Paris told Tikhomirov about her suspicions about Degaev. At a confrontation with Degaev, she confirmed her accusations, and Tikhomirov was convinced that she was right. In St. Petersburg illegally, under the guise of the Englishman Norris, the revolutionary German Lopatin arrives. He learns that everywhere Blinov, Degaev's emissary, has been arrested. Only one Derpt friend of Blinov, whom he did not tell Degaev about, remained at large. In a conversation with Degaev, Lopatin found out the whole truth: Degaev and secret agent Yablonsky are the same person. In order to partly justify himself in the eyes of the revolutionaries, Degaev-Yablonsky arranges the murder of Sudeikin. After that, he goes abroad - the revolutionaries promised to save his life. In the same place, in London, Volodya Degaev turns out to be, the brothers are sailing to America. Blinov, unable to bear the suspicion of betrayal (he does not know about the exposure of Degaev), throws himself from the bridge into the Neva and dies. In place of Sudeikin, Major Skandrakov was invited from Moscow to investigate the murder of a police inspector. Gradually, several suspects are arrested - Stepan Rossi, Konashevich, Starodvorsky. Flerov and Sizov are arrested in Moscow. The provocateur in the cell persuades Sizov to kill the Moscow prosecutor Muravyov and even hands him a pistol; the attempt was arranged by Muravyov himself, for his own purposes. Skandrakov convinces Stepan Rossi to give the names of those two who participated in the murder of Sudeikin. Returning to Russia, Lopatin is hunted down and arrested. Pyotr Yakubovich was arrested. Plehve instructs Skandrakov to find out about the connections of the former Minister of Internal Affairs Loris-Melikov and the morganatic wife of Alexander II, Princess Yuryevskaya, with revolutionary emigration, in particular with Tikhomirov. The second assignment is to steal or lure Tikhomirov to the German border, where he will be extradited to the Russian government. Skandrakov arrives in Paris, where he meets with Russian police agents Landesen and Rachkovsky. Tikhomirov is tired and disappointed - the revolutionary movement is crushed, it's all over. His son Sasha fell seriously ill, he has meningitis; the doctor warns that eight out of ten patients with this disease die. But Sasha is gradually getting better, and Tikhomirov, who previously did not believe, goes to the Orthodox Church, where he prays with emotion. After the recovery of their son, the Tikhomirov family settled in the suburbs of Paris, La Rancy. Skandrakov peruses Tikhomirov's letters and discovers that Tikhomirov has become disillusioned with revolutionary activities. After Skandrakov's written report to the police department and Tikhomirov's letter addressed to V.K. Tikhomirov publishes the pamphlet Why I Stopped Being a Revolutionary; the clever Skandrakov understands the importance of Tikhomirov's thoughts and his repudiation of his former convictions, but the sincerity of the former revolutionary arouses suspicion among the Russian government. At the meeting of the military court, Lopatin delivers the last word; the verdict is a foregone conclusion - the death penalty by hanging. His comrades - Yakubovich, Starodvorsky and others - were also sentenced to hanging. But Emperor Alexander III shows mercy - the death penalty was replaced by life imprisonment in Shlisselburg. Nil Sizov was sentenced to ten years in hard labor. In order to "protect him from the pernicious influence of state criminals," he was placed among criminals, with a batch of whom he was taken by train to Odessa, and from there by sea to Sakhalin. The ship almost sank off the coast of Sakhalin - it was saved by the "Stone of Danger", on which the ship got stuck. People were loaded onto boats and transported to shore. It soon became clear to Nil that the order in hard labor - a splinter from the "free world" - the same omnipotence of a bribe, the same hierarchy, the same deceit, the same national strife ... Lopatin was at first deafened by the news of the abolition of the death penalty for him and his accomplices; in Shlisselburg he felt like in a silent grave. The caretaker Sokolov, nicknamed Herod, is torturing prisoners out of service, but out of sadistic pleasure. In addition, he has instructions. It seems that there is no way out and there will not be, the power of Herods and instructions over all of Russia is endless. "But listen... Do you hear how Ladoga and the Neva are buzzing and splashing? Listen! You will hear something that Herods are not allowed to overhear. And such things that instructions have no power over." L. I. Sobolev Evgeny Ivanovich Nosov (b. 1925) Noisy arc fescue Story (1966) In the middle of summer, hayfields boiled along the Desna. Immediately on the shore they mowed a clearing for a brigade camp, weaved low booths from a vine, each for his own family, at a distance they burst a cauldron under a common kulesh, and so temporary hay settlements arose for many miles. Anfiska and her mother also had a hut. Anfiska grew up in Dobrovodie, no one noticed anything special in her: thin-legged, goggle-eyed. In one year, a sapper company pulled out any military scrap from the bottom. In Anfiska's hut, a sapper lieutenant stopped to wait. Three months later, the company withdrew. And Anfiska had a baby boy on New Year's Eve. Days passed. Collective-farm suffering ended, and that same evening the mowers crossed to the other side of the Desna to dismantle the plots: the mowing, inconvenient for brigade cleaning, was handed out by chairman Chepurin for yard mowing. Already at dusk, Anfisa and her son lit a fire, ate bacon fried on twigs, hard-boiled eggs. The moon was shining behind the dark bushes. Vitka lay down on a handful of grass and fell silent. Anfisa took the scythe and walked to the edge of the clearing. The moon finally emerged from the thicket - big, clean and clear. On the umbrellas of flowers, dew shone with the thinnest crystal. Soon Anfiska was mowing broadly and greedily. Listening, I caught the grumbling rumble of a motorcycle. It rumbled past, then died out, was silent for a long time, chirped again, returning. Jumped out into the clearing. A tall man stepped out of the shadows of the bushes. She recognized Chepurin by his white cap and froze. “Help, or what?” “I myself,” Anfiska quietly objected. There was a long and tense silence. Suddenly Chepurin impulsively threw away his cigarette butt and went to the motorcycle. But he didn’t leave, but pulled out a scythe and silently began to mow directly from the wheels of the motorcycle, Anfiska was confused. She rushed to wake Vitka, then quietly, as if stealthily, went to the unfinished swath and began to mow, all the time getting confused. She remembered how in the spring he gave her a lift from the station, how she was numb from his rare questions about the most mundane. "Ugh! I'm numb," Chepurin finally spat, stood for a moment, looking after Anfiska, who continued to mow, and suddenly caught up, hugged him, pressed him to his chest. The moon, having risen to its zenith, became incandescent to a blinding blue, the sky parted, gently brightened and poured now onto the forest, onto the clearing with a quivering smoky blue light fall. It seemed that the very air itself began to evoke softly and intensely from its violent radiance. ... They lay on a heap of cut grass, damp and warm. "I don't want you to leave..." - Anfiska held his hand on her shoulder and moved closer herself. I remembered how I thought about this man all these years. One day I saw a motorcycle on the road. An unfamiliar man and woman were driving. He was driving, and she was behind: she grabbed him, pressed her cheek to her back. She would go like this too. And even though she knew that it would never happen, she kept trying it on. Chepurin told how in Berlin a grenade had already been thrown at him for the last time, how he was in the hospital. As he returned from the war, he studied, got married, became chairman. Then we ate. In the east, timidly, bloodlessly brightened. “Yes…” Chepurin summed up something and jumped to his feet. “Take Vityushka, let's go.” - "No, Pasha," Anfiska looked down. "Go alone." They argued, but Anfiska flatly refused to go together. Chepurin put his jacket on Vityushka, girded it with a belt, and carried him into the carriage. He started the motorcycle and caught her eye while driving, closed his eyes and sat like that ... Then he sharply twisted the throttle. The gum was swirling with fog. Anfiska swam, trying not to splash, listened. From somewhere, a barely perceptible rumble of a motorcycle made its way. I. N. Slyusareva Red wine of victory Story (1971) The spring of 45 found us in Serpukhov. After everything that happened at the front, the hospital whiteness and silence seemed to us something improbable. Budapest fell, Vienna was taken. The ward radio did not turn off even at night. "War is like chess," said Sasha Selivanov, who was lying in the far corner, a swarthy Volgar with a Tatar slant. Sasha's thickly bandaged leg stuck out above the bed shield like a cannon, for which he was nicknamed Self-propelled. "Something not fought?" - Basil my right neighbor Borodukhov. He was one of the Mezen forest men, already in years. To my left lay soldier Kopyoshkin. Both of Kopeshkin's hands were broken, his neck vertebrae were damaged, and there were some other injuries. He was immured in a solid breast plaster, and his head was bandaged to a lubok, summed up under the back of his head. Kopeshkin lay only on his back, and both of his arms, bent at the elbows, were also bandaged to the very fingers. In recent days, Kopyoshkin became ill. He spoke less and less, and even then without a voice, only with his lips. Something broke him, burned him under the plaster suit, he completely shrunken his face. One day, a letter came to him from home. The paper was unfolded and placed in his hands. For the rest of the day, the sheet stuck out in Kopyoshkin's motionless hands. Only the next morning he asked to turn it over on the other side and considered the return address for a long time. Berlin itself collapsed, capitulated at last! But the war still continued on the third of May, and the fifth, and the seventh ... How much more ?! On the night of May XNUMX, I woke up to the sound of boots crunching along the corridor. The head of the hospital, Colonel Turantsev, was talking to his deputy for the household department, Zvonarchuk: "Give everyone clean - bedding, linen. Kill a wild boar. Then, it would be nice to have wine for dinner ..." Footsteps and voices receded. Suddenly Saenko threw up his hands: "That's it! The end!" he yelled. And, finding no more words, coolly, happily swore at the whole ward. Outside the window, a crimson rocket bloomed juicy, scattered in clusters. Green crossed with her. Then the horns sounded in unison. Barely waiting for dawn, everyone who could, tumbled into the street. The corridor hummed with the creaking and clatter of crutches. The hospital garden was filled with the hubbub of people. And suddenly an orchestra that came from nowhere burst out: "Get up, country is huge... Before dinner, they changed our linen and shaved us, then a weeping aunt Zina served wild boar soup, and Zvonarchuk brought in a tray with several dark red glasses: "With victory, comrades." After dinner, drunk, everyone began to dream of returning to their homeland, praising their places. Kopyoshkin also moved his fingers. Saenko jumped up and bent over him: "Yeah, it's clear. He says they're doing well too. Where is this? I tried to imagine Kopyoshkin's homeland. He drew a log hut with three windows, a shaggy tree that looked like an inverted broom. And put this unsightly picture into his hand. He nodded his pointed nose in approval. Until dusk, he held my picture in his hands. And it turns out that he was no longer there. He left unnoticed, no one noticed when. The paramedics carried away the stretcher. And the wine, which he did not touch, we drank in his memory. The festive rockets flared again in the evening sky. I. N. Slyusareva Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (1925-1991) Boris Natanovich Strugatsky (b.1933) It's hard to be a god Tale (1964) The action takes place in the distant future on one of the inhabited planets, the level of civilization development of which corresponds to the earthly Middle Ages. This civilization is being watched by messengers from Earth - employees of the Institute of Experimental History. Their activity on the planet is limited by the scope of the problem posed - the Problem of Bloodless Influence. Meanwhile, in the city of Arkanar and the kingdom of Arkanar, terrible things are happening: gray stormtroopers catch and beat to death anyone who somehow stands out from the gray mass; a smart, educated person, and finally, just a literate person can die at any moment at the hands of eternally drunk, stupid and vicious soldiers in gray robes. The court of the King of Arkanar, which until recently was one of the most enlightened in the Empire, is now empty. The new minister of protection of the king, don Rab (an inconspicuous official who recently emerged from the offices of the ministry, is now the most influential person in the kingdom) caused monstrous devastation in the world of Arkanar culture: who, on charges of espionage, was imprisoned in a prison called the Merry Tower, and then, having confessed to all atrocities, hung in the square; who, morally broken, continues to live at court, writing poems glorifying the king. Some were saved from certain death and transported outside of Arkanar by Anton, a scout from Earth, who lives in Arkanar under the name of the noble Don Rumata of Estor, who is in the service of the royal guard. In a small forest hut, popularly called the Drunken Lair, Rumata and Don Condor, the General Judge and the Keeper of the Great Seals of the Trade Republic of Soan, and the earthling Alexander Vasilyevich, who is much older than Anton, meet, in addition, he has been living on the planet for many years and is better versed in the local environment. Anton excitedly explains to Alexander Vasilievich that the situation in Arkanar goes beyond the limits of the basic theory developed by the Institute staff - some new, systematically acting factor has arisen; Anton does not have any constructive proposals, but he is simply scared: here we are no longer talking about theory, in Arkanar it is a typical fascist practice, when animals kill people every minute. In addition, Rumata is concerned about the disappearance after crossing the Irukan border of Dr. Budah, whom Rumata was going to smuggle outside the Empire; Rumata fears that he has been captured by the gray soldiers. Don Condor also knows nothing about the fate of Dr. Budakh. As for the general state of affairs in Arkanar, Don Condor advises Rumata to be patient and wait without doing anything, remembering that they are just observers. Returning home, Rumata finds Kira waiting for him - the girl he loves. Kira's father is an assistant clerk in court, his brother is a sergeant with stormtroopers. Kira is afraid to return home: her father brings papers spattered with blood from the Merry Tower for correspondence, and her brother comes home drunk, threatening to cut out all the bookworms up to the twelfth knee. Rumata announces to the servants that Kira will be living in his house as housekeeper. Rumata comes to the bedchamber of the king and, taking advantage of the ancient privilege of the Rumat family - to shoe the right foot of the crowned persons of the Empire with his own hands, announces to the king that the highly learned doctor Budakh, whom he, Rumata, ordered from Irukan specifically to treat the king who was suffering from gout, was apparently captured by gray soldiers Don Reba. To Rumata's amazement, Don Reba is clearly pleased with his words and promises to present Budakh to the king today. At dinner, a hunched-over elderly man, whom the bewildered Rumata would never have mistaken for Dr. Budakh, known to him only from his writings, offers the king to drink the medicine he has prepared right there. The king drinks the medicine, ordering Budakh to drink from the goblet himself. On this night, the city is restless, everyone seems to be waiting for something. Leaving Kira in the care of armed servants, Don Rumata goes on night duty to the prince's bedchamber. In the middle of the night, a half-dressed man, gray with horror, breaks into the guardhouse, in whom Don Rumat recognizes the minister of the court, shouting: "Budach poisoned the king! There is a riot in the city! Save the prince!" But it’s too late - about fifteen stormtroopers tumble into the room, Rumata tries to jump out the window, however, struck down by a blow of a spear that nevertheless did not pierce the metal-plastic shirt, he falls, the stormtroopers manage to throw a net on him, they beat him with their boots, drag him past the door of the prince, Rumata sees pile of bloody sheets on the bed and faints. After some time, Rumata comes to his senses, he is taken to the chambers of Don Reba, and then Rumata learns that the person who poisoned the king is not Budakh at all: the real Budakh is in the Merry Tower, and the false Budakh, who has tried the royal medicine, in front of Rumata dies crying: "Deceived! It was poison! Why?" Here Rumata understands why in the morning Reba was so delighted with his words: it was impossible to think of a better reason to slip the false Budakh to the king, and the king would never have accepted any food from the hands of his first minister. Don Reba, who has carried out a coup d'état, informs Rumata that he is the bishop and master of the Holy Order that came to power that night. Reba is trying to find out from Rumata, whom he has been tirelessly watching for several years, who he is - the son of the devil or God, or a man from a powerful overseas country. But Rumata insists that he is "a simple noble don". Don Reba does not believe him and himself admits that he is afraid of him. Returning home, Rumata calms Kira, frightened by the events of the night, and promises to take her away from here far, far away. Suddenly there is a knock on the door - it was the stormtroopers. Rumata grabs her sword, but Kira, who has come to the window, falls, mortally wounded by arrows fired from a crossbow. The distraught Rumata, realizing that the stormtroopers were ordered by Reba, makes his way to the palace with a sword, neglecting the theory of "bloodless influence". A patrol airship drops bombs with sleeping gas on the city, fellow scouts pick up Rumata-Anton and send him to Earth. N. V. Soboleva Roadside Picnic Tale (1972) The action takes place at the end of the XNUMXth century. in the city of Harmonte, which is located near one of the Visitation Zones. The Visitation Zone - there are only six of them on Earth - this is the place where, several years before the events described, space aliens landed for several hours, leaving numerous material traces of their stay. The Zone is fenced and carefully guarded, the entrance to the Zone is allowed only with passes and only by employees of the International Institute of Extraterrestrial Cultures. However, desperate guys - they are called stalkers - penetrate the Zone, take out everything they can find from there, and sell these unearthly curiosities to buyers, each of which has its own name among stalkers - by analogy with earthly objects: "pin", "dummy" , "itch", "carbonated clay", "black splashes", etc. Scientists have several hypotheses about the origin of the Visitation Zones: perhaps some extraterrestrial intelligence threw containers with samples of their material culture onto Earth; perhaps the aliens still live in the Zones and closely study earthlings; or perhaps the aliens stopped on Earth on their way to some unknown space goal, and the Zone is like a picnic on the side of the space road, and all these mysterious objects in it are just abandoned or lost things scattered in a mess, as after an ordinary, earthly picnic in the clearing, there are traces of a fire, apple cores, candy wrappers, tin cans, coins, gasoline stains and the like. Redrick Schuhart, a former stalker and now an employee of the Institute of Extraterrestrial Cultures, works as a laboratory assistant for a young Russian scientist Kirill Panov, who is studying one of the mysterious objects found in the Zone - "pacifiers". "Dummy" - these are two copper disks the size of a tea saucer, between which there is a distance of forty centimeters, but it is impossible to press them together or separate them. Red, who really likes Kirill, wants to please him and offers to go to the Zone for a full "dummy" with "something blue" inside - he saw one during his stalker forays into the Zone. Putting on special suits, they go to the Zone, and there, by chance, Kirill touches some strange silver web with his back. Red is worried, but nothing happens. They return safely from the Zone, but a few hours later Kirill dies of a heart attack. Red believes that he is to blame for this death - he overlooked with a web: there are no trifles in the Zone, any trifle can be a mortal danger, and he, a former stalker, knows this very well. A few years later, Redrick Shewhart, who left the Institute after Kirill's death, becomes a stalker again. He is married and has a daughter, Maria, the Monkey, as he and his wife Guta call her. Children of stalkers are different from other children, and Monkey is no exception; her face and body are covered with thick long fur, but otherwise she is an ordinary child: she is naughty, chatting, loves to play with children, and they love her too. Redrick goes to the Zone with a partner nicknamed Vulture Burbridge, nicknamed so for his cruelty towards fellow stalkers. Burbridge cannot go back, because his legs were injured: he stepped into the "witch's jelly", and below the knees his legs became like rubber - you can tie them in a knot. The Vulture asks Red not to leave him, promising to tell him where the Golden Orb lies in the Zone, which grants all wishes. Shewhart does not believe him, considering the Golden Ball an invention of superstitious stalkers, but Burbridge assures that the Golden Ball exists and he has already received a lot from it, for example, unlike other stalkers, he has two normal and, moreover, remarkably beautiful children - Dina and Arthur. Red, who did not believe in the existence of the Golden Ball, nevertheless takes Burbridge out of the Zone and takes him to a doctor - a specialist in diseases caused by the influence of the Zone. However, Burbridge's legs cannot be saved. Having set off on the same day with prey to the buyers, Red is ambushed, he is arrested and sentenced to several years in prison. After serving his term and being released, he finds his daughter so changed that the doctors say that she is no longer a person. Not only has she changed outwardly - she almost understands nothing. To save his daughter, Red goes to the Golden Ball: Burbridge, remembering that Red did not leave him in the Zone, gives him a map, explains how to find the ball, and wants Red to ask him to return his legs: "The Zone took it, maybe The zone will return." On the way to the ball, you need to overcome many obstacles that the Zone is full of, but the worst thing is the "meat grinder": one person must be sacrificed to it so that the other can approach the Golden Ball and ask him to fulfill his wish. The vulture explained all this to Red and even offered one of his people for the role of "live master key" - "whom you don't feel sorry for." However, Redrick takes Arthur, the son of Burbridge, a handsome man begged from the Zone, who desperately asked Red to take him with him - Arthur guessed that Redrick was going in search of the Golden Ball. Redrick feels sorry for Arthur, but he convinces himself that he has no choice: either this boy or his Monkey. Arthur and Redrick, having passed through all the traps set by the Zone, finally come to the ball, and Arthur rushes to it, shouting: "Happiness for everyone! Free! As much happiness as you want! Everyone gather here! Enough for everyone! No one will leave offended! " And at the same second, the monstrous "meat grinder", picking it up, twists it, like housewives twisting linen. Red sits, looking at the Golden Ball, and thinks: ask for a daughter, and what else? And he realizes with horror that he has no words, no thoughts - he lost everything in his stalker sorties, skirmishes with guards, the pursuit of money - he needs to feed his family, but he only knows how to go to the Zone and sell outlandish things to all sorts of dark people, who do not know how they are disposed of. And Red understands that he cannot think of other words than those that this boy, so unlike his Vulture father, shouted out before his death: "Happiness for everyone, for free, and let no one leave offended!" N. V. Soboleva Yuri Valentinovich Trifonov (1925-1981) Exchange Tale (1969) The action takes place in Moscow. The mother of the protagonist, thirty-seven-year-old engineer Viktor Dmitriev, Ksenia Fedorovna, became seriously ill, she has cancer, but she herself believes that she has a peptic ulcer. After the operation, she is sent home. The outcome is clear, but she alone believes that things are on the mend. Immediately after her discharge from the hospital, Dmitriev's wife Lena, an English translator, decides to urgently move in with her mother-in-law so as not to lose a good room on Profsoyuznaya Street. We need an exchange, she even has one option in mind. There was a time when Dmitriev's mother really wanted to live with him and with her granddaughter Natasha, but since then their relationship with Lena became very tense and this was out of the question. Now Lena herself tells her husband about the need for an exchange. Dmitriev is indignant - at such a moment to offer this to his mother, who can guess what's wrong. Nevertheless, he gradually yields to his wife: after all, she is fussing about the family, about the future of Natasha's daughter. In addition, on reflection, Dmitriev begins to reassure himself: maybe not everything is so irrevocable with his mother’s illness, which means that the fact that they will come together will only be good for her, for her well-being - after all, her dream will come true. So Lena, Dmitriev concludes, is wise as a woman, and in vain he immediately attacked her. Now he is also aimed at the exchange, although he claims that he personally does not need anything. In the service, due to his mother's illness, he refuses to travel. He needs money, since a lot has gone to the doctor, Dmitriev is puzzling over who to borrow from. But it seems that the day is going well for him: the employee Tanya, his former lover, offers money with her usual sensitivity. A few years ago they were close, as a result, Tanya's marriage broke up, she was left alone with her son and continues to love Dmitriev, although she understands that this love is hopeless. In turn, Dmitriev thinks that Tanya would be a better wife for him than Lena. Tanya, at his request, brings Dmitriev together with a colleague with experience in exchange affairs, who does not say anything concrete, but gives the broker's phone number. After work, Dmitriev and Tanya take a taxi and go to her house for money. Tanya is happy to be alone with Dmitriev, to help him in some way. Dmitriev is sincerely sorry for her, maybe he would have stayed longer with her, but he needs to hurry to his mother's dacha, in Pavlinovo. Dmitriev has fond childhood memories of this dacha, owned by the Krasny Partisan cooperative. The house was built by his father, a railway engineer, who dreamed all his life of leaving this job to write humorous stories. A good man, he was not lucky and died early. Dmitriev remembers him fragmentarily. He remembers better his grandfather, a lawyer, an old revolutionary who returned to Moscow after a long absence (apparently after the camps) and lived for some time in the country until they gave him a room. He did not understand anything in modern life. He also gazed with curiosity at the Lukyanovs, the parents of Dmitriev's wife, who were then also visiting Pavlinovo in the summer. Once on a walk, my grandfather, referring to the Lukyanovs, said that there was no need to despise anyone. These words, clearly addressed to Dmitriev's mother, who often showed intolerance, and to himself, were well remembered by his grandson. The Lukyanovs differed from the Dmitrievs in their adaptability to life, the ability to deftly arrange any business, whether it was repairing a summer house or placing a granddaughter in an elite English school. They are from the breed of "knowing how to live." What seemed insurmountable to the Dmitrievs, the Lukyanovs solved quickly and simply, only by the only way they knew. This was an enviable property, but such practicality caused the Dmitrievs, especially his mother Ksenia Fedorovna, who was used to selflessly helping others, women with strong moral principles, and sister Laura, an arrogant smile. For them, the Lukyanovs are philistines who care only about personal well-being and are deprived of high interests. In their family, even the word "lukyanitsya" appeared. They are characterized by a kind of spiritual flaw, manifested in tactlessness in relation to others. So, for example, Lena hung the portrait of Father Dmitriev from the middle room to the entrance - only because she needed a nail for the wall clock. Or she took all the best cups of Laura and Xenia Fedorovna. Dmitriev loves Lena and always defended her from the attacks of her sister and mother, but he also cursed with her because of them. He well knows the strength of Lena, "who bit into her desires like a bulldog. Such a pretty bulldog woman with a short straw-colored haircut and always a pleasantly tanned, slightly swarthy face. She did not let go until the desires were right in her teeth - did not turn into flesh. At one time, she pushed Dmitriev to defend his dissertation, but he did not master it, he could not, he refused, and Lena eventually left him alone. Dmitriev feels that his relatives are condemning him, that they consider him to be a "lukyanish", and therefore cut off a slice. This became especially noticeable after the story with a relative and former comrade Levka Bubrik. Bubrik returned to Moscow from Bashkiria, where he settled after graduation, and remained unemployed for a long time. He looked for a place at the Institute of Oil and Gas Equipment and really wanted to get a job there. At the request of Lena, who felt sorry for Levka and his wife, her father Ivan Vasilyevich was busy with this matter. However, instead of Bubrik, Dmitriev ended up in this place, because it was better than his previous work. Everything was done again under the wise guidance of Lena, but, of course, with the consent of Dmitriev himself. There was a scandal. However, Lena, protecting her husband from his principled and highly moral relatives, took all the blame. The conversation about the exchange, which Dmitriev, who arrived at the dacha, begins with his sister Laura, arouses amazement and sharp rejection in her, despite all Dmitriev's reasonable arguments. Laura is sure that her mother cannot be happy next to Lena, even if she tries very hard at first. They are too different people. Ksenia Fyodorovna, just on the eve of her son's arrival, was unwell, then she gets better, and Dmitriev, without delay, proceeds to a decisive conversation. Yes, says the mother, she used to want to live with him, but now she doesn't. The exchange took place, and long ago, she says, referring to Dmitriev's moral capitulation. Overnight at the dacha, Dmitriev sees his old watercolor drawing on the wall. Once he was fond of painting, did not part with the album. But, having failed in the exam, with grief he rushed to another, the first institute he came across. After graduation, he did not look for romance, like others, he did not go anywhere, he remained in Moscow. Then Lena and her daughter were already there, and the wife said: where is he from them? He is late. His train has left. In the morning Dmitriev leaves, leaving Laura money. Two days later, the mother calls and says that she agrees to come. When he finally gets along with the exchange, Xenia Fedorovna becomes even better. However, soon the disease worsens again. After the death of his mother, Dmitriev suffers from a hypertensive crisis. He immediately passed, turned gray, aged. And the Dmitrievskaya dacha in Pavlinovo was later demolished, like others, and the Burevestnik stadium and a hotel for athletes were built there. E. A. Shklovsky A long farewell Tale (1971) It all started in Saratov, where the troupe came on tour and where the actors were put up in a bad hotel. It's hot, director Sergei Leonidovich drove off to Moscow, leaving Smurny's assistant in his place. This Smurny has long had his eye on Lyalya (Lyudmila Petrovna Telepneva), one of the actresses of the theater, but, taking revenge on her for rejecting him, he arranges for her a "mash", that is, either does not give her a role at all, or keeps her on third-rate . In Saratov, Smurny calls Lyalya to his place and shows her a letter composed by her mother, where she complains that her daughter, a talented actress, is not allowed to work. Rumors immediately spread between the actors, Lyalya is insanely ashamed, she asked her mother many times, who had long sinned with such petitions, not to do this. So at a party at the author of the play, Nikolai Demyanovich Smolyanov, a native of Saratov, Lyalya does not find a place for himself. She is in a bad mood, she feels alienated from the team, she also feels sorry for the provincial, poorly gifted playwright, who did his best to accept the actors well, and they mock him. Lyalya helps Smolyanov's mother set the table, and after washing the dishes, she stays with them and is eventually forced to spend the night. Smolyanov seems to her pathetic, weak, she listens to stories about the life of this unhappy person in family life, who, moreover, is fully aware of his talent. Taking pity on Smolyanov, Lyalya becomes his mistress. Returning to Moscow, Lyalya leaves for the Crimea for a month, returns tanned, rested, attractive and meets Smolyanov at the theater, whose new play "Ignat Timofeevich" is going to be staged by Sergei Leonidovich. In this play, Lyalya, not without the assistance of Smolyanov, gets the main role. In Moscow, Smolyanov makes various useful contacts. Lyalya's romance with him continues, she does not feel passion for this man, but she feels that he needs him, and therefore she does not break the connection, although sometimes she is tormented by remorse in front of her unofficial husband Grigory Rebrov, with whom they have been living for many years. Rebrov is also an aspiring playwright, the author of two plays that he can't get anywhere. Painfully proud Rebrov suffers from his failures, consoling himself with the fact that composing plays is not the main thing in his life. He is also passionate about history, sits in the library, rummages through the archives. At first, he was interested in such a person as Ivan Gavrilovich Pryzhov, the author of the "History of taverns", a writer of folk life, a drunkard, a noble person, one of the participants in the murder of student Ivanov, organized by S. Nechaev, then Nikolai Vasilyevich Kletochnikov, an agent of the Narodnaya Volya in the Third Department. Rebrov conceives a play about the People's Will. Because of his disorder, he does not marry Lyalya, despite his deep and long-standing love for her. Lyalina's abortions are also connected with this, to which her mother Irina Ignatievna, a former unsuccessful ballerina, is pushing her. Rebrov's mother considers him a loser, living at the expense of her daughter. The premiere of Smolyanov's play is held with great success, Lyalya is called with applause several times, envious whispers are heard around. After the performance, she is forced to introduce Rebrov, who is waiting for her, to Smolyanov, who is seeing her off. Rebrov himself was not at the premiere, as he considers the author to be a graphomaniac. Smolyanov proposes to celebrate the success of the play in a restaurant. After dinner, the three of them, drunk, come to visit Lyalya and Rebrov at her parents' house, where they stay overnight. Rebrov suspects that there is something between Lyalya and Smolyanov, but drives this thought away from himself. He and Lyalin are touched by the success, which grows with each performance. She becomes popular, she is invited to act in films, they arrange concerts with her participation, at which she performs songs from the play. She gets a salary increase, special signs of attention. She feels like a rich woman. The only thing that prevents her from feeling completely happy is the suffering of her relatives: Grisha's disorder, her mother's nervousness due to the illness of her father, Lyalya Petr Alexandrovich, who has a third heart attack. They are going to break down their old wooden house, like everyone around, because the city is advancing, but Pyotr Alexandrovich wants to keep the garden, his pride, where he plants flowers. He is ready to transfer the garden to state ownership, tries to fight, goes to the authorities, sends letters, but he does not succeed, and this affects his rapidly deteriorating condition. Worried about Grisha, Lyalya, who never asked Smolyanov for anything, asks for help to attach Rebrov's plays somewhere. Smolyanov reluctantly responds to this. He does not understand what connects Lyalya with such a miserable, in his words, "little man". He believes that Rebrov has no ground, while Rebrov, arguing with him, says that his ground is the experience of history. At a party at a certain "respectable worker" Agabekov, where Smolyanov brings her, Lyalya finds herself in the center of everyone's attention, sincerely having fun, then Smolyanov leaves somewhere, and Lyalya, waiting for him, is left alone with Agabekov. After a call from Smolyanov, who said that he was stuck with the car and would pick it up in the morning, Lyalya suddenly realizes that everything is set up and Smolyanov gave way to her boss, on whom much depended on in his career. From that moment on, everything is over with him, about which Lyalya informs him upon meeting. Smolyanov takes the gap hard, especially since his family is unfavorable: a mentally unbalanced wife tries to jump out of the window, his mother has a stroke in the hospital, and his theatrical affairs are deteriorating. Sergei Leonidovich and Zavlit Marevin refuse to accept his new play, and Lyalya unexpectedly supports them. Meanwhile, serious problems are brewing for Rebrov. They require a certificate from him for the house management from the place of work, otherwise he will be considered a parasite, up to and including discharge and eviction from Moscow. He goes to the theater, where he gave his plays for consideration, and he has a serious conversation with the director Sergei Leonidovich, who is bitterly surprised why playwrights do not write about what is really close to them, but choose opportunistic topics. Having listened with eager interest to Rebrov's story about Kletochnikov, he enthusiastically says that it would be wonderful if it were possible to depict on stage the flow of time that carries everyone, the stranded wire of history, where everything is connected. Smolyanoe is looking for a talented literary "slave". A certain Shakhov, their common acquaintance with Rebrov, brings Grisha to him. Smolyanov is still in force: if his name appears next to Rebrovsky's on the play, then this may give it a green light. However, Smolyanov's invitation conceals something else: he arranges a test for Rebrov, purposely putting on a shirt that Lyalya once gave him. Rebrov accidentally discovered the shirt in the closet, and Lyalya, in response to his question, lied that it was a collective gift to a musician from the orchestra. Now he looks at the shirt with amazement, then he can't stand it and asks where Nikolai Demyanovich bought it. Smolyanov replies that Lyudmila Petrovna gave it. An explanation takes place between Rebrov and Lyalya. Lyalya frankly admits that in the background of her connection with Smolyanov, almost unconsciously, there was a desire "to somehow arrange herself." That conversation becomes the actual end of their relationship. Soon, Smolyanov appears at Rebrov's house, who reports that he has agreed in the theater about a place for him, and Rebrov cannot understand whether to beat Smolyanov, or go to get a job. And all this is like in a dream - both shame and surprise. In addition, Lyalya, under pressure from her mother, has another abortion, but Rebrov already feels that something has irrevocably broken in him, that his former life is over. The next day he leaves, without warning anyone, on a geological expedition. Many years pass. The Telepnevs' house is long gone, as are Lyalya's parents. She herself was fired from the theater, married a military man, gave birth to a son, and now her circle of acquaintances is completely different. Having accidentally met her old theater friend Masha in GUM, she learns about Smolyanov that he does not write plays and lives by renting out his dacha for the summer. She also learns about Rebrov: he is a successful screenwriter, he has a car, he was married twice, he has an affair with his friend's daughter Machine. She does not know only one thing: those old years when he was in poverty and suffered, Rebrov considers the best, because happiness needs the same amount of misfortune ... E. A. Shklovsky Old man Roman (1972) The action takes place in a dacha village near Moscow in the unusually hot, suffocating summer of 1972. Pensioner Pavel Yevgrafovich Letunov, an elderly man (he is 72 years old), receives a letter from his old friend Asya Igumnova, with whom he had been in love for a long time since school. Together they fought on the Southern Front during the civil war, until fate finally parted them in different directions. As old as Letunov, she lives not far from Moscow and invites him to visit. It turns out that Asya found him by reading Letunov's note in a magazine about Sergei Kirillovich Migulin, a Cossack commander, a large red military commander from the time of the civil war. Migulin was unofficially her husband. Working as a typist at the headquarters, she accompanied him on military campaigns. She also had a son by him. In the letter, she expresses her joy that the shameful stigma of a traitor has been removed from Migulin, a bright and complex person, but she is surprised that it was Letunov who wrote the note, because he also believed in Migulin's guilt. The letter awakens many memories in Letunov. He was friends with Asya and her cousin Volodya, whose wife, Asya became immediately after the revolution. Pavel often visited them at home, knew Asya's father, a well-known lawyer, her mother, her older brother Alexei, who fought on the side of the Whites and soon died during the retreat of Denikin. Once, when they were skiing with Pavel's uncle, the revolutionary Shura Danilov, who had recently returned from Siberian penal servitude, the bandit Gribov came out to them, holding the whole district at bay, and Volodya, frightened, rushed headlong away. Later he could not forgive himself for this weakness, so he even packed his things and went to his mother in Kamyshin. Then the Igumnovs had a conversation about fear, and Shura said that every person has seconds of fear that burns through and darkens the mind. He, Shura, a commissar in the future, even in the most difficult situations thinks about the fate of every person, tries to resist the bloody foam covering the eyes of many - the senseless cruelty of revolutionary terror. He listens to the arguments of the stanitsa teacher Slaboserdov, who convinces the commanders of the Steel Detachment that the Cossacks cannot be treated only by violence, urging them to look back at the history of the Cossacks. Letunov's memory resurrects with bright flashes individual episodes from the whirlwind of events of those years that remained the most important for him, and not only because it was his youth, but also because the fate of the world was being decided. He was drunk with mighty time. The red-hot lava of history flowed, and he was inside it. Was there a choice or not? Could it have happened differently or not? "Nothing can be done. You can kill a million people, overthrow the king, make a great revolution, blow up half the world with dynamite, but you can't save one person." Volodya in the village of Mikhailinskaya was hacked to death along with other members of the Revolutionary Committee by whites from Filippov's gang. Asya Letunov was then found in an unconscious state, raped. Soon Migulin appeared here, specially galloping because of her. A year later, Pavel visits the Igumnovs' apartment in Rostov. He wants to inform Asya, who is recovering from typhus, that Migulin was arrested last night in Bogaevka along with his entire staff. Letunov himself was appointed secretary of the court. He argues with Asya's mother about the revolution, and at this time parts of Denikin's troops break into the city, and one officer with soldiers appears at the Igumnovs. This is their friend. He looks suspiciously at Letunov, who is wearing a commissar's leather jacket, but Asya's mother, with whom they had just almost quarreled, helps him out by telling the officer that Pavel is their old friend. Why did Letunov write about Migulin? Yes, because that time is not outlived for him. He was the first to start working on the rehabilitation of Migulin, has long been studying the archives, because Migulin seems to him an outstanding historical figure who intuitively comprehended many things that soon found their confirmation. Letunov believes that his searches are of great importance not only as a comprehension of history, but also as a touch on the true that "inevitably reached out to the present day, was reflected, refracted, became light and air ...". However, Asya, in her surprise, really hit a sore point: Letunov also feels a secret sense of guilt towards Migulin - for the fact that during his trial, when asked if he allowed Migulin to participate in the counter-revolutionary uprising, he sincerely answered that he did. That, obeying the general opinion, and previously believed in his guilt. Forty-seven-year-old Migulin Letunov, then nineteen, considered an old man. The drama of the commander, in the past a military foreman, lieutenant colonel, consisted in the fact that many not only envied his growing fame and popularity, but most importantly, they did not trust him. Migulin enjoyed the great respect of the Cossacks and the hatred of the chieftains, he successfully fought against the whites, but, as many believed, he was not a real revolutionary. In the ardent appeals composed by him, distributed among the Cossacks, he expressed his personal understanding of the social revolution, his views on justice. They feared a mutiny, or maybe they did it on purpose in order to annoy Migulin, to provoke Migulin to a counter-revolutionary action, they sent him such commissars as Leonty Shigontsev, who were ready to flood the Don with blood and did not want to listen to any arguments. Migulin had already encountered Shigontsev when he was a member of the district revolutionary committee. This strange type, who believed that humanity should give up "feelings, emotions," was hacked to death not far from the village where the headquarters of the corps stood. Suspicion could fall on Migulin, as he often spoke out against "false communist" commissars. Distrust haunted Migulin, and Letunov himself, as he explains to himself his then behavior, was part of this general distrust. Meanwhile, Migulin was prevented from fighting, and in that situation, when the Whites kept going on the offensive and the situation at the front was far from favorable, he was eager to fight in order to defend the revolution, and was furious because they put spokes in his wheels. Migulin is nervous, rushing about and in the end can not stand it: instead of going to Penza, where he is summoned with an incomprehensible intention (he suspects that they want to arrest him), Migulin begins to make his way to the front with a handful of troops subordinate to him. On the way, he is arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death. In his fiery speech at the trial, he says that he has never been a rebel and will die with the words "Long live the social revolution!" Migulin is amnestied, demoted, he becomes the head of the land department of the Don Executive Committee, and two months later he is again given a regiment. In February 1921, he was awarded an order and appointed chief inspector of the Red Army cavalry. On the way to Moscow, where he was called to receive this honorary position, he stops by his native village. On the Don at that time it was restless. As a result of the surplus appropriation, the Cossacks are worried, in some places uprisings break out. Migulin is one of those who cannot but get into a fight, not stand up for someone's defense. A rumor spreads that he returned to the Don to join the rebels. Migulin, having heard the stories of the Cossacks about the atrocities of the food contractors, curses the local leaders, promising to go to Lenin in Moscow and tell about the atrocities. A spy is assigned to him, recording all his statements, and in the end he is arrested. Nevertheless, even many years later, the figure of Migulin is still not fully understood by Letunov. Even now he is not sure that the purpose of the corps commander, when he arbitrarily went to the front, was not a rebellion. Pavel Evgrafovich wants to find out where he was moving in August of the nineteenth. He hopes that Asya Igumnova, a living witness of the events, the person closest to Migulin, will be able to tell him something new, shed light, and therefore, despite weakness and ailments, Letunov goes to her. He needs the truth, and instead the old woman says after a long silence: “I will answer you - I have never loved anyone so much in my long, tedious life ...” And Letunov himself, seemingly seeking the truth, forgets about his own mistakes and his own fault. Justifying himself, he calls it "the darkening of the mind and the breaking of the soul," which is replaced by oblivion, saving for conscience. Letunov thinks about Migulin, remembers the past, but meanwhile passions boil around him. In the cooperative dacha settlement where he lives, the house was vacated after the death of the owner, and the adult children of Pavel Evgrafovich ask him to talk with the chairman of the board Prikhodko, because in their house the expanded family has not had enough space for a long time, while Letunov is an honored person who has lived here for a long time. years. However, Pavel Evgrafovich evades conversation with Prikhodko, a former cadet, an informer and a vile person in general, who, moreover, perfectly remembers how Letunov purged him from the party in his time. Letunov lives in the past, in memory of his recently buried beloved wife, whom he sorely misses. The children, who are immersed in everyday concerns, do not understand him and are not at all interested in his historical research, they even believe that he has lost his mind, and they bring a psychiatrist to him. Oleg Vasilyevich Kandaurov, a successful, energetic and quick-witted man, who wants to go all the way in everything, is also claiming the vacated house. He has a business trip to Mexico, he has a lot of urgent matters, in particular, obtaining a medical certificate for the trip, and two main worries - farewell to his mistress and this very house, which he must get at all costs. Kandaurov does not want to miss anything. He knows that his dacha neighbors do not really like him and are unlikely to support him, but he is not going to give in: he manages to pay off another contender for the house - the nephew of his former owner, he also has an agreement with Prikhodko. However, when everything seems to be settled, he receives a call from the clinic, offering to take a second urine test. It suddenly turns out that Kandaurov has a serious and, possibly, incurable illness, which cancels a business trip to Mexico and everything else. The element of life does not flow at all along the channel into which people seek to direct it. So it is with the dacha village - strangers arrive in a black "Volga" with a red folder in their hands, and Letunov's son Ruslan manages to learn from the driver that they are going to build a boarding house instead of old dachas. E. A. Shklovsky Another life Tale (1975) The action takes place in Moscow. Several months have passed since Sergei Afanasyevich Troitsky passed away. His wife Olga Vasilievna, a biologist, still cannot recover from the loss of her husband, who died at the age of forty-two from a heart attack. She still lives in the same apartment with his mother Alexandra Prokofievna, a woman of the old school. Alexandra Prokofievna is a lawyer by profession, retired, but gives advice in the newspaper. She blames Olga Vasilievna for Sergei's death, reproaching her with the fact that Olga Vasilyevna bought a new TV, and this indicates, in her opinion, that her daughter-in-law is not very saddened by her husband's death and is not going to deny herself entertainment. She does not recognize her right to suffer. However, Alexandra Prokofievna had a difficult relationship with her son. Olga Vasilievna vindictively recalls that he did not like the excessive straightforwardness of his mother, which she was proud of, her categoricalness, bordering on intolerance. This intolerance is also manifested in relations with the sixteen-year-old granddaughter Irina. Grandmother promised her money for winter boots, but does not give her only because Irina is going to buy them from speculators. The daughter is indignant, Olga Vasilievna pities Irina, who was left without a father so early, but she also knows her character well, as strange as Sergei's: something unsettled, tough ... Everything that surrounds Olga Vasilievna is connected for her with memories of Sergei, whom she really loved deeply. The pain of loss does not go away and does not even become less acute. She recalls their entire life together, starting from the very first day they met. She was introduced to Troitsky by her friend Vlad, who was then a medical student, who was in love with her. Sergei, a history student, masterfully read the words in reverse and on the very first evening he ran for vodka, which immediately did not please Olga Vasilievna's mother, who, moreover, wanted the reliable and prudent Vlad to become her husband. However, everything happened differently. The decisive event in the relationship between Olga Vasilievna and Sergey was a trip to Gagra with her friend Rita and the same Vlad. Gradually, Olga Vasilievna and Sergei began a serious romance. Even then, Olga Vasilievna began to catch something shaky in his character, which later became a subject of particular concern for her and caused a lot of suffering - primarily because of the fear of losing Sergei. It seemed to her that thanks to this very property, another woman could take him away. Olga Vasilievna was jealous not only of the new women who appeared on the horizon of Sergei, but also of those who were before her. One of them, named Svetlanka, appeared immediately after their return from the south and blackmailed Sergei with an imaginary pregnancy. However, Olga Vasilievna managed to overcome this test, as she herself determined the onslaught of her rival. And a month later there was a wedding. At first they lived with the mother of Olga Vasilievna and her stepfather, the artist Georgy Maksimovich. Once Georgy Maksimovich studied in Paris, he was called "Russian Van Gogh". He destroyed his old works and now exists quite tolerably, painting ponds and groves, being a member of the purchasing committee, etc. A gentle and kind man, Georgy Maksimovich once showed firmness. Olga Vasilyevna then became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion, because the circumstances were not very good: Sergey had a falling out with the director of the museum and wanted to leave, she worked at a school, it was far away to go to work, it was bad with money. Georgy Maksimovich, having accidentally found out, categorically forbade, thanks to which Irinka was born. In that house, Olga Vasilievna also had problems, in particular because of the wife of the artist Vasin Zika. Sergei often ran away to Vasin, especially in moments of anguish, because he left the museum and did not know what to do with himself. Olga Vasilievna was jealous of Sergei for Zika, they often quarreled over her. With Zika herself, after a short friendship, Olga Vasilievna established hostile relations. Soon Sergey's sister died, and they moved to their mother-in-law in Shabolovka. Remembering, Olga Vasilievna asks herself, what was her life with Sergei really like - good, bad? And is it really her fault for his death? When he was alive, she felt like a rich woman, especially next to her best friend Faina, whose personal life did not work out. She said to Faina that yes, she was good. What was she really like? One thing is clear to her: it was their life and together they made up a single organism. After forty Sergey, according to Olga Vasilievna, like many men at this age, was seized by mental confusion. At the institute, where his friend Fedya Praskukhin dragged him, it began: promises, hopes, projects, passions, groups, dangers at every turn. It seems to her that throwing ruined him. He got carried away, then cooled down and rushed to something new. Failures deprived him of strength, he bent, weakened, but some kind of core inside him remained intact. For a long time Sergey fiddled with the book "Moscow in the eighteenth year", he wanted to publish it, but nothing came of it. Then a new topic appeared: the February Revolution, the tsarist secret police. After Sergei's death, Olga Vasilyevna was approached from the Institute and asked to find a folder with materials - allegedly in order to prepare Sergei's work for publication. These materials, including lists of secret agents of the Moscow Okhrana, are unique. To confirm their authenticity, Sergei looked for people associated with those who appeared on the lists, and even found one of the former agents - Koshelkov, born in 1891 - alive and well. Olga Vasilievna went with Sergei to the village near Moscow, where this Koshelkov lived. Sergei was looking for threads that connected the past with an even more distant past and with the future. Man for him was a thread that stretched through time, the thinnest nerve of history, which can be split off, singled out, and many things can be determined from it. He called his method "tearing graves", but in fact it was a touch on the thread, and he began with his own life, with his father, after a civil figure in education, a student at Moscow University, who participated in the commission that sorted out the archives of the gendarme department. Here was the source of Sergei's passion. In his ancestors and in himself, he discovered something in common - disagreement. Sergei was enthusiastically engaged in new research, but everything began to change dramatically after the death of his friend Fedya Praskukhin, scientific secretary of the institute, who died in a car accident. Olga Vasilievna then did not let Sergei go south with him and another of their old friends, Gena Klimuk. Klimuk, who was also in the car, remained alive, he took the place of the scientific secretary instead of Fedya, but their relationship with Sergey from friends quickly became hostile. Klimuk turned out to be an intriguer, he also called on Sergei to create his own "small, cozy band" with him. Once there was an opportunity to go on a tourist trip to France. For Sergei, this was not only an opportunity to see Paris and Marseille, but also to search for the materials needed for work. Much depended on Klimuk. They invited him and his wife to a dacha in Vasilkovo. Klimuk arrived, bringing with him also the deputy director of the institute, Kislovsky, with some girl. Klimuk asked to allow them to spend the night. Olga Vasilievna objected. At the same time, a fierce dispute arose between the tipsy Klimuk and Sergey about the historical expediency, which Sergey denied, sarcastically joking: "I wonder who will determine what is expedient and what is not? The Academic Council by a majority of votes?" But even after this skirmish, Sergei continued to hope for a trip to France. Georgy Maksimovich promised to give part of the money, who decided to solemnly arrange the presentation of the amount, since he had nostalgic memories associated with Paris. Olga Vasilievna and Sergei went to see him, but it all ended almost in a scandal. Irritated by the statements of his father-in-law, Sergei unexpectedly refused the money. Soon the question of the trip disappeared: the group was reduced, and Sergei, it seems, has cooled down. Shortly before discussing the dissertation, Klimuk persuaded Sergei to give some of the materials to Kislovskiy, who needed them for his doctoral thesis. Sergei refused. The first discussion of the dissertation failed. This meant that the defense was postponed indefinitely. Then Darya Mamedovna appeared, an interesting woman, philosopher, psychologist, specialist in parapsychology, about whom they said that she was unusually smart. Sergey became interested in parapsychology, hoping to extract something useful for his research. Once they, together with Olga Vasilyevna, participated in a seance, after which Olga Vasilyevna had a conversation with Darya Mamedovna. She was worried about Sergei, his relationship with this woman, and Darya Mamedovna was interested in the problems of biological incompatibility, which Olga Vasilievna dealt with as a biochemist. The main thing was that Sergei was moving away, living his own life, and this hurt Olga Vasilievna painfully. After Sergei's death, it seems to Olga Vasilievna that life is over, only emptiness and cold remain. However, unexpectedly for her, another life comes: a person appears with whom she has a close relationship. He has a family, but they meet, go for a walk in Spasskoe-Lykovo, talk about everything. This man is dear to Olga Vasilievna. And she thinks that she is not guilty, because there is another life around. E. A. Shklovsky House on the embankment Tale (1976) The action takes place in Moscow and unfolds in several time frames: mid-1930s, second half of the 1940s, early 1970s. A scientific worker, a literary critic Vadim Alexandrovich Glebov, who has agreed in a furniture store to buy an antique table, arrives there and, in search of the person he needs, accidentally stumbles upon his school friend Levka Shulepnikov, a local worker who has gone down and, apparently, is drinking too much. Glebov calls him by name, but Shulepnikov turns away, not recognizing or pretending not to recognize him. This greatly hurts Glebov, he does not believe that he is to blame for anything before Shulepnikov, and in general, if anyone is to blame, then the times. Glebov returns home, where unexpected news awaits him that his daughter is going to marry a certain Tolmachev, a bookstore clerk. Irritated by the meeting and the failure at the furniture store, he is somewhat at a loss. And in the middle of the night he is raised by a phone call - the same Shulepnikov calls, who, it turns out, still recognized him and even found his phone. There is the same bravado in his speech, the same boasting, although it is clear that this is yet another Shulepnikov's bluff. Glebov recalls that once, at the time of the appearance of Shulepnikov in their class, he was painfully jealous of him. Levka lived in a huge gray house on the embankment in the very center of Moscow. Many of Vadim's classmates lived there, and it seemed that a completely different life was going on than in the surrounding ordinary houses. This, too, was the subject of Glebov's burning envy. He himself lived in a shared apartment in Deryuginsky Lane not far from the "big house". The guys called him Vadka Baton, because on the first day of entering school he brought a loaf of bread and gave pieces to those who he liked. He, "absolutely nothing", also wanted to stand out with something. Glebov's mother at one time worked as an usher in a cinema, so Vadim could go to any movie without a ticket and even sometimes take friends. This privilege was the basis of his power in the class, which he used very prudently, inviting only those in whom he was interested. And Glebov's authority remained unshakable until Shulepnikov arose. He immediately made an impression - he was wearing leather pants. Levka held on arrogantly, and they decided to teach him a lesson by arranging something like a dark one - they attacked in a crowd and tried to pull off his pants. However, the unexpected happened - pistol shots instantly scattered the attackers, who had already twisted Levka. Then it turned out that he shot from a very similar to a real German scarecrow. Immediately after that attack, the director arranged a search for the criminals, Levka did not want to extradite anyone, and the case seemed to be hushed up. So he became, to Glebova's envy, also a hero. And as far as cinema is concerned, Glebov's Shulepnikov also outdid himself: once he invited the guys to his home and played them on his own movie camera the same action movie "Blue Express", which Glebov was so fond of. Later, Vadim became friends with Shulepa, as they called him in the class, began to visit him at home, in a huge apartment, which also made a strong impression on him. It turned out that Shulepnikov had everything, but one person, according to Glebov, should not have everything. Glebov's father, who worked as a master chemist at a confectionery factory, advised his son not to be deceived by friendship with Shulepnikov and to visit that house less often. However, when Uncle Volodya was arrested, Vadim's mother asked, through Levka, his father, an important figure in the state security organs, to find out about him. Shulepnikov Sr., secluded with Glebov, said that he would find out, but in turn asked him to give the names of the instigators in that story with the scarecrow, which, as Glebov thought, had long been forgotten. And Vadim, who himself was among the instigators and therefore was afraid that this would eventually come up, named two names. Soon, these guys, along with their parents, disappeared, like his flatmates Bychkov, who terrorized the entire district and once beat up Shulepnikov and Anton Ovchinnikov, another of their classmates, who appeared in their alley. Then Shulepnikov appears in 1947, at the same institute where Glebov also studied. It has been seven years since they last saw each other. Glebov was evacuated, went hungry, and in the last year of the war he managed to serve in the army, in parts of the airfield service. Shulepa, according to him, flew to Istanbul on a diplomatic mission, was married to an Italian, then divorced, etc. His stories are full of mystery. He is still the birthday boy of life, he arrives at the institute in a captured BMW, presented to him by his stepfather, now different and also from the authorities. And he lives again in an elite house, only now on Tverskaya. Only his mother Alina Fedorovna, a hereditary noblewoman, has not changed at all. Of their other classmates, some were no longer alive, while others were swept away in different directions. Only Sonya Ganchuk, the daughter of the professor and head of the department at their institute, Nikolai Vasilyevich Ganchuk, remained. As a friend of Sonya and secretary of the seminar, Glebov often visits the Ganchuks in the same house on the embankment, to which he has longed in dreams since his school years. Gradually, he becomes here his own. And still feels like a poor relative. One day at Sonya's party, he suddenly realizes that he could be in this house for completely different reasons. From that very day, as if by order, a completely different feeling for Sonya begins to develop in him, rather than just a friendly one. After celebrating the New Year at Ganchuk's dacha in Bruski, Glebov and Sonya become close. Sonya's parents do not yet know anything about their romance, but Glebov feels some dislike from Sonya's mother Yulia Mikhailovna, a German teacher at their institute. At this very time, all sorts of unpleasant events begin at the institute, directly affecting Glebov. First, the linguistics teacher Astrug was fired, then the turn came to Sonya's mother Yulia Mikhailovna, who was offered to take exams in order to receive a diploma from a Soviet university and have the right to teach, since she has a diploma from the University of Vienna. Glebov was in his fifth year, writing a diploma, when he was unexpectedly asked to go into the academic unit. A certain Druzyaev, a former military prosecutor who recently appeared at the institute, together with a graduate student Shireiko hinted that they knew all Glebov's circumstances, including his closeness to Ganchuk's daughter, and therefore it would be better if someone became the head of Glebov's diploma. another. Glebov agrees to talk with Ganchuk, but later, especially after a frank conversation with Sonya, who was stunned, he realized that everything was much more complicated. At first, he hopes that it will somehow resolve itself, over time, but he is constantly reminded, making it clear that both graduate school and Griboedov's scholarship, which Glebov received after the winter session, depend on his behavior. Even later, he guesses that the point is not at all in him, but in the fact that they "rolled a barrel" at Ganchuk. And there was also fear - "completely insignificant, blind, formless, like a creature born in a dark underground." Somehow, Glebov suddenly discovers that his love for Sonya is not at all as serious as it seemed. Meanwhile, Glebov is forced to speak at a meeting where Ganchuk is to be discussed. An article by Shireiko appeared condemning Ganchuk, in which it was mentioned that some graduate students (meaning Glebov) were refusing his scientific guidance. It comes to Nikolai Vasilyevich himself. Only the confession of Sonya, who revealed to her father their relationship with Glebov, somehow defuses the situation. The need to speak at the meeting oppresses Vadim, who does not know how to get out. He rushes about, goes to Shulepnikov, hoping for his secret power and connections. They get drunk, go to some women, and the next day Glebov, with a severe hangover, cannot go to the institute. However, he is not left alone at home. The anti-Druzyaev group is pinning its hopes on him. These students want Vadim to speak on their behalf in defense of Ganchuk. Kuno Ivanovich, Ganchuk's secretary, comes to him with a request not to remain silent. Glebov lays out all the options - "for" and "against", and none of them suits him. In the end, everything works out in an unexpected way: on the night before the fateful meeting, Glebov's grandmother dies, and he, with good reason, does not go to the meeting. But everything is over with Sonya, the issue for Vadim is resolved, he stops visiting their house, and everything is determined with Ganchuk too - he was sent to the regional pedagogical university to strengthen peripheral personnel. All this, like many other things, Glebov seeks to forget, not to remember, and he succeeds. He received both graduate school and a career, and Paris, where he left as a member of the board of the essayist section for the MALE congress (International Association of Literary Critics and Essayists). Life is developing quite well, but everything that he dreamed about and that then came to him did not bring joy, "because it took away so much strength and that irreplaceable thing that is called life." E. A. Shklovsky Abram Terts (Andrey Donatovich Sinyavsky) (1925-1997) Lyubimov Tale (1963) The fairy tale tells about a strange story that happened to the ordinary Lyubimovsky inhabitant Lenya Tikhomirov. Until that time, in Lyubimov, standing near Mokra Gora, no miraculous events were observed, but, on the contrary, there was a large Komsomol and intelligentsia stratum and life was completely socialist under the leadership of the secretary of the city committee Tishchenko Semyon Gavrilovich. But Lenya Tikhomirov, a descendant of the nobleman Proferansov, gained wonderful power over people and with the force of his will alone forced Tishchenko to abdicate. He reigned in the city and declared Lyubimov a free city, and before that - quite in the tradition of fairy tales - turning either a fox or a motorcycle, he won a convincing victory over Tishchenko. The fact is that Proferansov Samson Samsonych was not a simple landowner, but a philosopher and theosophist, and left a manuscript with which one could acquire a giant Julia to subjugate other people's actions and direct destinies. Here Lenya Tikhomirov found the manuscript of his ancient ancestor. And he began to establish a communist utopia in the city of Lyubimov, as he understood this matter. First of all, he fed everyone. That is, he inspired them that they were eating sausage. And indeed there was sausage, and there was wine - but a strange thing! - I didn’t get a headache from a hangover, and in general: you drink and drink, but it’s like nothing. Then Lenya granted amnesty to all criminals. And then he began to build dictatorial communism, in which everyone is fed, but he thinks for everyone, because he knows better what is best. But in the meantime, the city of Lyubimov is besieged from all sides by the Soviet authorities, in order, therefore, to dismiss the dictator Lenya and restore order. Does not exceed! Because Lenya, by his will, made the city invisible. Only the indomitable detective Vitaly Kochetov, deducted from the editor-in-chief of the magazine "October", a notorious obscurantist, got there. This same Vitaly Kochetov came to Lena in Lyubimov and suddenly saw that everything was right in the city! All right! And even more communist than in the Soviet Union! Complete dictatorship, and one thinks for all! And Vitaly was imbued with love for Lena, asked to work for him and wrote about this to his closest friend Anatoly Sofronov, deducted from the editor-in-chief of Ogonyok. But I must tell you that Lenya undertook this whole escapade solely out of love for a beauty named Serafima Petrovna, and, having achieved power over everyone, Lenya immediately achieved her love. This whole epic is told to us by another Preferansov, not even a relative of Samson Samsonych, and his name is Savely Kuzmich, but someone intrudes into the manuscript of Savely Kuzmich, makes footnotes, adds comments ... This is the spirit of Samson Samsonych Proferansov. He reads the manuscript, follows the events and sees that it is time for him to intervene. And it's time for him to intervene, because God is with him, with Lenya, and with Seraphim enslaved by him, and even with the enslaved city - but Lenya has already threatened to re-educate his own mother. He taught her that there is no God. She feeds and waters him, sickly, withered from state cares, and he inspires her: "There is no God! There is no God!" "Don't you dare touch mothers!" - exclaims the spirit of Proferansov - and deprives Lenya of his miraculous power. And it turned out that Serafima Petrovna was Jewish, and nothing could be done about it, that is, there are things in the world that are beyond Lena's control. And since the Jews are like pepper in soup or yeast in a pie, Serafima Petrovna was the first to get tired of Lenin's prosperity. She left him. And then others pulled out of the city - as if everyone was immediately tired of what Lenya thinks for them. Only the faithful Vitaly Kochetov remained, but he was run over by an amphibious tank, because Lenin, the city, deserted, as if extinct, was now visible to everyone. On Kochetov's walkie-talkie, he was located. And the Lyubimovites scattered in the surrounding fields. Thus ended the great communist experiment in introducing abundance and unanimity. And Lenya escaped in a freight train to Chelyabinsk and, falling asleep in the car to the whistle of a steam locomotive, felt better than in the role of a dictator. One misfortune is that in the vicinity of Lyubimov there are arrests, an investigation, the townspeople are caught and interrogated, so this manuscript should be hidden as soon as possible under the floorboard ... Otherwise they will find it. Abram Tertz - aka Andrey Sinyavsky - was arrested two years after finishing work on this story. D. L. Bykov Vladimir Osipovich Bogomolov (b. 1926) Ivan Tale (1957) The young senior lieutenant Galtsev, the acting battalion commander, was awakened in the middle of the night. Near the shore, a boy of about twelve was detained, all wet and shivering from the cold. To Galtsev's strict questions, the boy only answers that his surname is Bondarev, and demands that he be immediately informed of his arrival at the headquarters. But Galtsev, not immediately believing, reports about the boy only when he correctly names the names of the staff officers. Lieutenant Colonel Gryaznov really confirms: "This is our guy", he needs to "create all the conditions" and "treat more delicately." As ordered, Galtsev gives the boy paper and ink. He pours out on the table and intently counts the grains and coniferous needles. The received data is urgently sent to the headquarters. Galtsev feels guilty for yelling at the boy, now he is ready to take care of him. Kholin arrives, a tall handsome man and a joker of about twenty-seven. Ivan (that is the name of the boy) tells his friend about how he could not approach the boat waiting for him because of the Germans and how he could hardly swim across the cold Dnieper on a log. On the uniform brought to Ivan Kholin, the Order of the Patriotic War and the medal "For Courage". After a joint meal, Kholin and the boy leave. After some time, Galtsev meets Ivan again. First, a quiet and modest foreman Katasonich appears in the battalion. From observation posts, he "watches the German", spending the whole day at the stereo tube. Then Kholin, together with Galtsev, inspects the area and trenches. The Germans on the other side of the Dnieper constantly keep our bank at gunpoint. Galtsev should "provide all possible assistance" to Kholin, but he does not want to "run" after him. Galtsev goes about his business, checking the work of the new paramedic, trying not to pay attention to the fact that he is facing a beautiful young woman. Ivan arrived unexpectedly friendly and talkative. Tonight he will have to cross to the German rear, but he does not even think of sleeping, but reads magazines, eats candy. The boy is delighted with the Finn Galtsev, but he cannot give Ivan a knife - after all, this is the memory of his dead best friend. Finally, Galtsev learns more about the fate of Ivan Buslov (this is the real name of the boy). He comes from Gomel. His father and sister died during the war. Ivan had to go through a lot: he was in the partisans, and in Trostyanets - in the death camp. Lieutenant Colonel Gryaznov persuaded Ivan to go to the Suvorov School, but he only wants to fight and take revenge. Kholin "didn't even think that a child could hate so much ...". And when they decided not to send Ivan on a mission, he left on his own. What this boy can do, and adult scouts rarely succeed. It was decided that if Ivan's mother was not found after the war, Katasonich or a lieutenant colonel would adopt him. Kholin says that Katasonich was unexpectedly called to the division. Ivan is childishly offended: why didn’t he come to say goodbye? In fact, Katasonich had just been killed. Now the third will be Galtsev. Of course, this is a violation, but Galtsev, who had previously asked to be taken on intelligence, decides. Having carefully prepared, Kholin, Ivan and Galtsev go to the operation. Having crossed the river, they hide the boat. Now the boy has a difficult and very risky task: to quietly pass fifty kilometers behind German lines. Just in case, he's dressed like a "homeless rat". Insuring Ivan, Kholin and Galtsev spend about an hour in ambush, and then return back. Galtsev orders for Ivan exactly the same finca as the one he liked. After some time, having met with Gryaznov, Galtsev, already approved as the battalion commander, asks to hand over the knife to the boy. But it turns out that when Ivan was finally decided to be sent to the school, he left without permission. Gryaznov is reluctant to talk about the boy: the less people know about the "zakordonniks", the longer they live. But Galtsev cannot forget about the little scout. After being seriously wounded, he ends up in Berlin to seize the German archives. In the documents found by the secret field police, Galtsev suddenly discovers a photo with a familiar high-cheeked face and wide-set eyes. The report says that in December 1943, after fierce resistance, "Ivan" was detained, who was watching the movement of German trains in the forbidden zone. After interrogations, during which the boy "behaved defiantly," he was shot. E. V. Novikova Moment of the truth IN AUGUST FORTY-FOUR… Roman (1973) In the summer of 1944, all of Belarus and a significant part of Lithuania were liberated by our troops. But in these territories there were many enemy agents, scattered groups of German soldiers, gangs, underground organizations. All these illegal forces acted suddenly and brutally: they already had many murders and other crimes on their account, in addition, the tasks of the underground organizations included collecting and transferring information about the Red Army to the Germans. On August 13, an unknown walkie-talkie, wanted in the Neman case, again went on the air in the Shilovichi region. The "operational-search group" of Captain Alekhin was entrusted with finding the exact place of its exit. Pavel Vasilievich Alekhin himself is trying to find out something in the villages, two other members of the group, an experienced cleaner, twenty-five-year-old senior lieutenant Konstantin Tamantsev and a very young cleaner-probationer of the guard, Lieutenant Andrei Blinov, are carefully examining the forest. Even minor clues, such as bitten and thrown cucumbers or German lard wrappers, can help scouts. Alekhin learns that not far from the Shilovichi forest that day they saw, firstly, two military men, and secondly, Kazimir Pavlovsky, who possibly served with the Germans. On the second day of the search, Tamantsev finds the place where the radio went on the air. The group tracks down two suspicious military men found by Blinov. The pursuit, searches throughout Lida lead nowhere: in the end, Blinov loses sight of the person with whom the suspects met, and the request confirms their loyalty. And yet Alekhine cannot discard this version until there is irrefutable evidence. Only later it turns out that the people being checked are not agents, which means, in the words of Tamantsev, for almost three days they "pulled a dummy." Meanwhile, Tamantsev, with seconded officers, is working out the second version: from an ambush, they are watching the house of Yulia Antonyuk, who may be visited by the suspect Pavlovsky. Tamantsev "trains" his not particularly experienced wards: he explains to them what counterintelligence is, and gives specific instructions for action in the event of Pavlovsky's appearance. And yet, when Tamantsev tries to take the especially dangerous agent Pavlovsky alive, he, due to the slow actions of the seconded, manages to commit suicide. The head of the investigative department, Lieutenant Colonel "En Fe" Polyakov, "if not God, then, undoubtedly, his deputy in search," a person whose opinion is very important for the entire Alekhine group. The recent murder of the driver and the theft of the car, according to Polyakov, the work of the wanted group. But all these are assumptions, and not the results that the head of the department, General Yegorov, and not only him, expects from Polyakov and Alekhin: the matter is taken under control by the Headquarters. Blinov is entrusted with a responsible task: taking a company, find in a grove a small sapper shovel that has disappeared from a stolen car. Andrei is sure that he will not let his superiors down, but the whole day of searching does not lead to anything. The frustrated Blinov does not even suspect that the absence of a shovel in the grove confirms Polyakov's version. Polyakov reports to Yegorov and to the authorities who have arrived from Moscow his thoughts on "a strong, qualified reconnaissance group of the enemy." In his opinion, the hiding place with the walkie-talkie is located in the Shilovichi forest area. There is a real chance tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to catch the wanted people red-handed and get the "moment of truth", that is, "the moment of receiving information from the captured agent that contributes to the capture of the entire wanted group and the full implementation of the case." The Moscow authorities propose to conduct a military operation. Yegorov sharply objects: a large-scale military operation can quickly achieve the appearance of activity in front of the Headquarters, and get only corpses. Against and Polyakov. But they are given only a day, and in parallel, the preparation of a military operation begins. Of course, a day is not enough, but this period was appointed by Stalin himself. The Supreme Commander is extremely worried and agitated. Having familiarized himself with the information on the Neman case, he calls the head of the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence, the People's Commissars for State Security and Internal Affairs, contacts the fronts via HF. We are talking about the most important strategic operation in the Baltics. If within a day the Neman group is not caught and the leak of secret information does not stop, "all the guilty will suffer the deserved punishment"! Tamantsev expects reproaches from Alekhine for the "lost" Pavlovsky. This is a very difficult day for Alekhine: he learned about his daughter's illness and that the unique wheat he bred before the war was mistakenly taken to the grain supply. Alekhin is hardly distracted from heavy thoughts and focuses on the sapper shovel found by Tamantsev. And a truly grandiose activity is unfolding around, the flywheel of a huge emergency search mechanism is untwisted with might and main. Military personnel, Smersh officers, identification cards, service dogs, equipment are brought from everywhere to participate in the events in the Neman case ... At railway stations, where enemy agents often get to work to collect information, checks are carried out on suspicious people. Many of them are detained and then released. Andrei, together with the seconded assistant to the commandant Anikushin, leaves for the Shilovichi forest. For Igor Anikushin, this day was unsuccessful. In the evening, in a new, well-tailored dress uniform, he was supposed to go to the birthday party of his beloved girl. And now the captain, who fought on the front line before being wounded, is forced to waste time with these "loafers" "specialists" because of a "ridiculous" assignment. The assistant commandant is especially indignant that the yellow-mouthed stuttering lieutenant and the unsympathetic captain "secret" the essence of the matter from him. Fifteen generals and fifty officers gathered at the headquarters, located in an old ownerless building - "stodol". Everyone is uncomfortable and hot. Finally, the radio operator informs Polyakov's group that three men in military uniform are moving in their direction. But an order comes to everyone to immediately leave the forest: at 17.00, a military operation is to begin. Tamantsev is indignant, Alekhin decides to stay: after all, Yegorov, who gave the order, most likely does not know about those three who are already approaching the ambush. As agreed, Alekhin and the assistant commandant approach the suspects and check the documents, in an ambush they are insured by Tamantsev and Blinov. Alekhine copes admirably with his role as a rustic vigilant serviceman, so that Tamantsev "mentally applauds him." At the same time, Alekhine must simultaneously “pump” the data of all three on thousands of search orientations (perhaps the shaven-headed captain is a particularly dangerous terrorist, the resident recruiter of German intelligence Mishchenko), evaluate the documents, record the details of the behavior of those being checked, “aggravate” the situation and do many more things that make even experienced "wolfhounds" be in suspense. The documents are in perfect order, all three behave naturally, until Alekhin asks them to show the contents of the knapsacks. At the decisive moment, Anikushin, who did not want to understand the full importance and danger of what was happening, suddenly shielded Alekhine from an ambush. But Tamantsev acts quickly and clearly even in this situation. When the test subjects attack Alekhine and wound him in the head, Tamantsev and Blinov jump out of the ambush. Blinov's shot knocks the skinhead off his feet. "Swinging the pendulum", that is, unmistakably reacting to the actions of the enemy, dodging shots, Tamantsev neutralizes the strong and strong "senior lieutenant". Blinov and the foreman-radio operator detain the third, "lieutenant". Although Tamantsev managed to shout to the assistant commandant: "Lie down!" - he could not orient himself in time and was killed in a shootout. Now, however cruel it may seem, Anikushin, who at first prevented the ambush, "helped" the group in the "emergency gutting": Tamantsev, threatening the radio operator to avenge the death of "Vaska", obtains all the necessary information from him. A "moment of truth" has been received: these are indeed agents involved in the "Neman" case: the eldest of them is Mishchenko. It is confirmed that Pavlovsky was also their accomplice, that "Notary", as Polyakov assumed, is the already detained Komarnitsky, "Matilda" is near Siauliai, where Tamantsev plans to fly. In the meantime, at eight minutes to five, Alekhine urgently transmits through the radio operator: “Grandma has arrived,” which means that the core of the group and the radio have been captured, a military operation is not needed. Blinov is worried that he did not take the agent alive. But Tamantsev is proud of the “non-intelligent trainee” who brought down the legendary Mishchenko, who could not be caught for many years. Only now, when everything is behind, Alekhine allows to bandage himself. Tamantsev, imagining how delighted "En Fe" will be, unable to restrain himself, furiously shouts: "Ba-bushka! .. Granny has arrived !!!" E. V. Novikova Vitaly Nikolaevich Semin (1927-1988) Badge "OST" Roman (1976) The action takes place in Germany during World War II. The main character is a teenager Sergei, who was taken to Germany in an arbeitla-ger. The story covers about three years of the hero's life. The inhuman conditions of existence are described. An Arbeit camp is better than a concentration camp - an extermination camp, but only because people are killed here gradually, tormented by overwork, starvation, beatings and bullying. Arbeit camp prisoners wear the "OST" badge on their clothes. The central event of the first chapters of the novel is the escape of Sergei and his friend Valka. First, the prison is described, in which teenagers caught after escaping fall. During a search, a dagger is found at the main character, but the Germans somehow forget about it. The guys are beaten and after several days in prison, where they get to know some Russian prisoners of war, they are again sent to the same camp. On the one hand, Sergei is now more respected by the campers, on the other hand, returning to the camp is worse than death. The author (narrated in the first person) reflects on how necessary love was for a teenager, how he was looking for it, and how the German fascist machine did not allow him to be loved by anyone. Every day, for fifteen hours, children, hungry, freezing, are forced to work - to move a heavy trolley with ore. They are followed by a German foarbeiter Paul. The group in which the main character works consists of two Belarusians - the inhibited Andriy and the impudent Volodya - and two Poles - the strong Stefan and the silly Bronislav. Teenagers hate their master, try to annoy him as much as possible. The most important thing is to be careful, because for the slightest reason you can get charged, and then they will face not only severe beatings, but also a concentration camp. One day, the Gestapo commission comes to the camp. Children see their forwarders in stormtrooper uniforms. The author discusses the nature of the Germans, their responsibility for fascism. The hero has a stolen sack of potatoes in his locker, which his fellow campers gave him for safekeeping, and in the sack is the same dagger. Sergei understands that if everyone finds this, then he will most likely be shot. Distraught with terror, he tries to hide. However, during the search, the Germans miss the locker with potatoes. So he once again manages to avoid death. At the same time, by the way, a certain Esman is also hiding in the camp - a strange man of incomprehensible nationality, a polyglot hiding from the Germans in a Russian arbeit camp. The prisoners hide him, try to help him with food. Sergei often talks to him. After the search, Esman is noticed by the camp translator on the stairs. He immediately reports on him, Esman is taken away. A confrontation is set up. Esman does not betray anyone. The entire camp is punished with deprivation of food for a day. For a camp that has been starving for years, where bread is the main value, this is a real tragedy. After escaping, Sergei is transferred to work in a foundry, at a military plant. With each day of overwork, the hero's hatred for the Germans grows. He is so weak that he cannot physically oppose them, but his strength is that "I saw. It should not have perished. My knowledge was dozens, hundreds of times more important than myself ... I had to tell as soon as possible, pass on my knowledge to all." In the camp, ordinary life goes on: people change clothes for bread, try to find cigarettes, play cards. The author observes the camp characters - they describe: Leva-krank (one of the camp ringleaders, too arrogant), Nikolai Sokolik (embittered card player), Moskvich (a kind guy who does not know how and does not want to "put" himself in the camp society), Pavka- a hairdresser, Papasha Zelinsky (a blind-sighted intellectual who tries to write his memoirs), Ivan Ignatievich (a solid working man who ends up killing a German with a hammer), etc. Everyone has their own story. After the escape, the hero, unable to endure such a life any longer, tries to "crank" - inflict some kind of severe injury on himself so that he is recognized as unfit for work. Sergei puts his hand to the red-hot stove, gets a severe burn, but he is not even allowed to see a doctor. However, the next day he is beaten half to death by the master in the workshop, and only then is he left in the barracks. A typhoid epidemic breaks out in the camp. Sergei ends up in a typhoid hut. Here, the impregnable and beloved doctor Sofya Alekseevna takes care of the teenagers. New policemen appear in the camp - Fritz, Wart, Killed-Broken Wings. Sofya Alekseevna is trying to keep the children in the hospital longer so that they do not have to go to work. One day, the police break into the barracks, accuse the doctor of sabotage, brutally beat the teenagers and send them all back to the camp. Sergei, however, by that time reaches that extreme degree of exhaustion, when a person is completely unable to do hard work. He, along with a party of the same "kranks" - goners, is sent to another camp. In the new camp, in Langenberg, Sergei finds himself in another camp society. He is unkindly met by the headman from the Russians: "Not a tenant." Here they work at a rolling mill; the famine is even stronger - the end of the war is approaching (the campers now and then, for all sorts of signs, begin to understand this), and the Germans are not able to feed the Russian slaves. Once, however, one German, who decided to have some fun, puts candy on the fence. The author says that when she, divided by five, was eaten, the children had just "a shock, a taste tragedy." Being extremely emaciated, Sergei is transferred to the Folken-Born factory. Here the conditions are better; he works as a roofer's assistant. From time to time he has the opportunity to shake the pear and eat half-rotten fruit. One day Sergei, who has been coughing heavily for more than a year, is given a pack of anti-asthma cigarettes by the factory director. In the new camp - new acquaintances. There are many Frenchmen here, of whom Jean and Marcel attract the special attention of the hero; there are also Russian prisoners of war - Vanyusha, Petrovich and Arkady, with whom Sergey especially wants to make friends. Indeed, he succeeds and helps Vanyusha steal German pistols and smuggle them into the camp. Once they get out of the camp, they kill one German who could report on them. It clearly feels like the war is coming to an end. An uprising is being prepared in the camp, the prisoners at secret meetings are pondering what to do, what "politically correct decision" they must take. On Sundays, Sergei and Vanyusha go to voluntary work - to see the city and get bread. During one of these sorties, they go quite far, which attracts the attention of the Germans. A patrol is sent after them. It is only thanks to Vanyusha's confident behavior that they don't notice their pistols during the search. For Sergey Vanyush, he is a role model, he is looking for his respect, but complete confidence does not appear. A few weeks before the end of the war, Vlasovites appear in the camp, from whom the Germans are trying to get rid of. They are hostile to both Russians and Germans. The hero watches them with interest, hunted, betrayed and betrayed. The most important thing during the last weeks before the victory is the expectation of execution: there are rumors that the Germans will not leave anyone alive. It is for this case that weapons are accumulated in the camp. In the spring of 1945, they did not work much anymore, the prisoners spent a lot of time in a bomb shelter - the Allies were bombing Germany. One night, the campers try to execute the senior master. The prisoners and Sergei get out of the camp, reach his house, but the enterprise ends unsuccessfully. A few days later, the Americans arrive at the camp. Describes "crazy Sunday days of liberation. Invisible under the sun, a fire crackled on the camp parade ground. A dry tree, poisoned by our breath, was burning - sleepless campers burned bunks pulled out of the barracks. The empire was collapsing with a tank clang, and here there was such silence that one could hear how the sun is shining". Sergei and his friends make their way from the American zone of occupation to the east - to their own. They pass through the crowds of disarmed Germans, feeling their hatred for themselves. One night they almost get killed. Wanderings on American territory last until August 1945, until they are handed over to the Russians near Magdeburg. "By the new year, 1946, I was at home. I returned with the feeling that I knew everything about life. However, it took me thirty years of life experience to be able to tell something about my main life experiences." L. A. Danilkin Yuri Pavlovich Kazakov (1927-1982) Two in December Story (1962) He waited for her at the station for a long time. It was a frosty sunny day, and he liked the abundance of skiers, the creak of fresh snow and the two days ahead: first, an electric train, and then twenty kilometers through forests and fields on skis to the village in which he has a small summer house, and after spending the night they still ride and return home will be in the evening. She was a little late, but that was almost her only weakness. When he finally saw her, out of breath, in a red cap, with strands of hair strayed out, he thought how beautiful she was, and how well dressed, and that she was late, probably because she always wanted to be beautiful. It was noisy in the train car, crowded with backpacks and skis. He went out to smoke in the vestibule. I thought about how strange man is. Here he is - a lawyer, and he is already thirty years old, but he has not done anything special, as he dreamed of in his youth, and he has many reasons to be sad, but he is not sad - he feels good. They were almost the last to get off at a distant station. The snow creaked loudly under their steps. "What a winter!" she said, squinting her eyes. "It hasn't been like this for a long time." The forest was pierced by smoky slanting rays. Now and then the snow hung in a veil between the trunks, and the firs, freed from the load, swayed with their paws. They walked from ridge to ridge and sometimes saw villages with roofs from above. They walked, climbing snow-covered hills and sliding down, resting on fallen trees, smiling at each other. Sometimes he took her from behind by the neck, pulled her in and kissed her cold, chapped lips. I almost did not want to speak, only - "Look!" or "Listen!". But at times he noticed that she was sad and distracted. And when, finally, they came to his wooden house, and he began to carry firewood and heat the German cast-iron stove, she, without undressing, lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. "Tired?" - he asked. "I'm terribly tired. Let's go to sleep." She got up, stretched, not looking at him. "Today I'll lie down alone. May I be here, by the stove? Don't be angry," she said hurriedly and lowered her eyes. "What is it you?" - he was surprised and immediately remembered her sad, aloof look today. His heart was beating painfully. He suddenly realized that he did not know her at all - how she studied there at her university, whom she knew, what she was talking about. He moved to another bed, sat down, lit a cigarette, then put out the lamp and lay down. He felt bitter because he realized that she was leaving him. A minute later he heard her crying. Why did she suddenly feel so hard and unhappy today? She did not know. She only felt that the time for first love had passed, and now something new was coming and her old life was not interesting to her. She was tired of being a nobody in front of his parents, his friends and her girlfriends, she wanted to become a wife and mother, but he does not see this and is quite happy like that. But it was also mortally sorry for the first, disturbing and hot, full of novelty, the time of their love. Then she began to fall asleep, and when she woke up at night, she saw him squatting near the stove. His face was sad, and she felt sorry for him. In the morning they had breakfast in silence and drank tea. But then they cheered up, took the skis and went skiing. And when it began to get dark, they got ready, locked the dacha and went to the station on skis. They drove up to Moscow in the evening. Burning rows of windows appeared in the darkness, and he thought it was time for them to part, and suddenly imagined her as his wife. Well, the first youth has passed, already thirty, and when you know that here she is next to you, and she is good, and all that, and you can always leave her to be with another, because you are free - in this feeling , in fact, there is no consolation. When they reached the station square, they felt somehow casual, calm, easy, and they said goodbye, as they always said goodbye, with a hasty smile. He didn't follow her. S. P. Kostyrko Adam and Eve Story (1962) The artist Ageev lived in a hotel in a northern city, he came here to paint fishermen. It was autumn. Above the city, above the bluish-brown forests shrouded in hoarfrost, low, hanging clouds rushed from the west, it began to drizzle ten times a day, and the lake rose above the city like a leaden wall. In the morning, Ageev lay for a long time, smoked on an empty stomach, looked at the sky. After waiting for twelve, when the buffet opened, he went downstairs, took cognac and drank slowly, gradually feeling how good he was getting, how he loved everyone and everything - life, people, the city and even rain. Then he went out into the street and wandered around the city for two hours. Returned to the hotel and went to bed. And in the evening he again went downstairs to the restaurant - a huge, steamy hall, which he almost hated. So Ageyev spent that day as well, and the next, at two o'clock, he went to the station to meet Vika. He arrived ahead of time, having nothing to do, went into the buffet, had a drink and was suddenly frightened at the thought that Vika was coming. He almost did not know her - they only met twice, and when he invited her to come to him in the North, she suddenly agreed. He stepped out onto the platform. The train was coming. Vika was the first to see him and called out to him. She was very pretty, and in her clothes, in her tangled hair, in her manner of speaking, there was something elusively Moscow, from which Ageev had already lost the habit in the North. "I'm lucky for women!" thought Ageev. "I brought you newspapers. They scold you, you know." - "Ah! - he said, experiencing deep pleasure. - "Collective Farm Woman" was not removed? - "No, it hangs ... - Vika laughed. - Nobody understands anything, they shout, argue, guys with beards walk in circles..." - "Did you like it?" Vika shrugged vaguely, and Ageev suddenly got angry. And all day long, like a stranger, he walked next to Vika, yawned, mumbled something incomprehensible to her questions, waited on the pier while she asked about the schedule, and in the evening he got drunk again and locked himself in his room. The next day, Vika woke Ageev early, made him wash and get dressed, and packed his backpack herself. "Just like a wife!" Ageyev thought with amazement. But Ageev did not feel any better on the ship either. After wandering along the iron flooring of the lower deck, he perched near the engine room, not far from the buffet. The buffet finally opened, and immediately Vika approached Ageev: "Do you want a drink, poor thing? Well, go and have a drink." Ageev brought a quarter, bread and cucumbers. As he drank, he felt his soul soften. "Explain what's wrong with you?" - asked Vika. "It's just sad, old woman," he said quietly. "Probably I'm mediocre and a fool." - "Silly!" Vika said tenderly, laughed and put her head on his shoulder. And she suddenly became close and dear to him. "You know how lousy it was without you - it's raining, there's nowhere to go, you're sitting in a restaurant drunk, you think ... I'm tired. I was a student, I thought - I'll turn everything upside down, I'll kill everyone with my paintings, I'll travel, I'll live in the rocks. A sort of, you know, tramp Gauguin ... Three years since he graduated from the institute, and all sorts of bastards are jealous: oh, glory, oh, Europe knows ... Idiots! What to envy? That I'm over every picture ... even worse. Critics! They shout about modernity, but they understand modernity vilely. And how they lie, what demagogy behind the right words! When they say "man", it is certainly with a capital letter. And we who do something, we are dupes for them ... Spiritual dudes - that's who we are!" - "You shouldn't drink..." Vika said quietly, looking down at him pitifully. Ageev looked at Vika, grimaced and said: "I'll go to bed." He began to undress in the cabin, and he felt sorry for himself and lonely to the point of tears. His salvation was now in Vika, he knew it. But something about her pissed him off. The ship approached the island in the evening. The dark, multi-roofed church was already visible. A short dawn burned dully and distantly, it began to get dark. Vicki had a stubborn and offended face. When they came very close, a windmill, a beautiful old hut, barn buildings became visible - everything was motionless, empty, museum. Ageev chuckled: "Just for me. So to speak - at the forefront." The hotel on the island turned out to be cozy - a stove in the kitchen, three rooms - all empty. The hostess brought sheets, and it smelled good of clean linen. Vika fell on the bed with a happy face: "This is brilliant! My dear Adam, do you like fried potatoes?" Ageev went out into the street, slowly walked around the church and sat down on the shore of the lake. He was lonely. He sat for a long time and heard Vika come out and look for him. He felt sorry for her, but a bitter alienation, detachment from everyone descended on her. He remembered that sick animals hide in such a way - they hide in inaccessible wilderness and are treated there with some mysterious herb or die. "Where have you been?" Vika asked when he returned. Ageev did not answer. They ate in silence and lay down, each on his own bed. The lights were turned off, but sleep did not come. "You know what? I'll leave," Vika said, and Ageev felt how she hated him. "But now I know: an egoist. You talk about the people, about art, but you think about yourself - about no one, no one, about yourself ... Why did you call me, why? I know now: to assent to you, stroke you, yes? Well, no, darling, look for another fool. Even now I am ashamed how I ran to the dean's office, how I lied: dad is sick ... "-" Shut up, fool! - said Ageev with anguish, realizing that everything was over. - And get out of here! He wanted to cry, as in childhood, but he could not cry for a long time. The next morning, Ageev took a boat and sailed to a nearby island to shop. I bought a bottle of vodka, a cigarette, a snack. “Hey, brother!” a local fisherman called out to him. “Artist? From the island? Otherwise, come to our brigade. We love artists. for the whole night. We live merrily!" - "I'll definitely come!" Ageev said happily. Ageev returned in complete silence and calmness. From the east, a rain cloud rose almost like a black wall, from the west the sun poured its last light, and everything illuminated by it - the island, the church, the mill - seemed ominously red against the background of the cloud. A rainbow hung on the horizon. And Ageev suddenly felt that he wanted to draw. At the hotel, he saw Vicki's things already packed. Ageev trembled in his soul, but he said nothing and began to lay out cardboard boxes, tubes of paint on the windowsills and beds, sort out brushes. Vika looked in surprise. Then he took out vodka: "Let's drink goodbye?" Vika set her stack aside. Her face was trembling. Ageev got up and went to the window ... They went out to the pier already in the dark. Ageev trampled near Vika, then moved away, climbed higher on the bank. Suddenly, a sigh rushed across the sky - the stars trembled, trembled. Because of the mute blackness of the church, radiating, the faint blue-gold northern lights swayed, contracted, and swelled. And when it flared up, everything began to glow: water, shore, stones, wet grass. Ageev suddenly felt with his feet and heart how the earth was turning, and on this earth, on an island under the endless sky, he was, and she was leaving him. Eve left Adam. "Did you see the northern lights? That's it, right?" Vika asked when he returned to the pier. "I saw it," Ageyev answered and coughed. The steamer was mooring. "Well, go ahead!" said Ageev and patted her on the shoulder. "Happily!" Vicki's lips trembled. "Goodbye!" - she said and, without looking back, went up to the deck ... After smoking and standing, Ageev went to a warm hotel. The northern lights were still flashing, but already weakly, and were of the same color - white. S. P. Kostyrko In a dream you cried bitterly Story (1977) It was one of those hot summer days... My friend and I stood and talked near our house. But you walked beside us, among the flowers and grass that were up to your shoulders, and an indefinite half-smile, which I tried in vain to guess, did not leave your face. Running through the bushes, the Spaniel Chief sometimes came up to us. But for some reason you were afraid of Chief, hugged my knee, threw back your head, looked into my face with blue eyes reflecting the sky and said joyfully, gently, as if returning from afar: "Dad!" And I experienced some even painful pleasure from the touch of your small hands. Your occasional hugs probably touched my comrade too, because he would suddenly fall silent, ruffle your fluffy hair and contemplate you thoughtfully for a long time ... A friend shot himself in late autumn, when the first snow fell ... How, when this terrible persistent thought entered him? For a long time, probably ... After all, he told me more than once what attacks of melancholy he experiences in early spring or late autumn. And he had terrible nights when it seemed that someone was climbing into his house, someone was walking nearby. "For God's sake, give me ammo," he pleaded with me. And I counted out six rounds for him: "That's enough to shoot back." And what a worker he was - always cheerful, active. And he told me: "Why are you blooming! Take an example from me. I bathe in Yasnushka until late autumn! Why are you all lying or sitting! Get up, do gymnastics." The last time I saw him was in mid-October. For some reason, we talked about Buddhism, about the time to take on big novels, that only in daily work is the only joy. And when they said goodbye, he suddenly burst into tears: “When I was like Alyosha, the sky seemed to me so big, so blue. Why did it fade? .. And the more I live here, the more it draws me here, to Abramtsevo. is it a sin to indulge in one place like that?" And three weeks later in Gagra - like thunder from the sky struck! And the sea disappeared for me, the night Jurassic disappeared ... When did all this happen? In the evening? At night? I know that he got to the dacha late in the evening. What did he do? First of all, he changed his clothes and, out of habit, hung his urban suit in the closet. Then he brought wood for the stove. Ate apples. Then he suddenly changed his mind about lighting the stove and lay down. This is where, most likely, it came about! What did he say goodbye? Did you cry? Then he washed himself and put on clean underwear... The gun hung on the wall. He took it off, feeling the cold heaviness, the coldness of the steel barrels. One of the barrels easily entered the cartridge. My patron. He sat down on a chair, took off his shoe, put the barrels in his mouth... No, not weakness - great vitality and firmness are needed in order to end your life the way he cut it off! But why, why? I'm looking and I can't find an answer. Does each of us bear a seal unknown to us, determining the whole course of our future life? .. My soul wanders in the dark ... And then we were all still alive, and it was one of those summer days that we remember in years and which seem to us endless. After saying goodbye to me and once again tousling your hair, my friend went to his home. And you and I took a big apple and went camping. Oh, what a long way we had to go - almost a kilometer! - and how much diverse life awaited us on this path: the small river Yasnushka rolled past its waters; a squirrel jumped on the branches; The chief barked when he found the hedgehog, and we were looking at the hedgehog, and you wanted to touch him with your hand, but the hedgehog fuckered, and you, having lost your balance, sat down on the moss; then we went out to the rotunda, and you said: "What a tower!"; at the river, you lay down with your chest on the root and began to look into the water: "The fish are pouring," you told me a minute later; a mosquito sat on your shoulder: "Komaik bit ..." - you said, grimacing. I remembered the apple, took it out of my pocket, wiped it clean on the grass and gave it to you. You took it with both hands and immediately took a bite, and the bite mark was like a squirrel's ... No, blessed, our world was beautiful. It was time for your afternoon nap and we went home. While I was undressing you and putting on your pajamas, you managed to remember everything that you saw that day. At the end of the conversation, you openly yawned twice. I think you were asleep before I left the room. I sat down by the window and thought: will you remember when this endless day and our journey? Is it possible that everything that we have experienced with you will irrevocably sink somewhere? And I heard you cry. I went to you, thinking that you were awake and you needed something. But you slept with your knees up. Your tears flowed so profusely that the pillow quickly got wet. You sobbed with bitter, desperate hopelessness. It was like mourning something that was gone forever. What did you manage to learn in life to cry so bitterly in a dream? Or does our soul grieve already in infancy, fearing the coming suffering? "Son, wake up, dear," I tugged at your hand. You woke up, quickly sat up and held out your hands to me. Gradually you began to calm down. having washed you and seated you at the table, I suddenly realized that something had happened to you - you looked at me seriously, intently and remained silent! And I felt you leaving me. Your soul, so far merged with mine, is now far away and every year it will be further and further away. She looked at me with compassion, she said goodbye to me forever. And you were a year and a half that summer. S. P. Kostyrko Ales Adamovich (1927-1994) Punitive Punisher THE JOY OF THE KNIFE, OR THE LIFE STORY OF THE HYPERBOREAS Tale (1971-1979) The action takes place during the Great Patriotic War, in 1942, on the territory of occupied Belarus. "The Punishers" - a bloody chronicle of the destruction of seven peaceful villages by the battalion of the Nazi punisher Dirlewanger. The chapters bear the corresponding titles: "First Village", "Second Village", "Between the Third and Fourth Villages", etc. Each chapter contains excerpts from documents on the activities of the punitive detachments and their participants. Punitive policemen are preparing to destroy the first village on the way to the main goal - the large and populous village of Borki. The date, time, place of the event, names are accurately indicated. As part of a "special team" - "Sturmbrigade" - the German Oscar Dirlewanger united criminals, traitors, deserters of different nationalities and religions. Policeman Tupiga is waiting for his partner Dobroskok to finish the massacre of the inhabitants of the first village before the arrival of the authorities. The entire population is driven behind the barn to a large pit, at the edge of which execution is carried out. Policeman Dobroskok in one of the houses to be destroyed recognizes among the owners his urban relative, who moved to the village on the eve of childbirth. In the soul of a woman, the hope of salvation lights up. The dobroskok, having suppressed the feeling of compassion that had arisen, shoots at a woman who falls backwards into a pit - and ... falls asleep. The chapter "Second Village" describes the destruction of the village of Kozulichi. The French punisher asks the policeman Tupiga for a piece of fat to do an "unpleasant job" for him - to shoot a family that has settled in a good solid hut. After all, Tupiga is "a master, a specialist, what is he worth?" Tupigi has his own manner: first he talks to women, asks for a bite of bread - they will relax, and as the hostess bends down to the stove, so ... "The body of the machine gun rushed - as if he was frightened ..." The action returns to the first village, to the pit where a pregnant woman remained in a state of strange death sleep. Now, at 11:51 Berlin time, she opens her eyes. In front of her is a pre-war children's room on the outskirts of Bobruisk; mother and father are going to visit, and she hides from them shamefully painted lips with her mother's lipstick; the next vision is for some reason an attic, and he and Grisha are lying like husband and wife, and a cow is mooing below ... "The sour smell of love, shameful. Or is it because of the screen? No, from below, where is the cow. From the pit ... From what pits? What am I talking about? Where am I?" The third village is not much different from the previous ones. The policemen Tupig, Dobroskok and Orphan are walking through a rare pine forest, inhaling the greasy sweetish corpse smoke. Tupiga tries to suppress thoughts of possible revenge. Suddenly, in the thick of the raspberries, the policemen stumble upon a woman with children. The orphan shows an immediate readiness to end them, but Tupiga, suddenly obeying some unconscious impulse, sends his partners forward, and he himself fires a burst from a machine gun past the target. The sudden return of the Orphan terrifies him. Tupiga imagines how the Germans or bandits from Melnichenko's company - "Galicians", Bandera people - would react to his act. And now the "independents" are stirring - it turns out that some woman, seeing the smoke-fire, is running from the field, home. A machine gun strikes from behind a bush - a woman with a bag falls. Upon reaching the village, Tupiga meets Orphan and Dobroskok with full pockets. He enters a house that has not yet been plundered. Among other good things - one tiny shoe. Holding it on her finger, Tupiga finds a baby sleeping in a cradle in a dark side. One of his eyes is ajar and it seems Tupiga is looking at him... Tupiga hears the voices of marauding Bandera in the yard. He does not want to be noticed in the house. The child screams - and Tupiga pulls out his revolver ... His voice sounds far and unfamiliar: "It was a pity, I felt sorry for the boy! He will burn alive." The commander of the new "Russian" company, Bely, is plotting a way to get rid of Surov's closest ally, with whom he is associated with courses of red commanders, captivity, the Bobruisk camp, and voluntary consent to serve in a punitive battalion. Bely at first entertained himself with an unrealizable undertaking - someday to go to the partisans, and to present Surov as a witness of his "honest" intentions, and therefore specially protected him from obviously bloody assignments. However, the further, the more clearly Bely understands that he will never be able to break with the punishers, especially after the incident with the partisan intelligence officer, in whose confidence he entered, but immediately betrayed him. And in order to dispel the harsh halo of purity, he orders him to personally douse with gasoline and set fire to the barn, where the entire population of the village was driven. In the center of the next chapter is the figure of a fierce punisher from the so-called "Ukrainian company" Ivan Melnichenko, who is completely trusted by the German company commander Paul, an eternally drunk perverted criminal. Melnichenko recalls his stay in Fatherland, where he was invited by Paul's parents - Melnichenko saved his life. He hates and despises everyone: both stupid, narrow-minded Germans, and partisans, and even his parents, who are stunned by the appearance of a punishing son in a poor Kiev hut and pray to God for his death. In the midst of another "operation" help comes to the Melnichenko residents - "Muscovites". Melnichenko furiously lashes their commander - his recent subordinate Bely - on the cheek with a whip and receives a full clip of lead in response. Bely himself immediately dies at the hands of one of the Banderaites (from the documents it is known that Melnichenko was treated in hospitals for a long time, after the war he was tried, fled, hid and died in Belarus). Borkovskaya operation continues. It is carried out according to the "method" of Dirlewanger Sturmführer Slava Muravyov. Rookie punishers are built in pairs with fascists who have already been in action - it is impossible to stay on the sidelines, not to get covered in blood. Muravyov himself also went this way: a former lieutenant of the Red Army, he was crushed by fascist tanks in the first battle, then, with the remnants of his regiment, he tried to resist the inexorable military machine of the Germans, but in the end he was captured. Completely depressed, he tries to justify himself to his mother, father, wife, himself by saying that he will be "his own" among strangers. The military bearing, the intelligence of the former teacher was noticed by the Germans, they immediately gave a platoon. Ants amuses himself with thoughts that he forced to respect himself; his subordinates are not Melnichenko's "independents", he has discipline. Muravyov enters the house of Dirlewanger himself, meets the chef's concubine, Stasya, a fourteen-year-old Polish Jewess, who painfully reminds him of his old love, teacher Berta. Muravyov is no stranger to books; the German Zimmerman discusses Nietzsche's theory and biblical parables with him. Dirlewanger appreciates the taciturn Asian, but now he is going to make him a pawn in his game: he is plotting Muravyov’s wedding with Stasya in order to shut up the spiteful critics who inform him in Berlin about the alleged loss of gold things he pocketed after the execution of specially selected fifty Jews in Majdanek . Dirlewanger needs to rehabilitate himself before Himmler and the Fuhrer for his past connection with the conspirator Rem and not harmless addictions to girls under fourteen years old. On the way to Borki, Dirlewanger mentally composes a letter to Berlin, from which the leadership will learn and appreciate his "innovative", "revolutionary" method of total destruction of the recalcitrant Belarusian villages and at the same time the successfully applied practice of "re-educating" the scum of humanity like the bastard Paul, whom he pulled out from a concentration camp and took him to a punitive platoon: the best sterilization is "rejuvenation with children's blood." Borki, according to Dirlewanger, is a demonstrative act of total intimidation. Women and children were driven into the barn, local policemen, who naively counted on the mercy of the Germans, into the school, their families into the house opposite. Dirlewanger with his retinue enters the gates of the barn "to admire" the conscientiously prepared "material". When the machine-gun fire stops, the gates, unable to withstand the fire, swing open by themselves. The nerves of the punishers standing in the cordon can not stand it: Tupiga fires a burst from a machine gun into clouds of smoke, many of them turn their stomachs. Then the massacre begins with the policemen, who, in full view of their families, are taken out of the school one at a time and thrown into the fire. And each of the punishers thinks that this can happen to others, but not to him. At 11:56 a.m., the German Lange drives his machine gun over the corpses of the terrible pit of the first village. For the last time, a woman sees her killers, and in the terrible silence, the unborn six-month-old life screams silently from horror and loneliness. At the end of the story - documentary evidence of the burning of the corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun, a list of crimes against humanity in the modern era. L. A. Danilkin Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (b. 1928) Jamil Tale (1958) It was the third year of the war. There were no adult healthy men in the village, and therefore the wife of my older brother Sadyk (he was also at the front), Jamila, was sent by the brigadier to a purely male job - to carry grain to the station. And so that the elders would not worry about the bride, he sent me, a teenager, along with her. He also said: I will send Daniyar with them. Jamila was pretty - slender, stately, with blue-black almond-shaped eyes, tireless, dexterous. She knew how to get along with her neighbors, but if she was offended, she would not yield to anyone in swearing. I loved Jamila dearly. And she loved me. It seems to me that my mother also secretly dreamed of someday making her the imperious mistress of our family, who lived in harmony and prosperity. On the current I met Daniyar. It was said that in childhood he remained an orphan, for three years he roamed the yards, and then went to the Kazakhs in the Chakmak steppe. Daniyar's wounded leg (he had just returned from the front) did not bend, that's why he was sent to work with us. He was reserved, and in the village he was considered a strange man. But there was something hidden in his silent, gloomy pensiveness that we did not dare to treat him like a familiar. And Jamila, as it happened, either laughed at him, or did not pay attention to him at all. Not everyone would endure her antics, but Daniyar looked at the laughing Jamila with sullen admiration. However, our tricks with Jamila ended one day sadly. Among the sacks was one huge one, seven pounds worth, and we handled it together. And somehow, on the current, we dumped this bag in the partner's britzka. At the station, Daniyar looked at the monstrous load with concern, but, noticing how Jamila grinned, he put the bag on his back and went. Jamila caught up with him: "Drop the bag, I was joking!" - "Go away!" - he said firmly and went down the ladder, falling more and more on his wounded leg ... There was dead silence around him. "Give it up!" people shouted. "No, he won't quit!" - someone whispered with conviction. The whole next day, Daniyar kept calm and silent. Returned from the station late. Suddenly he began to sing. I was struck by what passion, what burning the melody was saturated with. And suddenly his strangeness became clear to me: daydreaming, love of solitude, silence. Daniyar's songs aroused my soul. How has Jamila changed? Every time when we returned to the village at night, I noticed how Jamilya, shocked and moved by this singing, came closer and closer to the britzka and slowly stretched her hand to Daniyar ... and then lowered it. I saw how something accumulated and matured in her soul, demanding an exit. And she was afraid of it. One day we, as usual, were driving from the station. And when Daniyar's voice began to rise again, Jamila sat down next to him and lightly leaned her head against his shoulder. Quiet, timid… The song suddenly broke off. It was Jamila who impetuously hugged him, but immediately jumped off the britzka and, barely holding back her tears, said sharply: "Don't look at me, go!" And it was evening on the current, when I saw through a dream how Jamila came from the river, sat down next to Daniyar and clung to him. "Jamilyam, Jamaltai!" - whispered Daniyar, calling her the most tender Kazakh and Kyrgyz names. Soon the steppe blew, the sky became cloudy, cold rains began to fall - the harbingers of snow. And I saw Daniyar walking with a duffel bag, and Jamila was walking next to him, holding on to the strap of his bag with one hand. How many conversations and gossip were in the village! Women vying with each other condemned Jamila: to leave such a family! with the hungry! Maybe I'm the only one who didn't blame her. I. N. Slyusareva Farewell, Gyulsary Tale (1966) Last autumn, Tanabai came to the collective farm office, and the foreman said to him: "We picked up a horse for you, aksakal. It's a bit old, though, but it will do for your work." Tanabai saw the pacer, and his heart sank painfully. "So we met, it turns out, again," he said to the old, completely hackneyed horse. The first time he met with the pacer Gulsary after the war. Demobilized, Tanabai worked at the forge, and then Choro, an old friend, persuaded him to go to the mountains as a herdsman. It was there that for the first time I saw a buckskin, round like a ball, a baby of one and a half years old. The former herdsman Torgoi said: "In the old days, they put their heads in fights for such a horse." Autumn and winter passed. The meadows stood green-green, and above them shone white-white snow on the tops of the ridges. Bulany turned into a slender, strong stallion. Only one passion possessed him - the passion for running. Then the time came when he learned to walk under the saddle so swiftly and evenly that people gasped: "Put a bucket of water on him - and not a drop will spill out." That spring the star of the pacer and his master rose high. Both young and old knew about them. But there was no case that Tanabai allowed someone to sit on his horse. Even that woman. In those May nights, the pacer began to have a kind of nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, he grazed, courting the mares, and at night, having driven the collective farm herd into the hollow, the owner rode on it to the house of Bubyujan. At dawn, they again raced along the inconspicuous steppe paths to the horses left in the hollow. Once there was a terrible night hurricane, and Gyulsary and the owner did not have time to reach the herd. And Tanabai's wife rushed with her neighbors to help at night. The herd was found, kept in a ravine. And Tanabai wasn't there. “What are you,” the wife said quietly to the returning prodigal husband. “The children will soon be adults, and you ...” My wife and neighbors have left. And Tanabai fell to the ground. He lay face down, his shoulders shaking with sobs. He wept with shame and grief, he knew that he had lost the happiness that had fallen for the last time in his life. And the lark chirped in the sky... In the winter of that year, a new chairman appeared on the collective farm: Choro handed over his affairs and was in the hospital. The new boss wanted to go to Gulsary himself. When the horse was taken away, Tanabai went to the steppe, to the herd. Couldn't calm down. Orphaned herd. Soul wasted. But one morning Tanabai again saw his pacer in the herd. With a hanging piece of halter, under the saddle. Escaped, so to speak. Gyulsary was drawn to the herd, to the mares. He wanted to drive away rivals, take care of foals. Soon two grooms arrived from the village and took Gyulsary back. And when the pacer ran away for the third time, Tanabai was already angry: there would be no trouble. He began to have restless, heavy dreams. And when we stopped at the village before the new nomad camp, he could not stand it, he rushed to the stable. And he saw what he was so afraid of: the horse stood motionless, between the splayed hind legs was heavy, a huge, jug-sized, tight, inflamed tumor. Lonely, emasculated. In the autumn of that year, the fate of Tanabai Bekasov suddenly turned around. Choro, who has now become a party organizer, gave him a party assignment: to go over to the shepherds. Early winter came in November. Pregnant uterus strongly passed from the body, the ridges protruded. And in the collective farm barns - everything is under the whisk. The time of lambing was approaching. The flocks began to move to the foothills, to the lair bases. What Tanabai saw there shocked him like thunder on a clear day. He did not count on anything special, but that the koshara stood with a rotten and collapsed roof, with holes in the walls, without windows, without doors - he did not expect this. Everywhere there is mismanagement, which the world has never seen, there is practically no food or bedding. Yes, how is it possible? They worked tirelessly. The hardest part was cleaning the barn and cutting the rose hips. Unless at the front it was possible to work hard. And one night, leaving the fold with a stretcher, Tanabai heard how a lamb noticed in the pen. So it has begun. Tanabai sensed that disaster was coming. The first hundred queens have hatched. And the hungry cries of the lambs were already heard - the exhausted queens had no milk. Spring came with rain, fog and snow. And the shepherd began to take out the blue corpses of lambs a few at a time for the koshara. A dark, terrible malice arose in his soul: why breed sheep if we cannot save them? Both Tanabai and his assistants were barely on their feet. And the hungry sheep were already eating each other's wool, not letting suckers near them. And then the chiefs drove up to the koshara. One was Choro, the other was the district prosecutor Segizbaev. This one began to reproach Tanabai: the communist, they say, but the lambs are dying. Pest, you are ruining your plans! Tanabai grabbed the pitchfork in a rage ... The aliens barely carried their legs. And on the third day, the bureau of the district committee of the party was held, and Tanabai was expelled from its ranks. I left the district committee - on the hitching post of Gulsary. Tanabai hugged the horse's neck - only he complained to him about his misfortune ... Tanabai recalled all this now, many years later, sitting by the fire. Gyulsary lay motionless next to him - life was leaving him. Tanabai said goodbye to the pacer, telling him: "You were a great horse, Gulsary. You were my friend, Gulsary. You take away my best years, Gulsary." Morning came. On the edge of the ravine, the embers of a fire smoldered slightly. Nearby stood a gray-haired old man. And Gyulsary went to heavenly herds. Shel Tanabai walked across the steppe. Tears ran down his face, wet his beard. But he didn't wipe them off. Those were tears for the pacer Gyulsara. I. N. Slyusareva white steamer After the fairy tale Tale (1970) The boy and his grandfather lived on a forest cordon. There were three women on the cordon: a grandmother, aunt Bekey - grandfather's daughter and wife of the main man on the cordon, the guard Orozkul, and also the wife of an auxiliary worker Seidakhmat. Aunt Bekey is the most unfortunate in the world, because she has no children, for which Orozkul beats her drunk. Momun's grandfather was nicknamed agile Momun. He earned such a nickname by his invariable friendliness, readiness to always serve. He knew how to work. And his son-in-law, Orozkul, although he was listed as the head, mostly traveled to visit guests. Momun went for cattle, kept an apiary. All my life from morning to evening I have been at work, but I have not learned to make myself respected. The boy did not remember either his father or mother. Never saw them. But he knew: his father was a sailor on Issyk-Kul, and his mother, after a divorce, left for a distant city. The boy liked to climb the neighboring mountain and look at Issyk-Kul through his grandfather's binoculars. Toward evening, a white steamer appeared on the lake. With pipes in a row, long, powerful, beautiful. The boy dreamed of turning into a fish, so that only his head would remain his own, on a thin neck, large, with protruding ears. He will swim and say to his father, the sailor: "Hello, dad, I am your son." He will tell, of course, how he lives with Momun. The best grandfather, but not at all cunning, and therefore everyone laughs at him. And Orozkul keeps screaming! In the evenings, the grandfather told his grandson a fairy tale. "... It happened a long time ago. A Kirghiz tribe lived on the banks of the Enesai River. Enemies attacked and killed the tribe. Only a boy and a girl remained. But then the children fell into the hands of enemies. The Khan gave them to the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman and ordered to finish the Kirghiz. But when The pock-marked Lame Old Woman had already led them to the shore of the Znesai, a maral maral came out of the forest and began to ask for the children. “People killed my deer at my place,” she said. “And my udder is overflowing, asking for children!” The Pockmarked Lame Old Woman warned: “These are human children. They will grow up and kill your fawns. After all, people are not like animals, they don’t feel sorry for each other either. ”But the mother deer begged the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman, and brought the children, now her own, to Issyk-Kul. The children grew up and got married. A woman went into labor, she suffered. The man was frightened, began to call the mother deer. And then an iridescent ringing was heard from afar. The horned mother deer brought on her horns a baby cradle - beshik. And on the bow of the beshik a silver bell rang. And immediately a woman was born. They named their firstborn in honor of the deer mother - Bugubay. From him came the genus Bugu. Then a rich man died, and his children decided to install deer horns on the tomb. Since then, there has been no mercy for the deer in the Issyk-Kul forests. And there were no deer. Deserted mountains. And when the Horned Mother Deer left, she said she would never return. Autumn has come again in the mountains. Along with the summer, the time for visiting shepherds and herdsmen was departing for Orozkul - it was time to pay for offerings. Together with Momun, they dragged two pine logs over the mountains, and because of this, Orozkul was angry with the whole world. He should settle down in the city, they know how to respect a person there. Cultured people... And then you don't have to carry logs for the fact that you received a gift. But the police visit the state farm, the inspection - well, when they ask where the forest comes from and where. At this thought, anger towards everything and everyone boiled in Orozkul. I wanted to beat my wife, but the house was far away. Then this grandfather saw deer and almost came to tears, as if he had met his brothers. And when it was very close to the cordon, they finally quarreled with the old man: he kept asking for his grandson, a walk of this, to pick him up from school. It got to the point that he threw stuck logs in the river and galloped off after the boy. It didn't even help that Orozkul hit him on the head a couple of times - he escaped, spat out blood and left. When the grandfather and the boy returned, they found out that Orozkul had beaten his wife and kicked him out of the house, and, he said, he was firing the grandfather from his job. Bekey howled, cursed her father, and the grandmother itched that she should submit to Orozkul, ask his forgiveness, otherwise where would one go in old age? Grandfather is in his hands ... The boy wanted to tell his grandfather that he had seen deer in the forest - they returned after all! - Yes, my grandfather was not up to it. And then the boy again went into his imaginary world and began to beg the mother deer to bring Orozkul and Bekey a cradle on horns. In the meantime, people arrived at the cordon behind the forest. And while they were pulling out the log and doing other things, grandfather Momun trotted after Orozkul like a devoted dog. Visitors also saw deer - it is clear that the animals were not frightened, from the reserve. In the evening, the boy saw in the yard a cauldron boiling on fire, from which a meat spirit emanated. Grandfather stood by the fire and was drunk - the boy had never seen him like that. Drunken Orozkul and one of the visitors, squatting by the barn, shared a huge pile of fresh meat. And under the wall of the barn, the boy saw a horned deer head. He wanted to run, but his legs would not obey - he stood and looked at the disfigured head of the one that had only yesterday been the Horned Mother Deer. Soon everyone was seated at the table. The boy was sick all the time. He heard the intoxicated people champing, nibbling, sniffing, devouring the meat of the mother deer. And then Saydakhmat told how he forced his grandfather to shoot the deer: he intimidated him that otherwise Orozkul would kick him out. And the boy decided that he would become a fish and never return to the mountains. He went down to the river. And stepped right into the water... I. N. Slyusareva And the day lasts longer than a century blizzard halt Roman (1980) Trains in these parts ran from east to west and from west to east ... And on the sides of the railway in these parts lay great desert spaces - Sary-Ozeki, the Middle Lands of the Yellow Steppes. Yedigei worked here as a switchman at the Boranly-Buranny junction. At midnight, his wife, Ukubala, sneaked into his booth to report the death of Kazangap. Thirty years ago, at the end of XNUMX, Edigei was demobilized after a shell shock. The doctor said: in a year you will be healthy. But while he was physically unable to work. And then he and his wife decided to go to the railroad: maybe there will be a place for a front-line soldier as a guard or watchman. We met Kazangap by chance, started talking, and he invited the young people to Buranny. Of course, the place is difficult - deserted and waterless, all around the sands. But anything is better than toiling without shelter. When Yedigey saw the crossing, his heart sank: on a deserted plane there were several houses, and then on all sides - the steppe ... I did not know then that he would spend the rest of his life in this place. Of these, thirty years - near Kazangap. Kazangap helped them a lot at first, gave a camel for milking, gave a camel from her, who was named Karanar. Their children grew up together. They became like family. And they will have to bury Kazangap. Edigei was walking home after his shift, thinking about the upcoming funeral, and suddenly felt that the ground under his feet was trembling. And he saw how far in the steppe, where the Sarozek cosmodrome was located, a rocket rose like a fiery whirlwind. It was an emergency flight in connection with an emergency on the joint Soviet-American space station Paritet. "Paritet" did not respond to the signals of the joint control center - Obtsenupra - for more than twelve hours. And then the ships from Sary-Ozek and from Nevada urgently started, sent to clarify the situation. … Edigei insisted on burying the deceased in the distant family cemetery of Ana-Beyit. The cemetery has its own history. The legend said that the Zhuanzhuans, who captured Sary-Ozeki in past centuries, destroyed the memory of the captives by terrible torture: by putting on a head a wide - a piece of rawhide camel skin. Drying under the sun, the shiri squeezed the slave's head like a steel hoop, and the unfortunate man lost his mind, became a magasurt. Mankurt did not know who he was, where he came from, did not remember his father and mother - in a word, he did not realize himself as a man. He did not think about running away, did the most dirty, hard work and, like a dog, recognized only the owner. One woman named Naiman-Ana found her son turned into a mankurt. He tended the owner's livestock. I didn’t recognize her, I didn’t remember my name, the name of my father… “Remember your name,” mother pleaded. “Your name is Zholaman.” While they were talking, the Zhuanzhuang noticed the woman. She managed to escape, but they told the shepherd that this woman had come to steam his head (at these words, the slave turned pale - there is no worse threat for a mankurt). The guy was left with a bow and arrows. Naiman-Ana returned to her son with the idea of persuading him to flee. Looking around, looking for... The impact of the arrow was fatal. But when the mother began to fall from the camel, her white handkerchief first fell, turned into a bird and flew away with a cry: "Remember, whose are you? Your father Donenbay!" The place where Naiman-Ana was buried became known as the Ana-Beyit cemetery - Mother's Rest... Everything was ready early in the morning. The body of Kazangap, tightly swaddled in a dense felt mat, was placed in a trailed tractor cart. There were thirty kilometers one way, the same amount back, and burial ... Edigei rode ahead on Karanar, showing the way, a tractor with a trailer rolled behind him, and an excavator brought up the rear of the procession. Various thoughts came to Yedigei along the way. He remembered those days when he and Kazangap were in power. They did all the work that needed to be done. Now the young are laughing: the old fools ruined their lives, for what? So it was for what. ... During this time, the Paritet was examined by the arrived cosmonauts. They found that the parity-cosmonauts who served the station had disappeared. Then they found an entry left by the owners in the logbook. Its essence boiled down to the fact that those who worked at the station had contact with representatives of an extraterrestrial civilization - the inhabitants of the planet Forest Breast. The Foresters invited earthlings to visit their planet, and they agreed without informing anyone, including the flight leaders, as they were afraid that for political reasons they would be forbidden to visit. And now they reported that they were on the Forest Chest, talked about what they saw (the earthlings were especially shocked that there were no wars in the history of the owners), and most importantly, they conveyed the request of the Foresters to visit the Earth. To do this, aliens, representatives of a technically much more advanced civilization than the earth, offered to create an interstellar station. The world did not yet know about all this. Even the governments of the parties, informed about the disappearance of the astronauts, had no information about the further development of events. Waiting for the committee's decision. ... And Yedigey, meanwhile, recalled one old story, which Kazangap judged wisely and honestly. In 1951, a family arrived at the junction - a husband, wife and two boys. Abutalip Kuttybaev was the same age as Edigei. They did not get into the Sarozek wilderness from a good life: Abutalip, having escaped from the German camp, ended up in the forty-third among the Yugoslav partisans. He returned home without a defeat in his rights, but then relations with Yugoslavia deteriorated, and, having learned about his partisan past, he was asked to submit a letter of resignation of his own free will. They asked in one place, in another ... Many times moving from place to place, the Abutalip family ended up at the Boranly-Buranny junction. No one seems to have imprisoned them by force, but it seems that they were stuck in sarozeks for life. And this life was beyond their power: the climate is difficult, wilderness, isolation. For some reason, Edigei felt sorry for Zarip most of all. But still, the Kuttybaev family was extremely friendly. Abutalip was a wonderful husband and father, and the children were passionately attached to their parents. They were helped in the new place, and gradually they began to take root. Abutalip now not only worked and took care of the house, not only took care of the children, his own and Edigey, but also began to read - he was an educated person, after all. He also began to write memoirs about Yugoslavia for children. This was known to everyone at the junction. By the end of the year, the inspector arrived, as usual. In the meantime, he asked about Abutalip. And some time after his departure, on January 5, 1953, a passenger train stopped at Buranny, which did not have a stop here, three people got out of it and arrested Abutalip. In the last days of February, it became known that the suspect Kuttybaev had died. The sons waited for the return of their father day after day. And Yedigei thought relentlessly about Zaripa with an inner readiness to help her in everything. It was painful to pretend that he did not feel anything special for her! Once he nevertheless told her: "Why are you so harassed? .. After all, we are all with you (he wanted to say - I)". Here, with the onset of cold weather, Karanar became furious again - his rut began. Edigei had to go to work in the morning, and therefore he released the ataan. The next day, news began to arrive: in one place, Karanar killed two male camels and beat off four queens from the herd, in another, he drove the master riding a camel from the camel. Then, from the Ak-Moinak junction, they were asked by letter to pick up the ataan, otherwise they would be shot. And when Edigey returned home on Karanar, he found out that Zaripa and the children had left for good. He severely beat Karanar, quarreled with Kazangap, and then Kazangap advised him to bow at the feet of Ukubala and Zaripa, who saved him from trouble, preserved him and his dignity. This is the kind of person Kazangap was, whom they were now going to bury. We were driving - and suddenly stumbled upon an unexpected obstacle - a barbed wire fence. The guard told them that they had no right to pass without a pass. The head of the guard confirmed the same and added that the Ana-Beyit cemetery should be liquidated in general, and a new microdistrict will be in its place. The persuasion came to nothing. Kandagap was buried not far from the cemetery, at the place where Naiman-Ana had a great cry. ... The commission, which discussed the proposal of the Forest Breast, in the meantime decided: to prevent the return of the former parity-cosmonauts; refuse to establish contact with the Forest Breast and isolate near-Earth space from a possible alien invasion with a hoop of missiles. Edigei ordered the participants in the funeral to go to the junction, and he himself decided to return to the guard booth and get the big bosses to listen to him. He wanted these people to understand: you cannot destroy the cemetery where your ancestors lie. When there was very little left to the barrier, a bright flash of a formidable flame shot up into the sky nearby. That took off the first combat rocket-robot, designed to destroy any objects that approached the globe. A second one rushed up after it, and another, and another… The rockets went into outer space to create a hoop around the Earth. The sky was falling on his head, opening up in clubs of boiling flame and smoke… Edigei and the camel and dog accompanying him, frantic, fled away. The next day, Buranny Edigei again went to the cosmodrome. I. N. Slyusareva Fazil Abdulovich Iskander (b. 1929) Constellation Kozlotur Tale (1966) The hero of the story, on behalf of whom the story is being told, a young poet who worked after graduation in the editorial office of a Central Russian youth newspaper, was fired for displaying excessive criticality and independence. Not too sad about this and having spent a farewell night with friends, he went to Moscow to move from there to the south, to his homeland, to the blessed Abkhazian city of Mukhus. In Moscow, he managed to print a poem in the central newspaper, and it went home as a visiting card of a hero who hoped to get a job in the republican newspaper "Red Subtropics". "Yes, yes, we have already read it," the editor of the newspaper, Avtandil Avtandilovich, said at the meeting. The editor is accustomed to picking up trends from the center. "By the way," he continued, "are you thinking of going home?" So the hero became an employee of the agricultural department of the newspaper. As I dreamed. In those reformist years, reforms were especially actively carried out in agriculture, and the hero wanted to understand them. He arrived on time - the campaign "for goat tourism" of the republic's agriculture was just taking place. And its main propagandist was Platon Samsonovich, the head of the agricultural department of the newspaper, a quiet and peaceful person in everyday life, but in those weeks and months he walked around the editorial office feverishly excited, with a gloomy gleam in his eyes. About two years ago, he published a note about a breeder who crossed a mountain goat with a domestic goat. As a result, the first goat tour appeared. Suddenly, a responsible person from the center, who was resting by the sea, drew attention to the note. An interesting undertaking, by the way, - these were the historical words that he dropped after reading the note. These words became the headline of a half-page essay in the newspaper dedicated to goats, which, perhaps, is destined to take its rightful place in the national economy. After all, as mentioned in the article, it is twice as heavy as an ordinary goat (the solution to the meat problem), it is distinguished by high wooliness (help for light industry) and high jumping ability, which makes it easier to graze on the mountain slopes. That's how it started. Collective farms were urged to support the undertaking with deeds. Headings appeared in the newspaper that regularly covered the problems of goat tourism. The campaign was gaining momentum. Finally, our hero is connected to work - the newspaper sends him to the village of Orekhovy Klyuch, from where an anonymous signal was received about the persecution to which the unfortunate animal is subjected by the new collective farm administration. On the way to the village, from the bus window, the hero looks at the mountains where he spent his childhood. He suddenly feels longing for those times when goats were still goats, and not goats, but the warmth of human relations, their rationality was firmly held by the very way of village life. The reception given to him in the collective farm administration slightly puzzled the hero. Without looking up from the phone, the chairman of the collective farm ordered the employee in Abkhazian: "Find out from this idler what he needs." In order not to put the chairman in an uncomfortable position, the hero was forced to hide his knowledge of Abkhaz. As a result, he got acquainted with two versions of the relationship between collective farmers and goats. The Russian version looked quite gracious: we took the initiative, we create conditions, we develop our own feeding ration, and in general this, of course, is an interesting undertaking, but not for our climate. But what the hero saw himself and what he heard in Abkhazian looked different. Kozlotur, to which the goats were launched, resolutely abandoned his main business at the moment - the reproduction of his own kind - he threw himself at the unfortunate goats with wild fury and scattered them around the paddock with his horns. "Hates!" the chairman exclaimed enthusiastically in Russian. And in Abkhazian he ordered: "Enough! Otherwise, this bastard will cripple our goats." The driver of the chairman, also in Abkhazian, added: "I want to eat it at the wake of the one who invented it!" The only person who took a benevolent attitude towards goat-turkey was Vakhtang Bochua, a friend of the hero, a harmless rogue and rhetorician, as well as a certified archaeologist who traveled around the collective farms with lectures on goat-turkey. "Personally, I am attracted by its wooliness," Vakhtang said confidentially. The hero found himself in a difficult situation - he tried to write an article that would contain the truth and at the same time would be suitable for his newspaper. "You have written an article that is harmful to us," said Avtandil Avtandilovich, having become acquainted with what our hero had done. "It contains a revision of our line. I am transferring you to the department of culture." Thus ended the participation of the hero in the reform of agriculture. Platon Samsonovich continued to develop and deepen his ideas, he decided to cross the goat with the Tajik woolen goat. And here came the news of an article in the central newspaper, where unreasonable innovations in agriculture, including goat tourism, were ridiculed. The editor gathered the editorial staff in his office. It was assumed that it would be about the editors recognizing their erroneous line, but as the text of the introductory article delivered to the editor was read, the editor's voice grew stronger and filled with almost prosecutorial pathos, and it already seemed that it was he, Avtandil Avtandilovich, who was the first to notice and boldly reveal the vicious line of the newspaper. Platon Samsonovich was severely reprimanded and demoted. True, when it became known that after the incident, Platon Samsonovich became slightly ill, the editor arranged for him to be treated in one of the best sanatoriums. And the newspaper began the same energetic and inspired struggle against the consequences of goat tourism. ... At the agricultural meeting held in those days in Mukhus, the hero again met the chairman from the Walnut Key. "Glad?" - asked the hero of the chairman. "It's a very good undertaking," the chairman began cautiously. - "In vain you are afraid," the hero reassured him. However, he was only partly right. Having recovered and gained strength after treatment in a sanatorium, Platon Samsonovich shared his new discovery with the hero - he discovered in the mountains some absolutely incredible cave with the most original coloring of stalactites and stalagmites, and if you build a cable car there, thousands of tourists from all over the world will pour into this underground palace, into this tale of Scheherazade. Platon Samsonovich was not sobered by the hero's reasonable remark that there are thousands of such caves in the mountains. "Nothing of the kind," Platon Samsonovich firmly replied, and the hero noticed the feverish gleam in his eyes, already familiar from the "times of the goat tour." S. P. Kostyrko Sandro from Chegem Roman (1973) "Sandro from Chegem" - a cycle of 32 stories, united by a place (the village of Chegem and its environs, both near, say, the regional center of Kungursk or the capital city of Mukhus (Sukhumi), and distant - Moscow, Russia, etc.), time (XX century - from the beginning to the end of the seventies) and heroes: residents of the village of Chegem, in the center of which are the Khabug family and Uncle Sandro himself, as well as some historical characters from the time of Uncle Sandro (Stalin, Beria, Voroshilov, Nestor Lakoba, etc.). Sandro Chegemba, or, as he is usually called in the novel, Uncle Sandro, lived for almost eighty years. And he was not only handsome - an extremely good-looking old man with short silver hair, a white mustache and a white beard; tall, slender, dressed with a sort of operatic solemnity. Uncle Sandro was also famous as one of the most fascinating and witty storytellers, a master of table keeping, like a great toastmaster. There was something to tell him about - Uncle Sandro's life was a chain of incredible adventures, from which, as a rule, he came out with honor. Sandro began to fully show his courage, intelligence, powerful temperament and penchant for adventurous adventures even in his youth, when, having become the princess's lover and wounded by a rival, he enjoyed the princess's caring at first, and then simply ardent guardianship. In the same period of his life (during the civil war in Abkhazia) he somehow had to spend the night with an Armenian tobacco maker. And that same night the armed Mensheviks raided the house with a robbery, which they, as ideological people, called expropriation. Burdened with a family, the tobacco worker counted on the help of the young daring Uncle Sandro. And Sandro did not let himself down: combining threats and diplomacy, he reduced the raid almost to a visit with a drink and a snack. But what he could not do was prevent the robbery: the forces were too unequal. And when the Mensheviks took away four of the five oxen of the tobacconist, Sandro was very sorry for the tobacconist, realizing that with one bull he could no longer support his farm. It is pointless to have one bull, besides, Sandro just owed one man a bull. And in order to maintain his honor (and the return of a debt is a matter of honor), and also in accordance with the harsh historical reality, Sandro took the last bull with him. True, he promised the unfortunate tobacconist all possible assistance in everything else and subsequently kept his word ("Sandro from Chegem"). In general, Uncle Sandro always tried to live in harmony with the spirit and laws of his time, at least outwardly. Unlike his father, old Khabug, who allowed himself to openly despise the new authorities and orders. Once, as a very young man, Khabug chose a place in the mountains that later became the village of Chegem, built a house, had children, set up a household, and in his old age was the most respected and authoritative person in the village. Old Khabug perceived the appearance of collective farms as the destruction of the very foundations of peasant life - ceasing to be the owner of his land, the peasant lost his involvement in the secret of the fertility of the earth, that is, in the great mystery of the creation of life. Nevertheless, the wise Khabug joined the collective farm - he considered the preservation of the family to be his highest duty. In any conditions. Even if the city idiots seized power ("The story of the mule of the old Khabug", "The history of the prayer tree"). Or outright robbers like Bolsheusov (Stalin). Namely, as a robber, the young expropriator Stalin once appeared before Uncle Sandro in his childhood. Having robbed the ship, and then leaving with the loot from the chase, killing all the witnesses, and at the same time his associates, Stalin suddenly stumbled upon a boy grazing cattle. Leaving a witness alive, even such a small one, was dangerous, but Stalin did not have time. Was in a hurry. "Tell me about me, I'll kill you," he threatened the boy. Uncle Sandro remembered this episode all his life. But it turned out that Stalin also had a good memory. When Sandro, already a well-known dancer in the ensemble of Platon Pantsulai, danced with the ensemble during the night feast of the leaders and found himself in front of the greatest and most beloved leader, he, suddenly gloomy, asked: "Where could I see you, horseman?" And the pause that followed was, perhaps, the most terrible moment in Uncle Sandro's life. But he was found: "We were filmed, Comrade Stalin" ("Feasts of Belshazzar"). And the second time, when the leader went fishing, that is, he sat on the bank and watched how Uncle Sandro, specially trained for this purpose, jammed the trout for him in the stream with explosives, he again preoccupied himself with the question: "Where could I see you?" - "We danced in front of you." - "And before?" - "To the cinema". Once again, Stalin calmed down. He even gave Uncle Sandro warm Kremlin underpants. And in general, according to Uncle Sandro, that fishing may have played a decisive role in the fate of his people: feeling sympathy for this Abkhazian, Stalin decided to cancel the deportation of this nation, although trains were already ready at the stations of Eshera and Kelasuri ("Uncle Sandro and his pet"). But not only with Stalin did the uncle's paths cross. Uncle Sandro also helped Trotsky in hunting. He was among the favorites of Nestor Lakoba, and even before the revolution he once met with the Prince of Oldenburg. The prince, inspired by the example of Peter the Great, decided to create in Gagra a living model of an ideal monarchical state, starting workshops, cultivating a special style of human relationships, decorating these places with parks, ponds, swans and other things. Sandro delivered the missing swan to the prince, and they had a conversation about this, and the prince gave uncle Sandro Zeiss binoculars ("Prince of Oldenburg"). These binoculars played a big role in Uncle Sandro's life. He helped to discern the essence of the new government and, as it were, to develop in advance the models of behavior necessary in the conditions of the future life. With the help of these binoculars, my uncle discovered the secret of a wooden armored car being built in a village on the Kodor River, a formidable weapon of the Mensheviks in the upcoming battles with the Bolsheviks. And when Sandro reached the Bolsheviks at night to tell the commissar about the secret of the Mensheviks and give advice on how to resist the formidable weapon, the commissar, instead of listening with attention and gratitude and taking into account what Uncle Sandro said, suddenly drew a pistol. And because of the complete nonsense - the whip with which Uncle Sandro patted himself on the top did not like it. Sandro was forced to flee for his life. From which he made the correct conclusion: that the government would be, firstly, cool (just a little, right behind the gun), and secondly, bad, that is, neglecting smart advice ("Battle on the Kodor"), And Uncle Sandro also understood that initiative in a new life is punishable, and therefore, having become a collective farmer, he did not exhaust himself especially in public works. He preferred to show his other talents - a joker, a storyteller, and partly an adventurer. When it was discovered that an old walnut, a prayer tree in their village, makes a strange sound when struck, partly reminiscent of the word "kumkhoz" and thus, as it were, hinting at the inevitability of joining the collective farms, then as a keeper and partly a guide at this historical and natural The phenomenon turned out to be none other than Sandro. And it was this tree that played both a sad and useful role in his fate: when local Komsomol members burned the tree in an anti-religious impulse, the skeleton of an unknown person fell out of it. Immediately, the assumption arose that this was the charred corpse of the accountant who had recently disappeared with money and that Sandro had killed him. Sandro was taken to the city and put in jail. In prison, he behaved with dignity, and the accountant was soon found alive and unharmed. But during the imprisonment, my uncle met with Nestor Lakoba, the then leader of Abkhazia, who visited the regional center. During the feast that accompanied this meeting, Sandro showed off his talents as a dancer. And the admiring Lakoba undertook to arrange him in the famous song and dance ensemble of Platon Pantsulai. Uncle Sandro moved to Mukhus ("The History of the Prayer Tree"). Once he called his father for advice, whether to buy for him, who was crowded with his daughter and wife in a communal apartment, or not to buy a beautiful house with a garden offered by the authorities. The fact is that it was the house of the repressed. Old Khabug was indignant at his son's ethical deafness. "In the old days, when they killed a blood lover, the body was brought to relatives without touching a single button on his clothes and things; now they kill innocent people, and shamelessly divide things among themselves. If you go for this, I won’t let you into your house anymore. Better for you to leave the city altogether, since this is how life has gone here. Pretend to be sick, and they will let you out of the ensemble, "then old Khabug said to his son ("The Story of the Mule of Old Khabug"). So Uncle Sandro returned to the village and continued his village life and the upbringing of the beautiful daughter Tali, the favorite of the family and all of Chegem. The only thing that could not please relatives and fellow villagers was the courtship of the half-breed Bagrat from a neighboring village. Grandfather dreamed of such a groom for Tali. And on the day that was supposed to be a triumph for both Tali herself and for her entire family - on the day when she won the competition of tobacco pickers, just a few minutes before the solemn ceremony of awarding her with a gramophone, the girl went away for a minute ( change) and disappeared. And it became clear to everyone - she fled with Bagrat. The villagers gave chase. The search lasted all night, and by morning, when the traces of the fugitives were discovered, the old hunter Tendel examined the clearing where the lovers stopped, and proclaimed: "We were going to shed the blood of the kidnapper of our girl, but not her husband." - "Managed?" they asked him. "And how". And the pursuers with a clear conscience returned to the village. Khabug crossed out his favorite from his heart. But a year later, a rider from the village where Bagrat and Tali now lived jumped to their yard, shot twice into the air and shouted: "Our Tali gave birth to two boys." And Khabug began to think how to help his beloved granddaughter ... ("Tali - the miracle of Chegem"), However, it must be admitted that the blood of her parents affected the girl, for the story of Uncle Sandro's marriage was no less bizarre. Uncle Sandro's friend and Prince Aslan asked for help in kidnapping his bride. Sandro, of course, agreed. But when he met Aslan's chosen one Katya and spent some time with her, he felt in love. And the girl too. Sandro did not even allow the thought of confessing everything to Aslan. The laws of friendship are holy. But the girl could not be let go. Moreover, she believed Sandro, who said that he would think of something. And then the decisive moment approached, and Sandro still did not come up with anything. Chance and inspiration helped. The cutthroat Teimyr, hired to kidnap the girl Katya, dragged not Katya, but her friend, to the hidden kidnappers. Confused the girls. But he immediately rushed to correct the mistake. Thus, two young girls were standing in front of the kidnappers. Then it dawned on Sandro, he took his friend aside and asked if he was embarrassed by the fact that Endur blood flows in Katya's veins. The prince was horrified - marrying a poor woman would still get away with him, and the situation with the imaginary abduction of the second girl could somehow be discharged, but appear before his parents with an endurka bride ?! They will not survive such a shame. "What to do?" the prince asked in despair. "I'll save you," Uncle Sandro said. "I'll marry Katya, and you marry the second one." And so they did. True, Uncle Sandro soon found out that his fiancee really did have Endur blood, but it was too late. Uncle Sandro courageously endured this blow. And it really was a blow. Abkhazians lived peacefully with a variety of nations - with Greeks, Turks, Georgians, Armenians, Jews, Russians and even Estonians, but they were afraid of the Endurs and did not like them. And they couldn't get over it. The Endurs are such a very, very similar nation to the Abkhazians - with one language, way of life, customs, but at the same time - a very bad nation. The Endurs want to take power over all real Abkhazians. Once the narrator himself, who tried to challenge Uncle Sandro, who claimed that the Endurians seized all power in Abkhazia, decided to walk through the offices of a very high institution and see who was sitting in these offices. And at that moment, all the people he saw in the offices seemed to his inflamed gaze to be Endurs. A highly contagious disease, it turns out ("Snitching, or the Riddle of the Endurs"). ... Even in his youth, realizing that this power was serious and for a long time, Uncle Sandro intuitively chose the lifestyle that would allow him to live his life for his own pleasure (life is more important than political passions) and at the same time not betray himself, the precepts of his ancestors . And he did it with brilliance. In whatever situations, sometimes very, very ambiguous, life put him, not once did Uncle Sandro lose his dignity. Not when, on the instructions of Lakoba, at night, with a pistol and his face covered, he entered the room of the venerable old man Logidze in order to find out from him for the new authorities the secret of making the famous soft drinks Logidze; never when he brought to Moscow a mountain of "unofficial parcels-gifts" from responsible persons in Abkhazia to more responsible persons in Moscow. He never got for his unlucky nephew-writer (who just described the life of Uncle Sandro) the necessary document that would save his nephew from the intrigues of the Ideological Taskmasters and from the KGB. But it was difficult to do this: the person who had access to the necessary document flatly refused to provide it, and Uncle Sandro had to help this person in his grief that had suddenly fallen on him - to look for his beloved dog that had disappeared without a trace. Of course, Uncle Sandro found the dog and got the necessary papers. "Where did you find the dog?" the nephew asked Uncle Sandro, and he answered with magnificent carelessness. "Where I hid it, there I found it," was the answer ("Uncle Sandro and the End of the Goat Tour"). Not only by deed, but also by wise advice, he helped his nephew: "You can write whatever you like, but don't go against the line; don't touch the line, they really don't like it." Secretly (and not too secretly) despising the mental abilities of the new government - in this, by the way, he could and found like-minded people even among representatives of the ruling layers in Abkhazia - Uncle Sandro always enjoyed the respect and disposition of these same authorities. In general, Uncle Sandro knew how to get along with everyone - from wise Chegem old-timers to outright adventurers and semi-mafia. There was something in the character of Uncle Sandro that made him related to a variety of characters: with the indomitable bully and wit, the old Chegemian Kolcheruky, and with the careless reveler-citizen, the tobacconist Kolya Zarkhidi, and with the Abkhazian life-loving casanova Marat, and with the representative in the novel the highest echelons of the current government, a sybarite and a crafty clever Abesalomon Nartovich. And even with the semi-mafia bartender Adgur, a product of our later reality, who managed to preserve mountain ideas about camaraderie, hospitality and the laws of honor. And with several dozens of characters next to Uncle Sandro on the pages of Fazil Iskander's epic. In other words, on the pages of this book - Abkhazia and the Abkhaz character of the XX century. S. P. Kostyrko Chick Defense Story (1983) Chick had a terrible accident. Russian language teacher Akakiy Makedonovich told him to bring one of his parents to school. The teacher had a habit of writing grammar rules in poetic form, and the students had to memorize this poem, and at the same time the rule. Akaki Makedonovich was proud of his poetic gift, while the students laughed. This time the poem was such that Chick was just shaking with laughter. And the teacher could not stand it: "What's so funny, Chick?" Since Chick did not yet have an idea about the author's pride, he undertook to explain why these poems are funny. And perhaps Akakiy Makedonovich could rebuke the critic, but the bell rang. "We'll have to talk to your parents," he said. But it was impossible. For the aunt, who raised Chick and was proud of his good studies and behavior, a call to school would have been an unthinkable shock. "What to do?" - Chick thought desperately, secluded on the top of the pear, where the vines formed a comfortable springy bed. Painful thoughts did not prevent Chick from observing the life of their court. After the candy merchant Alikhan returned from work and now sits with his feet in a bowl of hot water and plays backgammon with the Rich Tailor. Or after his crazy uncle Kolya, from whom a random passer-by is trying to find out some address, and the Rich Tailor chuckles while watching this scene. "Get off!" - Finally, Uncle Kolya said loudly in Turkish, waving a passer-by. Uncle Kolya's small dictionary, according to Chik's calculations, consisted of about eighty words from the Abkhaz, Turkish and Russian languages. Rich Tailor spoke to a passerby, and here Chika had a brilliant idea: he would take Uncle Kolya to school. You just need to lure him out of the yard. The best way is to promise lemonade. More than anything, Uncle Kolya loves lemonade. But where to get the money? Don't ask at home. You need to beg money from a friend Onik. But what do you offer in return? And Chick remembered the tennis ball stuck on the roof by the drainpipe - it must be washed away by rain sometime. Chik approached Onik: "I desperately need forty kopecks. I'm selling you a tennis ball." - "What, he already rolled out?" - "No," Chick said honestly, "but the showers will start soon, and he will definitely jump out." - "It's still unclear whether it will roll out or not." - "It will roll out," Chick said with conviction. "If you feel sorry for the money, then I will buy the ball from you later." - "And when will you buy it?" Onik perked up, "I don't know. But the longer I don't redeem, the longer you will use the free ball." Onik ran after the money. The next morning, having chosen the moment, Chick went up to Uncle Kolya, showed the money and said loudly: "Lemonade." "Lemonade?" Uncle asked happily. "Let's go." And he added in Turkish: "The boy is good." In the street, Chick took out his father's pre-packed jacket from his briefcase. "Can?" - asked the uncle and joyfully looked at Chick. Uncle was bursting with joy. In the store, the salesman Mesrop opened two bottles of lemonade. Uncle quickly poured yellow bubbling lemonade into a glass and drank just as quickly. After the first bottle, he took a breather and, slightly drunk from what he had drunk, tried to explain to the seller that Chick was a rather kind boy. After the second bottle, Uncle was delighted, and when they left the store, Chick pointed in the direction of the school: "Let's go to school." In front of the teachers' room, teachers strolled on the open veranda. "Hello, Akakiy Makedonovich," said Chik. "This is my uncle. He doesn't hear well." The teacher, taking his uncle by the arm, began to walk along the veranda. Chick heard the words: "What did he find funny in these verses? .. The influence of the street affects." It was obvious from his uncle's face that he was pleased with the conversation that a serious adult was having with him. "Street, street," my uncle repeated the familiar word in Russian. "I hope, Chick, you are aware of your behavior," the teacher finally stopped against him. "Yes," Chick replied. "I will not hide, - the teacher continued, - your uncle seemed strange to me." - "He's illiterate." - "Yes, it's noticeable." And Chick began to take his uncle away from the school yard. Suddenly my uncle stopped at the pump and started washing his hands. Chick glanced furtively around and, meeting Akaky Makedonovich's perplexed gaze, shrugged his shoulders slightly, as if to let it be known that uneducated people always wash their hands as soon as some kind of column comes under their hands. Finally Chick led his uncle outside and directed him towards the house. Uncle walked away with a quick gait. The bell rang, and a happy Chick ran to his class. S. P. Kostyrko Rabbits and boas Philosophical Tale (1982) Events take place many years ago in a distant African country. Boas tirelessly hunt rabbits, while monkeys and elephants keep their neutrality. Despite the fact that rabbits usually run very fast, at the sight of boas they seem to fall into a stupor. Boas do not strangle rabbits, but rather hypnotize them. One day, a young boa constrictor wonders why rabbits succumb to hypnosis and whether there have been attempts to rebel. Then another boa constrictor, nicknamed Oblique, although in fact he is one-eyed, decides to tell his young friend an “amazing story” about how the rabbit he swallowed suddenly rebelled right in his stomach, did not want to “tamp down” there and “screamed without ceasing "from his belly all sorts of insolence. Then the head of the boas, the Great Python, ordered Diagonal to be dragged out onto the Elephant Path, so that the elephants would "tamp" the impudent rabbit, even at the cost of health and even the life of the "miserable" Oblique boa, because "the boa constrictor from which the rabbit speaks is not the boa constrictor that we needed." The unfortunate boa constrictor woke up only two weeks later and already one-eyed, not remembering at what moment the impudent rabbit jumped out of it. The story of Oblique is overheard by a rabbit, whose name is Pondered, since he thinks a lot; as a result of long reflections, this rabbit comes to a bold conclusion and reports it to the shocked boas: "Your hypnosis is our fear. Our fear is your hypnosis." With this sensational news, Ponderer hurries to the other rabbits. The ordinary rabbits are delighted with Ponderer's idea, but the Rabbit King does not like such free-thinking, and he reminds the rabbits that although "it is a terrible injustice that boas swallow rabbits", but for this injustice the rabbits enjoy "a small but charming injustice appropriating the most delicate foodstuffs grown by the natives": peas, cabbage, beans, and if one injustice is canceled, then the second must also be canceled. Fearing the destructive power of everything new, as well as the loss of his own authority in the eyes of ordinary rabbits, the King encourages the rabbits to be content with what they have, as well as the eternal dream of growing delicious Cauliflower in the near future. Rabbits feel that "in the words of the Ponderer there is some seductive, but too disturbing truth, and in the words of the King there is some kind of boring, but at the same time soothing truth." Although Pondering is still a hero for ordinary rabbits, the King decides to secretly eliminate him and incites Ponderer's former friend, and now close to the court and favorite of the Queen named Resourceful, to betray the disgraced rabbit, for which it is necessary to read loudly in the jungle a verse composed by the court Poet with "hints "to the location of the Ponderer. Resourceful agrees, and one day, when Ponderer and his student named Thirsty are thinking about how to eliminate injustice from the lives of rabbits, a young boa creeps up to them. The thoughtful decides to set up an experiment to prove his theory about the absence of hypnosis, and really does not succumb to the boa constrictor's hypnosis. The frustrated boa constrictor tells the rabbits about the betrayal of the Resourceful, and the Ponderer, sincerely loving his own rabbits and deeply shocked by the meanness of the King and the very fact of betrayal, decides to sacrifice himself to the boa constrictor, whose instinct turns out to be stronger than the arguments of reason, and the young boa constrictor, to the horror of the Thirsty, against his own will eats the Great Rabbit. The one who thinks before his death bequeaths his business to a faithful student, as if passing on to him "all his experience in studying boas." Meanwhile, the young boa constrictor, having grown bolder after eating Ponderer, comes to the conclusion that the boa constrictor should rule the boas, and not some kind of alien Python. For such a daring thought, the boa constrictor is exiled to the desert. Resourceful is also exiled there for treachery (the King disowns him). The starving boa soon comes up with a new method of eating rabbits - through strangulation - and swallows the astonished Resourceful. The boa constrictor logically decides that with "such a brilliant discovery" the Great Python will "receive him with open arms", and returns from the desert. Meanwhile, in the jungle, the Thirsty One is doing a huge educational work among the rabbits - he is even ready, as an experiment, to run through the body of a boa constrictor in both directions. In the era of the dying of hypnosis, complete chaos reigns: "the discovery of the Thinker about hypnosis, and even the promise of the Thirsty One to run back and forth through the boa constrictor, largely undermined the centuries-old relationship between rabbits and boas." The result is "a huge number of anarchic rabbits, weakly or not at all amenable to hypnosis." But the kingdom of rabbits does not fall apart precisely thanks to the return of the Hermit Boa. He suggests a method to suffocate the rabbits and demonstrates it on Scythe so that he expires. After that, the Great Python forgives Hermit and appoints him as his deputy. Soon the Hermit informs the boas about the death of the Great Python and that, according to the will of the deceased, he, the Great Hermit, will control them. While the boas are perfecting their strangulation technique, glorifying the new ruler, the Rabbit King guesses and notifies the rabbits of impending danger, suggesting the old, but only method of dealing with boas - "breed ahead". Interestingly, both rabbits and boas rue the good old days. The activities of the Thirsty now, when the boas are strangling everyone in a row, are "less and less successful." Rabbits idealize the era of hypnosis, because then the dying person did not feel pain and did not resist, boas - because it was easier to catch rabbits, but both agree that there used to be order. RS. Later, the author was destined to be convinced of the scientific correctness of Ponderer's observations: one acquaintance of the serpent specialist "with contemptuous confidence" told him "that there is no hypnosis, that all these are legends that have come down to us from primitive savages." A. D. Plisetskaya Vasily Makarovich Shukshin (1929-1974) Offense Story (1971) Sasha Ermolaev was offended. On Saturday morning, he collected empty milk bottles and said to his little daughter: "Masha, will you come with me?" - "Where? Gazinchik?" - the girl was delighted. "And buy fish," ordered the wife. Sasha and her daughter went to the store. We bought milk, butter, went to see the fish, and there behind the counter - a gloomy aunt. And for some reason it seemed to the saleswoman that it was the same guy standing in front of her that the drunken brawl in the store arranged yesterday. "Well, nothing? - she asked venomously. - Do you remember about yesterday?" Sashka was surprised, and she continued: “What are you looking at? .. Looks like Isusik ...” For some reason, Sashka was especially offended by this “Isusik”. "Listen, you must be hungover yourself?.. What happened yesterday?" The saleswoman laughed: "I forgot." - "What did you forget? I was at work yesterday!" “Yes? Sasha shook. Maybe that's why he felt resentment so sharply that lately he had improved to live well, he even forgot when he drank ... And because he held his daughter's small hand in his hand. "Where is your director?" And Sasha rushed into the office. Another woman was sitting there, the head of the department: "What's the matter?" - "You see," Sasha began, "it stands ... and starts for no reason at all ... For what?" - "You are calmer, calmer. Let's go find out." Sasha and the head of the department went to the fish department. "What is it?" - asked the head of the department of the seller. "I got drunk yesterday, scandalized, and today I reminded, so he still looks indignant." Sasha shook: "Yes, I was not in the store yesterday! I was not! Do you understand?" In the meantime, a line had already formed at the back. And voices began to be heard: "Enough for you: it was, it wasn't!" “But how can it be so,” Sashka turned to the queue. “I wasn’t even in the store yesterday, but some kind of scandal is attributed to me.” - "If they say that he was," answered the elderly man in a raincoat, "it means he was." - "What are you?" - Sasha tried to say something else, but realized that it was useless. You can't break through this wall of people. "What uncles are bad," said Masha. "Yes, uncles ... aunts ..." Sasha muttered. He decided to wait for this in a raincoat and ask why he was obsequious to the seller, because this is how we produce boors. And then this elderly man came out, in a raincoat. “Listen,” Sashka turned to him, “I want to talk to you. Why did you stand up for the seller? I really wasn’t in the store yesterday.” - "Go sleep first! He will still stop ... You will talk to me in another place," the man in the raincoat spoke and immediately rushed to the store. He went to call the police, Sashka realized, and, even calming down a little, went home with Masha. He thought about that man in the raincoat: he was a man. Lived for a long time. And what is left: a cowardly sycophant. Or maybe he does not realize that it is not good to please. Sasha had seen this man before, he was from the house opposite. Having learned in the yard from the boys the name of this man - Chukalov - and the number of the apartment, Sasha decided to go and explain himself. Chukalov, opening the door, immediately called his son: "Igor, this man rude me in the store." - "Yes, I was rude in the store," Sasha tried to explain. "I wanted to ask why you ... are flattering?" Igor grabbed him by the breasts - twice banged his head against the door, dragged him to the stairs and lowered him down. Sasha miraculously kept on his feet - he grabbed the railing. Everything happened very soon, the head clearly earned: "I was indignant. Now calm your soul!" Sasha decided to run home for a hammer and deal with Igor. But as soon as he jumped out of the entrance, he saw his wife flying around the yard. Sasha's legs buckled: something happened to the children. “What are you doing?” she asked in a dazed tone. “Did you start a fight again? Don’t pretend, I know you. You don’t have a face on you.” Sasha was silent. Now, perhaps, nothing will come of it, "Spit, don't start," the wife pleaded. "Think about us. Isn't it a pity?" Sasha was in tears. He frowned and coughed angrily. With trembling fingers he took out a cigarette and lit it. And dutifully went home. S. P. Kostyrko Mother heart Story (1969) Vitka Borzenkov went to the bazaar in the district town, sold salo for one hundred and fifty rubles (he was going to get married, he desperately needed money) and went to the wine stall to “lubricate” a glass or two of red. A young girl came up and asked: "Let me have a light." "Hungover?" - Vitka asked directly. "Well," the girl replied simply. "And there's nothing to hangover, huh?" - "Do you have?" Vitka bought more. We drank. Both became good. "Maybe some more?" - asked Vitka. "Not here. You can come to me." In Vitka's chest, something sweet and slippery wagged its tail. The girl's house turned out to be clean - curtains, tablecloths on the tables. The girlfriend showed up. They spilled the wine. Vitka kissed the girl right at the table, and she seemed to push away, but she clung to her, hugged her neck. What happened then, Vitka does not remember - how it was cut off. I woke up late at night under some kind of fence. His head was buzzing, his mouth was dry. He searched his pockets - there was no money. And by the time he got to the bus station, he had accumulated so much anger against the city swindlers, he hated them so much that even the pain in his head subsided. At the bus station, Vitka bought another bottle, drank it all straight from the bottle and threw it into the park. "People can sit there," they told him. Vitka took out his naval belt, wound it around his hand, leaving the heavy badge free. "Are there people in this lousy little town?" And the fight began. The police came running, Vitka foolishly hit one of them on the head with a badge. The policeman fell... And he was taken to the bullpen. Vitkin's mother learned about the misfortune the next day from the district police officer. Vitka was her fifth son; One trouble: as he drinks, a fool becomes a fool. "What's in it for him now?" - "Prison. They can give you five years." Mother rushed to the area. Having crossed the threshold of the police, the mother fell on her knees, wailing: "You are my dear angels, but your reasonable little heads! .. Forgive him, the accursed one!" "You get up, get up, this is not a church," they told her. "Look at your son's belt - you can kill like that. Your son sent three people to the hospital. We have no right to let them go." - "And to whom should I go now?" - "Go to the prosecutor." The prosecutor began the conversation with her affectionately: "How many of you, children, did your father grow up in your father's family?" "Sixteen, father." “Here! And they obeyed their father. And why? The mother only understood that this one also disliked her son. "Father, is there anyone higher than you?" - "There are. And a lot. Only it is useless to contact them. No one will cancel the court." - "Allow me to have a date with my son." - "It's possible". With the paper issued by the prosecutor, the mother again went to the police. Everything in her eyes dimmed and floated, she silently wept, wiping her tears with the ends of her handkerchief, but she walked habitually quickly. "Well, the prosecutor?" the police asked her. "He ordered me to go to the regional organizations," my mother lied. "And here - on a date." She handed over the paper. The police chief was a little surprised, and the mother, noticing this, thought: "Ah." She felt better. During the night, Vitka became haggard, overgrown - it hurts to look. And the mother suddenly ceased to understand that there is a police force, a court, a prosecutor, a prison ... Her child was sitting next to her, guilty, helpless. With her wise heart, she realized what despair oppresses the soul of her son. "All ashes! All life has gone topsy-turvy!" “You seem to have already been convicted!” said the mother reproachfully. - "Where have you been?" - "At the prosecutor's ... Let him, he says, until he worries, let him put all thoughts out of his head ... We, they say, cannot do anything here ourselves, because we have no right. And you, they say, do not waste time, but sit down and drive to the regional organizations ... Right now, I’ll go home, I’ll take a testimonial for you. And you take it and pray in your mind. It’s okay, you are baptized. We will come in from all sides. Most importantly, don’t think that everything is now somersault " . The mother got up from the bunk, smallly crossed her son and whispered with only her lips: “Christ save you.” She walked along the corridor and again saw nothing from tears. It was getting miserable. But the mother worked. She was already in the village in her thoughts, wondering what she needed to do before leaving, what papers to take. She knew that to stop, to fall into despair - this is death. Late in the evening she got on the train and went. "Nothing, good people will help." She believed they would help. S. P. Kostyrko cut off Story (1970) The son Konstantin Ivanovich came to the old woman Agafya Zhuravleva. With wife and daughter. Check out, relax. I drove up in a taxi, and the whole family dragged their suitcases out of the trunk for a long time. By evening, the village learned the details: he himself is a candidate, his wife is also a candidate, and his daughter is a schoolgirl. In the evening, peasants gathered on the porch of Gleb Kapustin. Somehow it happened that many noble people came out of their village - a colonel, two pilots, a doctor, a correspondent. And it so happened that when the nobles came to the village and people crowded in the hut in the evening, Gleb Kapustin came and cut down the noble guest. And now candidate Zhuravlev has arrived... Gleb went out to the peasants on the porch, asked: "Have the guests come to grandma Agafya?" "Candidates!" - "Candidates?" Gleb was surprised. "Well, let's go and see the candidates." It turned out that the men were leading Gleb like an experienced fist fighter. Candidate Konstantin Ivanovich greeted the guests joyfully, fussed around the table. Russell. The conversation went more amicably, they began to forget about Gleb Kapustin ... And then he fell on the candidate. "In what area do you identify yourself? Philosophy?" - "You can say that." - "And how does philosophy now define the concept of weightlessness?" - "Why now?" - "But the phenomenon was discovered recently. Naturphilosophy will define it this way, strategic philosophy - in a completely different way ..." - "Yes, there is no such philosophy - strategic," the candidate got worried. - "Yes, but there is a dialectic of nature," Gleb continued calmly, with general attention. "And nature is determined by philosophy. That's why I ask if there is confusion among philosophers?" The candidate laughed heartily. But one laughed and felt awkward. He called his wife: "Valya, we are having some strange conversation!" "Well," continued Gleb, "how do you feel about the problem of shamanism?" - "Yes, there is no such problem!" - the candidate slashed again. Now Gleb laughed: “Well, no, there is no trial. There are no problems, but these ... dance, ring bells. Yes? that the Moon is also the work of reason, that there are intelligent beings on it." - "So what?" the candidate asked. "Where are your calculations of natural trajectories? How can your space science be applied here at all?" - "Who are you asking?" - "You, thinkers. We are not thinkers, our salary is not the same. But if you are interested, I can share it. I would suggest drawing a diagram of our solar system on the sand, showing where we are. And then showing what laws let's say I evolved." - "Interestingly, for what?" - the candidate asked ironically and looked at his wife significantly. This he did in vain, because a significant glance was intercepted. Gleb soared up and hit the candidate from there: "You invite your wife to laugh. Only, maybe we will first learn at least to read newspapers. It can also be useful for candidates ..." - "Listen!" - "No, they listened. We had, so to speak, pleasure. Therefore, let me tell you, Mr. Candidate, that a candidacy is not a suit that you bought - once and for all. And even a suit needs to be cleaned from time to time. And a candidacy “Moreover… it is necessary to support.” It was embarrassing to look at the candidate, he was clearly at a loss. The men averted their eyes. "Of course, you can surprise us, drive up to the house in a taxi, pull five suitcases out of the trunk ... But ... if you come to these people, then you need to be more prepared. More collected. More modest." - "But what is our indiscretion?" - Can not stand the candidate's wife. "But when you're alone, think carefully. Goodbye. It's nice to spend your vacation ... among the people!" Gleb chuckled and slowly left the hut. He did not hear how the peasants later, dispersing from the candidate, said: "He pulled him away! .. Cunning, dog. How does he know about the Moon? In the voice of the peasants there is even, as it were, pity for the candidates, sympathy. Gleb Kapustin was still surprising. Amazing. Even admired. Even if there was no love. Gleb is cruel, and no one, ever, anywhere has ever loved cruelty. S. P. Kostyrko Up to the third cocks Tale (1974) Once in a library in the evening, the characters of Russian literature about Ivan the Fool started talking and arguing. "I am ashamed," said Poor Liza, "that he is with us." “It’s embarrassing for me to stand next to him, too,” Oblomov said. “He stinks of footcloths.” - "Let him get a certificate that he is smart," suggested Poor Liza. "Where will he get it?" - objected Ilya Muromets. "At the Wise Man. And let him have time to do it before the third rooster." They argued for a long time, and finally Ilya Muromets said: “Go, Vanka. Ivan bowed to everyone with a bow from the waist: "Do not remember dashingly if I disappear." And went. Walked, walked, sees - the light glows. There is a hut on chicken legs, and around it is heaped brick, slate, all kinds of lumber. Baba Yaga came out onto the porch: "Who is this?" "Ivan the Fool. I'm going to the Wise Man for help." - "Are you really a fool or just a simple-hearted one?" - "What are you, Baba Yaga, driving at?" - "Yes, when I saw you, I immediately thought: oh, and a talented guy! Can you build?" - "He cut down the tower with his father. And why do you need it?" - "I want to build a cottage. Will you take it?" - "I have no time. I'm going for help." - "Ah," Baba Yaga drawled ominously, "now I understand who I'm dealing with. Simulant! Rogue! Last time I ask: will you build?" - "No". - "To bake it!" Baba Yaga screamed. Four guards grabbed Ivan and pushed him into the oven. And then the bells rang out in the yard. “My daughter is going,” Baba Yaga was delighted. “With her fiancé, the Serpent Gorynych.” A daughter entered the hut, also terrible and also with a mustache. "Fu-fu-fu," she said. "It smells of the Russian spirit." - "And I'm roasting Ivan." The daughter looked into the oven, and from there - either crying, or laughter. "Oh, I can't," Ivan groans. "I won't die from the fire - from laughter." - "What are you?" - “Yes, I’m laughing at your mustache. How will you live with your husband? He won’t figure out in the dark who he is with - with a woman or a peasant. - "Can you take out the mustache?" - "Can". - "Get out." And just then three heads of Gorynych poked their head through the windows and stared at Ivan. "This is my nephew," Baba Yaga explained. "He is visiting." Gorynych looked at Ivan so attentively and for so long that he could not stand it, got nervous: "Well? I'm a nephew, a nephew. They told you. Gorynych's heads were surprised. "I think he's rude," said one. The second, thinking, added: "Fool, but nervous." The third spoke quite briefly: "Langet." “I’ll show you such a languette in a moment!” Ivan exploded with fear. “I’ll arrange this in a moment! - "No, well, he's rude with might and main," the first head said almost crying. "Stop pulling," said the second head. "Yes, stop pulling," Ivan agreed foolishly and sang: "Oh, I shaved you / On the mound / You gave me / Stockings-boots ..." It became quiet. "Do you know how to romance?" asked Gorynych. And Ivan sang about "Khasbulat the daring", and then, although he resisted, he also had to dance in front of the Serpent. "Well, now you've grown wiser," said Gorynych and threw Ivan out of the hut into the dark forest. Ivan is walking, and a bear is meeting him. “I’m leaving,” he complained to Ivan, “out of shame and disgrace. The monastery, near which I always lived, was besieged by devils. Music is turned on, they drink, they act outrageously, they pester monks. You, Ivan, do not need to go there. These are more terrible than the Serpent Gorynych. - "Do they know about the Sage?" Ivan asked. "They know everything." - "Then you have to," Ivan sighed and went to the monastery. And there, devils walk around the walls of the monastery - some tap dance with a hoof, some leaf through a magazine with pictures, some drink cognac. And near the uncompromising guard of the monastery at the gate, three musicians and a girl "Dark Eyes" perform. Ivan the devil immediately began to take it by the throat: "I am such a prince that shreds will fly from you. I will smash over the bumps!" The devils were amazed. One climbed on Ivan, but his own dragged him aside. And someone graceful in glasses appeared in front of Ivan: "What's the matter, my friend? What do you need?" - "Help is needed," - answered Ivan. "We'll help, but you can help us." They took Ivan aside and began to consult with him on how to smoke out the monks from the monastery. Ivan gave advice - to sing a song native to the guard. The devils thundered in chorus "Through the wild steppes of Transbaikalia." The formidable guard became sad, approached the devils, sat down next to him, drank the offered glass, and the devils moved through the empty gates of the monastery. Then the devil ordered Ivan: "Dance Kamarinsky!" - "Go to the devil," Ivan got angry. "After all, they agreed: I will help you, you - me." - "Well, dance, or we will not lead to the Sage." Ivan had to go to the dance, and right there he found himself, along with the devil, at the little, white old man - the Wise Man. But he just doesn’t give a certificate just like that: “If you make Nesmeyan laugh, I’ll give a certificate.” Ivan went with the Wise Man to Nesmeyana. And she rages with boredom. Her friends lie among ficuses under quartz lamps for tanning and are also bored. "Sing for them," ordered the Sage. Ivan sang a ditty. “Oh…” the young people groaned. “Don't, Vanya. Well, please…” “Vanya, dance!” - the Sage ordered again. "Go to hell!" Ivan got angry. “What about the certificate?” the old man asked ominously. “Just answer me a few questions, prove that you are smart. Then I will issue a certificate.” - "Can I ask?" Ivan said. "Let Ivan ask," Nesmeyana capriciously. "Why do you have an extra rib?" Ivan asked the Wise Man. "This is curious," the young people became interested, surrounded the old man. "Come on, show me the rib." And with a cackle they began to undress and feel the Sage. And Ivan pulled out a seal from the Sage's pocket and went home. I passed by the monastery - devils were in charge there with songs and dances. I met a bear, and he is already interested in working conditions in the circus and offers to drink together. And when he passed by the hut of Baba Yaga, he heard a voice: "Ivanushka, free me. The serpent Gorynych put me in a toilet under lock and key as a punishment." Ivan freed the daughter of Baba Yaga, and she asks: "Do you want to become my lover?" - "Let's go," Ivan decided. "Will you make me a baby?" - asked the daughter of Baba Yaga. "Do you know how to deal with children?" - "I know how to swaddle," - she boasted and tightly swaddled Ivan in the sheets. And just then the Serpent Gorynych appeared: "What? Passions were played out? Games started? I will eat you!" And just as he prepared to swallow Ivan, the Don ataman, sent from the library to rescue Ivan, flew into the hut like a whirlwind. "Let's go to the clearing," he said to Gorynych. "I'll cut off all your heads at once." The fight went on for a long time. Defeated the chieftain Serpent. “Be more combative than you, Cossack, I haven’t met any men,” the daughter of Baba Yaga spoke affectionately, the chieftain smiled, his mustache began to twist, but Ivan pulled him up: it’s time for us to return. In the library, Ivan and the ataman were greeted joyfully: "Thank God, they are alive and well. Ivan, did you get a certificate?" "I got the whole seal," Ivan replied. But no one knew what to do with her. "Why did they send a man to such a distance?" Ilya asked angrily. "And you, Vanka, sit down in your place - soon the roosters will crow." - "We shouldn't sit, Ilya, don't sit around!" - "What are you back ..." - "What? - Ivan did not let up. - This is how he came - all around guilty. Sit here! .." - "So sit and think," Ilya Muromets said calmly. And the third roosters sang, and here the fairy tale ends. There will be, perhaps, another night ... But it will be a different fairy tale. S. P. Kostyrko Yuz Aleshkovsky (b. 1929) Nikolai Tale (1970) Former pickpocket Nikolai Nikolayevich tells the story of his life to a silent interlocutor over a bottle. He was released at the age of nineteen, right after the war. My aunt prescribed it in Moscow. Nikolai Nikolaevich did not work anywhere - he stole (stealed) in his pockets in the tram crowd and was with money. But then a decree was issued to increase the term for theft, and Nikolai Nikolayevich, on the advice of his aunt, gets a job in the laboratory of his neighbor in a communal apartment, a biologist named Kimza. For a week, Nikolai Nikolaevich washes the flasks, and one day, in line at the buffet, in obedience to habit, he pulls out the wallet from the head of personnel. In the toilet, he finds in his wallet not money, but denunciations of the institute's employees. Nikolai Nikolayevich flushes all this "wealth" down the toilet, leaving only a denunciation of Kimza, to whom he shows it. He turns pale and dissolves the denunciation in acid. The next day, Nikolai Nikolaevich tells Kimza that he is quitting his job. Kimza invites him to work in a new capacity - to become a sperm donor for his new experiments, which have not been equal in the history of biology. They negotiate the conditions: an orgasm every day in the morning, the working day is not standardized, the salary is eight hundred and twenty rubles. Nikolai Nikolaevich agrees. Just in case, in the evening he goes to consult about his future work with a friend - an international "urka". He says that Nikolai Nikolayevich sold cheap - "I would sell my gums to these biologists one by one. That's why they were given microscopes - a trifle to count. It's a pity, you can't dilute the little fake. Well, it seems like sour cream in the store. It would also be fat." Nikolay Nikolayevich expects to gradually raise the price in the future. For the first time, he fills the test tube halfway - "the whole milky way", as his bunk neighbor, an astronomer by profession, once said. Kimza is pleased: "Well, Nikolai, you are a superman." Nikolai Nikolaevich "knocks out" a salary increase to two thousand four hundred, deliberately throws dirt from his heel into a test tube - as a result of this trick, supposedly for the sterility of the work process, he receives two liters of alcohol per month. To celebrate, Nikolai Nikolaevich gets drunk with an international urka and the next day at the workplace he can’t bring himself to orgasm. He is sweaty, his hand is trembling, but nothing happens. Some academician sticks his head in the door: "Why, my friend, can't you spew a seed?" Suddenly, one junior research assistant, Vlada Yurievna, enters the room, turns off the light - and with her hand takes Nikolai Nikolaevich "for a rude, boorish, stubborn bastard, for a member ...". During an orgasm, Nikolai Nikolaevich yells for about twenty seconds so that test tubes ring and light bulbs burn out, and faints. The next time, he again fails to cope on his own, but for a different reason. It turns out that Nikolai Nikolaevich fell in love and thinks only of Vlada Yurievna. She comes to the rescue again. After work, Nikolai Nikolaevich tracks down Vlada Yurievna to find out where she lives. He wants to "just look at her white face ... at her red hair and green eyes." The next day, Nikolai Nikolaevich was informed that his livestock was placed in Vlada Yuryevna and she became pregnant. Nikolai Nikolaevich is upset to tears that he is connected with his beloved in this way, but she says: "I understand you ... all this is a little sad. But science is science." The commission, consisting of the leadership of the institute and people "not from biology", closes the laboratory, since genetics has been declared a pseudoscience. Nikolai Nikolayevich is interrogated about what his job was, but he, using his camp experience, throws an inkwell into the snout of the deputy director and feigns an epileptic fit. Writhing on the floor, he hears how the deputy director refuses his wife, Vlada Yurievna. Nikolai Nikolaevich breaks out of the institute, goes to Vlada Yuryevna's home and transports her to his place, and he goes to spend the night at the international school. In the morning, at home, he finds Vlada Yuryevna, pale, lying on the sofa, and Kimza, who is feeling her pulse. On nervous grounds, Vlada Yurievna had a miscarriage. Nikolai Nikolaevich nurses Vlada Yurievna, sleeps next to her on the floor. He is unable to withstand such close proximity, but she admits her frigidity. When something happens between them that Nikolai Nikolayevich so dreamed of, and when he "chops like firewood in the movie "Communist", Vlada Yuryevna, listening to herself, shouts: "This cannot be!" Passion wakes up in her. at night they love each other to the point of fainting, bringing each other back to consciousness with ammonia.Kimza brings home a microscope - to continue the experiments, and Nikolai Nikolaevich donates sperm "for science" once a week - already free of charge. Life goes on: the Morganists and cosmopolitans have already been exposed, Vlada Yuryevna is going to work as a head nurse, Nikolai Nikolayevich is getting a job as an orderly. They are going through hard times. But then Stalin dies. Kimze is returned to the laboratory, he takes Vlada Yuryevna and Nikolai Nikolaevich to him - the experiments continue. Nikolai Nikolaevich is hung with sensors, studying the energy that is released during orgasm. One day, his sperm is injected into a Swedish lady, and her son is born, who, however, steals - he went to dad. During the experiments, Nikolai Nikolaevich reads books and makes a discovery: the degree of excitement depends on the text being read. From socialist realism, for example, even cry, but do not get up, but from reading, for example, Pushkin, "Othello" or "Flies-sokotuhi" (especially when a spider dragged a fly) the effect is greatest. One academician, after analyzing the data, informs Nikolai Nikolaevich of his conclusion: all Soviet science, especially Marxism-Leninism, is a complete "dry job". "The party is jerking off. The government is masturbating. Science is masturbating," and it seems to everyone that after that, as in an orgasm, a bright future will suddenly come. The academician rejoices that a man in Nikolai Nikolaevich did not die from this dry handjob, and asks what real business he wants to do after the experiments. Nikolai Nikolayevich recalls one useful book published under the tsar - "How to mend your own shoes", from which he "stands like a bayonet", and decides to go to work as a shoemaker. "And how are you here without me?" he asks the academician. "Let's manage. Let the youth masturbate themselves. There is no point in doing science in white gloves," the academician replies and promises to come to Nikolai Nikolayevich to repair shoes. And Nikolai Nikolaevich decides to leave a note at work: "I'm done. Let Fidel Castro jerk off. He has nothing to do" - and fade away. He imagines how Kimza will rush to Vlada Yuryevna in despair: "Science will stop now because of your Kolenka." And Vlada Yuryevna will answer: "It will not stop. We have accumulated a lot of unprocessed facts. Let's process them." V. M. Sotnikov Kangaroo Tale (1975) The hero of the story turns to his drinking companion: "Come on, Kolya, let's start in order, although it is not at all clear to me what order can be in this whole ridiculous story." One day, in 1949, the hero's phone rings. State Security Lieutenant Colonel Kidalla menacingly summons citizen Tede (such is the hero's last thug nickname). Not expecting anything good, citizen Tede sets a table for two people, thinking how many stars will be added to the bottle of cognac by his return, looks out the window at the schoolgirl with whom he hopes to drink this cognac in the future, removes the bug from the wall, throws it under the door Zoya's neighbor and goes to the Lubyanka. "Greetings to the cold mind and hot heart!" - greets Tede Kidallu, who once released Tede, promising to save him for a particularly important matter. On the anniversary of the Very First Case, the authorities decide to hold a show trial. Kidalla offers Tede, as the defendant in this trial, one of ten cases to choose from. All cases are fantastic in their design and content, which is not surprising for Tede. He dwells on "The case of the brutal rape and murder of the oldest kangaroo in the Moscow Zoo on the night of July 14, 1789 to January 9, 1905." Tede is placed in a comfortable cell so that he writes the scenario of the process according to the Stanislavsky system. In the cell - flowers, lovely air, photographs with pictures on the walls, reflecting the entire history of the party struggle and Soviet power. "Radischev travels from Leningrad to Stalingrad", "Childhood of Plekhanov and Stakhanov", "Misha Botvinnik's mother at a gala reception at the gynecologist" are just some of the many captions and photographs. Tede makes a phone call to the same schoolgirl whom he saw from the window of his house, but gets to Kidalla. "This phone is for confessions and rationalization proposals. Wake up, you bastard! Stop scratching your balls when a counterintelligence officer is talking to you!" screams Kidalla. It turns out that the lieutenant colonel sees Tede's "disgusting mug" on his screen. After toilet and breakfast comes a professor of biology - for advice on questions about marsupials. Kidalla monitors the activities in the cell on the monitor, rudely interfering from time to time. For a whole month he studies Tede with the professor and learns everything about the kangaroo. Kidalla sends to the cell a lot of decoy snitches, representatives of all professions, who are supplied with especially "valuable information" by a sex maniac professor, She parted with Professor Tede as a friend .. For a better understanding of the tasks ahead, Tede seeks to have the camera visited by Valery Chkalovich Kartser, the inventor of the KGB computer, which is capable of simulating fantastic crimes against the Soviet system. The conversations that Tede conducts with visitors to his cell, the negotiations with Kidalla, heard and seen at the same time - everything consists of grotesquely selected fragments of phrases and slogans of Soviet reality. The process itself, in which representatives of the fraternal communist parties and subsidiaries of the MGB, writers, generals, and violinists appear, becomes a phantasmagoria. Politburo headed by Stalin, collective farmers with sickles and pioneers. Despite the fantastic nature of what is happening, the life of the state machine, in which the main part is the internal affairs bodies, is strikingly recognizable. At the trial, Tede goes by another nickname - Khariton Ustinich York. The hero calls himself another nickname: Fan Fanych. Defendant X. y. York is sentenced to the death penalty, but in reality - twenty-five years. Fan Fanych describes the camp as if it were a nightmare with instantaneous changes in time and place of action, a multitude of characters from the overseer to Stalin. Six years later, rehabilitated, he returns to Moscow. In the apartment, a neighbor, Zoya, in a gas mask, poisons hordes of bedbugs. In Fan Fanych's room, cognac, aged six years, is waiting. Sparrows, which flew into the once open window, bred numerous offspring in their nests. Fan Fanych sees a girl through the window - the same schoolgirl whom he admired six years ago. He calls the girl Ira into the room and uncorks the bottle that has waited for her. After a short conversation, Ira leaves. Fan Fanych goes to Lubyanka, but there he is informed that citizen Kidalla does not work in the authorities and never worked, and that Fan Fanych did not rape kangaroos, but was arrested on false charges of attempting to assassinate Kaganovich and Beria. Fan Fanych, respecting the "deaf unconscious woman", sends his regards to Kidalla and leaves the building on the Lubyanka. Two days later, Ira comes to him again, and for several weeks they make love. Fan Fanych visits the zoo and sees the kangaroo Gemma, born in 1950, the daughter of the one who was killed according to the scenario of the show trial, in the aviary. Fan Fanych is called by an inyurcollegia - it turns out that an Australian millionaire bequeathed an inheritance to someone who would rape and brutally kill a kangaroo, since kangaroos made wild raids on the millionaire's fields. Fan Fanych refuses, explaining that he was convicted on a completely different charge, but they explain to him that the country needs currency and he is obliged to accept the inheritance. After deducting all interest and taxes, Fan Fanych receives two thousand seven hundred and one rubles in certificates for the Beryozka store. He asks his interlocutor: "Well, was it worth it to threaten sixty million people for the sake of opening this store that sells rubbish, which in normal countries is sold on every corner for normal money?" Fan Fanych promises Kolya to buy jeans and a fur coat for his wife Vlada Yurievna. He says that soon Ira should return from the Crimea, for whose arrival it is necessary to take out all the empty bottles into the yard, and offers the last toast - for Freedom. V. M. Sotnikov Vladimir Emelyanovich Maksimov (1930-1995) Seven Days of Creation Roman (1971) The novel is dedicated to the history of the Lashkov working family. The book consists of seven parts, each of which is named after the day of the week and tells about one of the Lashkovs. The action takes place, apparently, in the 60s, but the memories cover episodes from previous decades. There are a lot of heroes in the novel, dozens of destinies - as a rule, crippled and awkward. All the Lashkovs are also unhappy - although it would seem that this large, hard-working and honest family could live happily and comfortably. But time seemed to pass by Lashkov's inexorable skating rink. Monday. (The path to oneself.) The eldest of the Lashkovs, Pyotr Vasilievich, came to Uzlovoe, a small station town, from his youth, got a job on the railway, rose to the rank of chief conductor, then retired. He married Mary for love. They raised six children. And what is the result? Emptiness. The fact is that Pyotr Vasilyevich was an ideological, party and irreconcilable person. In the lives of loved ones, he introduced a "train" directness and most often used the word "no." Three sons and two daughters left him, and Pyotr Vasilyevich stubbornly waited for them to return with a confession. But the children did not return. Instead, news of their deaths came. Both daughters died. One son was arrested. Two others died in the war. The wordless Mary decayed. And the last of the children, Antonina, who remained with her father, did not hear a kind word from him. For years he did not even look at her behind the wooden partition. In his work on the way there were cases, memorable for a lifetime, when his directness turned into either good or evil. He could not forgive his assistant Foma Leskov, who once during the war took advantage of an unrequited disabled girl on a flight. Leskov died many years later from a serious illness. Lashkov met a funeral procession on the street "and only then thought about the fate of Foma and his family. It turned out that Leskov's son Nikolai had just left prison and was embittered at everyone ... There was another case - Lashkov had to investigate one accident. If not for him, the young machinist would have been threatened with arrest and execution. However, Pyotr Vasilyevich got to the bottom of the truth and proved that the driver had nothing to do with it. Many years have passed, now that kid he saved has become an important boss, and sometimes Lashkov bothered him with some requests - always about someone or about the city as a whole, but never about himself. Now, it was to this man that he went to petition about Nikolai Leskov. In Uzlovsk lived the one for whom Lashkov once prepared "nine grams" - the former head of the station Mironov. He was accused of sabotage, and Lashkov was again included in the investigation task force. The head of the district Cheka put pressure on him, but he succumbed and decided to shoot Mironov. The executor of the order, however, secretly released the arrested person. Mironov escaped, then changed his surname and got a job as a greaser on the same road. Old age began to disturb Pyotr Vasilyevich either with thoughts about the past, or with strange, colorful dreams. Among the memories there was one, the deepest and farthest: once in his youth, during unrest in the depot, when there was a shootout on the square, Lashkov crawled to a broken shop window in the shop of the merchant Turkov. He was haunted by the amber ham, flaunting behind the glass. And when the guy, risking his life, reached the coveted window, it turned out that he had a cardboard dummy in his hands ... This feeling of something deceptive began to overcome Pyotr Vasilyevich. The rooted consciousness of one's own correct life shook. The solid world he had built seemed to stagger. He suddenly felt the bitter melancholy of Antonina, who remained until the age of forty in the girls. I learned that my daughter secretly goes to the prayer house, where the former oiler Gupak, the same Mironov, preaches. And he also realized the alienation that lay between him and his fellow countrymen. All of them were people, albeit sinful, but alive. Some kind of dead dryness emanated from him, arising from the black-and-white perception of the surroundings. He began to slowly comprehend that life was lived "albeit violently, but blindly." That he fenced himself off with a shaky line even from his own children and could not convey his truth to them. Antonina became the wife of Nikolai Leskov and enlisted with him to the North. The wedding was very modest. And in the registry office they met with a chic company in three limousines. It was the daughter of the local covenant Gusev who was getting married. At one time, he remained under the Germans, explaining to Lashkov: "For me, whatever power there is, everything is the same ... I will not be lost." And didn't disappear. Tuesday. (Distillation.) This part is dedicated to the younger brother of Peter Vasilyevich Lashkov - Andrei, more precisely, the main episode of his life. During the war, Andrey was instructed to evacuate all the district cattle - to drive him from Uzlovsk to Derbent. Andrei was a member of the Komsomol, sincere and convinced. He idolized his brother Peter - he charged him with "fierce determination and faith in their appointment in the common cause." A little embarrassed by his rear task at a time when his peers are fighting at the front, Andrey eagerly undertook to fulfill the order. This difficult winter journey became for the young man the first experience of independent leadership of people. He faced an endless people's misfortune, saw trains with prisoners behind barbed wire, saw how the crowd tore apart a horse thief, witnessed how the opera without trial shot some obstinate collective farm boss. Gradually, Andrei seemed to awaken from the naive youthful confidence in the perfection of Soviet reality. Life without a brother was difficult and confusing. "What's going on? We're driving each other like cattle, only in different directions..." Next to him was a former Kornilov resident, veterinarian Boboshko, who had already served time during this time. Gentle, never complaining, he tried to help Andrei in everything and often excited the young man with unusual judgments. The most painful experiences of Andrei concerned Alexandra Agureeva. Together with other collective farmers, she accompanied the convoy. Andrey loved Alexandra for a long time. However, she had already been married for three years, and her husband fought. And yet, at some kind of halt, Alexandra herself found Andrei, confessed her love. But their closeness was short-lived. Neither he nor she could overcome the feeling of guilt before the third. At the end of the journey, Alexandra simply disappeared - got on the train and left. Andrey, having safely handed over the cattle, went straight to the military registration and enlistment office and from there volunteered for the front. In the last conversation, the veterinarian Boboshko told him a parable about Christ, who, after the crucifixion, speaks of human life like this: "It is unbearable, but beautiful ..." At the front, Andrei received a severe concussion and lost his memory for a long time. Summoned to the hospital, Peter had difficulty leaving him. Then Andrey returned to Uzlovoe and got a job in the forestry nearby. Alexandra and her husband continued to live in the village. They had three children. Andrew never married. Only the forest brought him relief. He suffered all the harder when the forest was senselessly cut down to please the plan or the whims of the authorities. Wednesday ... (Courtyard in the middle of the sky.) The third brother, Vasily Lashkov, immediately after the civil donkey, settled in Moscow. Got a job as a janitor. And with this court in Sokolniki, and with the house, his whole lonely life turned out to be connected. Once the mistress of the house was the old woman Shokolinist. Now many families lived here. In front of Vasily Lashkov, they were first compacted, then evicted, then arrested. Who overgrown with good, who became poor, who profited from someone else's misfortune, who went crazy from what was happening. Vasily had to be a witness, and understood, and console, and come to the rescue. He tried not to be mean. Hope for personal happiness collapsed because of the damned politics. He fell in love with Grusha Goreva, a beauty and a clever girl. But one night they came for her brother, the worker Alexei Gorev. And he never returned home. And then the district police officer hinted to Vasily that he should not meet with a relative of an enemy of the people. Vasily got scared. And Grusha did not forgive him for this. She herself soon married the Austrian Otto Stabel, who lived right there. The war has begun. Stacks were arrested, even though he was not a German. He returned after the victory. In exile, Otto started a new family. Vasily, observing the fate of the residents with whom he became related, slowly became an inveterate drunkard, no longer expecting anything from the future. Once his brother Peter visited him - forty years after separation. The meeting was tense. Peter looked at his brother's neglected dwelling with gloomy reproach. And Vasily told him angrily that from such "drives" like Peter, his whole life seemed to be backwards. Then he went for a bottle - to celebrate the meeting. Peter trampled and left, deciding that it would be better. Grusha was buried in late autumn. The whole court mourned her. Vasily looked out of the window, and his heart sank bitterly. "What did we find when we came here," he thought about his court. "Joy? Hope? Faith?.. What did they bring here? Kindness? Warmth? Light?.. No, we didn't bring anything, but we lost everything..." In the depths of the yard, a black and ancient old Chocolinist woman, who outlived many tenants, silently moved her lips. This was the last thing Vasily saw when he collapsed on the windowsill ... Thursday, (Late light.) Pyotr Vasilyevich Lashkov's nephew - Vadim - grew up in an orphanage. His father was arrested and shot, his mother died. From Bashkiria, Vadim moved to Moscow, worked as a painter, lived in a hostel. Then he made his way to the actors. He traveled around the country with pop brigades, got used to odd jobs and random people. Friends were random too. And even his wife turned out to be a stranger to him. Changed, lied to. Once, after returning from another tour, Vadim felt such a dizzying, unbearable emptiness in his soul that he could not stand it and opened the gas ... He survived, but his wife's relatives took him to a psychiatric clinic outside the city. This is where we meet him. Vadim's neighbors in the hospital turn out to be a variety of people - a tramp, a worker, a priest, a director. Everyone has their own truth. Some are imprisoned here for dissent and rejection of the system - like Father George. Vadim comes within these walls to a firm decision: to finish his acting, to start a new, meaningful life. The priest's daughter Natasha helps him escape from the hospital. Vadim understands that he met his love. But at the very first station he is detained in order to return him to the hospital again ... Only grandfather Peter, with his perseverance, will later help his nephew. He will get through to high offices, arrange custody and rescue Vadim. And then he will arrange him in the forestry to his brother Andrei. Friday. (Labyrinth.) This time the action takes place at a construction site in Central Asia, where Antonina Lashkova and her husband Nikolai were brought by another recruitment. Antonina is already expecting a baby, so she wants peace and her own corner. In the meantime, you have to roam around the hostels. We again plunge into the thick of people's life, with drunken arguments about the most important thing, quarrels with superiors over outfits and salty jokes in the dining room. One person from Antonina's new environment stands out sharply, as if marked by some kind of inner light. This is foreman Osip Mekler, a Muscovite who voluntarily decided after school to test himself at the end of the world and at the hardest work. He is convinced that Jews are not loved "for well-being, non-participation in general poverty." Osip is unusually hardworking and honest, he does everything conscientiously. A miracle happened - Antonina suddenly felt that she truly fell in love with this man. Despite her husband, pregnancy ... Of course, this remained her secret. And then the events unfolded tragically. The foreman behind Mekler's back persuaded the brigade to cheat on one operation. But the customer's representatives discovered the marriage and refused to accept the work. The crew was left without pay. Mekler was depressed when all this was revealed. But he was even more finished off when he found out at what facility he gave all his best: it turned out that their brigade was building a prison ... He was found hanged right at the construction site. Nikolai, Antonina's husband, after what happened, beat the foreman half to death and went back to prison. Antonina was left alone with her newborn son. Saturday. (Evening and night of the sixth day.) Uzlovsk again. Petr Vasilyevich is still immersed in thoughts about the past and a merciless self-assessment of the life he has lived. It becomes clearer to him that from his youth he was chasing a ghost. He became close to Gupak - conversations with him brighten up the current Lashkov loneliness. Once a wedding invitation came to the forestry: Andrei and Alexandra finally got married after the death of Alexandra's husband. Their happiness, albeit at an elderly age, burned Pyotr Vasilyevich with sharp joy. Then another news came - about the death of brother Vasily. Lashkov went to Moscow, only arrived in time for the wake. Otto Shtabel told him about the simple news from the courtyard and that Vasily was loved here for his honesty and ability to work. One day, Gupak, who came to visit, admitted that he had received a letter from Antonina. She wrote about everything that happened at the construction site. Pyotr Vasilyevich could not find a place for himself. He wrote to his daughter that he was waiting for her with his grandson, and he himself began to bother with repairs. They helped him to update the five-wall Gusevs - those same covens. It just so happened that at the end of his life, Lashkov had to see people in a new way, to discover some kind of mystery in everyone. And, like all the main characters of the novel, he steadily, slowly and independently made the difficult path from belief in illusion to genuine faith. He met his daughter at the station and excitedly accepted her grandson from her hands - also Peter. On this day, he gained a sense of inner peace and balance and realized his "I" part of "a huge and meaningful whole." The novel ends with the last, seventh part, consisting of one phrase: "And the seventh day came - the day of hope and resurrection ..." V. L. Sagalova Georgy Nikolaevich Vladimov (b. 1932) big ore Tale (1962) Viktor Pronyakin stood over the giant oval bowl of the quarry. The shadows of the clouds moved along the ground in a shoal, but none could immediately cover the entire quarry, all the motley, moving crowd of cars and people below. "It can't be that I don't get hooked here," thought Pronyakin. And it was necessary. It's time to settle somewhere. For eight years of his life as a driver, he traveled enough - he served in a sapper auto company, and carried bricks in the Urals, and explosives at the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station, and was a taxi driver in Orel, and a sanatorium driver in Yalta. And neither a stake nor a yard. The wife still lives with her parents. And how you want to have your own house, so that there is a refrigerator, and a TV, and most importantly - children. He is under thirty, and his wife even more. It's time. Here he will settle down. The head of the quarry, Khomyakov, after looking at the documents, asked: "Did you work on diesel engines?" - "No". "We can't take it." “I won’t leave here without a job,” Pronyakin insisted. "Well, look, there is a MAZ in Matsuev's brigade, but this is a hell of a job." "MAZ", which Viktor Matsuev showed, looked more like scrap metal than a car. "You only need to repair it, can you? Think about it and come back tomorrow." - "Why tomorrow? I'll start now," said Pronyakin. For a week, from morning to evening, he fiddled with the car, even searched the landfills in search of spare parts. But did. Finally, he was able to start working on a quarry. Although his "MAZ" had good cross-country ability, but in order to fulfill the norm, Victor had to make seven trips more than everyone else in the brigade working on powerful "YaAZ". It was not easy, but the very first day of work showed that, as a professional, Pronyakin has no rivals in the team, and maybe throughout his career. "And you, as I see it, are dashing," Brigadier Matsuev told him. "You ride like God, you rip everyone off." And it was not clear to Pronyakin whether this was said with admiration or with condemnation. And after a while the conversation continued: "You're in a hurry," said the brigadier. Claim what? For good earnings, for leadership - this is how Pronyakin understood. And he also realized that he was mistaken for a grabber and a cheapskate. "No," Victor decided, "I won't adapt. Let them think what they want. I didn't hire myself to be an apprentice. Relations with the brigade did not work out. And then it started raining. Cars did not go along the clay roads of the quarry. Work has stopped. "You've ended up in a dead place, Pronyakin," Victor pondered heavily. The wait was becoming unbearable. And the day came when Pronyakin could not stand it. It was dry in the morning and the sun promised a full working day. Pronyakin made four trips and began to make the fifth, when he suddenly saw large drops of rain that fell on the windshield. His heart sank again - the day was gone! And, having dumped the rock, Pronyakin drove his MAZ into a quarry that was quickly emptying in the rain. Unlike the powerful YaAZs, Pronyakin's MAZ could climb the cornice of a career road. Dangerous, of course. But with skill, you can. Leaving the quarry for the first time, he saw drivers standing sullenly by the side of the road and heard someone whistle. But he didn't care anymore. He will work. During lunch in the dining room, Fedka from their brigade approached him: “You are brave, of course, but why are you spitting in our faces? If you can, but we can’t, why are you exhibiting? ". And departed. Pronyakin had a desire to pack up right now and go home. But - nowhere. He has already summoned his wife, she is just now on the road. Pronyakin again descended into the empty quarry. Excavator Anton turned a piece of bluish stone in his hands: "What is this? Is it really ore ?!" The entire construction site has long been anxiously and impatiently waiting for the moment when the big ore will finally go. He waited and worried, no matter what the brigade thought of him, and Pronyakin. And here it is - ore. Victor took the pieces of ore to the head of the quarry. “He was delighted early,” Khomyakov cooled him. “Such random inclusions in the rock have already been found. And then again there was an empty rock.” Pronyakin left. “Listen,” the excavator operator Anton told him downstairs, “I keep rowing and rowing, but the ore does not end. It seems that they really reached it.” So far, only two of them knew what had happened. The entire construction site stopped due to the rain. And Pronyakin, feeling that fate had finally become generous - it was he who was chosen to carry the first dump truck with ore from one of the greatest quarries - could not calm down with joy. He drove the overloaded car upstairs: "I'll prove it to them all," he thought, referring to his team, and the head of the quarry, and the whole world. When all four horizons of the quarry were passed and there was a little bit left, Pronyakin turned the steering wheel a little sharper than necessary - the wheels slipped and the truck was dragged to the side. Victor squeezed the steering wheel, but he could no longer stop the car - waddling from side to side, the dump truck slid from one horizon to another, turning over and accelerating its fall. With the last conscious movement, Pronyakin was able to turn off the engine of the completely broken car. On the same day, a brigade visited him in the hospital. "Don't have a grudge against us," they told him guiltily. But Victor understood from the faces of his comrades that things were bad. Left alone with his pain, Pronyakin tried to remember when he was happy in this life, and it turned out for him that only in the first days with his wife and today, when he was carrying a lot of ore upstairs. ... On the day when the gray postal all-terrain vehicle was taking Pronyakin's body to the morgue of the Belgorod hospital, ore finally went. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the locomotive, decorated with flowers and maple branches, blew a triumphantly long whistle and dragged the first twelve wagonloads of large ore. S. P. Kostyrko Three minutes of silence Roman (1969) Senka Shaly (Semyon Alekseevich) decided to change his life. Enough. He will soon be twenty-six - all his youth has remained at sea. He served in the army in the navy, having been demobilized, he decided to earn extra money at sea before returning home, and he remained in the Atlantic as a "herring" sailor. His marine life did not bear much resemblance to what he had dreamed of in his adolescence - three months of hard work in the fishery, a cramped cockpit filled with the same hard-working scourges as he was, new on each voyage. And almost always difficult - because of Senka's independent nature - relations with the boatswain or captain. Between flights a week or two on the shore, and again - at sea. He earned, however, decently, but the money was not delayed - they flew out in companies with random drinking companions. The senselessness of such a life tormented Senka. It's time to live seriously. Get out of here and take Lily with you. Senka valued his acquaintance with this girl - this is the first woman with whom he could talk seriously about what tormented him. But the fate could not be reversed. During a farewell tour of the port, two coastal beggars stuck to it, helped to buy a jacket, and went to wash it together. And the tipsy Senka suddenly felt sorry for the two beggars. With this Senka's pity, over which many laughed, everything went. Senka invited them to an evening at a restaurant to celebrate his departure from the sea. And the barmaid Klavka, who had just been met in the dining room, beautiful, with a big tongue, - from the breed of predators, as it seemed to Senka at once, - he also called. And he ran to the institute, where Lilya worked, to report his decision and invite him to the evening. But the holiday did not work. Senka looked back at the door, waiting for Lily, but she did not go. Senka was completely sick of sitting with these strangers to him, listening to Klavka's mocking remarks. Leaving the company, he rushed to a distant suburb to the unrequited and faithful Ninka. At Ninka's, a young soldier was sitting, and it was clear that they were happy together. I didn’t even want to beat the soldier’s face - there’s nothing for it. Yes, I feel sorry for Nina. And again Senka found himself on a frozen street at night. There was nowhere to go. It was here that his recent drinking companions found him, took him to finish his walk to Klavka. What happened next, Senka recalled already in the police: he remembers that they drank, that he declared his love to Klavka, that they beat him there, threw him into the street, he made a row, the police arrived. And Senka also discovered that from those thousand two hundred rubles received for the last flight, on which he was going to start a new life, he had forty kopecks left. They robbed him of whips with Klavka ... The next morning, Senka rushed around the offices of the shipping company, registering for a voyage on the trawler "Skakun". Again - at sea. There were no acquaintances on the Skakun, except for the grandfather, chief mechanic Babilov. But it's not scary - like all your people. With the radio operator, Senka even tried to find out whether they swam together or not, they seemed very familiar to each other - and the fate is the same, and the same spiritual wail, and the same thoughts torment: what does a person need to make life real? Work, friends, woman. But Senka did not feel love for his exorbitantly difficult and dangerous work. Relations with Lily are extremely uncertain. And there is only one true friend - grandfather, Babilov, and even that Senka is like a father. But the work did not allow to concentrate on the spiritual for a long time. Senka quickly got involved in a difficult and in his own way fascinating fishing life. Her monotony was broken by calling on the mother ship, where she managed to see Lily. The meeting did not clarify their relationship. "I thought that your words about changing your life would remain words. You are like everyone else - ordinary," Lily said a little condescendingly. An even more amazing meeting happened on the floating base - with Klavka. But she not only was not embarrassed when she saw Senka in front of her, but seemed even delighted: "Why are you, dear, looking at me like a wolf?" - "Why did you beat me? Why did you rob me?" - "Do you think I'm guilty? But they were your friends, not mine. And as much as I could, I took away your money from them, hid it for you." And Senka suddenly began to doubt: what if she was telling the truth? While moored at the mother ship "Skakun" firmly "attached" the stern to the bow of the neighboring trawler and got a hole. The head of the shipping company Grakov, an old enemy of his grandfather, arrived on the trawler. Grakov suggested that the crew, after minor repairs, continue swimming: "What kind of panic?! We worked in our time and not in such conditions." Grandfather did not argue with Grakov about the hole. Brew - and all things. Something else is much more serious: the ship's plating could have weakened from the impact, and therefore it is urgent to return to the port for repairs. But the grandfather was not listened to, the captain and the crew agreed with Grakov's proposal. The hole was welded up, and the ship, having received a storm warning, moved away from the base, taking - Senka arranged it - and Grakov. Giving up, Senka pretended not to know that Grakov was still on the ship: never mind, let him try our life. Grakov was not embarrassed, and when the echo sounder showed the proximity of a large school of fish, on his initiative the captain decided to sweep the nets. This should not have been done in a storm, but the captain wanted to show himself to his superiors. The nets were swept out, and when it came time to raise them on deck, the storm intensified, it became impossible to work. Moreover, swept nets posed a serious danger, depriving the ship of maneuverability in a storm. In a good way, they should be cut off. But the captain did not dare to take on such responsibility ... And here something happened that grandfather had warned about - the skin came off. Water began to flow into the hold. We tried to scoop her out. But it turned out that the water was already in the engine room. And you need to stop the car, cold water damaged it, urgent repair is needed. The captain objected, and the grandfather of his will stopped the car. The out-of-control ship was being dragged towards the rocks. The radio operator gave an SOS signal. Death seemed to be very close. And Senka decides on the only thing he can still do - he arbitrarily cuts the cable holding the swept nets. The car started up at low speed, but the ship still could not cope with the wind. The hope that the mother ship would approach them before they were thrown onto the rocks was fading. And in this situation, the grandfather suddenly offered the captain to go to the aid of a Norwegian trawler that was sinking nearby. People who had already given up in the fight for their own lives began to do everything to save the drowning Norwegians. It was possible to approach the dying trawler and, using a cable transferred from ship to ship, transport Norwegian fishermen to the Skakun. And the most terrible moment came - their ship was dragged to the rocks. Senka, like everyone else, prepared for death. But death passed by - the Skakun managed to slip into a narrow passage, and he ended up in a creek with calm water. The next day, a rescue boat approached them, and then a mother ship. On the occasion of a banquet in honor of the rescued Norwegians, the fishermen from the Skakun boarded the mother ship. Passing along the corridor past deadly tired people, Lily did not even recognize Senka. On the other hand, Klavka, seriously frightened by the news of the Skakun's misfortunes, sought him out. Senka did not get to the banquet, they locked themselves with Klavka in her cabin. Finally, he saw next to him a truly intelligent and loving woman. Only the parting turned out to be difficult - Klavka, torn by previous failures, refused to talk about what might await them next. The ship returned to port without completing its voyage. Senka wandered around the city in his usual loneliness, trying to comprehend what had been revealed to him on this flight. It turns out that the work that he almost hated, people, scourges and fishermen, whom he never took very seriously, but only endured next to him, is real work and real people. It is clear that he lost Lily. Or maybe she didn't exist at all. It is sad that the happiness that fate gave him, bringing him together with Klavka, turned out to be short. But in his life there is everything that he yearned for, you just need to be able to see and correctly assess reality. And it seems that Senka has gained the ability to see and understand this. By chance, at the station, where he was sitting in a canteen, Senka saw Klavka again. She gathered to her relatives, and, seeing her off, Senka found simple and precise words about what their meeting meant to him. These words decided everything. Together they returned to Klavkin's apartment. Still, he managed to change his life, albeit not in the way he wanted, but he succeeded. S. P. Kostyrko Faithful Ruslan Tale (1963-1965) Watchdog Ruslan heard howling outside all night, lanterns swaying with a screech. calmed down only in the morning. The owner came and finally led him to the service. But when the door opened, a bright white light suddenly flooded into her eyes. Snow - that's what howled at night. And there was something else that made Ruslan alert. An extraordinary, unheard-of silence hung over the world. The camp gates are wide open. The tower was completely ruined - one searchlight was lying below, covered with snow, the other hung on a wire. The white sheepskin coat, the earflap, and the black ribbed trunk, always turned down, disappeared from it somewhere. And in the barracks, Ruslan felt it right away, there was no one. Losses and destruction stunned Ruslan. They fled, the dog realized, and rage overwhelmed him. Pulling on the leash, he dragged the owner out of the gate - to catch up! The owner shouted angrily, then let go of the leash and waved his hand. "Look" - this is how Ruslan understood him, but only he did not feel any trace and was confused. The owner looked at him, pursing his lips unkindly, then slowly pulled the machine gun from his shoulder. And Ruslan understood: everything! Just not clear why? But the owner knows best what to do. Ruslan dutifully waited. Something prevented the owner from shooting, some kind of rattling and clanging. Ruslan looked back and saw an approaching tractor. And then something completely unbelievable followed - a driver, little like a prisoner, got out of the tractor and spoke to the owner without fear, assertively and cheerfully: “Hey, Vologda, it’s a pity that the service is over? The dog is expensive." - "Drive, - said the owner. - You talk a lot." The owner did not stop the driver even when the tractor began to destroy the camp fence posts. Instead, the owner waved his hand at Ruslan: "Go away. And so that I don't see you again." Ruslan complied. He ran along the road to the village, at first in grave bewilderment, and then, suddenly guessing where and why he had been sent, at full speed. ... In the morning of the next day, the railwaymen at the station observed a picture that would probably have struck them if they did not know its real meaning. A dozen or two dogs gathered on the platform near the cul-de-sac, pacing along it or sitting in unison, barking at the passing trains. The animals were beautiful, worthy to admire them from afar, no one dared to climb the platform, the local people knew that it would be much more difficult to get off it. The dogs were waiting for the prisoners, but they were not brought either that day, or the next, or a week later, or two later. And the number of them coming to the platform began to decrease. Ruslan also ran here every morning, but did not stay, but after checking the guard, he fled to the camp - here, he felt it, his master still remained. He ran to the camp alone. Other dogs gradually began to settle down in the village, violating their nature, agreed to serve with new owners or stole chickens, chased cats. Ruslan endured hunger, but did not take food from other people's hands. His only food was field mice and snow. From constant hunger and pain in the stomach, his memory weakened, he began to turn into a mangy stray dog, but he did not leave the service - every day he appeared on the platform, and then fled to the camp. Once he smelled the owner here in the village. The smell led him to the station canteen. The owner was sitting at a table with some shabby peasant. "You've been late, sergeant," Shabby told him. "All your soles have been greased for a long time." - "I carried out the task, I guarded the archive. Now you are all free and think that you cannot be reached, but everything is listed in the archive. Just a little, and immediately all of you - back. Our time will come." The owner was delighted with Ruslan: "This is what our state stands on." He held out the bread. But Ruslan did not take it. The owner got angry, smeared the bread with mustard and ordered: "Take it!" Voices were heard all around: "Don't torture the dog, escort!" - "We need to wean him. Otherwise, you are all compassionate, but no one has pity to kill," the owner snapped. Reluctantly opening his fangs, Ruslan took the bread and looked around, where to put it. But the master slammed his jaws shut with force. The poison burned from the inside, the flame flared up in the belly. But even worse was the betrayal of the owner. From now on, the owner became his enemy. And so the very next day Ruslan responded to the call of the Shabby and followed him. Both were satisfied, Shabby, who believes that he has acquired a true friend and protector, and Ruslan, who nevertheless returned to his former service - escorting a camper, albeit a former one. Ruslan did not take food from his new owners - he supplemented himself by hunting in the forest. As before, Ruslan appeared daily at the station. But he didn’t run to the camp anymore, only memories remained from the camp. Happy - about the service. And unpleasant. Let's talk about their dog riot. This is when, in terrible frosts, in which they usually did not work, a camp informer ran up to the chief and said something like that, after which the Chief and all the authorities rushed to one of the barracks. "Go to work," the Chief ordered. Barack did not comply. And then, on the order of the Chief, the guards dragged a long intestine from the fire pump to the barracks, water gushed out of this intestine, washing the prisoners off the bunks with its pressure, breaking the glass in the windows. People fell, covered with an icy crust. Ruslan felt his rage boil up at the sight of a thick, live, stirring intestine, from which water gushed. Ingus, their most intelligent dog, was ahead of him - he tightly grabbed his sleeve with his teeth and did not react to the shouts of the guards. Ingus was shot from a machine gun by the Chief. But all the other camp dogs were already tearing the hose with their teeth, and the authorities were powerless ... Once Ruslan decided to visit the camp, but what he saw there stunned him: there was no trace of the barracks - huge, half-glazed buildings stood there. And no barbed wire, no towers. And everything is so stained with cement, bonfires, that the smells of the camp are gone ... And finally, Ruslan waited for his service. A train approached the platform, and crowds of people with backpacks began to leave it, and these people, as in the old days, lined up in columns, and in front of them the bosses spoke, only Ruslan heard some unfamiliar words: construction, combine. Finally, the columns moved, and Ruslan began his service. Unusual was only the absence of escorts with machine guns and the overly cheerful behavior of those marching in the column. Well, nothing, thought Ruslan, at first everyone makes noise, then they calm down. And indeed, they began to subside. This is when camp dogs began to run from lanes and streets to the column and line up along the edges, accompanying those walking. And the views of the locals from the windows became gloomy. Those walking still did not fully understand what was happening, but they were alert. And the inevitable happened - someone tried to get out of the column, and one of the dogs rushed at the intruder. There was a scream, a scuffle began. Observing order, Ruslan watched the formation and saw the unexpected: camp dogs began to jump out of the column and cowardly go into neighboring streets. Ruslan rushed into battle. The fight was unexpectedly hard. People refused to obey the dogs. They beat Ruslan with sacks, sticks, poles broken from the fence. Ruslan was furious. He jumped, aiming at the throat of a young boy, but missed and immediately received a crushing blow. With a broken spine, he fell silent on the ground. A man appeared, perhaps the only one from whom he would accept help. "Why did they break the backbone," Shabby said. Ruslan still found the strength to jump and with his teeth to intercept the shovel brought in for a blow. The people retreated, leaving Ruslan to die. He might still be able to survive if he knew why. He, who honestly performed the service that the people had taught him, was severely punished by them. And Ruslan had no reason to live. S. P. Kostyrko Anatoly Ignatievich Pristavkin (b. 1931) The golden cloud slept Tale (1987) From the orphanage it was planned to send two older children to the Caucasus, but they immediately disappeared into space. And the twins Kuzmins, in the orphanage Kuzmenyshi, on the contrary, said that they would go. The fact is that a week before that, the tunnel they made under the bread slicer collapsed. They dreamed of once in a lifetime to eat to the full, but it did not work out. Military sappers were called in to inspect the tunnel, they said that without equipment and training it was impossible to dig such a metro, especially for children ... But it was better to disappear just in case. Damn this Moscow region, ravaged by war! The name of the station - Caucasian Waters - was written in charcoal on plywood nailed to a telegraph pole. The station building burned down during the recent fighting. During the entire many hours of travel from the station to the village, where the homeless children were placed, neither a cart, nor a car, nor a random traveler came across. Empty all around... The fields are ripening. Someone plowed them, sowed them, someone weeded them. Who?.. Why is it so deserted and deaf in this beautiful land? Kuzmenyshi went to visit the teacher Regina Petrovna - they met on the road, and they really liked her. Then we moved to the station. People, it turned out, live in it, but somehow secretly: they don’t go out into the street, they don’t sit on the mound. At night, the lights in the huts are not lit. And in the boarding school there is news: the director, Pyotr Anisimovich, has agreed to work at a cannery. Regina Petrovna enrolled the Kuzmenyshs there, although in fact only the seniors, fifth or seventh grades, were sent. Regina Petrovna also showed them a cap and an old Chechen strap found in the back room. She handed over the strap and sent the Kuzmenyshs to sleep, while she herself sat down to sew winter hats for them from a hat. And she did not notice how the window sash quietly leaned back and a black barrel appeared in it. There was a fire at night. In the morning Regina Petrovna was taken somewhere. And Sashka showed Kolka numerous traces of horse hooves and a cartridge case. The cheerful chauffeur Vera began to take them to the cannery. The factory is good. Immigrants work. Nobody is protecting anything. Immediately scored apples, and pears, and plums, and tomatoes. Aunt Zina gives "blissful" caviar (eggplant, but Sashka forgot the name). And once she confessed: "We are so afraid ... Chechens are damned! We were taken to the Caucasus, and they were taken to the Siberian paradise ... Some did not want to ... So they hid in the mountains!" Relations with the settlers became very strained: the ever-hungry colonists stole potatoes from the gardens, then the collective farmers caught one colonist on melons ... Pyotr Anisimovich suggested holding an amateur concert for the collective farm. The last number Mitek showed tricks. Suddenly, hooves clattered very close by, a horse neighed and guttural cries were heard. Then it boomed. Silence. And a cry from the street: "They blew up the car! Our Faith is there! The house is on fire!" The next morning it became known that Regina Petrovna had returned. And she suggested that the Kuzmenys should go to the farm together. The Kuzmenyshs got down to business. They took turns going to the spring. They drove the herd to the meadow. Grind corn. Then the one-legged Demyan arrived, and Regina Petrovna begged him to drop the Kuzmenysh to the colony to get food. They fell asleep on the cart, and woke up at dusk and did not immediately understand where they were. For some reason Demyan was sitting on the ground, and his face was pale. "Quie-ho! - tsuknul. - There is your colony! Only there ... it's ... empty." The brothers went into the territory. Strange view: the yard is littered with junk. There are no people. The windows are broken. Doors torn off their hinges. And - quietly. Scary. Rushed to Demyan. We walked through the corn, bypassing the gaps. Demyan walked ahead, suddenly jumped somewhere to the side and disappeared. Sashka rushed after him, only the gift belt flashed. Kolka sat down, tormented by diarrhea. And then on the side, right above the corn, a horse's muzzle appeared. Kolya slumped to the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw a hoof right next to the linden. Suddenly the horse recoiled. He ran, then fell into a hole. And fell into unconsciousness. The morning is blue and peaceful. Kolka went to the village to look for Sasha and Demyan. I saw my brother standing at the end of the street, leaning against the fence. Ran straight towards him. But on the way, Kolka's step began to slow down by itself: Sashka stood for something strange. Came close and froze. Sashka did not stand, he hung, fastened under the armpits on the edge of the fence, and a bunch of yellow corn protruded from his stomach. Another cob was stuck in his mouth. Below the belly, a black tripe hung in the panties, in clots of Sashkin's blood. Later it turned out that there was no silver strap on it. A few hours later, Kolka dragged a cart, took his brother's body to the station and sent it with the train: Sasha really wanted to go to the mountains. Much later, a soldier came across Kolka, who turned off the road. Kolka slept in an embrace with another boy, who looked like a Chechen. Only Kolka and Alkhuzur knew how they wandered between the mountains, where the Chechens could kill the Russian boy, and the valley, where the Chechen was already in danger. How they saved each other from death. Children did not allow themselves to be separated and were called brothers. Sasha and Kolya Kuzmin. From the children's clinic in the city of Grozny, the children were transferred to an orphanage. Homeless people were kept there before being sent to various colonies and orphanages. I. N. Slyusareva Yuri Vitalievich Mamleev (b. 1931) Connecting rods Roman (1988) Sixties. One of the main characters - Fyodor Sonnov, having reached by train to some station near Moscow, staggers through the streets of the town. Having met an unfamiliar young man, Fedor kills him with a knife. After the crime - absolutely meaningless - the killer "talks" with his victim, talks about his "guardians", about his childhood, other murders. After spending the night in the forest, Fedor leaves "for the nest", the town of Lebedinoye near Moscow. There lives his sister Klavusha Sonnova, a voluptuous woman who arouses herself by stuffing the head of a living goose into her womb; the Fomichev family also lives in the same house - grandfather Kolya, his daughter Lidochka, her husband Pasha Krasnorukov (both are extremely lustful creatures, copulating all the time; in cases of pregnancy, Pasha kills the fetus with jolts of a penis), a younger sister, fourteen-year-old Mila and seventeen-year-old brother Petya, feeding on its own scabs. One day, Fyodor, already tired of the inhabitants of the house with his presence, eats Petenka's soup, boiled from acne. To protect his brother from the revenge of the Fomichevs-Krasnorukovs, Klavusha hides him in the underground. Here Fyodor, tired of idleness, from the impossibility of killing, cuts stools, imagining that these are figures of people. There is only one idea in his head - death. Upstairs, meanwhile, Lidinka, again pregnant, refuses to copulate with her husband, wanting to keep the child. He rapes her, the fetus comes out, but Lida declares to Pasha that the child is alive. Krasnorukov brutally beats his wife. She, sick, lies in her room. Fyodor, meanwhile, makes a dig on the Fomichev side, goes upstairs in order to implement a strange idea: "to take possession of a woman at the moment of her death." Lidinka gives herself to him and dies at the moment of orgasm. Fyodor, pleased with his experience, reports everything to his sister; he comes out of prison. Pavel is imprisoned for the murder of his wife. A "tenant" comes to Klavusha - Anna Barskaya. A woman of a completely different circle, a Moscow intellectual, she looks at Fyodor with interest; they talk about death and the other world. "Wild" Fyodor is very interested in Anna; she decides to introduce him to "great people" - for this they go somewhere in the forest, where there is a gathering of people obsessed with death - "metaphysical", as Fyodor calls them. Among those present are three "jesters", sadistic fanatics Pyr, Johann and Igorek, and a serious young man Anatoly Padov. "Jesters" together with Fedor and Anna come to Lebedinoye. Here they have a stormy time: they kill animals, Pyr tries to strangle Klavusha, but everything ends peacefully - she even promises to sleep with him. Rumors reach Klava that Fedor is in some kind of danger. He leaves - "to wander around the Race". Klava has another tenant - the old man Andrey Nikitich Khristoforov, a true Christian, with his son Alexei. The old man feels imminent death, throws tantrums, interspersed with moments of Christian tenderness; thinks about the afterlife. After some time, he goes crazy: "jumping out of bed in only his underwear, Andrei Nikitich declared / that he had died and turned into a chicken." Alexei, depressed by his father's madness, tries to console himself by talking to Anna, whom he is in love with. She mocks his religiosity, preaches the philosophy of evil, the "great fall", metaphysical freedom. Frustrated, Alexei leaves. At Anna's request, Anatoly Padov comes to Lebedinoye, to the "Russian, horse-drawn, dense folk obscurantism", constantly tormented by the question of death and the Absolute. Very warmly received by Anna (she is his mistress), Padov watches what is happening in Lebedino. Young people spend their time in conversations with the impudent voluptuous Klavusha, with the "freak" Andrei Nikitich, and with each other. One day Klavusha digs three holes as tall as a man; the favorite occupation of the inhabitants of the house is lying in these "grass graves". Alyosha returns to Lebedinoye to visit his father. Padov teases Alexei, mocks his Christian ideas. He is leaving. Anatoly himself, however, also cannot sit in one place for a long time: he is also leaving. Anna, exhausted by communication with Padov, in a nightmare sees another of her "metaphysical" friends - Izvitsky. She ceases to feel herself, it seems to her that she has become a wriggling void. Fedor, meanwhile, travels deep into Russia, to Arkhangelsk. Sonnov observes what is happening around him; the world irritates him with its mysteriousness and illusory nature. The instinct pulls him to kill. Fyodor comes to the "small nest" - the town of Fyrino, to the relative of the old woman Ipatievna, who feeds on the blood of living cats. She blesses Fyodor for killing - "You bring great joy to people, Fedya!" Fyodor, wandering in search of a new victim, runs into Micah, who castrated himself. Struck by his "blank spot", Fyodor refuses to kill; they become friends. Micah leads Fyodor to the eunuchs, for joy. Friends observe strange rites; Fyodor, surprised, remains, however, dissatisfied with what he saw, he is not satisfied with the idea of a new Christ by Kondraty Selivanov - "you must have your own, you must have your own." The half-mad Padov arrives in Fyrino to meet Fedor. He is interested in Anatoly with his popular, unconscious perception of the wrongness of the world. In the conversation, Padov tries to find out if Sonnov is killing people "metaphysically" or in fact, in reality. From Fedor, Anatoly returns to Moscow, where he meets his friend Gennady Remin, an underground poet, author of "corpse lyrics", an adherent of the ideas of a certain Glubev, who proclaimed the religion of the "higher self". The meeting of friends takes place in a dirty pub. Remin spends time here with four wandering philosophers; over vodka they talk about the Absolute. Carried away by Anatoly's stories about the company that settled in Lebedino, Gennady and a friend go there. In Lebedino "the devil knows what was going on" - everyone converges here: sadistic jesters, Anna, Padov, Remin, Klava, the remnants of the Fomichev family. Anna sleeps with Padov; it seems to him that he is copulating "with the Higher Hierarchies", to her - that she has already died. Padova is haunted by visions and tries to run away from them. Izvitsky appears in Lebedinoye - a man about whom there are rumors that he goes to God by the way of the devil. He is a great friend of Padov and Remin. While drinking, the comrades are having a philosophical conversation about God, the Absolute and the Higher Hierarchies - "Russian esotericism for vodka" as one of them jokes. Fyodor and Micah also come to the house. Alyosha Khristoforov, visiting his father, watches with horror the "inhumans" gathered here. The boy Petya, who feeds on his own skin, exhausts himself and dies. At the funeral, it turns out that the coffin is empty. It turns out that Klavusha took out the corpse and at night, sitting across it, ate a chocolate cake. The cackling chicken-corpse Andrey Nikitich rushes about the yard; grandfather Kolya is going to leave. Girl Mila falls in love with Micah - she licks his "empty place". All three leave the house. The rest spend their time in absurdly crazy conversations, wild dances, and hysterical laughter. Padova is very attracted to Klavush. The tension is growing, something is happening in Klavusha - "as if they went berserk, reared up and her Klavenko-Sonn forces spun with terrible force." She kicks the whole company out of the house, locks it up and leaves. Only a chicken corpse remains in the house, becoming like a cube. "Metaphysical" return to Moscow, spend time in dirty pubs talking. Anna sleeps with Izvitsky, but, watching him, she feels something is wrong. She guesses that he is jealous of himself for her. Izvitsky voluptuously adores his own body, feels himself, his reflection in the mirror, as a source of sexual satisfaction. Anna discusses "ego-sex" with Izvitsky. Having parted with his mistress, Izvitsky beats in the ecstasy of self-love, experiencing an orgasm from the feeling of unity with the "native" self. At this time, Fedor is approaching Moscow; his idea is to kill the "metaphysical", in order to break through into the other world. Sonnov goes to Izvitsky, where he observes his "delusions of self-admiration." Struck by what he saw, Fyodor is unable to interrupt "this monstrous act"; he is furious from the fact that he is faced with a different, not inferior to his own, "other world", goes to Padov. Meanwhile, Alyosha Khristoforov, convinced of his father's madness, also goes to Padov, where he accuses him and his friends of driving Andrei Nikitich crazy. "Metaphysical" reproach him for excessive rationalism; they themselves unanimously came to the religion of the "higher Self". This is the topic of their hysterical, hysterical conversations. Fedor, with an ax in his hand, eavesdrops on the conversations of Padov and his friends, waiting for the right moment to kill. At this time, Fedor is arrested. In the epilogue, two young admirers of Padov and his ideas, Sashenka and Vadimushka, discussing endless metaphysical problems, recall Padov himself, talk about his state close to madness, about his "travels in the beyond." It turns out that Fedor is sentenced to death. Friends go to visit Izvitsky, but, frightened by his expression, run away. Anatoly Padov is lying in a ditch, screaming hysterically into the void from the insolubility of the "main issues." Suddenly feeling that "everything will soon collapse", he rises and goes - "towards the hidden world, about which one cannot even ask questions ...". L. A. Danilkin Friedrich Naumovich Gorenstein (b. 1932) Psalm Roman (1975) The novel consists of five parts - each tells about one of the plagues of the Lord that fell on the earth, as the prophet Ezekiel predicted. Part one - "The Parable of the Lost Brother" - tells about the second execution - famine. The place of action is a hungry Ukraine during collectivization; 1933 In a rural tea shop, Maria, a beggar girl, tries to beg for something for Christ's sake, but no one gives her - except for a Jewish boy who shares with her the unclean bread of exile. The villagers are outraged by the act of a stranger; bread is taken away from the girl. The boy who gave his bread is Dan, Asp, Antichrist, brother of Christ the Messiah. Through the revelations of the prophets, he communicates with the Lord, who sent him to earth, to Russia, since this people lied about the Lord, refused him - and thereby replaced the wooden yoke with an iron yoke. The girl Maria, together with her younger brother Vasya, returns to their starving village. The mother decides to divide the family - to throw some of the children with strangers, to simply leave someone; she leaves to work in another city. Before leaving, she takes Maria and Vasya to the city; the stranger again serves bread to the hungry children, but the mother throws away the “not ours, non-Orthodox” piece. Later, in the city, the children will once again ask the Antichrist for alms, but this time they will be stopped by a policeman - begging is prohibited. Children abandoned by their mothers end up in the receiver. They are given a guide so that with his help they can return home. On the way, the conductor rapes Maria and escapes. The children go back to the orphanage; at night the watchman tells them a fairy tale about "God's child" "Jesus Christ", tortured by the Jews. Maria is being taken somewhere out of the city. The girl runs away; finding herself alone in a snowy field, she wanders along it, crying with God's cry, from which the heart is enlightened. Maria is looking for her older sister Xenia, she has been living in her house for about a year. One day she becomes an unnecessary witness to family scenes (her sister is cheating on her husband with her lover), and she is sent back to the village. There, too, no one is happy with her; crying from injustice, Mary again wanders through the field; there she meets Dan, the Antichrist. When asked about the reason for the tears, the girl replies: "because the Jewish Jews killed the Son of God and he is now in heaven, and Vasya, my brother, is on earth, in the city of Izyum." So the prophecy of Isaiah came true: "I revealed myself to those who did not ask about Me; those who did not seek Me found Me." Maria goes to Kerch, to her mother. After some time, the mother dies, Maria becomes a port prostitute. One day, hungry, she again meets Dan, who gives her unclean bread. Maria repays him with her love. The Antichrist goes further; the land and the people for lying to the Lord are destined for the second punishment - the sword. Maria, convicted of prostitution and vagrancy, gives birth in prison to Dan's son, Vasya. In 1936 she dies. The second part begins with a discussion about imitation of the Lord - instinctively or through the mind. The author defends the idea that the Jews are no better or worse than others; but this people is remarkable for its prophets, who knew how to listen to the Lord. The "Parable of the Torments of the Wicked" tells about the girl Annushka. She lives in Rzhev with her mother and two brothers; one of them dies through the fault of his sister. One day, thieves come to Annushka; during the investigation, the girl points to an innocent person - he is put in jail. Mothers are given a new apartment. One day Dan, the Antichrist, comes to Annushka. Examining the paintings on the walls (Annushka lives in a former church - because of the wallpaper on the wall, the face of Christ comes through), he reflects that the churchmen replaced Christ with an idol emaciated by an Alexandrian monk; now, in the spring of 1941, this monk, in turn, has been replaced by the "Assyrian bath attendant" - Stalin. Above the Rzhev barracks, Antichrist has a vision of a sword - the words of the Lord come true: "Woe to the city of blood, and I will make a big fire." The war begins. Annushka's mother dies; the girl goes to an orphanage. Annushka, who during the occupation managed to communicate with the Germans, learned to hate the Jews. The orphanage girl Shulamith irritates her. Envying that during the evacuation the Jewess ended up with a good foster mother, Annushka informs the Germans that Shulamith is not Russian. A Jewess is killed, Annushka is sent to Germany, to work. Before she leaves, Dan comes to the train and asks the girl to read aloud a sheet of paper in Germany, which he hands her. The Antichrist must curse the Germans, as the Lord once cursed Babylon through Jeremiah. The prophet himself cannot enter into an unholy land. One of the women, driven into slavery with Annushka, asks Dan to take her child, the girl Pelageya. The Germans, having noticed the Jew, are trying to kill him, but it is impossible to kill the Antichrist. Annushka fulfills Dan's order - wicked Germany, who hates God and his beloved people, is cursed. Annushka herself soon dies of a fever. The action of "The Parable of Adultery", which tells about the third execution - by lust, takes place in 1948. The Kolosov family lives in the Volga city of Bor - war veteran Andrei, his wife Vera and two daughters - Tasya and ustya. A strange Jewish family lives nearby - Dan Yakovlevich and his daughter Rufina, who is completely different from a Jewess. Vera Koposova, whose relationship with her husband is very difficult (he believes that during the war his wife cheated on him), having met Dan, falls in love with him. Realizing that she cannot directly seduce a Jew, she brings her daughter Tasya with him. She also falls in love with Dan, they meet. The father finds out about these dates. Together with the scammer Pavlov, they try to kill the Antichrist, but this turns out to be impossible. Vera comes to Dan and offers her intercession in exchange for him sleeping with her. The Antichrist, who loves his daughter, is forced to commit adultery with his mother. Rufina accidentally witnessed their meeting, and Tasya sees everything and tells her father about her mother's sin. He first tries to kill his wife, then on the same day he dies of grief. Rufina, meanwhile, runs off into the woods; there she is almost raped by the lustful anti-Semite Pavlov; the girl is saved only by the appearance of two bears. After the experience, Ruth realizes that she is a prophetess, and reconciles with her father, who has been cleansed of his sin by a curse. Part four, based on "The Parable of the Sickness of the Spirit," tells of the persecution of Jews in the early 50s. The parable is preceded by an introduction - the author's reflection on Russian anti-Semitism. For this spiritual disease, God sends the fourth plague - a disease, a pestilence. In Moscow, two children, Nina and Misha, from Vitebsk come to the Ivolgin family, consisting of a Jewish art critic, his Russian wife Claudia and their son Saveliy. They are Claudia's nephews; their parents were arrested on charges of Belarusian nationalism. Ivolgins, people who are afraid of everything, hiding their Jewishness in every possible way, refuse children. The Ivolgin family is silently watched by two of their neighbors in the apartment - the Jewish janitor Dan Yakovlevich and his daughter. In the country at this time there are mass exposures of cosmopolitan Jews. The cowardly Ivolgin, who is trying to protect himself from arrest by participating in the persecution of his people, was soon also arrested. At the first interrogation, the investigator kills him. After 1953, the widowed Claudia has a new admirer - the old man Ilovaisky, a reasonable anti-Semite. He has a long argument with Dan about Russian Christianity. As an example, an old man breaks a cup: whole, it is simple; broken, becomes complex. Dan, the Antichrist, feels that it is impossible to argue with Ilovaisky - Christianity is too distorted in the Greek and medieval interpretation. The word about which the Gospel of John and Ilovaisk speaks, in fact, only humiliates the meaning. The preface to the fifth part - "The Parable of the Broken Cup" - is the author's reasoning about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. The heroes of the fifth part are the children of the Antichrist from different mothers: Andrei Koposov, the son of Vera, Vasily Korobkov, the son of Mary, and Pelageya-Ruth, the prophetess, the adopted daughter of Dan. Vasily, Andrey and Savely Ivolgin study at the Literary Institute. Andrei himself comes to the Bible, comprehending its meaning - the opposite of Christian. One day, young people converge at a fashion exhibition in the Tretyakov Gallery; Pelageya recognizes the militant anti-Semite Vasily as her father's son. He, cursing the "Jews", arranges a scandal. Convinced of the resemblance to his father - a "Jew", Vasily hangs himself. Andrei is visited by his mother, Vera Koposova. She informs him that he is the son of Dan. Andrei, the "good seed", meets his father; the assembled family is quietly celebrating a Jewish religious holiday. Being half-mad from unquenched lust, Savely creates two "philosophical little men" in an alchemical flask. In conversations with them, he learns the answers to the most important questions - about the paths to God, about truth, good and evil, about the reasonable justification of faith in God. He finally falls into madness, and he is taken to a mental hospital. Pelageya, who lives as a virgin, feels that the time has come to become a woman. Following the example of the daughters of Lot, she seduces her father, the Antichrist. He, feeling that the plan of the Lord is being accomplished, rapes her in intoxication. The prophetess Pelageya conceives a son from the Antichrist. The one who has done all that is destined for him on earth dies. Before his death, he instructs his son Andrei, who goes to God in the most difficult way - through reason, through doubt. The son of Pelageya and the Antichrist, also Dan, listens as his mother reads to him the words of the prophet Deutero-Isaiah, who expressed the same ideas long before Christ. Andrey, Pelageya with her son, and the cured Saveliy go out of town, into the forest. Looking at the harsh winter nature, they comprehend the essence of the antagonism of Christ and the Antichrist: the first is the intercessor of sinners and persecutors, the second is the patron of the victims of the persecuted. Retribution for persecution is approaching, the fifth most terrible punishment is thirst according to the word of the Lord, from which even Christ will not save. L. A. Danilkin Vasily Pavlovich Aksenov (b. 1932) Colleagues Tale (1960) Three friends - Alexei Maksimov, Vladislav Karpov and Alexander Zelenin - are graduating from the Leningrad Medical Institute. The guys have been friends since the first year, despite the difference in characters and temperaments: Maximov is sharp, ironic, internally vulnerable and therefore "closed", Karpov is cheerful, a favorite of girls, Zelenin is a little funny, impulsive, honest and polite. In anticipation of the distribution and inevitable departure from Leningrad, they argue about the future, about the purpose of the doctor. Sasha Zelenin believes that each of them should continue the work of their ancestors for the sake of their descendants. He himself asks for an appointment in the village of Kruglogorye, located two days drive from Leningrad. Alexey and Vladik accept an unexpected proposal from the head of the medical department of the Baltic Shipping Company, who is recruiting ship's doctors. Vladik Karpov has long been in love with his classmate Vera. But Vera has recently married Associate Professor Veselin, and Vladik is trying to forget her. On the last day before leaving for Kruglogorie, Sasha Zelenin meets a Moscow student, Inna, and falls in love with her. Contrary to their expectations, Maximov and Karpov do not go on a long voyage. They are placed at the disposal of the sanitary-quarantine department of the seaport. They will have to carry out quarantine measures on arriving ships. The guys are a little disappointed with the routine of the future work, but in good faith they get down to business. They are accommodated in a quarantine service hostel. Maksimov wants to live interestingly, to squeeze everything out of his youth. He is decent, ready for decisive actions, but wants to answer for them only to his conscience, and not to fetishes. Having barely arrived in Kruglogorie, Sasha Zelenin operates on a wounded worker from a sawmill. A young nurse, Dasha Guryanova, helps him. Dasha likes the young doctor, and Sasha is not indifferent to her, although his heart belongs to the almost unknown Inna. The former criminal Fedor Bugrov, who is in love with Dasha, harbors a grudge against the new doctor, who, moreover, exposed him as a malingerer shirking work. Sasha works with passion and soon gains general respect. He operates a lot, travels around the surrounding villages, organizes a laboratory and an X-ray room in the hospital, and even treats a hospital coachman for alcoholism. He also participates in the social life of the village, lectures at the club. One day, he has to fly by helicopter to a forest lodge, where a bear has bullied a forester. Inna often calls Sasha from Moscow. She soon arrives in Roundmountain and they celebrate their wedding. Sasha is friends with the chairman of the local council, war invalid Egorov. They argue about the life values of different generations. About his peers and friends, Sasha says: “And we, city guys, who are a little ironic about everything in the world, lovers of jazz, sports, fashionable rags, we, who at times pose as devil knows what, but we don’t get smart, we don’t get into trust , we don’t sulk, we don’t parasitize and, being afraid of high words, we try to keep our souls clean ... " Maksimov and Karpov have a lot of work to do in the port. Maksimov manages to expose the machinations of warehouse workers. But both friends dream of finally getting assigned to the ships. In their free time, they go to theaters, to exhibitions and willingly (They drink in friendly companies. Maximov often visits the public library. Here he once meets Vera Veselina and finally admits that he has always loved her. Vera reciprocates, but cannot leave her husband and work at the department of the medical institute.Maximov hides his feelings from Vladik Karpov until he admits that his love for Vera has passed.Love uncertainty is resolved when Maximov finally gets an appointment on the ship.Before leaving for the voyage, friends decide to visit Sasha Zelenin. Sasha is delighted with the arrival of friends. The guys not only have a rest in Kruglogorye, but also consult patients. The joy of a friendly meeting ends tragically: the criminal Fedor Bugrov severely injures Sasha with a knife out of revenge. The life of a friend hangs in the balance, but Maksimov and Karpov manage to carry out a successful operation. At the bedside of a saved friend, they realize their life purpose. They are doctors, they have to fight off attacks of death from people. Finally, Maksimov understands Sasha's rightness: in order not to be afraid of death, one must feel one's connection with the past and the future. T. A. Sotnikova Searching for a genre (1972) The artist of the original genre Pavel Durov spends the night on the penalty area of the traffic police of a provincial town. The bumper of his "Zhiguli" was smashed by a "ZIL"-sprinkler, he has nowhere to shelter for the night. Reflecting on why he travels all over the country without a visible goal, Durov feels that he has "lost his grooves", has lost his place in life and the sense of the necessity of the genre. He does not understand whether he is holding on to the right to be a creator of miracles or is ashamed of his genre. He doesn't know if anyone needs miracles. Durov listens to the conversation of the dead - the victims of traffic accidents, who gathered at night on the penalty area, and tries to find out from them: what is there, where do they come from? But one of the dead answers him sadly: it's not your business yet. Asleep Durov dreams of a wonderful time when he was a full part, and perhaps the center of life. After waking up and fixing the car, Durov continues on his way. Not far from Feodosia, he takes fellow travelers, one of whom, the beer saleswoman Alla Filipuk, is looking for her beloved Nikolai Soloveikin. No matter how Alla tries to assure herself that for love it is necessary to live in the same interests with her beloved and respect him, at the end of the path she admits that it was Kolka the parasite who made her a real woman and this is the only reason for her desire for him. Having changed his route, Durov takes Alla to the ferry and sails with her through the Kerch Strait to Novorossiysk, where Alla finds the unlucky Nikolai. He sits on the deck with dredgers sharpening a chisel, "to reveal the strengths of nature." After a night of love with "sweet" Alla, Nikolai goes on deck and swims out of the dredger. Another companion of Durov is Mamanya. She gets into his car near Velikiye Luki and says that she is going to her daughter Zinaida in the village of Soltsy, Novgorod Region. Son-in-law Konstantin went on a spree with the librarian Lariska, Mamanya goes to settle family problems. On the way, Durov gives a ride to the accountant of the regional prison, Zhukov, and Mamanya quickly agrees that he will call in Soltsy to threaten his son-in-law. Once on a visit to Maman's relatives, Durov does not immediately get out of them. He empties countless half-litres, eats Mom's dumplings, sleeps with the beautiful Zinaida and dreams of a miracle. At this time, Zhukov, who arrived in Soltsy, falls in love with Lariska the homemaker. Waking up after a stormy drunk and love night, Durov feels like "something was close, but did not happen, flared up almost with might and main, but went out." And yet he is happy because he was ready to print bags of props, was two steps away from the genre. On the way to the south, Durov meets Lesha Kharitonov. For the third week in a Moskvich of his own assembly, he has been taking his large family from Tyumen to the Crimea. The whole family, even Tesha, believes that no matter what, they will reach their goal. Soon, the Moskvich's brakes fail and it falls into a ditch. Durov was driving past in his new Zhiguli, but soon he himself almost becomes a victim of an accident. Then he returns, takes Lesha Kharitonov's family in his car and takes them to Koktebel, to the sea. Durov himself is awaited in a cheap hotel on Golden Sands by colleagues, artists of a dying genre. They agreed to rest together without saying a word about work. But Durov is in no hurry to them, realizing that they cannot avoid talking about the fact that the genre is running away from under the wheels ... In a small Baltic town, Durov is mistaken for a counterfeiter, because he pays with brand new banknotes, just like the real counterfeiter made. Durov, on the other hand, received this money for staging the sports festival "Day, ring!". He manages to justify himself only by the fact that he gives all the banknotes to unfamiliar newlyweds from the local plant. Somehow getting out of the wedding, on the road he meets his colleague, a former inseparable friend Sasha, and finds out that Sasha is the same counterfeiter who Durov was mistaken for. Former illusionist made counterfeit money out of desperation. Hearing Durov's story about his journey in search of a genre, Sasha burns counterfeit banknotes and, with a little magic, withdraws from circulation those that he has already put into circulation. Durov's next passenger is the young hippie Arcadius. He dropped out of school, did not go to the army because of flat feet. Now Arcadius is going to Moscow to see the Mona Lisa, which is there on his way from Japan to Paris. As a fare, Arcadius gives Durov poems of his own composition - about a theater without walls and a roof, which was pitched on a village street by fourteen loafers and Captain Ivan. Suddenly, Durov realizes that the fifteen about whom this poem is written are he and his colleagues in the genre. Yielding to an instant impulse, he goes to the Valley, where a miracle should happen. Illusionists Alexander, Bruce, Vaclav, Guillaume, Dieter, Yevsey, Jean-Claude, Zbigniew, Kenzaburo, Luigi, Mahmud, Norman and Oscar gather in the mountains near the glaciologists' camp. Each of them experienced happiness in love over the years, drowned, died, swam out, got out, became discouraged and raged from despair, but no one betrayed his youth for big or small money, no one acquired arrogance, cruelty and disgusting in travels. The camp will be abandoned by glaciologists because avalanches are expected. But the illusionists decide to turn this Valley into a valley of miracles and unfold their props: As if Generator, Echo Cymbals, Avatar Barrel, Hoses of the Past, Powder Threads of the Future, etc. Here three huge avalanches sweep away both magicians and their miracles. Young Arcadius gets angry when he gets to Moscow: it turns out that the long-awaited date with the "Mona Lisa" will take place not alone, but in a crowd of people; the modern world presents him with another "get along". But suddenly, when he peers into the picture, Mona Lisa raises her hand, covering her smile, and Arcadius sees her palm - that miracle and happiness that will last him for a lifetime. It is not known what phenomena occurred in the avalanche mass, but at night Durov and his comrades find themselves on its surface. Their props are destroyed, they have no feelings, no memories. Suddenly they see another valley in the distance and understand that it is the true Valley, to which they all aspired. They are surrounded by the air of love, the miracle of lakes, the miracle of trees, the miracle of night lights, the miracle of grass and flowers are happening before their eyes. Friends follow the lion miracle deep into the Valley and prepare to meet new miracles. T. A. Sotnikova Island of Crimea Roman (1977-1979) An accidental shot from a ship's cannon, fired by an English lieutenant Bailey-Land, prevented the capture of the Crimea by the Red Army in 1920. And now, during the Brezhnev years, the Crimea has become a prosperous democratic state. Russian capitalism proved its superiority over Soviet socialism. Ultra-modern Simferopol, stylish Feodosiya, skyscrapers of international companies in Sevastopol, stunning villas of Evpatoria and Gurzuf, minarets and baths of Bakhchisarai, Americanized by Dzhanka and Kerch, amaze the imagination. But among the inhabitants of the island of Crimea, the idea of the SOS party (Union of a Common Destiny) is spreading - merging with the Soviet Union. The leader of the party is an influential politician, editor of the newspaper "Russian Courier Andrei Arsenievich Luchnikov. During the civil war, his father fought in the ranks of the Russian army, became the leader of the nobility of the Feodosia province and now lives on his estate in Koktebel. The Union of Common Destiny includes Luchnikov's classmates from the Third Simferopol gymnasiums of the Tsar-Liberator - Novosiltsev, Denikin, Chernok, Beklemishev, Nulin, Karetnikov, Sabashnikov, etc. Andrey Luchnikov often visits Moscow, where he has many friends and has a mistress, Tatyana Lunina, a sports commentator on the Vremya program. His Moscow connections cause hatred among members of the "Wolf Hundred", which is trying to organize an assassination attempt on Luchnikov. But his classmate, Colonel Alexander Chernok, commander of the Crimean special unit "Air-Force" is watching his safety. Luchnikov arrives in Moscow. In Sheremetyevo, he is met by Marley Mikhailovich Kuzenkov, an employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU, "in charge" of the island of Crimea. Luchnikov learns from him that the Soviet authorities are satisfied with the course towards reunification with the USSR, which is pursued by his newspaper and the party organized by him. Once in Moscow, Luchnikov hides from his "leading" state security officers. He manages to quietly leave Moscow with the rock band of his friend Dima Shebeko and fulfill his old dream: an independent trip to Russia. He admires the people he meets in the provinces. Notorious trespasser Ben-Ivan, a homegrown esotericist, helps him get to Europe. Returning to the island of Crimea, Luchnikov decides to implement his idea of merging the island with his historical homeland at all costs. The KGB recruits Tatyana Lunina and entrusts her with shadowing Luchnikov. Tatyana arrives in Yalta and, unexpectedly for herself, becomes an accidental mistress of the old American millionaire Fred Baxter. After a night spent on his yacht, Tatyana is kidnapped by the Wolf Hundreds. But the guys of Colonel Chernok free her and deliver her to Luchnikov. Tatyana lives with Luchnikov in his luxurious apartment in a Simferopol skyscraper. But she feels that her love for Andrei has passed. Tatyana is annoyed by his obsession with the abstract idea of the Common Destiny, to which he is ready to sacrifice a flourishing island. She breaks with Luchnikov and leaves with the millionaire Baxter, who is in love with her. Andrei Luchnikov's son, Anton, marries an American Pamela; from day to day the young are expecting a baby. At this time, the Soviet government "goes towards" the appeal of the Union of Common Destiny and begins a military operation to annex the Crimea to the USSR. People are dying, the established life is being destroyed. Luchnikov's new lover Christina Parsley dies. Rumors reach Andrei that his father has also died. Luchnikov knows that he has become a grandfather, but he does not know the fate of Anton and his family. He sees what his crazy idea led to. Anton Luchnikov with his wife and newborn son Arseniy escape on a boat from the captured island. The boat is led by the esoteric Ben-Ivan. The Soviet pilots receive an order to destroy the boat, but, seeing the young people and the baby, "bash" the rocket to the side. Andrei Luchnikov arrives at the Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese. Burying Christina Parsley, he sees the grave of Tatiana Lunina in the cemetery near the cathedral. The rector of the cathedral reads the Gospel, and Luchnikov asks in despair: "Why is it said that He needs temptations, but woe to those through whom the temptation will pass? How can we escape these dead ends? .." Behind the Cathedral of St. Vladimir, festive fireworks take off over the captured island of Crimea. T. A. Sotnikova Vladimir Nikolaevich Voinovich (b. 1932) Two friends Tale (1966) Sixties. Small provincial town in Russia. Nineteen-year-old Valera Vazhenin lives with his mother and grandmother. Valera's mother works as a senior rationing worker at the plant. The father left the family when his son was six or seven years old and lives with his new wife Shura. He is a writer, writes reprises for the circus, they say that he even writes a novel. The father visits the old family, gives the mother money. Valera himself works at a factory where very "serious things" are made, "either rockets or space suits - in general, something cosmic." Valera and his friend Tolik Bozhko make boxes for these important things. Every day after work, under the supervision of her mother and grandmother, Valera prepares to enter the Pedagogical Institute. Mom considers her son's friendship with Tolik "strange". According to her concepts, people should be bound by "common interests" or "ideological convictions." Valera and Tolik are friends because they are always together, they live in the same house, they work at the same factory. Tolik dreams of inserting gold teeth, buying a car, saving money for a motor scooter. He is very surprised that Valera manages to memorize poetry. Once, before work, Tolik asks Valera to read something, and he reads Pushkin's Anchar. The poem makes a great impression on Tolik. One evening, Tolik comes for Valera, and they go for a walk. On the playground near the school, they see a crowd of young people who are training to skydive. Tolik pretends to be a parachutist, like everyone else, doing exercises on the horizontal bar, the instructor writes down his last name. Valera, who was shy to do the same, Tolik says that they will definitely jump, that the instructor "the more people, the better." The gathering of paratroopers is scheduled for three in the morning on the boulevard. Valera and Tolik come to the park. There they meet two girls and invite them to dance. But the guys have no money for tickets, Tolik manages to get two tickets - he "pushed a private trader" for a ruble bearing. The girls go to the dance floor with tickets, and the guys have no choice but to try to climb through the hole in the fence. But as soon as Valera crawls into the hole, the vigilantes grab him. They take him to the police. Tolik refuses to go with him. In the police, Valera meets a girl, Tanya, who works as a hairdresser and, according to her, ended up in the police "for easy behavior" - "she kissed one boy on a bench." In the end, Valera and Tanya are released. Valera accompanies her home. Until the morning at the entrance, she teaches Valera to kiss. On the way back, Valera meets Tolik. They go to the boulevard where paratroopers gather and go with them to the airfield. But the instructor does not allow them to jump, because they are "not on the lists." At the airport, Valera meets her old school friend Slavka Perkov, who studies at the flying club and is going to enter the flight school. Slavka takes Valera with her on a training flight. Tolik refuses to fly with them. After the flight, Valera is full of impressions and wants to tell Tolik about them, but he does not listen to him. After flying with Slavka, Valera dreams of flying all the time. He takes the documents to the flight school, but his mother takes them from there, saying that "she will never be calm" if Valera will fly. Tolik advises Valera to "flunk" the exams at the institute, join the army, and from there to the flight school. With this thought, Valera comes to the introductory essay. Instead of writing on the topic, Valera describes his flight with Slavka. But the teacher who checks the essay likes it, and she gives Valera "five". At the literature exam, she also gives Valera "five", saying that she "believes that he knows everything." But Valera still manages to "flunk" the foreign language exam, because instead of English, which he studied at school, Valera goes to take German. Soon Valera and Tolik receive summons to the army. Valera goes to visit her father. He, having learned that his son is leaving for the army, gives him his gold watch. Shura believes that this should not be done, makes a scandal, mocks her husband's writing abilities and is going to leave home. Valera quietly leaves the clock and says goodbye to her father, goes to the hairdresser's to get a haircut. There he meets Tanya, she cuts his hair, and after work they agree to go for a walk. On the way, Tanya pretty much annoys Valera with her chatter. In the park, Valera and Tanya meet Tolik, there is also a skirmish between Valera and Vitka Kozub, an old acquaintance of Valera and Tolik. The guys have always disliked Kozub, and now, when he starts to pester Tatyana, Valera comes to her defense. Tolik and Tanya quickly find a common language, and Valera tells Tolik in a whisper that he can "take her for himself." Late in the evening, after seeing Tanya home, the guys return to their place. On the way they meet Kozub with his friends. They beat Valera and force Tolik to hit him "in a friendly way" too. At first, Tolik refuses, but then, frightened for himself, he beats Valera with great zeal. After Tolik asks Valera for forgiveness, but Valera cannot forgive him for betraying him. Mom and grandmother escort Valera to the army. A year later, Valera manages to get a referral to a flight school. Before leaving there, Valera unexpectedly meets Tolik. He says that he serves as an orderly for the general and has been writing poetry ever since Valera read Anchar to him. Tolik recalls the incident with the beating of Valera and says that it is even better for him that it happened, otherwise he "would have been beaten harder." Valera and Tolik part, and Tolik asks his friend not to forget him. E. A. Zhuravleva Life and extraordinary adventures of the soldier Ivan Chonkin Roman (Book 1 - 1963-1970; Book 2 - 1979) Book one. INVIOLABLE PERSON Book two. PRETENDANT TO THE THRONEIt happened before the start of the war, either at the end of May, or at the beginning of June 1941. The postwoman Nyurka Belyasheva from the village of Krasnoe, spudding potatoes in the garden, looked at the sky - is lunch coming soon? - and saw a huge black bird falling right on top of her. From horror, Nyurka fell down dead on the ground. And when she opened her eyes, an airplane was standing right in front of her garden. The pilot got out of the plane. The villagers fled. Chairman Golubev himself, a man burdened with responsibility and constantly struggling with this burden with domestic means, was already getting out of his gig, carefully moving his legs. The pilot reported: "The oil pipeline jammed. Made an emergency landing." ... And at this time, Ivan Chonkin, a Red Army soldier of the last year, who still did not know anything about the accident and how surprisingly that accident would turn his fate, marched back and forth past the telegraph pole, saluting him, - he was undergoing drill training under the supervision of his military superiors . Ivan Vasilyevich Chonkin, short and bow-legged, was a purely rural man, and with the horses with whom he was in the army, his relations were much better than with people. Military science - drill and political studies - was given to him with great difficulty. And so the circumstances developed that it was to him, Chonkin, that the authorities were forced to entrust the most important task - to go to the village of Krasnoe to guard the malfunctioning aircraft, until the arrival of aircraft repairmen there. At first, Ivan was a little bored standing near a motionless piece of iron on the outskirts of an empty, as if extinct, village. But, noticing Nyurka nearby in the garden and appreciating her large forms, Chonkin cheered up. He began the conversation by clarifying his marital status. Having learned that Nyurka was lonely, Chonkin first offered to help in the garden. Nyurka also looked at him - although he was not a handsome man and did not come out tall, but a dexterous guy and useful for the household. In the heat of work, she invited Chonkin to the house for dinner. And the very next morning, the women, who were driving the cattle into the field, saw how Chonkin came out of Nyurka's house barefoot and without a tunic, dismantled part of the fence, rolled the plane into the garden, and again laid the fence with poles. Chonkin began a measured village life. Nyurka went to work, he busied himself with the housework, cooked food and waited for Nyurka. And when he waited, he rejoiced tirelessly with her life. From lack of sleep, Nyurka even slept off her face. In the village, Ivan became his man. Chairman Golubev, constantly waiting for a secret inspection from the city, suspected that Chonkin was the inspector in disguise, and therefore fawned over him a little. The army command completely forgot about Ivan. And Nyurka, taking advantage of her official position, slowly destroyed Chonkin's letter to the unit with a reminder of herself. But Chonkin's late life did not last long. The war has begun. And it was at the very moment when Comrade Stalin's speech was broadcast on the radio that Nyurkin's cow climbed into the garden of her neighbor Gladyshev, a Michurin breeder who had spent years breeding a hybrid of potatoes and tomatoes - puksa (Roads to Socialism). The shocked Michurinian tried to drag the animal by the horns from the last puksa bush, but the forces turned out to be unequal. The fruits of ascetic labor perished in the insatiable womb of ignorant cattle. The breeder's fury turned against the owners of the cow. He even made an (unsuccessful) attempt to shoot Chonkin with a hunting rifle. And then Gladyshev turned to Where It Is Necessary and To Whom It Is Necessary with an anonymous report about a deserter, a debauchee and a hooligan Chonkin hiding in the village. The captain of the NKVD Milyaga got acquainted with the statement and, without delay, sent all his seven employees of the district department to the village to arrest the deserter. At the entrance to the village of Krasnoye, the Chekists' car got stuck on a road soaked with rain, and the Chekists talked to Nyurka, who was passing by, about their worries. Nyurka got to Chonkin earlier. "Well," said Chonkin, "I will do my duty. And if necessary, I will accept the fight." By the time the Chekists appeared, marching in a deployed formation, Chonkin was already in a strategically advantageous position near the aircraft. "Wait, who's coming?" - he met the guests according to the charter. But the Chekists did not stop. Having repeated the prescribed phrase twice, Chonkin fired. From surprise, the attackers fell to the ground. The fight was unexpectedly short. Chonkin shot one of the attackers in the buttock, and the Chekists, demoralized by the cries of the unfortunate man, surrendered. Captain Milyaga, who did not wait for his command, went to the village personally to clarify the situation. Already in the dark, finding Nyurka's house, he went inside and found a bayonet attached to his stomach. Captain Milyaga had to join those arrested. In the regional center of Dolgovo, the disappearance of Captain Milyaga's department was not immediately noticed; The first to worry was the secretary of the district committee, Revkin. Revkin decided to check the rumors at the bazaar about the capture by Chonkin of the entire department of Captain Milyaga by phone, calling Chairman Golubev in Krasnoye. The chairman confirmed that everyone was arrested by Chonkin with his woman. Revkin heard the word "gang" instead of the word "woman". A regiment under the command of General Drynov was sent to neutralize the powerful Chonkin gang operating in the rear of the Soviet troops. On a dark night, the regiment encircled the village, and the soldiers approached the very fence of the Nyurka garden. Captain Milyaga was the first to fall into their hands, having escaped from captivity just that night. The stunned Milyaga was dragged to the headquarters and began to be interrogated. The interrogation proceeded with the help of those few German words that the staff officer knew. Shocked by what had happened, Milyaga was convinced that he had been captured by the Germans, and began to talk about his experience in the fight against the communists, accumulated in the work of the Soviet Gestapo - the NKVD. He even shouted: "Long live Comrade Hitler!" The general ordered to shoot the saboteur. The regiment proceeded to storm the bandit lair. Chonkin, having settled in the cockpit of the aircraft gunner, fired back from a machine gun. The attackers used artillery. One of the shells covered the plane, and Chonkin's machine gun fell silent. The advanced units of the attackers who burst into the garden found a small Red Army soldier lying on the ground, over whom a woman was howling. “Where is the gang?” the general asked, seeing instead of the saboteurs the bound Chekists. “These are our comrades.” Chairman Golubev explained that it was not about the gang, but about the woman. "What is it, this one soldier with a woman fought with a whole regiment?" - "That's right," - confirmed the awakened Ivan. "You, Chonkin, I'll tell you straight, - a hero, even if you look like an ordinary mug. On behalf of the command, I award you with an order." Then lieutenant of the NKVD Filippov stepped forward: "I have an order to arrest the traitor to the Motherland Chonkin." - "Well," the general looked down, "follow your orders." And Chonkin was arrested. Most of the subsequent events, in the center of which Chonkin was still at the center, developed without his direct participation, since he himself was constantly in prison. The investigation established that in his homeland in the village of Chonkino, Ivan had the nickname Prince, - rumors attributed Ivan's paternity to ensign Golitsyn, who during the civil war was stationed in the Chonkins' house. So the investigation had a "White émigré trail." The district NKVD received a secret message about the presence of a German spy Kurt in the area, and now Lieutenant Filippov, already arrested on suspicion of espionage, admitted that he was agent Kurt and that he worked in contact with a protege of white emigration Chonkin-Golitsyn. Having replaced Captain Milyaga and Lieutenant Filippov, who alternately took the place of the head of the district department of the NKVD, Captain Figurnov launched a propaganda campaign to exalt the feat of the Chekist hero Captain Milyaga, who fell at the hands of Chonkin's gang. The remains of the captain were delivered to the city, in which the Chekists, who did not have enough time, brought the remains of a horse skeleton. However, at the time of the removal of the coffin, one of the participants in the ceremony stumbled, the coffin fell to the ground, and the horse's skull that rolled out of it caused panic in the city. And finally, another rapidly developing plot: the secret rivalry between the second secretary of the district committee Borisov and Revkin entered the final phase - with the help of Captain Figurnov, secretary Revkin was exposed as an enemy and began to testify about his enemy activities. This activity was also placed by the authorities in direct connection with Chonkin. And by the time the trial began, prosecutor Evlampiev had every reason to say that Prince Golitsyn, an ardent enemy of the Soviet government, who intended to sit on the Russian throne, was sitting in the dock. The court sentenced Chonkin to the highest measure of proletarian humanism - execution. In the meantime, rumors about the Chonkin affair spread and penetrated into the highest spheres. Adolf Hitler, having heard about the heroic resistance to the Bolsheviks of the Golitsyn-Chonkin organization, ordered to turn the troops advancing on Moscow and go to the rescue of the hero. This order was received by the troops just at the moment when the German tanks were attacking the few and almost unarmed defenders of the capital under the command of General Drynov. In desperation, the general raised the soldiers to attack, and the German tanks suddenly turned at once and began to retreat. The newspapers reported on the incredible victory of General Drynov. The hero-general was accepted by Stalin himself. In their conversation, Drynov spoke about the valor of a simple soldier, Chonkin. Touched by Stalin, he made a toast to the Russian soldier, who showed an example of selfless service to the Motherland. Meanwhile, German tanks were approaching the regional center of Dolgovo, and Captain Figurnov received an order from the leadership to urgently shoot the convicted Golitsyn due to the aggravation of the situation, and also to second him to Moscow on the orders of the commander-in-chief soldier Ivan Chonkin to receive a government award. Both orders - to shoot and reward - were not destined to be executed. The Germans entered the city, and Figurnov handed over Chonkin to Sergeant Svintsov with an official order - to deliver him to Moscow and an unofficial order - to shoot him while trying to escape. But while wandering around the territory occupied by the Germans, Chonkin showed no desire to flee, and Sergeant Svintsov, in turn, showed no signs of excessive service zeal. On the contrary, on reflection, he decided for himself to "run away from everyone" and lead the natural life of a "hitchnik". "And you, Chonkin, go to your village," he said to Ivan. "Maybe you'll find Nyurka." Having made his way to the village, Chonkin saw a crowd of people near the government and a German standing on the porch and reading out the orders of the new German administration on the delivery of surplus food. Next to the German stood a new commissioner from the German authorities, Gladyshev from Michurin. Chonkin backed away and, unnoticed by anyone, left the village. S. P. Kostyrko Moscow 2042 Satirical Tale (1987) Vitaly Kartsev, a Russian émigré writer living in Munich, in June 1982 had the opportunity to be in Moscow 2042. Preparing for the trip, Kartsev met his classmate Leshka Bukashev. Bukashev made a career in the USSR through the KGB. It seemed that their meeting was not accidental and that Bukashev knew about Kartsev's unusual trip. In the midst of preparations, another old Moscow friend Leopold (or Leo) Zilberovich called Kartsev and ordered him to immediately go to Canada. Zilberovich called on behalf of Sim Simych Karnavalov. At one time, it was Leo who discovered Karnavalov as a writer. Sim Simych, a former convict, then worked as a stoker in a kindergarten, led an ascetic life and wrote from morning to night. He conceived the fundamental work "The Great Zone" in sixty volumes, which the author himself called "clumps". Soon after Karnavalov was "discovered" in Moscow, he began to publish abroad and instantly became famous. All Soviet authorities - the police, the KGB, the Union of Writers - entered into a fight with him. But they couldn’t arrest him, they couldn’t even send him out: remembering the story with Solzhenitsyn, Karnavalov turned to the whole world with a request not to accept him if the “swallowers” (as he called the communists) kicked him out by force. Then the authorities had no choice but to simply push him out of the plane that was flying over Holland. In the end, Sim Simych settled in Canada on his own estate, called Otradnoye, where everything was arranged in a Russian way: they ate cabbage soup, porridge, women wore sundresses and scarves. The owner himself memorized Dahl's dictionary at night, and in the morning he rehearsed the solemn entry into Moscow on a white horse. Karnavalov instructed Kartsev to take thirty-six ready-made "blocks" of the "Big Zone" and a letter to "The Future Rulers of Russia" to Moscow. And Kartsev went to the Moscow of the future. On the pediment of the terminal, he first saw five portraits: Christ, Marx, Engels, Lenin ... The fifth one for some reason looked like Leshka Bukashev. The passengers who arrived with Kartsev were quickly loaded into an armored personnel carrier by people with machine guns. The warriors did not touch Kartsev. He was met by another group of military men: three men and two women, who introduced themselves as members of the jubilee Pentagon. It turned out that the Pentagon was instructed to prepare and hold the centennial anniversary of the writer Kartsev, since he is a classic of preliminary literature, whose works are studied in pre-comobs (communist education enterprises). Kartsev understood absolutely nothing. Then the ladies who met Kartsev gave some further explanations. It turned out that as a result of the Great August Communist Revolution, carried out under the leadership of Genialissimo (abbreviated title, since their General Secretary has the military rank of Generalissimo and differs from other people in all-round genius), it became possible to build communism in one single city. They became MOSCOREP (former Moscow). And now the Soviet Union, being on the whole socialist, has a communist core. To carry out the program of building communism, Moscow was surrounded by a six-meter fence with barbed wire on top and was guarded by automatic firing installations. Going into the cabezot (an office of natural shipments, where he had to fill out a form about the "delivery of the secondary product"), Kartsev got acquainted with the newspaper printed in the form of a roll. I read, in particular, the decree of Genialissimo on renaming the Klyazma River into the Karl Marx River, an article on the benefits of frugality, and much more in the same vein. The next morning, the writer woke up in the Kommunisticheskaya Hotel (formerly the Metropol) and went down the stairs (there was a sign on the elevator that read: "Hunting needs are temporarily not met") went down to the courtyard. It smelled like a closet in there. A line to the kiosk wound in the courtyard, and people standing in it held cans, pots and chamber pots in their hands. "What do they give?" - asked Kartsev, "They don't give, but rent," the short-legged aunt answered. "What's that? They rent shit, what else?" A poster hung on the kiosk: "Whoever sells a secondary product is supplied perfectly." The writer walked around Moscow and was constantly surprised. On Red Square there were no St. Basil's Cathedral, a monument to Minin with Pozharsky and the Mausoleum. The star on the Spasskaya Tower was not ruby, but tin, and, as it turned out, the Mausoleum, along with those who lay in it, had been sold to some oil tycoon. People in military uniforms walked along the sidewalks. The cars were mostly steam and gas generating, and more armored personnel carriers. In a word, a picture of poverty and decline. I had a bite to eat at the prekombinat (communist food enterprise), on the facade of which there was a poster:. "Whoever sells a secondary product eats excellently." The menu included cabbage soup "Lebedushka" (quinoa), vegetarian pork, jelly and natural water. Kartsev could not eat pork: being a primary product, it smelled like a secondary one. On the site of the restaurant "Aragvi" there was a state experimental brothel. But there the writer was disappointed. It turned out that for customers with general needs, self-service is provided. Gradually it became clear that the supreme Pentagon had set increased needs for Kartsev, and the places where he accidentally ended up were intended for the communes of common needs. The regime partly favored him because Genialissimo really turned out to be Leshka Bukashev. Everywhere Kartsev went, he saw the word "SIM" written on the walls. These inscriptions were made by the so-called simites, that is, opponents of the regime, waiting for the return of Karnavalov as king. Karnavalov did not die (although the time machine threw Kartsev sixty years into the future), he was frozen and kept in Switzerland. The communist rulers began to convince Kartsev that art does not reflect life, but transforms it, more precisely, life reflects art, and therefore he, Kartsev, should delete Karnavalov from his book. At the same time, they gave the author to read this book of his, written by him in the future and therefore not yet read (and even unwritten). But the writer was persistent - he did not agree to cross out his hero. In the meantime, scientists unfrozen Karnavalov, he solemnly entered Moscow on a white horse (the population and troops, brutalized from poverty, freely crossed over to his side, along the way lynching the execution of swallowers) and established a monarchy in the territory of the former Soviet Union, including Poland, Bulgaria and Romania in as governorates. Instead of mechanical means of transportation, the new monarch introduced living draft power, replaced sciences with the study of the Law of God, Dahl's dictionary and the "Great Zone". He introduced corporal punishment, ordered men to wear beards, and women - fear of God and modesty. The writer, Kartsev, flew to Munich in 1982 and sat down there to compose this very book. I. N. Slyusareva Vasily Ivanovich Belov (b. 1932) Such a war Story (1960) Vanya, the son of Darya Rumyantseva, was killed at the front in 42, and a paper with a seal and an incomprehensible, but painfully suspicious signature (one hook and eyelet) arrives more than a year later. And Daria decides that the paper is fake, forged by some unkind person. When the gypsies pass through the village, Daria every time goes to tell Vanya. And every time the cards are scattered as well as possible. Turns out he's alive. And Daria is patiently waiting for the end of the war. By night, in winter and autumn, she goes to the stable to guard the horses and there she thinks about her son Ivan. She returns at dawn, dragging some kind of kink, an abandoned peg or a rotten cleft along the way - you won’t live without firewood in winter. She heats the hut in a day, and invents potatoes to cook in a samovar: it’s easier and more profitable, and boiling water for drinking seems to be something more interesting. Daria has not yet reached her age, and they take a full tax from her: eggs, meat, wool, potatoes. And she has already handed over everything, having bought something, sometimes replacing one with another, and only for meat is there an arrears on her account and the entire monetary tax is intact, not to mention insurance, loans and self-taxation. Under these articles, she has not been paid for the past forty-second year. And here Pashka Neustupov, nicknamed Kuverik, Vanin of the same age, who was not taken into the army for health reasons, brings Daria new obligations. And he demands "to settle accounts with the state." Hunger among the people begins somehow imperceptibly, little by little, and no one throws up their hands when the first old woman on the collective farm dies of exhaustion. And now the doors are almost never closed against the great abundance of the poor. Soon there is nothing to eat. The women go to a distant, still a grain collective farm - to change clothes for grain and potatoes. Darya has a nice half-wool Ivanov suit. Ivan bought it three weeks before the war, and did not have time to revile it enough. When Daria becomes unbearable and her heart begins to ache, she takes the suit out of the sennik and catches the distant smell, already clogged with the mustiness of Vanyushin's chest. Once, turning his pockets inside out, he sees a kopeck and shag pollen, and then sits for a long time, agitated, with tears of relief. And he hides a penny in a sugar bowl. On the First of May, the village grandfather, gray-haired bunker Misha, buys her only remaining living creature - a goat. Daria takes half the price in money (and immediately gives it to the financier), half in potatoes. And he also divides the potatoes in half: a basket for food, a basket for seeds. But in order not to die, you have to boil these seed potatoes in a samovar. Finally, Daria makes up her mind: she goes with the women, trades Ivanov's suit for half a bag of potatoes and plants one and a half ridges with scraps. And he eats a basket of the remaining cropped potatoes all the way to Kazanskaya. Summer is coming. Daria every day goes with the women to mow, and at rest she warms her swollen legs in the sun. She is constantly drawn to sleep, dizzy and thin, carbon monoxide ringing in her ears. At home, Daria talks to the samovar, as she used to talk to a goat or an underground mouse (the mouse no longer lives in her hut). And suddenly Pashka Kuverik comes to Daria again and demands to pay money. You alone, he says, are vicious in the whole village. Pashka does not intend to wait any longer: apparently, he will have to take measures. Businesslike looking around the hut, he begins to describe the property, then takes away what he finds valuable - two pounds of wool and a samovar. Daria, crying, begs to leave her a samovar: "I will pray to God for you forever, Pashenka," but Kuveri does not even want to listen. Without a samovar in the hut it becomes completely uncomfortable and empty. Daria is crying, but the tears in her eyes are ending. She gnaws on a soft, overgrown potato, another one. Lying on the stove, Daria tries to separate reality from sleep, but she can't. The distant thunders seem to her like the noise of a wide war going on in two lanes. The war appears to Darya as two endless rows of soldiers with guns, and these soldiers take turns shooting at each other. And Ivan is on the mountain, and for some reason he does not have a gun. Daria painfully wants to shout out to him so that he quickly takes a gun, but the cry does not work. She runs to her son, but her legs do not obey and something heavy, all-powerful interferes with her. And the ranks of soldiers are further and further ... On the third or fourth day, Surganikha sees Darya's samovar on the counter in the store. "The demon Kuverik," Surganikha thinks, "took the samovar from the old woman." While mowing, she talks about the samovar to the women, it turns out that Daria has not been out in the field for the third day. Women from all over the village collect as much as they can and, having bought the samovar, they go to Darya's hut, satisfied, but only the mistress is not in it. “It can be seen, cordial, she left the world,” says Surganikha. During the summer, hundreds of beggars go through the village: old people, children, old women. But no one has seen Daria, and she does not return home. And only in winter does a rumor reach the village that some ten kilometers away, in a hayloft on a forest wasteland, they found some kind of dead old woman. The pieces in her basket were already dry, and she was wearing summer clothes. The women unanimously decide that this is mandatory and is their Daria. But old Misha only laughs at the women: "But are there really not enough old women like that, according to Mother Rasey? If you count these old women, duck, go, and the numbers are not enough." Or maybe they are right, these women, who knows? They, women, are almost always right, especially when there is such a war on earth ... P. E. Spivakovsky The usual case Tale (1966) A peasant Ivan Afrikanovich Drynov rides on wood. He got drunk with the tractor driver Mishka Petrov and now he is talking to the gelding Parmyon. He is carrying goods from the general store for the store, but he drove drunk to the wrong village, which means that he only went home - in the morning ... It's a common thing. And at night, the same Mishka catches up with Ivan Afrikanovich on the way. They drank more. And then Ivan Afrikanovich decides to woo Mishka his second cousin, forty-year-old Nyushka, a livestock specialist. True, she has a thorn, but if you look from the left side, you can’t see it ... Nyushka chases her friends away with her grip, and they have to spend the night in the bathhouse. And just at this time, the ninth, Ivan, will be born to Ivan Afrikanovich's wife Katerina. And Katerina, although the paramedic forbade her strictly, after giving birth - immediately to work, seriously ill. And Katerina recalls how, on Peter's Day, Ivan with a lively wench from their village, Dasha Putanka, and then, when Katerina forgave him, joyfully exchanged the Bible inherited from his grandfather for an "accordion" - to amuse his wife. And now Dasha does not want to take care of the calves, so Katerina has to work for her too (otherwise you will not be able to feed the family). Exhausted by work and illness, Katerina suddenly faints. She is taken to the hospital. Hypertension, stroke. And only more than two weeks later she returns home. And Ivan Afrikanovich also recalls the accordion: he had not even managed to learn how to play the bass, as it was taken away for arrears. It's hay time. Ivan Afrikanovich in the forest, secretly, seven miles from the village, mows at night. If you don’t mow three haystacks, there is nothing to feed the cow: ten percent of the hay mowed on the collective farm is enough for a month at most. One night, Ivan Afrikanovich takes his young son Grishka with him, and then, out of stupidity, he tells the district commissioner that he went with his father to mow in the forest at night. They threaten Ivan Afrikanovich with a lawsuit: after all, he is a deputy of the village council, and then the same commissioner demands to “prompt” who else is mowing in the forest at night, to write a list ... For this, he promises not to “socialize” Drynov’s personal haystacks. Ivan Afrikanovich negotiates with the neighbor's chairman and, together with Katerina, goes to the forest to mow someone else's territory at night. At this time, Mitka Polyakov, Katerina's brother, comes to their village from Murmansk without a penny of money. A week had not passed before he got the whole village drunk, barked at the authorities, Mishke betrothed Dasha Putanka, and provided the cow with hay. And everything seems to be similar. Dasha Putanka gives Mishka a love potion to drink, and then he vomits for a long time, and a day later, at Mitka's instigation, they go to the village council and sign. Soon, Dasha rips off a reproduction of Rubens' painting "Union of Earth and Water" from Mishka's tractor (it depicts a naked woman, by all accounts, the spitting image of Nyushka) and burns the "picture" in the oven out of jealousy. In response, the bear almost throws Dashka, who is washing herself in the bathhouse, with a tractor right into the river. As a result, the tractor was damaged, and illegally cut hay was found in the attic of the bathhouse. At the same time, they begin to look for hay from everyone in the village, and Ivan Afrikanovich's turn comes. It's business as usual. Mitka is summoned to the police, to the district (for complicity in damaging a tractor and for hay), but by mistake, fifteen days are given not to him, but to another Polyakov, also from Sosnovka (there is half the village of the Polyakovs). Mishka is serving his fifteen days right in his village, on the job, getting drunk in the evenings with a sergeant assigned to him. After all the secretly mowed hay is taken from Ivan Afrikanovich, Mitka convinces him to leave the village and go to the Arctic to work. Drynov does not want to leave his native place, but if you listen to Mitka, then there is no other way out ... And Ivan Afrikanovich decides. The chairman does not want to give him a certificate, according to which he can get a passport, but in despair Drynov threatens him with a poker, and the chairman suddenly droops: "Even though everyone scatter ..." Now Ivan Afrikanovich is a free Cossack. He says goodbye to Katerina and suddenly shrinks from pain, pity and love for her. And, without saying anything, pushes her away, as if from the shore into the pool. And Katerina, after his departure, has to mow alone. There, during the mowing, the second blow overtakes her. Barely alive, they bring her home. And you can’t go to the hospital in such a state - he will die, they won’t take him. And Ivan Afrikanovich returns to his native village. Ran into. And he tells a slightly familiar guy from a distant lakeside village how it was with Mitka, but he was selling onions and did not have time to jump on the train, but he still had all the tickets. They dropped off Ivan Afrikanovich and demanded that he go back to the village within three hours, and they would send a fine to the collective farm, but they didn’t say how to go, if nothing. And suddenly - the train approached and Mitka got off it. So here Ivan Afrikanovich prayed: "I don't need anything, just let me go home." They sold the bow, bought a return ticket, and finally Drinov went home. And the guy, in response to the story, reports the news: in the village of Ivan Afrikanovich, the woman died, there are many children left. The guy leaves, and Drynov suddenly falls on the road, clutches his head with his hands and rolls into a roadside ditch. He thumps his fist into the meadow, gnaws at the ground ... Rogulya, the cow of Ivan Afrikanovich, recalls his life, as if wondering at her, the shaggy sun, warmth. She was always indifferent to herself, and her timeless, immense contemplation was very rarely disturbed. The mother of Katerina Yevstolya comes, cries over her pail and tells all the children to hug Rogulya and say goodbye. Drynov asks Mishka to slaughter the cow, but he can't do it himself. The meat is promised to be taken to the dining room. Ivan Afrikanovich sorts out Rogulin's giblets, and tears drip on his bloody fingers. The children of Ivan Afrikanovich, Mitka and Vaska, are sent to an orphanage, Antoshka to a school. Mitka writes to send Katyushka to him in Murmansk, only it hurts too little. Grishka and Marusya and two babies remain. And that is difficult: Evstolya is old, her hands have become thin. She recalls how, before her death, Katerina, already without memory, called her husband: "Ivan, it's windy, oh, Ivan, how windy!" After the death of his wife, Ivan Afrikanovich does not want to live. He walks overgrown, scary and smokes bitter Selpovsky tobacco. And Nyushka takes care of his children. Ivan Afrikanovich goes into the forest (looking for aspen for a new boat) and suddenly sees Katerina's scarf on a branch. Swallowing her tears, she inhales the bitter, familiar smell of her hair... We must go. Go. Gradually, he realizes that he is lost. And without bread in the forest skiff. He thinks a lot about death, weakens more and more, and only on the third day, when he is already crawling on all fours, he suddenly hears a tractor rumble. And Mishka, who saved his friend, at first thinks that Ivan Afrikanovich is drunk, but he doesn’t understand anything. It's business as usual. ... Two days later, on the fortieth day after Katerina's death, Ivan Afrikanovich, sitting on his wife's grave, tells her about the children, says that it is bad for him without her, that he will go to her. And he asks to wait ... "My dear, my bright ... I brought you mountain ash ... " He's shaking all over. Grief plasts him on the cold, not overgrown with grass earth. And no one sees it. P. E. Spivakovsky carpentry stories Tale (1968) March 1966; Thirty-four-year-old engineer Konstantin Platonovich Zorin recalls how he, a native of the village, was humiliated by city bureaucrats and how he once hated everything village. And now he is pulling back to his native village, so he came here on vacation, for twenty-four days, and he wants to heat the bathhouse every day, but his bathhouse is too old, and to restore it alone, despite the carpentry leaven acquired at the FZO school , Zorin cannot, and therefore turns to his old neighbor Olesha Smolin for help, but he is in no hurry to get down to business, but instead tells Zorin about his childhood. Olesha was born, like Christ, in a calf's barn and just at Christmas time. And the priest made him sin: he did not believe that Olesha had no sins, and painfully pulled his ears, so he decided to sin - he stole his father's tobacco and began to smoke. And then he repented. And as soon as Olesha began to sin, life became easier, they stopped whipping at once, but only confusion began in his life since then ... The next day, Zorin and Smolin, taking the tools, go to repair the bathhouse. Passing by them is a neighbor, Aviner Pavlovich Kozonkov, a sinewy old man with lively eyes. Olesha plays Aviner, saying that he supposedly has a non-calf cow and that he will be left without milk. Kozonkov, not understanding humor, gets angry and threatens Olesha that he will write where he should about the hay mowed by Smolin without permission, and that the hay will be taken away from him. In response, Olesha says that Aviner, with the permission of the village council, mows down the cemetery - he robs the dead. Smolin and Kozonkov finally quarrel, but when Aviner leaves, Olesha notices: they have been arguing with Aviner all their lives. Since childhood it has been. And they can't live without each other. And Smolin begins to tell. Olesha and Aviner are the same age. Somehow the guys made birds out of clay and furkali - who is next. And Aviner (then still Vinya) collected clay more than anyone else, planted it on a willow rod and right into the Fedulenko window, the glass splattered. Everyone, of course, run. Fedulenok - from the hut, and Vinya alone remained in place and only kept saying: "There they ran into the field!" Well, Fedulyonok rushed after them, and overtook Olesha. Yes, and I would have finished it if it were not for Oleshin's father. At the age of twelve, Vinka and Olesha graduated from the parish school, so Vinka covered all the gates on his threshing floor with cursing - he had a handwriting like that of a zemstvo chief, and Vinka tried to evade work, even spoiled his father's plow, if only not to throw manure into the furrow. And when his father was flogged for non-payment of taxes, Vinya ran to look, and even boasted: he saw, they say, how the father was flogged and he was tied up on logs twitching ... And then Olesha went to St. Petersburg. There master carpenters beat him hard, but they taught him how to work. After a skirmish with Olesha, Aviner does not appear in the bathhouse. Zorin, having heard that Anfeya's daughter has come to Kozonkov, goes to visit. Aviner gives his six- or seven-year-old grandson vodka to drink, and he himself, drunk, tells Zorin about how clever he was in his youth - he deceived everyone around and even pulled money out from under the corners of the newly founded church. The next morning, Olesha does not come to the bathhouse. Zorin goes to him himself and learns that Olesha is required to go into the forest - to chop rags (this is the result of Kozonkov's intrigues: after all, he writes a complaint about the work of the store every week). Only after dinner Zorin comes to repair the bathhouse and starts talking again. This time it’s about how Kozonkov wanted to get married, but the bride’s father refused him: there are rope wrappers on Aviner’s sledges, so on the very first hill, you see, the wrapping will burst ... Then Olesha tells about his love. Tanka, Fedulenkova's daughter, had a thick braid, below the waist. ears are white. And the eyes - not even eyes, but two whirlpools, sometimes blue, sometimes black. Well, Olesha was timid. And somehow, on Assumption Day after the holiday, the men got drunk, and the guys slept on the lead not far from the girls. Vinka then pretended to be drunk, and Olesha began to ask under the canopy, where Oleshina's cousin and Tanka were going to sleep. Then the cousin darted into the hut: the samovar, they say, forgot to close. And she didn’t go back - she was quick-witted. And Olesha, trembling all over with fear, went to Tanka, and she began to persuade him to leave ... Olesha foolishly went out into the street. He danced, and when, already in the morning, he went to the story, he heard how Vinka, under the canopy of his canopy, Zhamka. And how they kiss. And the cousin, laughing at Olesha, said that Tanya ordered him to be found, but where to find something? As if the century had not danced. Olesha finishes his story. A truck drives by, the driver insults Smolin, but Olesha only admires him: well done, it’s immediately clear that he’s not from here. Zorin, angry both at the driver and at Smolin's good-naturedness, leaves without saying goodbye. Kozonkov, having come to Smolin, tells how from the eighteenth year he became the right hand of Tabakov, an authorized financial department of the RIK. And the bell itself hurried from the bell tower, and even relieved a small need from there, from the bell tower. And in the little group of the poor, created to bring the kulaks to clean water and open a class war in the countryside, Aviner also participated. So now Comrade Tabakov, they say, lives on a personal one, and Kozonkov is wondering if he can have a personal one too? So the documents are all collected ... Zorin looks at the documents, but they are clearly not enough. Aviner complains that he sent, they say, an application for a personal one to the district, but they lost it there: all around there is only swindle and bureaucracy. But Kozonkov, consider, since the eighteenth year in leadership work - both a secretary in the village council and a foreman, for two years "the head of the meteef worked, and then in the village" distributed loans throughout the war. And he had a revolver. Once Kozonkov and Fedulenko quarreled - he threatened with a revolver, and then he managed to prevent him from being admitted to the collective farm: two cows, two samovars, a double-lived house. And then Fedulenko, as a sole proprietor, was taxed with such a tax ... Aviner leaves. Fedulenko's house, where the collective farm office used to be, looks out through empty, unframed windows. And a fluffy crow sits on the prince and freezes. She doesn't want to do anything. Zorin's vacation is coming to an end. Olesha works conscientiously and therefore slowly. And he tells Zorin how they used to be sent to labor service - to build roads, how they were driven either for logging, or for rafting, and then they also had to sow bread on the collective farm, but it only turned out four weeks later than necessary. Olesha recalls how they came to describe Fedulenko's property. The house is under the hammer. The whole family is in exile. When they said goodbye, Tanka approached Olesha in front of all the people. Yes, how she would cry ... They took them to Pechora, at first there were two or three letters from them, and then - not a rumor or a spirit. Then Vinka Kozonkov attributed the kulak agitation to Olesha, and Smolin was severely tortured. And now Olesha does not dare to tell Zorin everything to the end - he is a "party member" after all. The bath is ready. Zorin wants to settle accounts with Olesha, but he does not seem to hear. Then they steam together. Zorin turns on the transistor especially for Olesha, both listen to Schubert's "The Beautiful Miller's Woman", and then Zorin gives the transistor to Olesha. Before leaving, Olesha and Aviner come to Zorin. After drinking, they begin to argue about collectivization. Olesha says that in the village there were not three layers - a kulak, a poor peasant and a middle peasant - but thirty-three, he recalls how Kuzya Peryev was written into kulaks (he didn’t even have a cow, but he only swore at Tabakov on a holiday). And according to Aviner, Smolin himself, together with Fedulenko, should have been under the root: "You were a contra, you are a contra." Comes to a fight. Aviner knocks on the wall with Olyosha's head. Nastasya, Olesha's wife, appears and takes him home. Aviner also leaves, saying: “I’m for discipline to my brother ... I won’t spare my head ... It will fly off to the side!” Zorin gets the flu. He falls asleep, then gets up and, staggering, goes to Smolin. And there they sit and talk peacefully ... Aviner and Olesha. Smolin says that both of them will go to the same land, and asks Aviner, if Olesha dies earlier, to make him a coffin honor by honor - on thorns. And Kozonkov asks Smolin about the same if Olesha survives him. And then both, bowing their gray heads, quietly, harmoniously sing an old drawn-out song. Zorin can’t pull them up - he doesn’t know a word from this song ... P. E. Spivakovsky Mikhail Mikhailovich Roshchin (b. 1933) Valentine and Valentina A MODERN HISTORY IN TWO PARTS, WITH A PROLOGUE Play (1971) The action takes place today in a big city. Fifties style room. Evening tea. Valentina's grandmother is in the chair, Valya's mother is nearby, and Zhenya, her older sister, is at the mirror. Waiting for Val. The mother is outraged. It seems to her that Valya is too loose: in the subway she walked in an embrace with a young man. The mother thinks that Valya will leave the institute, cripple his life, starve, produce beggars. Zhenya tries to explain to her that nothing terrible is happening yet, that everyone is walking around like that now, but her mother does not want to listen to anything. Valentina comes home. The mother immediately begins to scold her. He says that she is rolling down an inclined plane, that she has no shame left, that because of a stupid mistake she can ruin her life, that she takes something completely different for love, that at eighteen a "boy" does not have the right to marry. Valya says that his mother treats him this way, because his mother is a conductor, and she will not choose - profitable or unprofitable. They have three whole rooms, is there really no place for him? But the mother shouts that they should not hope that there is nothing to covet their living space, asks Valya to remember that she has nothing, and while she lives with them, she must do as they want. She forbids Valya to even see the boy. Valya runs away. Valentine's apartment. His mother, Lisa, is also not happy with his intention to marry. She has nothing against Valya herself and against their meetings, but she believes that it is too early for her son to marry. They live too hard, and starting from scratch at his age is even more difficult. They will have nowhere to live, nothing to eat. Lisa is afraid that Valentina will not live with them in difficulties, and her family will never accept her son. However, she leaves the freedom of choice to her son. Valentine escorts his mother on a flight, promising to take care of his sisters. Katya, a neighbor, comes to him. Katya is in love with him. Lisa believes that she is a better match for Valentine than Valya, because Katya is from their midst. But my son has a different opinion. Katya leaves for the village, and Valentin asks her to leave him the keys. Valentine arrives. At first, they only talk about their feelings. Then Valya asks how they will live. Valentin says that he will transfer to part-time, go to work. People have even died for love! Valya suffers from the fact that she constantly has to deceive everyone that they do not understand her. Valentin is afraid that she will not stand it, she will break. Valentine with friends. They learn about the whole situation and decide to raise money to help them, so that they have something to start with. They also want to rent a room for the young. At this time, Valya's sister Zhenya takes her to the party with her. There, Valya meets a young naval officer, Alexander Gusev. He is single and is looking for a girlfriend of life, since materially everything goes like clockwork for him. Offers Valya to marry him, but she says that she loves another. A week passes. Katya's room. All week Valya was slowly taking things out of the house and hiding them here. Yesterday she decided on everything, did not go home, sent a friend there to say that she would not come to spend the night. Valentine told his mother everything, she took the key and arranged everything, said that she would not leave them. Valya unexpectedly tells Valentin that she didn't send her friend anywhere, she didn't tell her parents anything: she lied that she was preparing for the test with another friend. She is ashamed that she wakes up in a strange house, that she has become different, that her parents are probably already looking for her. Lisa tells her friend and boyfriend, who are drinking in her kitchen, about her son. Rita and Volodya support her. Volodya even wants to help young people with money. Unexpectedly, Zhenya and Valentina's mother arrive. Liza apologizes for her friends, and Valentina's mother is horrified that her daughter goes to such a place, Zhenya apologizes for her mother. Valentina's mother believes that it is too early for their children to marry, that they should be separated, not allowed to see each other. Lisa disagrees. In her opinion, it is better to support children so as not to cripple their souls. Lisa feels sorry for Valentine even more than her son. Enter Valentine and Valentine. The mother slaps Valentina and says that her grandmother is dying because of her. Valya cannot but go with them. Lisa wants Valentine to catch up with them, but he refuses. Valentine comes to friends who have already collected money for them, rented a room. Valentine reports that all their efforts are in vain. Valentina is at home, lying in bed, she has a fever, chills, trembling. She doesn't want to see anyone. Her mother deceived her: her grandmother did not even think of dying. This was just an excuse for Valya to return home. Valya is told that everything is done only for the sake of her happiness. Valya jumps out of bed and wants to go to Valentin. Her mother forbids her to leave the house. Zhenya stands up for Valya. She says that her life has already been broken, she will not let Valina be broken. The mother gives up, opens the door, says that she is tired and that she can no longer. Valya does not leave: she cannot "finish off" her mother. Valentin returns home. Volodya tells him that he must fight for his love, that he must go to Valya, marry her, and Volodya will help with work and housing. Valentin and his friend try to call Valya from the street, but her phone is not answered. A passer-by tells the guys about love. He says that love is when there is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to fear. When they wait and believe that a person will come anyway. The guys are stunned. Valentine wants to be alone. Valentina appears ... They won the first victory. Yu. V. Polezhaeva Andrei Andreevich Voznesensky (b. 1933) Maybe! Description in sentimental documents, poems and prayers of glorious misadventures of the actual chamberlain Nikolai Rezanov, valiant officers of the Khvastov and Dovydov Fleet, their fast sailboats "Juno" and "Avos", San Francisian commandant Don Jose Dario Arguelo, the kind daughter of his end with the application of a map EXTRAORDINARY Poem (1971) “But here I must make a confession to Your Excellency of my private adventures. The beautiful Concepcia multiplied day by day courtesies towards me ... which ended with her giving me her hand ... " Letter from N. Rezanov to N. Rumyantsev June 17, 1806 (TsGIA, f. 13, p. 1, d. 687) “Let them value my feat in any way, but with the help of God I hope to fulfill it well, I am the first of the Russians here ...” N. Rezanov - to the directors of the Russian-Amer. companies November 6, 1805 INTRODUCTION. Our schooner is called Avos. "Perhaps" is our faith and our motto. There are few of us, we are apart, we have zero chances against a thousand, but we survive, we master it on "Maybe". When "Ave Maria" is powerless, atheistic Russia is rescued by the supernatural "Avos". "Perhaps" will take out and help out. And when we kick back, a poet with a surname starting with "Maybe" will write poems about us. I. PROLOGUE. Avos is pirating in San Francisco: the governor's daughter sleeps on the Russian's shoulder. She turned sixteen yesterday. Catholicism and Orthodoxy stand at the curtains with their wings raised. Dovydov and Khvastov are talking at the post. II. Khvastov. What do you think, Dovydov... Dovydov. On the origin of species? Khvastov. Well no… III. (Prayer of Conchi Argüello - Our Lady.) A young lady is crying from the San Francisco bell tower. Yaroslavna comes around to her. No, Konchakovna! "Mother Intercessor, strengthen me. I fell in love with a stranger. I fell in love with the fame of risk, for teaching the words of another country ... I am a state criminal. Help me like a woman. loved?! How niche is our universe, which chose your son as a god, the fruit of the spirit and dislike!" And the Immaculate answered: "Daughter ..." And they continued to whisper further ... IV. Khvastov. What do you think, Dovydov... Dovydov. How to hang up the Germans and Piites? Khvastov. Well no… V. (Prayer of Rezanov - Mother of God.) "Well, what else do you need from me? I was from a simple family, but I learned it. I discovered new lands, I ruined my whole life in Your name. Why are you depriving me of the last delight? …" And tired came out of the robes and said: "I love you. No sweetness. Well, what else do you need from me?" VI. Khvastov asks Dovydov what he thinks of Rezanov's woman, and at that moment he sees a maiden in the sky on a cloud. VII. (Description of the wedding, which took place on April 1, 1806.) At the wedding of Rezanov and Koncha, the servants were not surrounded by oranges in wine. Lilac pop tight wedding rings they tried on not. Dovydov and Khvastov rode into the dining room on their horses, and they were not led out. Where are these guests? The night is empty. Only two pectoral crosses lie entangled. Archival documents related to the case of Rezanov N.P. (archive rats - Y and X comment on) No. 1. N. Rezanov writes to N. Rumyantsev that the name of the Monarch will be more blessed when the Russians overthrow slavery to alien peoples ... No. 2. Rezanov writes to I. I. Dmitriev that he is looking for new lands in order to settle a new race there, to create a Third World - without money and crowns. By the way, he asks to help at court with his marriage to an American. No. 3. Extract from the history of the years. Dovydov and Khvastov. It follows from it that Dovydov and Khvastov fought duels, after that they became friends and together waved to Rezanov in the Far East. Rezanov in the Second Secret Letter describes Mr. X ... who, having embarked on the newly bought ship "Juno", discovered drunkenness, which lasted three months, and during this time he drank 91/2 buckets of French vodka and 2 1/2 buckets of strong alcohol. Drunk all the ships. On a drunken business, he weighed anchor every night, but, fortunately, the sailors were constantly drunk ... Next comes the report of Dovydov and Khvastov about their annexation of five eastern islands to the territory of the empire, then an extract from the "Report of midshipman Davydov at the apartment already under political guard." No. 6. "Nikolai Rezanov was a visionary politician. Had Rezanov lived 10 years longer, what we now call California and American British Columbia would be Russian territory." Admiral Van Ders (USA). No. 7. From a letter from Rezanov to Derzhavin. Rezanov reports that he has come across another transcription of Horace's ode "Monument", made by "one Gishpan". The text of the transcription follows: "I am the last poet of civilization. Not of any particular one, but of civilization as such, because in an era of spiritual crisis, culture becomes the most shameful phenomenon. For these words, contemporaries will strangle me, and future Afro-Euro-American-Asians will prove the absurdity of my arguments, they will compose new songs, dances, write new books ... This will be a monument! No. 10. A description of how Rezanov proposed to Concepsia, how her parents opposed their marriage, and how they finally gave their consent. No. 11. Rezanov - Concha. Rezanov tells the bride about Russia, where the silver nightingales sing, where the temple of the Virgin stands by the pond and its snow-white buttresses, like horses, drink water with the taste of a miracle and thyme. In a year they will return to Russia - Rezanov will achieve the consent of the tsar, the Pope and the father of Concha! IX. (Prayer of the Mother of God - to Rezanov.) She admits that she is a sinner before nature. She was not pleased by the Christmas bells. On the contrary, they seemed to her funeral, sounding like her unborn love. Spirit is exactly what arises between two lovers, it does not negate the flesh. Therefore, I want to put out all the churches in exchange for the opportunity to kiss lips in tobacco. EPILOGUE. A year later he will die in Krasnoyarsk. She will shed a dead fetus and become the first San Francisco nun. I. N. Slyusareva Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yevtushenko (b. 1933) Bratsk Hydro Power Plant Poem (1965) PRAYER BEFORE THE WEIR"A poet in Russia is more than a poet." The author sums up everything that happened before, humbly kneeling down, asking for help from the great Russian poets... Give me, Pushkin, your melodiousness and your ability, as if shalya, to burn with a verb. Give me, Lermontov, your bilious look. Give me, Nekrasov, the pain of your slashed muse, give me the strength of your inelegance. Give me, Blok, your prophetic nebula. Give, Pasternak, that your candle burns in me forever. Yesenin, give me tenderness for happiness. Give me, Mayakovsky, a formidable intransigence, so that I, hacking through time, can tell my comrades-descendants about him. PROLOGUEI'm over thirty. At night I cry that I wasted my life on trifles. We all have one disease of the soul - superficiality. We give half-answers to everything, and the forces are fading ... Together with Galya, we traveled across Russia to the sea in the fall, and after Tula we turned to Yasnaya Polyana. There we realized that genius is the connection of height with depth. Three men of genius gave birth to Russia anew and will give birth to it more than once: Pushkin, Tolstoy and Lenin. We drove again, spent the night in the car, and I thought that in the chain of great insights, perhaps only a link was missing. Well, well, it's our turn. MONOLOGUE OF THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDI beg: people, steal my memory! I see that everything in the world is not new, everything exactly repeats Ancient Egypt. The same meanness, the same prisons, the same oppression, the same thieves, gossips, traders... And what is the face of the new sphinx called Russia? I see peasants, workers, there are also scribes - there are a lot of them. Is this a pyramid? I, the pyramid, will tell you something. I saw slaves: they worked, then they rebelled, then they were humbled ... What good is it? Slavery has not been abolished: the slavery of prejudices, money, things still exists. There is no progress. Man is a slave by nature and will never change. MONOLOGUE OF THE BRATSKAYA HEPThe patience of Russia is the courage of a prophet. She suffered - and then exploded. Here I am lifting Moscow to you with a bucket of an excavator. Look, something happened there. Execution of Stenka RazinAll the inhabitants of the city - and the thief, and the king, and the noblewoman with the boyarch, and the merchant, and buffoons - rush to the execution of Stenka Razin. Stenka rides on a cart and thinks that he wanted the people to do well, but something let him down, maybe illiteracy? The executioner raises an ax blue as the Volga, and Stenka sees in its blade how FACES sprout from the faceless crowd. His head rolls, croaking "Not in vain ...", and laughs at the king. BRATSKAYA HEP CONTINUES And now, pyramid, I'll show you something else. DECABRISTS They were still boys, but the ringing of spurs did not drown out someone's moans for them. And the boys angrily fumbled for their swords. The essence of a patriot is to rise in the name of freedom. PETRASHEVTS On the Semyonovsky parade ground, it smells like Senate Square: the Petrashevites are being executed. Pull hoods over eyes. But one of the executed through the hood sees all of Russia: how Rogozhin rampages through it, Myshkin rushes about, Alyosha Karamazov wanders. But the executioners see nothing of the sort. CHERNYSHEVSKY When Chernyshevsky stood at the pillory, he could see all of Russia from the scaffold, like a huge "What is to be done?" Someone's fragile hand threw him a flower from the crowd. And he thought: the time will come, and this same hand will throw a bomb. FAIR IN SIMBIRSK Goods flash in the hands of the clerks, the bailiff observes the order. Ikaya, the caviar god rolls. And the woman sold her potatoes, grabbed the pervach and fell, drunk, into the mud. Everyone laughs and points their fingers at her, but some clear-headed schoolboy picks her up and leads her away. Russia is not a drunken woman, she was not born for slavery, and she will not be trampled into the mud. THE BRATSKAYA HYDRO POWER PLANT APPEALS TO THE PYRAMID The fundamental principle of revolutions is kindness. The Provisional Government is still feasting in Zimny. But now the Aurora is already unfolding, now the palace has been taken. Look at history - Lenin is there! The pyramid replies that Lenin is an idealist. Only cynicism does not deceive. People are slaves. It's alphabetical. But the Bratsk hydroelectric power station replies that it will show a different alphabet - the alphabet of the revolution. Here is the teacher Elkina at the front in the nineteenth teaches the Red Army to read and write. Here the orphan Sonya, having escaped Zybkov's fist, comes to Magnitogorsk and becomes a red digger. She has a patched padded jacket, tattered buttresses, but together with their beloved Petka they lay the CONCRETE OF SOCIALISM. The Bratsk hydroelectric power station roars over eternity: "Communists will never be slaves!" And, thinking, the Egyptian pyramid disappears. FIRST ECHELON Ah, the Trans-Siberian highway! Do you remember how the wagons with bars flew over you? There were a lot of scary things, but don't worry about it. Now there is an inscription on the cars: "The Bratsk hydroelectric power station is coming!" A girl is coming from Sretenka: in the first year her pigtails will freeze to the cot, but she will stand like everyone else. The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant will be put into operation, and Alyosha Marchuk will be in New York answering questions about it. FRYING A grandmother is walking through the taiga, and she has flowers in her hands. Previously, prisoners lived in this camp, and now they are the builders of the dam. Neighboring residents bring them some sheets, some shanezhki. But the grandmother carries a bouquet, cries, baptizes excavators and builders ... NYUSHKA I am a concrete worker, Nyushka Burtova. I was raised and brought up by the village of Velikaya Mud, because I was left an orphan, then I was a housekeeper, worked as a dishwasher. The people around me lied and stole, but while working in the dining car, I got to know the real Russia… Finally, I got to the construction of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station. She became a concrete worker, received social weight. Fell in love with a proud Muscovite. When a new life woke up in me, that Muscovite did not recognize paternity. An unfinished dam prevented me from committing suicide. A son, Trofim, was born and became a builder's son, just as I was a village daughter. We were together with him at the opening of the dam. So let the grandchildren remember that they got the light from Ilyich and a little from me. BOLSHEVIK I am a hydraulic engineer Kartsev. When I was young, I raved about the world fire and cut down the enemies of the commune. Then he went to the labor faculty. He built a dam in Uzbekistan. And he couldn't understand what was going on. The country seemed to have two lives. In one - Magnitka, Chkalov, in the other - arrests. I was arrested in Tashkent, and when they tortured me, I croaked: "I'm a Bolshevik!" Remaining an "enemy of the people," I built hydroelectric power stations in the Caucasus and on the Volga, and finally the XNUMXth Congress returned my party card to me. Then I, a Bolshevik, went to build a hydroelectric power station in Bratsk, I will tell our young shift: there is no place for scoundrels in the commune. SHADOWS OF OUR FAVORITES In Hellas there was a custom: when starting to build a house, the first stone was laid in the shadow of the beloved woman. I do not know in whose shadow the first stone was laid in Bratsk, but when I peer into the dam, I see in it the shadows of your, builders, loved ones. And I put the first line of this poem in the shadow of my beloved, as if in the shadow of conscience. MAYAKOVSKY Standing at the foot of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station, I immediately thought of Mayakovsky: he seemed to have resurrected in her guise. He stands like a dam across untruth and teaches us to stand for the cause of the revolution. NIGHT OF POETRY On the Brotherly Sea, we read poetry, sang a song about commissars. And the commissars stood before me. And I heard how in the meaningful grandeur of the hydroelectric power station thunders over the false grandeur of the pyramids. In the Bratsk hydroelectric power station, the maternal image of Russia was revealed to me. There are still many slaves on earth, but if love fights and does not contemplate, then hatred is powerless. There is no fate purer and more sublime - to give your whole life so that all people on earth can say: "We are not slaves." I. N. Slyusareva Viktor Alexandrovich Sosnora (b. 1936) Day of the Beast Roman (1980, publ. 1994) "The Yaurei left for Israel. / The deer fled to Finland. / The fish went to Japan. / They remained in the capital instants and dissidents. They were fighting." This is how a poet who lives in Leningrad, which he calls the Capital, talks about his time. However, he calls everything in his own way, altering the usual words, not knowing the boundaries of either geographical or chronological. In the morning he leaves his attic in the Ballet House along the street of the Bunny Rose (that is, the Architect of Russia) to Nevsky, no - to Nessky Prospekt. At eleven o'clock, the seven-headed monster Nessie emerges there: "instants and dissidents kneel and, bowing to Nessie, drink: instants from the cup of honor, washing down with the sauce of conscience, and the dissident has a glass of satanism, drinking, eating, chewing cuffs. They drink mumbling ... There and Ideas are being distributed here!" The poet presents himself as follows: "I did not eat for 666 days: I drank. I: Ivan Pavlovich Basmanov, I am 437 years old." Basmanov - the first adviser and minion of False Dmitry, who remained faithful to him until the last minute, was killed with a sword in his hand. The poet also calls himself a Geometer, and the young poetesses who study with him are geometricists. They often visit his attic, in the morning he sees off another girl and drinks an egg that lies in his refrigerator, always one. Miracles are available to the poet. Here he is, "walking steps" through the city, comes to the sea to them. St. Belt (i.e., the Baltic Sea) and, like Christ, walks on the waves. But he is surrounded by patrol boats and forced to go ashore. "Instances" do not need a miracle, they want the poet, like others, to paint their portraits, because for this they do not spare "bruals" (ie, rubles). They also hypocritically call on the poet to "heal" fellow citizens. The poet barely restrains himself so as not to gasp at the "instants" with "milt-bulat - on the head." But still, he heals the terrible deaf-mute drunk Zubiklyazgika, he gains hearing and speech. What heals? With his own terrible appearance, because, like many around, the poet is in a state of a hangover and looks even worse than others. "My style is complicated," the poet admits and tells the readers his own "classic novel" "The Island of Patmos". On the seashore, in tents, a scientific expedition of three people lives: Yulia - a specialist in dolphins, Yuliy - "a lad with a theodolite and an alpenstock, a dissertation student of grains of sand" and the author himself, he draws "with a twig in the sand, Archimedes". Julia and Julius love each other. Julia is engaged in experiments for the armed forces, the goal is to make kamikaze out of dolphins. Dolphins die one by one, and it seems to the author that they all commit suicide. Julius has a dog Krista, at the request of Julia he kills her, causing the author's indignation. The quarrel leads to a strange and cruel duel: the author and Julius take turns jumping from a boat onto an iron stake. One of them will inevitably die, "Yulia will love the second." Julius dies. Yulia gives favor to the winner and goes to the capital to defend her dissertation on dolphins. Basmanov is lonely: "I do not have the honor to rank myself among the human caste of beings. I am not a person, but I don’t know who I am." The poet is choked with tears, but his crying is heard only by the secret services, on behalf of which the head of the gendarmes, Major Milyuta Skorlupko, visits him. The next day, Basmanov is invited to visit by a high-ranking lady Titan Sebastyanovna Suzdaltseva, as it turns out - a colonel of the secret office. Ivan Pavlovich leaves the house of "instances" through the window, to which a personal "Boeing" is served. In the mornings, the poet leaves the house and visits the Ice Cream Shop, where the "red-meat" Katya sells alcoholic beverages, where they even drink the Red Moscow cologne. "Red meat shopkeepers reign in the Capital. They have all the power." The poet erects a monument to Katya "on Nessky Prospekt, between the Ellipseevsky Gastronome, the Public Beliberdeka, the St. Joule-Lenz Palace of Juniors and the St. Yushkin Theater." Yes, this is the same monument to Catherine II. Here the poet daily observes the life and customs of the "blood" who have not changed over the centuries: he gave such a name to his compatriots, since they are "quick to shed blood" and worship the Beast. The poet remembers different stories. Here is a "sentimental short story" about an "instant-idologist" who reached high ranks and lived with his young wife "from congress to congress." His wife is cheating on him with a thoroughbred dog, whom the jealous husband treacherously kills. Here is the story of the poet X., a "nugget", strangled by his wife Alena Kulybina, also a poetess. And here is the story of the brave hero M. N. Vodopyanov, a pilot-cosmonaut. After a forced landing in an orange grove, he ate only oranges for ten days and now suffers from a strange nervous illness: he takes revenge on oranges, buys them, skins them alive and puts them in a closet. Gradually, we learn about the fate of the poet himself. About his wife Maya - capricious, unpredictable, mysteriously feminine. About an unfaithful friend, the chemist Fyodor, who tried to seduce Maya. About the lustful "esthete" Zhenya Zhasminsky. About Leo Tolstoy - this is the name of Maya's father: this "soldier of All Wars, instant secret office" in his old age became an exceptional moralist. Completely confused in life, Maya commits suicide. “We killed Maya… We are all murderers,” the poet says to himself, experiencing the death of his beloved woman as his own death. "Three days I was dead, and now I am risen." Resurrected, because in the life of the poet there is another, special dimension. In it, he is absolutely free and independent, conducting a continuous dialogue with Khlebnikov, Tsvetaeva, the Indian mathematician Ramanuzhan, the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, who used to live in the same Ballet House where the poet now lives. "Tomorrow Vaslav Nijinsky will be 30 years old and he will go crazy." But a moment before madness, he (and with him the poet) manages to say: "I want to love, love. / I am love, not brutality. / I am not a bloodthirsty animal. / I am a man. / I am a man." Vl. I. Novikov Edward Stanislavovich Radzinsky (b. 1936) 104 pages about love Play (1964) In the youth cafe "Kometa" the poet reads poetry. The chairman of the public council of the cafe is trying to arrange a discussion. The visitor girl praises the poems. For a guy sitting nearby, this becomes an occasion for acquaintance. The girl's name is Natasha. The guy introduces himself as Evdokimov. He understands what Natasha likes. The next day they again go to the Comet. At night, leaving the cafe, they try to catch a taxi for Natasha. She's a flight attendant and she has to get on a plane in the morning. Evdokimov persuades the girl to come to him, call a taxi by phone. He finally says his name: Electron. Natasha leaves Evdokimov only in the morning. They arrange a meeting. Only after her departure Evdokimov notices the note. Natasha writes that there is no need to meet again. Evdokimov works at the research institute. His colleagues and peers are Vladik and Galya Ostretsov. They are in love with each other. Galya calls Vladik under the guise of a "stranger". The head of the group, Semyonov, gives permission for the experiment developed by Evdokimov. The navigator Leva Kartsev is not indifferent to Natasha, but she does not give him hope for reciprocity. Natasha knows that another flight attendant, Ira, loves Leva. Natasha meets with Evdokimov. They go to the zoo. And again Natasha stays with him for the night. And the next morning, when she returns home, her mother kicks her out. Natasha's friend, hairdresser Lilka, invites her to live with her, but Natasha does not agree. Lilya is pregnant and wants to name the baby Electron. Evdokimov's experiment will be carried out one of these days. In the same place, at the research institute, Felix works - Natashina "first love". He informs Electron that Natasha's mother kicked her out of the house. Evdokimov cannot be absent from work, but he has a "burning" date with Natasha. And he leaves, despite the displeasure of Semenov. And Natasha is in Tashkent at this time. They are not given a flight. She calls Evdokimov from a hotel room. Ira is sleeping nearby. Kartsev comes in to talk to Natasha, but she firmly lets him know that she doesn't love him. Ira, of course, heard everything. Having learned about Kartsev's feelings for Natasha, she cannot hide her resentment towards her friend, jealousy. Natasha is not angry. She tells Ira the story of her life. Natasha suspects that she is just "entertainment" for Evdokimov. Visiting Evdokimov, Natasha says that she cheated on him in Tashkent. They decide to leave. Evdokimov escorts the girl "for the last time", but in the subway she hints to him that she lied, talking about treason. Evdokimov repents that he hastened to believe her. Natasha is offended, but still forgives him. Together they go to a restaurant. Evdokimov escorts Natasha to the plane. Semenov freed Galya Ostretsova from experience. But she went to the Alpha for the regimes and found that the upcoming experience is very dangerous. Galya persuades Evdokimov not to take Vladik as an experiment. Evdokimov recalls that Galya used to love him, but she was afraid that "things could go far." He reproaches Galya for being too rational. On the eve of the experiment, Vladik throws a party. Evdokimov and Natasha come, then another friend, Petya Galperin, and Felix. Felix asks Evdokimov to accept him into his department, but he refuses. Felix talks about his life failures. Evdokimov does not feel sorry for him: he believes that everything happened through Felix's own fault. When Felix leaves, Natasha accuses Evdokimov of not being able to feel sorry for people. They quarrel and Natasha leaves. Evdokimov at home. He's going for the experience. His mother and stepfather return from the south. When Evdokimov goes downstairs, he finds that Natasha was waiting for him in the front door. He's leaving for Alfa, and she has to fly to Brussels. They arrange a meeting. The experience went well. Evdokimov is happy. He and Vladik are standing at the Dynamo metro station, waiting for Natasha. For the first time, Evdokimov bought flowers for her. Ira arrives. She explains that on the plane where Natasha was flying, "something caught fire." Natasha "released passengers and did not have time ...". After that, says Ira, Natasha lived for another two hours. She asked me to convey to Evdokimov that "the main thing is endurance." Ira leaves. Evdokimov and Vladik sit motionless on the bench until morning. The post-pasterer seals up the old posters, leaving only one: a flight attendant with her hand up. O. V. Butkova Vladimir Semenovich Makanin (b. 1937) Klyucharev and Alimushkin Story (1979) “A person suddenly noticed that the more lucky he is in life, the less lucky some other person is, he noticed this by chance and even unexpectedly. The person didn’t like it. An ordinary researcher Klyucharev once finds a wallet in the snow on his way home from work. The next day, the head of the department, an obvious ill-wisher, suggests that Klyucharev publish an article in a major scientific journal. After these events, Klyucharev says to his wife: "I started a streak of luck." The wife is shy and even afraid of luck. In the evening, she tells Klyucharyov about her friend's call: it turns out that the brilliant and witty Alimushkin, whom Klyucharyov hardly remembers, is in trouble at work, and in general he is dying ... His wife asks Klyucharyov to visit Alimushkin. Not understanding why on earth he should visit an unfamiliar person, Klyucharev refuses. He goes out for a walk before going to bed, remembers his luck, looks at the stars and thinks that they, the stars, do not care. They will not interfere and send someone good luck, and someone bad luck. The next day, Klyucharyov goes to visit Kolya Krymov. The guests are waiting for the arrival of a beautiful woman, whom everyone calls "Kolya Krymov's new love." Her surname is Alimushkina. Klyucharyov talks to her about her husband. Alimushkina says that her husband keeps repeating the same thing - I'm dying, I'm dying. She fell out of love with him and lives with a friend. "Or maybe at first you began to live with a friend and have fun, and only then he began to die?" - asks Klyucharyov. "Quite the opposite," the woman replies. And you can see that she's telling the truth. From the party Klyucharev goes to Alimushkin. The conversation doesn't work. Klyucharyov leaves and tells his wife at home that he was at Alimushkin's - "the little one turned out to be alive and well. There is a blush in half of his face. And he sleeps like a groundhog." Klyucharev finds out at work that his article in the journal has been accepted. The authorities offer him to head the department. Klyucharyov has so far refused. He seems to be testing his luck. The news comes on the phone: Alimushkin's wife left him, they exchanged an apartment. In addition, he was fired from his job. The wife asks Klyucharev to visit Alimushkin again. Klyucharev comes to Alimushkin at a new address and is amazed at his bad appearance and creepy little room. Alimushkin does not go anywhere, eats away the last money. It is clear that he is unwell. They play chess. Klyucharev's mood is lousy. It would be easier for him if Alimushkin played at least average. At work, Klyucharev's salary is increased. Alimushkina calls him and invites him to his cozy apartment. Klyucharev comes, but he reprimands Alimushkina that both Kolya Krymov and her abandoned husband are not worthless people at all, and advises her not to fool around. Klyucharyov finds Alimushkin during a stroke. A doctor is standing by the bed, who asks to call the mother by telegram to the patient. Alimushkin's speech is taken away, he is almost motionless. After the doctor leaves, he still wants to play chess. Klyucharyov moves the figures and looks at the floor, where the cockroaches are running. Klyucharyov comes to his wife's friend and orders her not to call again, not to make his wife nervous. But he invites her to call for the last time and say that Alimushkin is doing well and he is leaving, for example, to Madagascar, on a long business trip. The next time Klyucharev comes to Alimushkin, when he is already lying in a bed after another strong blow. Nearby is the mother - a quiet old woman, who does not understand how her son, strong and cheerful, lies and cannot say a word. At home, after a call from a friend, his wife joyfully informs Klyucharev that Alimushkin is all right and he is preparing for a business trip. At work, Klyucharev agrees to become the head of the department. Houses are preparing to celebrate this event. The wife and the visiting mother-in-law are bustling around in the kitchen. Alimushkina calls, thanks Klyucharev for his advice and asks to be her friend, whom you can at least call. "Call," Klyucharyov replies. Guests are arriving. Klyucharyov proposes a toast: "For everyone to have good luck!" At night, lying in bed, Klyucharev tells his wife that tomorrow he will drop in on Alimushkin. The wife replies that there is no need to go, - a friend called and said that Alimushkin had flown to Madagascar. At ten o'clock in the morning. And his mother accompanied him. "Klyucharev said nothing. Then he suddenly wanted to smoke and went to the kitchen, and his wife was already asleep." V. M. Sotnikov Where the sky converged with the hills Tale (1984) Composer Georgy Bashilov, listening to an ordinary, primitively rude drinking song at a party, frowns. The composer's wife explains to those around him that he is not offended by singing, but, on the contrary, feels guilty that in the village where he comes from, his countrymen do not sing at all. It seems to Bashilov that his guilt is enormous. Wrapping his hands around his gray head (he is well over fifty), he is waiting for some kind of punishment, maybe from heaven. And he thinks to himself that at night he will hear in the silence and darkness the high, clear voice of a child. The emergency village is small, only three houses, located in the letter "P", the open part, like a sensitive ear, facing the old factory, which often had fires. In one of these fires, eight-year-old Bashilov's father and mother burned down. He lived with his uncle, where they fed and clothed him, paid for him to a music school in the town, where they were taken thirty kilometers away. In the village they sang at wakes, at holidays, and sang just like that, out of boredom, in the long evenings. And little Bashilov sang, gaining strength in his voice, and the boy's voice sounded clear, as if he were just breathing. Then he began to play the harmonica, and people explained to him that no one had ever played like that. The voices in the village were wonderful. The only one whom God noticeably bypassed was the fool Vasik - the antipode of little George. When Vasik tried to mumble, sing along, he was driven away from the table - it was impossible to sing without a voice. When the time came to continue their studies, the villagers collected money and sent Bashilov to Moscow, to a music school. Uncle by that time also burned down. The boy was taken to the capital by Akhtynsky, the first village strongman with a wonderful low voice. In Moscow, Akhtynsky was shaken by beer. While George was taking his exams, the attendant admired his scores and soft beer hops. Upon learning that Georgy entered and would live in a hostel, Akhtynsky went on a spree for the rest of the money and lost his voice - as it turned out, forever. An old solfeggio teacher explained to Georgy that the whole village paid with the wonderful voice of Akhtynsky for the education of Bashilov. For the first time, Bashilov went to the village when he was twenty-two years old. In the interhouse, at the tables, the old women drank tea. George was recognized, people stopped near him with joyful exclamations. But grandma Vasilisa, passing by, said slowly and distinctly: "Oh, the leech ... sucked the juice out of us! He sucked our souls!" After a noisy feast, Bashilova was bedded by the Chukreevs, in the bedroom of his childhood. Bashilov, falling asleep, answered someone: "I did not draw out the juices ..." But the thought of wine had already settled in his soul. The song reserve of the village seemed great, but only two became musicians - Bashilov and his peer Genka Koshelev. Genka was a weak singer, it was he who sucked juices from the village in the sense that he pulled money from his parents, even after graduation. He drank, sang in restaurants. Remembering Genk, George decided that the old Vasilisa simply confused them. In the evening, emergency workers sang. When Bashilov began to play the harmonica, the two women wept silently. There was a gradual recognition of Bashilov the composer, partly for the sake of this recognition Bashilov the pianist gave many concerts. When he was thirty-five years old, in Pskov, during a break after the first division, Genka Koshelev came to him. He asked his countryman, a famous composer, to help him move to the Moscow region. Bashilov helped. A year later, Genka, as a sign of gratitude, invited Bashilov to a country restaurant, where he sang for a guest. By that time, Bashilov had written several successful pop songs, he presented two of them to Gennady for the first performance, which Koshelev was shocked by. Bashilov saw how people in the restaurant tried to sing along with the orchestra, lowing, which sharply reminded him of the voiceless fool Vasik. Genkin's invitations became a burden to Bashilov, he didn't want to hear about the Petushok restaurant anymore. A few years later, Bashilov went to the village with his wife. In the interhouse there were rotten tables, at which two old women drank tea. Everyone said: just the two of them sometimes sing a song, young people listen, but no one pulls up. Bashilov looked to where the sky converged with the hills. This wavy line gave birth to a melody only in memories. Here, in reality, this area was drunk like water. In the evening, he and his wife watched the fire, which sharply reminded Bashilov of his childhood, and left early in the morning. After his author's concert in Vienna, Bashilov in the house of his Austrian colleague "tested" his new quartet. Outsiders especially liked the third part, which includes old, echoing themes of the Emergency Village. Bashilov could not resist and explained that there is a tragic connection with the village: alas, this wonderful theme is no longer there, since it is in his music. He seemed to confess. He is a bush that wittingly or involuntarily dries up the depleted soil. "What a poetic legend!" - exclaimed the crowns. One of them said quietly: "Metaphysics..." Increasingly, the aging Bashilov imagined a blow from above, like retribution, in the form of a falling board from a distant children's fire, more and more often he was harassed by guilt. Bashilov decides to go to the village to teach music to children there. The tables are no longer there, in their place are the remains of columns. The old women who remembered him have already died, Bashilov explains for a long time to unfamiliar women that he grew up here. Together with the watch, the old man Chukreev comes, he recognizes George, but offers to wait - fifty dollars a night. Bashilov goes to Chukreev's nephew and explains for a long time that he wants to teach music to the village children. "Children?.. In the choir?" the man exclaims and laughs. And with a confident hand he turns on the transistor - and here, they say, you have music. Then, coming close to the composer, he says rudely: "What do you want? Get out of here!" And Bashilov leaves. But he turns the car around - to say goodbye to his native places. Bashilov sits on a half-fallen bench, feeling soft peace of mind - this is farewell and forgiveness. He softly hums a song - one of the memorable in childhood. And he hears them sing along. This is a feeble-minded Vasik, quite an old man. Vasik complains that they beat him and they don't sing songs. They sing softly - Vasik mumbles softly, trying not to sound out of tune. "The minute when the high clear voice of the child sounded approached in silence and darkness inaudibly, by itself." V. M. Sotnikov Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin (b. 1937) Deadline Tale (1970) Old Anna lies motionless, without opening her eyes; she almost froze, but life is still glimmering. Daughters realize this by bringing a piece of a broken mirror to their lips. It fogs up, so mom is still alive. However, Varvara, one of Anna's daughters, considers it possible already to mourn, "to rebuke her", which she selflessly does first at the bedside, then at the table, "where it is more convenient." Daughter Lyusya at this time sews a mourning dress tailored back in the city. The sewing machine chirps to the beat of Varvarin's sobs. Anna is the mother of five children, her two sons died, the first ones, born one for God, the other for a guy. Varvara came to say goodbye to her mother from the regional center, Lusya and Ilya from nearby provincial towns. Can't wait for Anna Tanya from distant Kyiv. And next to her in the village was always her son Mikhail, along with his wife and daughter. Gathering around the old woman on the morning of the day following the arrival, the children, seeing their mother revived, do not know how to react to her strange rebirth. “Mikhail and Ilya, having brought vodka, now did not know what to do with them: everything else seemed trifles compared to this, they toiled, as if passing every minute through themselves.” Having huddled in the barn, they get drunk almost without a snack, except for the products that Mikhail Ninka's little daughter carries for them. This causes a legitimate female gay, but the first shots of vodka give the peasants a feeling of a genuine holiday. After all, the mother is alive. Ignoring the girl collecting empty and unfinished bottles, they no longer understand what thought they want to drown out this time, maybe it's fear. “The fear from the consciousness that the mother is about to die is not like all the previous fears that fall to them in life, because this fear is the worst of all, it comes from death ... It seemed that death had already noticed them all in the face and no longer will forget." Having drunk thoroughly and feeling the next day as if they had been put through a meat grinder, Mikhail and Ilya thoroughly get drunk the next day. “But how not to drink?” says Mikhail. “Laziness, the second, even if it’s a week, it’s still possible. at work, and at home, that you can’t gasp, so much you had to do and didn’t do, everything must, must, must, must, and the farther, the more you have to - it’s all gone to hell. I did what I needed to do, but what I didn’t do, I shouldn’t have done, and I did the right thing, what I didn’t do.” This does not mean that Mikhail and Ilya do not know how to work and have never known any other joy, except from drunkenness. In the village where they once lived together, there was a common work - "friendly, inveterate, sonorous, with a dissonance of saws and axes, with a desperate hoot of fallen woods, resounding in the soul with enthusiastic anxiety with obligatory joking with each other. Such work happens once in the season of harvesting firewood - in the spring, so that they have time to dry over the summer, yellow pine logs, pleasant to the eye, with a thin silky skin, lie down in neat woodpile. These Sundays are organized for themselves, one family helps another, which is still possible now. But the collective farm in the village is falling apart, people are leaving for the city, there is no one to feed and raise livestock. Remembering her former life, the townswoman Lusya with great warmth and joy imagines her beloved horse Igrenka, on which "slap a mosquito, it will fall down," which in the end happened: the horse died. Igren dragged a lot, but did not manage. Wandering around the village through the fields and arable land, Lucy realizes that she does not choose where to go, that she is being guided by some outsider who lives in these places and confesses her power ... It seemed that life came back, because she, Lucy, is here she forgot something, lost something very valuable and necessary for her, without which it is impossible ... While the children drink and reminisce, the old woman Anna, having eaten the children's semolina porridge specially cooked for her, cheers up even more and goes out onto the porch. She is hung by a long-awaited friend Mironikha. "Oti-mochi! You, old woman, are you still alive?" says Mironikha. Anna grieves that Tatyana, Tanchora, as she calls her, is not among the children gathered at her bedside. Tanchora was not like any of the sisters. She stood as if between them with her special character, soft and joyful, human. So without waiting for her daughter, the old woman decides to die. “There was nothing more for her to do in this world and there was no need to postpone death. While the guys are here, let them bury them, spend them, as is customary with people, so that another time they don’t return to this concern. Then, you see, Tanchora will come ... The old woman I thought about death many times and knew her as myself. In recent years they became friends, the old woman often talked to her, and death, sitting somewhere on the side, listened to her reasonable whisper and sighed understandingly. They agreed that the old woman would leave at night, at first she will fall asleep, like all people, so as not to frighten death with open eyes, then she will gently snuggle up, take off her short worldly sleep and give her eternal rest. That's how it all comes out. O. V. Timasheva Live and Remember Tale (1974) It so happened that in the last war year, a local resident Andrei Guskov secretly returned from the war to a distant village on the Angara. The deserter does not think that in his father's house he will be met with open arms, but he believes in the understanding of his wife and is not deceived. Although his wife Nastena is afraid to admit it to herself, she understands with a sense that her husband has returned, there are several signs of this. Does she love him? Nastya did not marry for love, four years of her marriage were not so happy, but she is very devoted to her man, because, having left her parents early, for the first time in her life she found protection and reliability in his house. "They agreed quickly: Nastya was also spurred on by the fact that she was tired of living with her aunt as workers, bending her back on someone else's family ..." Nastena rushed into marriage like water - without much thought: you still have to go out, few people do without it - why pull? And what awaits her in a new family and a strange village, she imagined poorly. But it turned out that from the workers she got into the workers, only the yard is different, the economy is larger and the demand is stricter. "Maybe the attitude towards her in the new family would be better if she gave birth to a child, but there are no children." Childlessness forced Nastena to endure everything. Since childhood, she heard that a hollow woman without children is no longer a woman, but only half a woman. So by the beginning of the war, nothing came of the efforts of Nastena and Andrey. Guilty Nastena considers herself. “Only once, when Andrey, reproaching her, said something completely unbearable, she answered with resentment that it was still unknown which of them was the reason - she or he, she had not tried other men. He beat her half to death.” And when Andrei is taken to the war, Nastena is even a little glad that she is left alone without children, not like in other families. Letters from the front from Andrey come regularly, then from the hospital, where he also ends up wounded, maybe he will soon arrive on vacation; and suddenly there is no news for a long time, only once the chairman of the village council and a policeman enter the hut and ask to see the correspondence. "He didn't say anything else about himself?" - "No ... What's wrong with him? Where is he?" "So we want to find out where he is." When an ax disappears in the Guskovs' family bath, only Nastya thinks if her husband has returned: "Who would it be for someone else to look under the floorboard?" And just in case, she leaves bread in the bath, and once even heats the bath and meets in it the one she expects to see. The return of her husband becomes her secret and is perceived by her as a cross. “Nastena believed that in the fate of Andrei since he left home, there was some edge of her participation, she believed and was afraid that she probably lived for herself alone, so she waited: on, Nastena, take don't show it to anyone." She readily comes to her husband's aid, is ready to lie and steal for him, is ready to take the blame for a crime in which she is not guilty. In marriage, you have to accept both bad and good: "You and I agreed to live together. When everything is good, it's easy to be together, when it's bad - that's what people come together for." Enthusiasm and courage settle in Nastena's soul - to fulfill her feminine duty to the end, she selflessly helps her husband, especially when she realizes that she is carrying his child under her heart. Meeting with her husband in a winter hut across the river, long mournful conversations about the hopelessness of their situation, hard work at home, settled insincerity in relations with the villagers - Nastena is ready for anything, realizing the inevitability of her fate. And although love for her husband is more of a duty for her, she pulls her life strap with remarkable masculine strength. Andrei is not a murderer, not a traitor, but just a deserter who escaped from the hospital, from where they were going to send him to the front, without really treating him. Setting himself up for a vacation after a four-year absence from home, he cannot give up the thought of returning. As a country man, not a city man and not a military man, he is already in the hospital in a situation from which the only salvation is escape. So everything turned out for him, it could have turned out differently if he had been firmer on his feet, but the reality is that in the world, in his village, in his country, there will be no forgiveness for him. Realizing this, he wants to pull to the last, not thinking about his parents, his wife, and even more so about the unborn child. The deeply personal thing that connects Nastena with Andrey conflicts with their way of life. Nastena cannot raise her eyes to those women who receive funerals, cannot rejoice, as she would have rejoiced before when the neighboring peasants returned from the war. At a village holiday on the occasion of the victory, she recalls Andrei with unexpected anger: "Because of him, because of him, she has no right, like everyone else, to rejoice in victory." The fugitive husband posed a difficult and insoluble question to Nastya: with whom should she be? She condemns Andrei, especially now, when the war is ending and when it seems that he would have remained alive and unharmed, like everyone who survived, but, condemning him at times to anger, to hatred and despair, she retreats in despair: yes because she is his wife. And if so, it is necessary either to completely abandon it, jumping on the fence like a rooster: I am not me and it is not my fault, or go along with it to the end. At least to hell. No wonder it is said: whoever marries whom, he will be born into that. Noticing Nastena's pregnancy, her former friends begin to laugh at her, and her mother-in-law completely kicks her out of the house. "It was not easy to endlessly withstand the grasping and judgmental looks of people - curious, suspicious, angry." Forced to hide her feelings, to restrain them, Nastena is more and more exhausted, her fearlessness turns into a risk, into feelings wasted in vain. It is they who are pushing her to suicide, dragging her into the waters of the Angara, shimmering like a river from a terrible and beautiful fairy tale: "She is tired. Who would know how tired she is and how much she wants to rest." O. V. Timasheva Farewell to Matera Tale (1976) Having stood for more than three hundred years on the banks of the Angara, Matyora has seen everything in her lifetime. In ancient times, bearded Cossacks climbed past it up the Angara to set up the Irkutsk prison; merchants scurrying in one direction and the other turned up to it for the night; they carried prisoners along the water and, seeing the inhabited shore right at the bow, also rowed up to it: kindled bonfires, cooked fish soup from fish caught right there; for two full days the battle rumbled here between the Kolchakites, who occupied the island, and the partisans, who went in boats to attack from both banks. Matera has its own church on a high bank, but it has long been adapted as a warehouse, there is a mill and an "airport" on the old pasture: twice a week people fly to the city. But then one day, down the Angara, they begin to build a dam for a power plant, and it becomes clear that many surrounding villages, and primarily the island of Matera, will be flooded. "Even if you put five of these islands on top of each other, it will still flood with the top of its head and then you won't be able to show the place where people settled there. You'll have to move." The small population of Matera and those who are connected with the city have relatives there, and those who are not connected with it in any way think about the "end of the world." No amount of persuasion, explanations and appeals to common sense can make people easily leave their habitable place. Here is the memory of the ancestors (cemetery), and the usual and comfortable walls, and the usual way of life, which, like a mitten from your hand, you can’t take off. Everything that was desperately needed here is not needed in the city. "Grips, frying pans, sourdough, whorls, cast irons, tuesas, pots, tubs, tubs, lagoons, tongs, krosna ... And also: pitchforks, shovels, rakes, saws, axes (only one was taken from four axes), whetstone, iron stove , cart, sled ... And also: traps, nooses, wicker muzzles, skis, other hunting and fishing tackle, every kind of artisan tool. Why go through all this? What is the heart to execute? Of course, there is cold and hot water in the city, but there are so many inconveniences that you can’t count them, and most importantly, if you’re not used to it, it must become very dreary. Light air, open spaces, the noise of the Angara, tea drinking from samovars, leisurely conversations at a long table - there is no substitute for this. And burying in memory is not the same as burying in the ground. Those who were less in a hurry to leave Matera, weak, lonely old women, are witnessing how the village is set on fire from one end. "More than ever, the motionless faces of the old women in the light of the fire seemed to be stuck together, waxy; long ugly shadows jumped and wriggled." In this situation, "people forgot that each of them was not alone, lost each other, and now there was no need for each other. It's always like this: in case of an unpleasant, shameful event, no matter how many people are together, everyone tries, not noticing anyone, to remain alone - it is easier to free yourself from shame later. In their hearts it was not good, it was embarrassing that they were standing motionless, that they did not try at all, when it was still possible, to save the hut - there was nothing to try. The same will happen with other huts." When, after a fire, the women judge and judge whether such a fire happened on purpose or by chance, then the opinion is formed: by chance. No one wants to believe in such folly that the owner himself set fire to a good ("Christian") house. Parting with her hut, Daria not only sweeps and cleans it, but also whitens it, as if for a future happy life. She is terribly upset that somewhere she forgot to grease. Nastasya worries about the runaway cat, which will not be allowed on the transport, and asks Daria to feed her, not thinking that soon the neighbor will leave here altogether. And cats, and dogs, and every object, and huts, and the whole village are as alive for those who have lived in them all their lives from birth. And once. you have to leave, then you need to clean up everything, as they clean up the dead for the wires to the next world. And although the rituals and the church for the generation of Daria and Nastasya exist separately, the rites are not forgotten and exist in the souls of the saints and the immaculate. The women are afraid that before the flood, a sanitary brigade will arrive and level the village cemetery to the ground. Daria, an old woman with character, under whose protection all the weak and suffering gather, organizes the offended and tries to oppose. She is not limited only to cursing the heads of offenders, calling on God, but also directly enters into battle, armed with a stick. Daria is decisive, militant, assertive. Many people in her place would have come to terms with the situation, but not her. This is by no means a meek and passive old woman, she judges other people, and first of all her son Pavel and her daughter-in-law. Daria is also strict with the local youth, she not only scolds her for leaving the familiar world, but also threatens: "You will regret it." It is Daria who turns to God more often than others: "Forgive us, Lord, that we are weak, slow-witted and ruined in soul." She really does not want to part with the graves of her ancestors, and, referring to her father's grave, she calls herself "stupid". She believes that when she dies, all her relatives will gather to judge her. “It seemed to her that she could see them well, standing in a huge wedge, dispersing in an endless formation, all with gloomy, stern and inquiring faces.” Dissatisfaction with what is happening is felt not only by Daria and other old women. “I understand,” Pavel says, “that without technology, without the greatest technology, nothing can be done today and there is nowhere to go. Everyone understands this, but how to understand, how to recognize what they did to the village? Why did they demand from people who live here You can, of course, not ask these questions, but live as you live, and swim as you swim, but I'm mixed up on that: to know what is how much and what is for what, to get to the bottom of the truth myself. and man." O. V. Timasheva Andrei Georgievich Bitov (b. 1937) Pushkin house Roman (1971) The life of Leva Odoevtsev, a descendant of the princes Odoevtsev, proceeds without any particular upheavals. The thread of his life flows measuredly from someone's divine hands. He feels more like a namesake than a descendant of his glorious ancestors. Leva's grandfather was arrested and spent his life in camps and exile. In infancy, Lev, conceived in the fateful year 1937, also moved with his parents towards the "depth of the Siberian ores"; however, everything went well, and after the war the family returned to Leningrad. Levin's dad is the head of the department at the university, where grandfather once shone. Lyova grows up in an academic environment and from childhood dreams of becoming a scientist - "like a father, but bigger." After graduating from school, Leva enters the Faculty of Philology. After ten years of absence, the former neighbor Dmitry Ivanovich Yuvashov returns to the Odoevtsevs' apartment from prison, whom everyone calls Uncle Dickens, a man "clear, poisonous, expecting nothing and free." Everything in him seems attractive to Leva: his disgust, dryness, harshness, thieves' aristocracy, sober attitude towards the world. Leva often visits Uncle Dickens, and even the books he borrows from a neighbor become a childhood replenishment. Soon after the appearance of Uncle Dickens, the Odoevtsev family is allowed to remember their grandfather. Lyova learns for the first time that her grandfather is alive, examines his beautiful young face in photographs - one of those that "stung by the undeniable difference from us and the undeniable belonging to a person." Finally, the news comes that the grandfather is returning from exile, and the father is going to meet him in Moscow. The next day, the father returns alone, pale and lost. Lyova gradually learns from unfamiliar people that in his youth his father abandoned his father, and then completely criticized his work in order to get a "warm" department. Returning from exile, the grandfather did not want to see his son. Lyova works out for herself the "grandfather's hypothesis". He begins to read his grandfather's works on linguistics and even hopes to partially use his grandfather's system for term paper. Thus, he takes some advantage of the family drama and cherishes in his imagination a beautiful phrase: grandfather and grandson ... Grandfather is given an apartment in a new building on the outskirts, and Lyova goes to him "with a brand new beating heart." But instead of the person he created in his imagination, Leva meets a disabled person with a red, hardened face, which strikes with its inspiritualness. Grandfather drinks with friends, confused Leva joins the company. Senior Odoevtsev does not believe that he was imprisoned undeservedly. He was always serious and does not belong to those insignificant people who were first imprisoned undeservedly, and now deservedly released. He is offended by rehabilitation, he believes that "all this" began when the intellectual first entered into a conversation with a boor at the door, instead of chasing him in the neck. The grandfather immediately notices the main feature of his grandson: Lyova sees from the world only what suits his premature explanation; the unexplained world leads him into a panic, which Leva takes for mental suffering, characteristic only of a feeling person. When the intoxicated Leva tries to accuse his father of something, the grandfather in a rage kicks out his grandson - for "betrayal in the seed." Leva Odoevtsev from childhood stopped noticing the outside world to himself, that is, he learned the only way that allowed many Russian aristocrats to survive in the twentieth century. After graduating from the philological faculty, Leva enters graduate school, and then begins working in the famous Pushkin House of the Academy of Sciences. While still in graduate school, he wrote a talented article "Three Prophets", which amazes everyone with inner freedom and a flying, soaring style. Leva has a certain reputation, the even fire of which he imperceptibly maintains. He deals only with unsullied antiquity and thus gains credibility in the liberal milieu without becoming a dissident. Only once does he find himself in a difficult situation. Levin, a close friend of "something wrong" wrote, signed or said, and now there is a trial, during which Lyova will not be able to remain silent. But here a confluence of all conceivable circumstances interferes: Lyova falls ill with the flu, goes on vacation, urgently responds to Moscow, wins a trip abroad in the lottery, his grandfather dies, old love returns to him ... By Levin's return, his friend is no longer at the institute, and this is somewhat spoils Levin's reputation. However, Leva soon discovers that a reputation in an unexaggerated form is even more convenient, calm and safe. Leva has three girlfriends. One of them, Albina, a smart and subtle woman of the Levin circle and upbringing, loves him, leaves her husband for him - but remains unloved and unwanted, despite repeated meetings. The other, Lyubasha, is simple and uncomplicated, and Leva does not attach importance to relations with her. He loves only Faina, whom his classmate Mitishatyev introduced him to on the day he graduated from school. The day after they met, Leva invites Faina to a restaurant, with trepidation decides to take her hand and kisses her uncontrollably in the front door. Faina is older and more experienced than Leva. They continue to meet. Leva constantly has to earn money for restaurants and numerous ladies' little things, often borrow from Uncle Dickens, and secretly sell books. He is jealous of Faina, accuses her of infidelity, but is unable to part with her. During one party, Leva discovers that Faina and Mitishatiev have quietly disappeared from the room and the door to the bathroom is locked. Stunned, he waits for Faina, mechanically clicking the lock of her purse. Finally looking into her purse, Leva discovers a ring there, which, according to Faina, is expensive. Thinking that he has no money, Leva puts the ring in his pocket. When Faina discovers the loss, Leva does not admit to her deed and promises to buy another ring, hoping to get money for the stolen one. But it turns out that Fainino's ring is too cheap. Then Leva simply returns the ring, assuring that he bought it from his hands for next to nothing. Faina cannot object and is forced to accept the gift. Lyova freezes from an unknown satisfaction. After this story, the longest and most peaceful period in their relationship begins, after which they still part. On the November holidays of 196 ... Leva was left on duty in the building of the institute. An old friend-enemy and colleague Mitishatiev comes to him. Leva understands that Mitishatiev's influence on her is akin to Faina's: both of them feed on Leva, enjoy humiliating him. Mitishatiev talks about Jews who "spoil our women." Leva easily refutes Mitishatiev's statement about the lack of talent of the Jews, arguing that Pushkin was a Semite. Mitishatiev says that he is going to spiritually crush Leva, and then turn the whole world upside down: “I feel strength in myself. There were“ Christ - Mohammed - Napoleon ”, - and now I am. strength for yourself." Mitishatiev brings his diploma student Gottikh, warning Lyova that he is a snitch. Baron von Gottich writes poems about martins or matryons in patriotic newspapers, which gives Mitishatiev a reason to mock the fragmented aristocrats. To brighten up Leva's alleged loneliness, not knowing about his guests, Isaiah Borisovich Blank comes. This is a retired employee of the institute, one of the noblest people that Leva had ever met in her life. Blank is not only extremely tidy on the outside, he can't speak badly of people. Blank, Mitishatiev, Gottikh and Leva drink together. They talk about the weather, about freedom, about poetry, about progress, about Jews, about the people, about drunkenness, about ways to purify vodka, about cooperative apartments, about God, about women, about blacks, about currency, about the social nature of man and about that there is nowhere to go ... They argue about whether Natalya Nikolaevna loved Pushkin. Some of Natasha's girls come. Mitishatiev expounds to Leva his philosophy of life, including the "Rule of Mitishatiev's right hand": "If a person seems to be shit, then he is shit." From time to time Lyova experiences drunken memory lapses. In one of these failures, Mitishatiev insults Blank, and then assures that Leva was smiling and nodding at the same time. Mitishatiev says that he cannot live on earth as long as there is Leva. He insults Faina too, and Leva can no longer stand this. They fight with Mitishatiev, and Mitishatiev breaks Pushkin's death mask. This turns out to be the last straw - Leva challenges him to a duel with museum pistols. A shot sounds - Leva falls. Mitishatiev leaves, taking Grigorovich's inkwell with him. Having come to his senses, Lyova discovers with horror what a rout has been perpetrated in the museum premises. But it turns out that with the help of Albina, who works at the same institute, and Uncle Dickens, everything is very quickly put in order. Grigorovich's inkwell is found under the window, another copy of Pushkin's mask is brought from the basement. The next day, Leva discovers that not a single person in the institute pays attention to fresh traces of cleaning and repair. The deputy director summons him only to instruct him to accompany an American writer around Leningrad. Leva takes the American around Leningrad, shows him the monuments and talks about Russian literature. And all this - Russian literature, St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia - Pushkin's house without his curly lodger. Left alone, Leva stands over the Neva against the backdrop of the Bronze Horseman, and it seems to him that, having described the dead loop of experience, capturing a lot of empty water with a long and heavy seine, he returned to the starting point. So he stands at this point and feels that he is tired. T. A. Sotnikova Flying Monks Roman Dotted (1962-1990) DOORLate in the evening, the boy is waiting for his beloved woman - either in the arch of the courtyard, or in the front house, where she should come to her friend. He is afraid to miss her. Mom does not know where he went: he said that he was going to a friend to get a pair of compasses. Finally, he goes up to his girlfriend's apartment, but she says that his beloved never came. The boy is sure that he is being deceived. He imagines how he will die - pale, thin - and how the woman he loves will cry over him. Or how he will come to her many years later - gray curls will fall on her forehead, not hiding a deep scar - and say: "It's late, it's late." The boy hears the voice of his beloved and some man behind the closed door, and sees her when the door opens for a moment. The man leaves. The boy is waiting for her to come out. She comes out, calm and beautiful, explains to the boy that they just missed each other, and promises to meet him tomorrow. The boy goes home, feeling the weightlessness of his body and thoughts, and thinks that everything was so, as she said. САДIn the last days before the New Year, Alexey is waiting for a call from Asya. Asya has separated from her husband and rents a corner in the apartment of Nina, her friend, who lives with her father. Most often, Alexei and Asya meet in the garden on a bench. Alexey wants to celebrate the New Year together. Asya says that she needs to buy a dress from a pawnshop, that she loves Alexei, wants to go south with him in the summer, but he will have nowhere to get money, and therefore she will not go with him. Returning home along the Fontanka, Alexey suddenly realizes that he feels life is not sharp and lazy - not at all like six months ago, when everything was just beginning with Asya and he was jealous of her, waiting for hours in the porches and on the stairs. Then he thought that love requires truth and clarity, but now love has become for him higher than clarity, he is ready for ignorance. Aleksey must complete the last test in order to be admitted to the institute exams. Mom makes sure he does business; She doesn't love Asya. Left alone in a communal apartment, Alexei steals bonds from his neighbor's room and, having sold them, buys Asino's dress from the pawnshop. He goes to Asya to celebrate the New Year and thinks if she went to Astoria, where her ex-husband celebrates the New Year. Meeting the New Year alone fails: unexpectedly Nina comes with her friends. Alexei and Asya leave the house and sit on the stairs, and then go home. The next day, they try to find shelter outside the city, with friends, but they are not at home. The theft of the bonds is revealed, and Alexei has to endure the shame of their return. Closing himself in his room, he reads an old book about love. He is struck by the idea that love does not come from a loved one, random and tiny, and not from the person himself, who is also extremely small. Then from where? FORMMonakhov's wife is expecting a child, she was admitted to the hospital for preservation. Standing under the window of the hospital, Monakhov feels embarrassed every time because of the touchingness of this scene. One day, on the way to the hospital on the bus, he meets Asya. They have not seen each other for many years, and now Monakhov compares with the original the image of Asya, which he saved in the torment of the gap. Nothing matches, the image disintegrates, and Monakhov feels relieved and curious. Asya is at odds with her next husband, she is going to get married again. On the street, she shows Monakhov her fiancé. Monakhov enters the kindergarten, where she works as a headmaster. Then they go to Asya's friends in search of a free apartment. They again, like ten years ago, have nowhere to retire. From Asya's kindergarten, where they try to find shelter at night, Monakhov has to flee. He feels the lethargy of his desires, confusion before the turbidity and vagueness of his own sensations, the painful impurity of life experience. Returning home, he is glad that nothing happened. At home, the mother informs him of the birth of her son and kisses him on the insensible, withdrawing cheek. FORESTMonakhov comes on a business trip to Tashkent, where his parents now live. He did not see his father for three years. He tells his parents about his alien life: about the capital, about his career, about his young wife and a new apartment. Walking down the street, he meets Natasha, whom he loved three years ago and broke up with. Natasha still loves him, and suddenly Monakhov realizes that if he were himself, she would be his only woman. He decides to leave his parents early and spend his last days in Tashkent with Natasha. She meets her suitors. One of them, eighteen-year-old Lenechka, writes poems that delight Monakhov. Looking at Lenechka, Monakhov recalls himself during the years of love for Asya and is horrified that he did not understand at all then what a terrible and impoverished life his beloved lived. Sitting at the airport, Monakhov is tormented by the fact that he left his parents ahead of time, and is trying to understand what he is on his own - without his titles, successes, work and family. Before his eyes, a young soldier accidentally dies on the airfield. At home, a quarrel with his wife awaits him. Monakhov feels that he has lived his whole life in a week in Tashkent, and he understands what his wife is jealous of. And suddenly it seems to him that his father could have died during the time he spent with Natasha. His soul is washed by the living current of the last strength of a weak father and lets in all the surrounding pain. The death of a soldier, which he saw recently, gives Monakhov the last drop of life, which he lacked so much. TASTEMonakhov rides on a train and thinks about death. Then this thought goes away, the landscape outside the window also leaves, and only the long taste of the pie in the mouth remains. On the train, Monakhov meets a good, simple and smart girl whom he would not want to deceive. The girl looks like the woman he once loved, only the name is different - Sveta. Monakhov is suddenly frightened, shocked by this similarity, although before he was not interested in the similarity of people and circumstances. The monks decide to start a new life. He takes a vacation and rents a room in the village, opposite Pasternak's grave. It seems to him that the surrounding landscape has been looked down to the ground by a dead poet, and he is trying to understand whether Pasternak's poems were worth it to eliminate a small area. He does not go to the grave, fearing a repetition of the "rhyme" of time - that is, reminders of life that it exists regardless of the existence of him, Monakhov. Monks are afraid of these hints of life, he does not try to grab onto the flashed secret meaning of life, so as not to damage the decrepit vital tissue. But he still has to go to the grave to show it to the visiting Sveta. At the cemetery, he is struck by how similar the monuments are to those to whom they were erected. It seems to him that the eminent dead clung to life, that their position, tastes, vanity did not leave with death. Returning home, he meets a classmate there who tells that Asya, whom Monakhov once loved, died of breast cancer. Monakhov has to leave the village to bury his wife's deceased grandmother. The funeral takes place in a church standing in an empty and quiet Moscow lane. It seems to Monakhov that everything around survived thanks to this church. After the funeral, he kisses the dead woman, indifferent to him, on the forehead, and suddenly it seems to him that taste is the last living feeling still available to his keratinized consciousness. At the cemetery, he realizes that Asya really died. He recalls yesterday's idyll of the dead, similar to their monuments, and feels that a calm, healthy, living hatred boils in his soul. "He saw evil. He knew no doubt. He understood that he was quite ready to answer for his sins." STAIRS“Evidently, my vitality still knocked me down, it is evident that I didn’t have enough spirit - they are waiting for me ... It is clear that the road to God is indeed too long, too expensive and too much ... Lord, forgive me!” T. A. Sotnikova Alexander Valentinovich Vampilov (1937-1972) Elder son Comedy (1968) Two young people - medical student Busygin and sales agent Semyon, nicknamed Silva - hit on unfamiliar girls. After seeing them home, but not meeting with the further hospitality they expected, they discover that they missed the train. The time is late, it is cold outside, and they are forced to seek shelter in a strange area. Young people themselves hardly know each other, but misfortune brings them together. Both of them are guys with humor, they have a lot of enthusiasm and game, they do not lose heart and are ready to take advantage of any opportunity to warm up. They knock on the house of a lonely thirty-year-old woman, Makarskaya, who has just driven away Vasenka, a tenth grader who is in love with her, but she sends them off too. Soon, the guys who do not know where to go see how an elderly man from a neighboring house calls out to her, calling himself Andrei Grigoryevich Sarafanov. They think that this is a date, and decide to take advantage of the opportunity to visit him in the absence of Sarafanov and warm up a little. At home, they find the upset Vasenka, the son of Sarafanov, who is experiencing his love failure. Busygin pretends to know his father for a long time. Vasenka is very wary, and Busygin tries to reassure him, saying that all people are brothers and we must trust each other. This leads the cunning Silva to the idea that Busygin wants to play a trick on the boy, introducing himself as the son of Sarafanov, Vasenka's half-brother. Inspired by this idea, he immediately plays along with his friend, and the dumbfounded Busygin, who did not mean this at all, appears to Vasenka as his unknown older brother, who finally decided to find his father. Silva is not averse to developing success and inclines Vasenka to celebrate the event - to find something from alcohol in the bins at home and drink on the occasion of finding a brother. While they are celebrating in the kitchen, Sarafanov suddenly appears, having gone to Makarskaya to ask for his son, who is drying with love. Drunk Vasenka stuns him with stunning news. Bewildered Sarafanov at first does not believe, but, remembering the past, he nevertheless admits such a possibility - then the war had just ended, he "was a soldier, not a vegetarian." So his son might have been twenty-one years old, and his mother's name was... her name was Galina. These details are heard by Busygin peering out of the kitchen. Now he is more confident in himself when meeting with an imaginary father. Sarafanov, while questioning the newly-born son, is more and more convinced that he really is his offspring, who sincerely loves his father. And Sarafanov now really needs such love: the youngest son has fallen in love and strives to get out of hand, his daughter is getting married and going to Sakhalin. He himself left the symphony orchestra and plays at dances and at funerals, which he proudly hides from the children, who, nevertheless, are in the know and only pretend that they know nothing. Busygin plays his role well, so that even Sarafanov's adult daughter Nina, who at first met her brother very incredulously, is ready to believe. Sarafanov and Busygin spend the night in a confidential conversation. Sarafanov tells him all his life, opens his soul: his wife left him because it seemed to her that he played the clarinet for too long in the evenings. But Sarafanov is proud of himself: he did not allow himself to dissolve in the bustle, he composes music. In the morning, Busygin and Silva make an attempt to slip away unnoticed, but collide with Sarafanov. Upon learning of their departure, he is discouraged and upset, he gives Busygin a silver snuffbox as a keepsake, since, according to him, in their family it always belonged to the eldest son. The moved impostor announces his decision to stay a day. He helps Nina tidy up the apartment. A strange relationship develops between him and Nina. It seems that they are brother and sister, but their mutual interest and sympathy for each other clearly do not fit into the family framework. Busygin asks Nina about the groom, involuntarily releasing jealous barbs at him, so that something like a quarrel occurs between them. A little later, Nina will also react jealously to Busygin's interest in Makarska. In addition, they constantly turn to the conversation about Sarafanov. Busygin reproaches Nina for the fact that she is going to leave her father alone. They are also worried about their brother Vasenka, who now and then makes attempts to run away from home, believing that no one needs him here. Meanwhile, Vasenka, encouraged by the unexpected attention of Makarska, who agreed to go to the cinema with him (after a conversation with Sarafanov), comes to life and now has no intention of going anywhere. However, his joy does not last long. Makarska has an appointment at ten o'clock with Silva, whom she likes. Having learned that Vasenka bought a ticket for the same time, she refuses to go, and Vasenka's naive persistence indignantly admits that the boy owes her unexpected kindness to his dad. In desperation, Vassenka packs his backpack, and the sensitive Busygin, who had just intended to leave, is again forced to stay. In the evening, Nina's fiancé pilot Kudimov appears with two bottles of champagne. He is a simple and open guy, good-natured and perceives everything too straightforwardly, which he is even proud of. Busygin and Silva now and then make fun of him, to which he only smiles good-naturedly and offers a drink so as not to waste time. He's short of it, he, a cadet, doesn't want to be late, because he made a promise to himself never to be late, and his own word is law for him. Soon Sarafanov and Nina appear. The whole company drinks for acquaintance. Kudimov suddenly begins to remember where he saw Sarafanov, although Busygin and Nina try to stop him, convincing him that he could not see him anywhere or saw him at the Philharmonic. Nevertheless, the pilot, with his inherent integrity, persists and finally remembers: he saw Sarafanov at the funeral. Sarafanov bitterly forced to admit this. Busygin reassures him: people need music both when they are having fun and when they are sad. At this time, Vasenka with a backpack, despite attempts to stop him, leaves his home. Nina's fiancé, despite her persuasion, also rushes away, afraid of being late for the barracks. When he leaves, Nina reproaches the malicious brother that he treated her fiancé badly. In the end, Busygin cannot stand it and admits that he is not Nina's brother at all. Moreover, he seems to be in love with her. Meanwhile, the offended Sarafanov is packing his suitcase to go with his eldest son. Suddenly, Vassenka runs in with a frightened, solemn look, followed by Silva in half-burned clothes, with a face stained with soot, accompanied by Makarska. It turns out that Vasenka set fire to her apartment. Outraged, Silva demands pants and, before leaving, vindictively informs at the door that Busygin is not Sarafan's son at all. This makes a great impression on everyone, but Sarafanov firmly states that he does not believe. He does not want to know anything: Busygin is his son, and, moreover, his beloved. He invites Busygin to move out of the hostel to them, although this meets Nina's objection. Busygin reassures him: he will visit them. And then he discovers that he was late for the train again. E. A. Shklovsky Duck hunting Play (1970) The action takes place in a provincial town. Viktor Alexandrovich Zilov is awakened by a phone call. Waking up with difficulty, he picks up the phone, but there is silence. He slowly gets up, touching his jaw, opens the window, it's raining outside. Zilov drinks beer and, with a bottle in hand, begins physical exercises. Another phone call and another silence. Now Zilov calls himself. He is talking to the waiter Dima, with whom they were going hunting together, and is extremely surprised that Dima asks him if he will go. Zilov is interested in the details of yesterday's scandal, which he caused in a cafe, but which he himself remembers very vaguely. He is especially worried about who hit him in the face yesterday. As soon as he hangs up, there is a knock on the door. A boy enters with a large mourning wreath, on which is written: "To the unforgettable untimely burned down at work Zilov Viktor Alexandrovich from inconsolable friends." Zilov is annoyed by such a gloomy joke. He sits down on the couch and begins to imagine how things could be if he really died. Then the life of the last days passes before his eyes. Memory first. In the cafe "Forget-me-not", Zilov's favorite pastime, he and his friend Sayapin meet during a lunch break with the boss Kushak to celebrate a big event - he got a new apartment. Suddenly, his mistress Vera appears, Zilov asks Vera not to advertise their relationship, seats everyone at the table, and the waiter Dima brings the ordered wine and barbecue. Zilov reminds Kushak that a housewarming party is scheduled for the evening, and he, somewhat flirtatious, agrees. Zilov is forced to invite Vera, who really wants this. He introduces her to the boss, who has just escorted his legal wife south, as a classmate, and Vera, with her very relaxed behavior, inspires certain hopes in Kushak. In the evening, Zilov's friends are going to his housewarming party. In anticipation of the guests, Galina, Zilov's wife, dreams that everything between her and her husband will be like at the very beginning, when they loved each other. Among the gifts brought are items of hunting equipment: a knife, a bandolier and several wooden birds used in duck hunting for replanting. Duck hunting is Zilov's greatest passion (except for women), although so far he has not managed to kill a single duck. As Galina says, the main thing for him is getting ready and talking. But Zilov does not pay attention to ridicule. Second memory. At work, Zilov and Sayapin must urgently prepare information on the modernization of production, the in-line method, etc. Zilov proposes to present the modernization project at the porcelain factory as already implemented. They toss a coin for a long time, do - do not do. And although Sayapin is afraid of exposure, nevertheless they are preparing this "fake". Here Zilov reads a letter from his old father, who lives in another city, whom he has not seen for four years. He writes that he is ill and calls to see him, but Zilov is indifferent to this. He does not believe his father, and he still does not have time, since he is going on vacation to go duck hunting. He cannot and does not want to miss her. Unexpectedly, an unfamiliar girl Irina appears in their room, confusing their office with the editorial office of the newspaper. Zilov plays a prank on her, pretending to be a newspaper employee, until his boss comes in and exposes his joke. Zilov starts an affair with Irina. Remembrance the third. Zilov returns home in the morning. Galina does not sleep. He complains about the abundance of work, about the fact that he was so unexpectedly sent on a business trip. But his wife bluntly says that she does not believe him, because last night a neighbor saw him in the city. Zilov tries to protest, accusing his wife of excessive suspicion, but this does not work on her. She endured for a long time and no longer wants to endure Zil's lies. She tells him that she went to the doctor and had an abortion. Zilov pretends to be indignant: why didn't she consult him?! He tries to soften her somehow, remembering one of the evenings six years ago when they first became close. Galina protests at first, but then gradually succumbs to the charm of memories - until the moment when Zilov cannot remember some very important words for her. She ends up sinking into a chair and crying. The memory is the following. At the end of the working day, an angry Kushak appears in the room of Zilov and Sayapin and demands an explanation from them about the brochure with information about the reconstruction at the porcelain factory. Shielding Sayapin, who is about to get an apartment, Zilov takes full responsibility. Only Sayapin's wife, who suddenly appeared, manages to extinguish the storm by taking the ingenuous Kushak to football. At this moment, Zilov receives a telegram about the death of his father. He decides to urgently fly to catch the funeral. Galina wants to go with him, but he refuses. Before leaving, he stops at the Forget-Me-Not for a drink. In addition, here he has an appointment with Irina. Galina accidentally becomes a witness of their meeting, who brought Zilov a raincoat and a briefcase for the trip. Zilov is forced to confess to Irina that he is married. He orders dinner, postponing his flight until tomorrow. The memory is the following. Galina is going to visit relatives in another city. As soon as she leaves, he calls Irina and invites her to his place. Suddenly, Galina returns and announces that she is leaving forever. Zilov is discouraged, he tries to detain her, but Galina locks him up. Once in a trap, Zilov uses all his eloquence, trying to convince his wife that she is still dear to him, and even promising to take her hunting. But it is not Galina who hears his explanation, but Irina who appears, who perceives everything Zilov said as referring specifically to her. Last memory. In anticipation of friends invited on the occasion of the upcoming vacation and duck hunting, Zilov drinks at the Forget-Me-Not. By the time the friends gather, he is already quite drunk and starts talking nasty things to them. Every minute he disperses more and more, carries him, and in the end everyone, including Irina, whom he also undeservedly insults, leaves. Left alone, Zilov calls the waiter Dima a lackey, and he hits him in the face. Zilov falls under the table and "turns off". After some time, Kuzakov and Sayapin return, pick up Zilov and take him home. Remembering everything, Zilov really suddenly lights up with the idea of committing suicide. He doesn't play anymore. He writes a note, loads his gun, takes off his shoes and gropes for the trigger with his big toe. At this moment, the phone rings. Then Sayapin and Kuzakov quietly appear, who see Zilov's preparations, attack him and take away the gun. Zilov drives them. He screams that he doesn't trust anyone, but they refuse to leave him alone. In the end, Zilov manages to expel them, he walks around the room with a gun, then throws himself on the bed and either laughs or sobs. Two minutes later he gets up and dials Dima's phone number. He is ready to go hunting. B. A. Shklovsky Last summer in Chulimsk Drama (1972) The action takes place in the taiga regional center in the early summer morning. Valentina, a slender, pretty girl of about eighteen, goes to the tea shop where she works, and on the way she inspects the front garden in front of the house: again the boards have been taken out of the fence, the gate has been torn off. She inserts boards, spreads the trampled grass and begins to repair the gate. Throughout the action, she does this several times, because for some reason passers-by prefer to walk straight across the lawn, bypassing the gate. Valentina is in love with the local investigator Shamanov, who does not notice her feelings. Shamanov goes to the pharmacist Kashkina, who lives next to the tea house, and therefore Valentina, like the whole village, knows about their relationship. She suffers silently. Shamanov is about thirty, but he feels like a much older and tired person. His favorite proverb: "I want to retire." His mistress Kashkina is offended that he does not tell her anything about himself, although she already knows a lot about him from her city acquaintances. He used to work as an investigator in the city, they predicted a great future for him, he had a beautiful wife, a car and all sorts of other benefits. However, he was one of those for whom the truth is more important than the position, and therefore, investigating the case of the son of some dignitary who knocked down a man, Shamanov, despite pressure from above, did not want to hush up the case. As a result, however, there were people stronger than him. The trial was postponed, the investigation was given to someone else. Shamanov was offended, quit his job, broke up with his wife, began to dress somehow, and then left here, to the taiga regional center, where he reluctantly, almost formally, performs his duties. Shamanov considers his life to be over. Two days later, a trial is to take place in the very case that he started to handle and because of which he left, he is invited to take part as a witness, but he refuses. He's not interested. He is disappointed and no longer believes in the possibility of establishing justice. He doesn't want to fight anymore. However, in the regional center, Shamanov still stands out sharply - both Kashkina and Valentina feel his originality and are drawn to him. Pashka, the son of the barmaid Khoroshikh, and the stepson of the local worker Dergachev, are in love with Valentina. Arriving from the city, Pashka is constantly spinning around Valentina, calling her to dance. But Valentina firmly refuses him. Pashka hints that he knows his opponent and, pretending to be tough, even threatens to deal with him. Pashka is constantly at the center of family strife. His mother and Dergachev are attached to each other, one might say they love each other. However, Pashka is Dergachev's wound that does not heal even with time, because he was born from another person when Dergachev was at the front. The mother asks her son to leave, but Pashka is not very disposed to obey her. He is also offended: why should he leave his own house, when his plans are to marry Valentina, to settle here. Dergachev is repairing the teahouse, it is clear that he is irritated, and he vents this irritation on his wife, from whom he demands a drink right in the morning on the occasion of a meeting with an old friend, an old Evenk fisherman Eremeev, who came from the taiga. Left alone after the death of his wife, Yeremeev came to petition for a pension. However, here he faces difficulties: he has neither a work book, nor certificates of work - all his life he hunted, worked in geological parties and did not think about old age. Another participant in the action is the accountant Mechetkin, a bore and a bureaucrat. He wants to get married and at first has views on Kashkina, hinting to her that her connection with Shamanov causes gossip in the village and offends public morality. However, as soon as Kashkina invites him to visit her and even offers him a drink, Mechetkin, pissed off, confesses his serious intentions. Kashkina knows that Valentina is in love with Shamanov, and therefore, fearing a possible rivalry, she advises Mechetkin to turn his attention to Valentina. She assures Mechetkin that he, a respected person in the village, can easily succeed if he solidly turns to Valentina's father. Without delay, Mechetkin woo Valentina. Her father does not object, but says that he cannot decide anything without Valentina. Meanwhile, between Shamanov, who is waiting in the tea service car, and Valentina, who is repairing the fence of the front garden, a conversation is struck up. Shamanov says that Valentina is doing this in vain, because people will never stop going around him. Valentina stubbornly objects: someday they will definitely understand and will walk on the sidewalk. Unexpectedly, Shamanov makes a compliment to Valentina: she is a beautiful girl, she looks like a girl whom Shamanov once loved. He asks her why she did not leave for the city, like many of her peers. And suddenly he hears a confession that she is in love, and not with anyone, but with him, Shamanov. Shamanov is confused, it is hard for him to believe it, he advises Valentina to put it out of her head. But then he suddenly begins to feel something special for the girl: she suddenly becomes for him "a ray of light from behind the clouds," as he says to Kashkina, who accidentally overheard their conversation. Pashka Shamanov, who appeared with threats, advises him to go and cool his head, a quarrel ensues between them. Shamanov clearly wants a scandal, he hands Pashka his pistol and deliberately teases him, saying that he and Valentina have an appointment at ten o'clock and that she loves him, Shamanova, and she doesn't need Pashka. Pashka in a rage pulls the trigger of a pistol. Misfire. Pashka frightened drops the weapon. But Shamanov is also uneasy. He writes a note to Valentina, really appointing her a meeting at ten o'clock, and asks Eremeev to pass it on. However, the jealous Kashkina intercepts the note by cunning. That same evening, Valentina, witnessing another strife between her stepfather and Pashka, who is insulted and driven away by his own mother, out of pity agrees to go to the dance with him. It is felt that Valentina has decided on something serious, because she also goes straight through the front garden, as if having lost faith that she can overcome the general resistance. They are going away. Soon Shamanov appears and, having met Kashkina, enthusiastically admits to her that something suddenly happened to him today: he, as it were, regains peace. This is connected with Valentina, about whom he asks Kashkina. She honestly informs him that she has Shamanov's note and that Valentina, not knowing about the appointment, left with Pashka. Shamanov rushes in search of her. Late at night, Valentina and Pashka return. It is clear that they were close, although this did not change their relationship in the least: Pashka, as he was, remained a stranger to her. Feeling remorseful, Kashkina informs Valentina that Shamanov was looking for her, that he loves her. Soon Shamanov himself appears, he confesses to Valentina that thanks to her a miracle happened to him. Valentina is crying. When her father appears, ready to stand up for her honor, she says that she was at the dance not with Pashka and not with Shamanov, but with Mechetkin. The next morning, Shamanov leaves for the city to speak at the court. The play ends with the eyes of those in the tearoom turning to Valentina, who has left the house. She proudly approaches the gate, as usual, and begins to fix it, and then, together with Eremeev, straightens the front garden. E. A. Shklovsky Mark Sergeevich Kharitonov (b. 1937) Lines of Fate, or Milashevich's Chest Roman (1895, publ. 1992) Anton Andreevich Lizavin, philologist, wrote his Ph.D. thesis about his countrymen - writers of the 20s. During these studies, he became interested in the work of the unknown, but very original writer Simeon Milashevich. One of the strangest stories of the latter was called "Revelation". Its meaning is as follows: in the house of the narrator, a former university classmate appears on the way (a thin face with a nervous cut of the nostrils, an excited gleam in his eyes) ... The guest has a chest the size of a Singer sewing machine case. It gradually opens up that all three - Milashevich is married - are connected by a long history. Once upon a time, a visiting student persuaded a young girl to run away from her parents' house to Moscow, and he himself disappeared (most likely on illegal business), entrusting the fugitive to the care of a friend. And now he met again with the newly-made spouses in the town of Stolbenets. Here, as always, it is not the plot that is essential for Milashevich, but the "prick of mixed feelings" - dry twilight, the light of a kerosene lamp - the unsteady air of narration. An apology for a wretched, stagnant and yet sweet vegetative life as opposed to the desire to change and improve life, even if it destroys something. The guest's eyes are shining, he is ill, and the chest is waiting somewhere, and the host himself volunteers to deliver it. Looks like it's taking a long time to get back. It turns out that in the life of the author himself, Milashevich (the story is clearly autobiographical), there was an arrest, the cause of which was either a suitcase or a chest full of various illegal goods, and after the arrest - deportation. However, there is almost no information about Milashevich left. In general, only a name is known about his wife. In the stories of her husband, the presence of Alexandra Flegontovna is felt through the embroidered napkins he mentions, back pillows, Shrovetide pancakes and other joys of provincial life. Apparently, Milashevich's "provincial philosophy" began to take shape around that time, the main idea of which is the realization of happiness and harmony, regardless of the external structure of life. Much more clearly appears in his prose (under various names) an overweight athlete with a curly beard: the socialist landowner Ganshin. Milashevich lived in his estate for a long time: he fiddled in the greenhouse, invented candy wrappers and candy wrappers for the Ganshin caramel factory. When the dissertation was almost ready, Lizavin managed to find in the archive a chest with Milashevich's papers, or rather, papers. For records, the reverse side of those same candy wrappers was used (due to the shortage of paper in revolutionary times). And now the fuss with candy wrappers began to crowd out Lizavin's other scientific studies, and it began to seem to him that the course of this work and the circumstances of his own life were not connected by chance. At first incomprehensible and abrupt, the records once formed under his hands into an inadvertent connection, as if lines of fate were lined up in the force field of time. There was also a letter from an unknown person in the chest, from the contents of which it was deducted that he was writing to a woman with whom twenty years ago they had a difficult love relationship. Then, already with another woman, this man ended up in exile, where they had a boy, a son, sent for a while to Russia, to his wife's parents. In search of new materials, Lizavin and Maxim Sievers, an unintentional Moscow guest, went to a former classmate and saw his wife, the nervous, vulnerable beauty Zoya. Then he accidentally picked her up at the station (something, apparently, embarrassed her peace to Sivere), who had left her husband into the unknown, settled her behind the wall with an old neighbor. Then everything happened to them without their participation, time flowed with moon juice, gratitude and delight ... Well, now mom will wait for her grandchildren, Lizavin thought. But Zoya did not have time to say anything: the old woman died, and her beloved disappeared while he was fussing about the funeral. He arrived in Moscow, and there Sievers' wife gave Maxim's diary to read (her husband was serving time as a prisoner of conscience). The diary was about his father (Socialist-Revolutionary past, emigration, a thin face with a nervous cut of the nostrils, a son from his first wife, not Maxim, sent to Russia), about Zoya and about him, Lizavin - what exactly he could have saved Zoya. Along the way, new things were found out about Milashevich. Returning after expulsion to Stolbenets, he saw his wife years later, who came from exile through Petrograd as a representative of the new government. Did you go to him? Because her parents had a boy, a son. But she stayed with him, having lost both her voice and the ability to move - economic exploits were her husband's fantasy. There was a growing feeling that a bunch of candy wrappers is an implicit self-growing book, a world that Milashevich created in order to make the fleeting enduring through the retention of moments taken from time. Just like he kept his beloved, such a vulnerable woman next to him. Lizavin met Zoya unexpectedly: he ended up in the hospital, and she was a nurse there. And again I did not have time to say the main thing, as she disappeared. Feelings of error, inaccuracy or guilt pinched. Here he found, managed to keep. And he, Lizavin, had Lucy. There is no love, but there is pity, and tenderness, and the wisdom of a blind body, and the cunning of a poor mind. And inside her already eyeless fish stretches into the darkness with small searching lips. They broadcast on the radio: Maxim Sivere. Done. Now there is no one else to hope for and maybe it's not too late to find. Maybe only this sense of connection is called destiny. You are free to accept it or not, but someone is still waiting for you. Only you. I. N. Slyusareva Victoria Samoilovna Tokareva (b. 1937) A day without lies Story (1964) Twenty-five-year-old Valentine, a high school teacher, wakes up one morning feeling happy because he has dreamed of a rainbow. Valentin is late for work - he teaches French at a high school. He thinks that lately he has begun to lie too often, and understands that lying on trifles means that he is not free and is afraid of someone. Valentine decides to live the day without lying. Once he wanted to study at the Literary Institute in the department of literary translation, then - to become a translator and travel abroad. Neither of them succeeded. As it was not possible after the end of the foreign language to leave for the steppe, which he dreamed of, it was not possible because of the mother and beloved girl Nina. Now he translates stories from one language to another, although no one promises him money. In the trolley bus, Valentin drops three kopecks into the cashier and tears off the ticket - because he is sorry to overpay a kopeck by dropping a nickel. He honestly tells the inspector who noticed this about the reason for the underpayment, and, surprised, she does not charge him a fine. At school, he begins his usual lesson in the fifth "B" grade. Student Sobakin, as always, climbed the Swedish wall, but Valentine does not require him to sit at the desk. Instead of explaining boring grammar to the children, Valentin tells them about literary translation, recites "Cola Brugnon" in the translation of Lozinsky and Rabelais in the translation of Lyubimov. The children listen to Rabelais for the first time in their lives, and Valentin sees that for the first time they are not looking through him. He does not try to justify himself to the head teacher Vera Petrovna for being late, and she says that it is impossible to talk to him today. Leaving school, Valentin buys grapes without a queue, because he is in a hurry to Nina, with whom he quarreled yesterday; the queue silently allows him to do so. Valentin does not know if he loves Nina, whom he has known for five years, but he has the feeling that the Lord God himself entrusted him with the care of her. But he does not want to deceive Nina, declaring his love, on this day. At dinner, Nina's mother, who thinks Valentin is a strange person, asks if the soup is tasty - and he cannot answer diplomatically. The father retells the story he read in Pravda, about how the eagles attacked the plane. One eagle pierced its chest, and two flew away. Valentin thinks: would he throw himself on a plane with his chest or would he fly away? Nina's mother believes that only the last fool can throw herself on a plane. Finally, Valentin confesses to Nina's parents that he is waiting for them to leave ... Hearing this, the mother declares that he is "getting out". Valentine is surprised to himself: all day he tried to be the way he is, but no one took him seriously. The controller thought that he was playing a trick on her, the head teacher - that he was flirting, Nina - that he was wisecracking, and her mother - that she was "getting out." Only the children got it right. He lived the day the way he wanted, he was not afraid of anyone and did not lie about trifles, because if you lie about trifles, then by inertia you will lie about the main thing. But Valentine understands that it is impossible to repeat such a day tomorrow, because you can tell the truth only if you live by the truth. "Otherwise, either lie or hang up." He hangs up so as not to offend Nina, when Lenka, a friend who called him on Nina's number, reports that a woman is waiting for Valentina. Once Lenka left for the steppe after the institute, but Valentin did not leave - he just wanted to. On a day spent without lying, Valentine realizes that in a few years he will turn into a loser, a person "who wanted to." To Nina's question what he is going to do tomorrow, he replies: "To break his whole life." Nina thinks that tomorrow he is going to propose to her... T. A. Sotnikova Lyudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaya (b. 1938) Music lessons Drama (1973) Ivanov, a cohabitant of the thirty-eight-year-old Granya, returns from prison to the poorly furnished Gavrilovs' apartment. He says he wants to see his newly born daughter Galya and live a quiet family life. The Gavrilovs do not believe him. The eldest daughter of Granya, eighteen-year-old Nina, is especially uncompromisingly opposed to the drunkard Ivanov. She was forced to leave school, now she works in a grocery store and nurses little Galya. Despite Nina's dissatisfaction and the exhortations of the curious neighbor Anna Stepanovna, Granya decides to let Ivanov go. The only son Nikolai returns from the army to the apartment of the wealthy neighbors of the Kozlovs. Parents are happy about the return of their son. The father demands that his son play something on the piano, and complains that he never finished music school, despite all the efforts of his parents, who spared nothing for him. Joy is overshadowed by the fact that Nikolai brought Nadya with him, which causes open hostility from Fyodor Ivanovich's father and grandmother. Mother, Taisiya Petrovna, behaves with accentuated courtesy. Nadia works as a house painter and lives in a hostel. She smokes, drinks wine, stays overnight in Nikolai's room, behaves independently and does not try to please the groom's parents. The Kozlovs are sure that Nadya is claiming their living space. The next day, Nadia leaves without saying goodbye. Nikolai rushes to the hostel after her, but she declares that he is not suitable for her. Nina does not want to live in the same apartment with the drunkard Ivanov. All day she stands on the street at the entrance. Here she is seen by Nikolai, who was once teased by her fiancé. Nikolai is indifferent to Nina. Hoping to keep her son away from Nadia, Taisiya Petrovna invites Nina to visit and offers to stay. Nina is glad to not have to come home. Grana Kozlova, who came to pick up her daughter, explains that the girl will be better with them, and asks not to come again. Three months later, Granya reappears in the Kozlovs' apartment: she needs to go to the hospital for an abortion, but there is no one to leave little Galya with. Ivanov drinks. Granya leaves the baby to Nina. By this time, the Kozlovs had already realized that Nikolai was living with Nina out of boredom. They want to get rid of Nina, reproach her with their good deeds. Seeing Galya, the Kozlovs finally decide to send Nina home. But at that moment Nadia appears. You can hardly recognize her: she is pregnant and looks very bad. Instantly orienting herself, Taisiya Petrovna announces to Nadia that Nikolai has already married, and presents Galya as his child. Nadia leaves. Nina hears this conversation. Frightened by the unexpected appearance of Nadia, the Kozlovs demand that Nikolai urgently marry Nina. It turns out that he knows about Nadia's pregnancy and that she tried to poison herself. Nikolai refuses to marry Nina, but his parents are not far behind. They persuade Nina too, explain to her: it is important to take a man on a leash, give birth to a child for him, and then he will get used to the place and will not go anywhere - he will watch football on TV, occasionally drink beer or play dominoes. After listening to all this, Nina goes home, leaving the things given to her by the Kozlovs. Parents are afraid that now Nikolai will marry Nadia. But the son brings clarity: earlier, perhaps, he would have married Nadia, but now the relationship with her turned out to be too serious and he does not want to "get involved with this matter." having calmed down, the Kozlovs sit down to watch hockey. The grandmother goes to live with another daughter. A swing swings over the darkened stage, on which Nina and Nadia are sitting. "If you do not pay attention to them, they will fall behind," Taisiya Petrovna advises animatedly. Nikolai pushes away the incoming swing with his feet. T. A. Sotnikova Three girls in blue Comedy (1980) Three women "over thirty" live in the summer with their little sons in the country. Svetlana, Tatyana and Ira are second cousins, they raise their children alone (although Tatyana, the only one of them, has a husband). Women quarrel, figuring out who owns half of the dacha, whose son is the offender, and whose son is offended ... Svetlana and Tatyana live in the dacha for free, but the ceiling is leaking in their half. Ira rents a room from Feodorovna, the mistress of the second half of the dacha. But she is forbidden to use the toilet belonging to the sisters. Ira meets her neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich. He cares for her, admires her, calling her a beauty queen. As a sign of the seriousness of his feelings, he organizes the construction of a toilet for Ira. Ira lives in Moscow with her mother, who constantly listens to her own illnesses and reproaches her daughter for leading the wrong way of life. When Ira was fifteen years old, she ran away to spend the night at the stations, and even now, having arrived home with a sick five-year-old Pavlik, she leaves the child with her mother and quietly goes to Nikolai Ivanovich. Nikolai Ivanovich is touched by Ira's story about her youth: he also has a fifteen-year-old daughter, whom he adores. Believing in the love of Nikolai Ivanovich, about which he speaks so beautifully, Ira follows him to Koktebel, where her lover is resting with his family. In Koktebel, Nikolai Ivanovich's attitude towards Ira changes: she annoys him with her devotion, from time to time he demands the keys to her room in order to retire with his wife. Soon the daughter of Nikolai Ivanovich learns about Ira. Unable to withstand his daughter's tantrum, Nikolai Ivanovich drives away his annoying mistress. He offers her money, but Ira refuses. On the phone, Ira tells her mother that she lives in a dacha, but cannot come for Pavlik, because the road has been washed out. During one of the calls, the mother reports that she urgently goes to the hospital and leaves Pavlik at home alone. Calling back in a few minutes, Ira realizes that her mother did not deceive her: the child is alone at home, he has no food. At the Simferopol airport, Ira sells her raincoat and on her knees begs the airport attendant to help her fly to Moscow. Svetlana and Tatyana, in the absence of Ira, occupy her country room. They are determined, because during the rain half of them was completely flooded and it became impossible to live there. The sisters fight again over the upbringing of their sons. Svetlana doesn't want her Maxim to grow up squishy and die as early as his father. Ira suddenly appears with Pavlik. She says that her mother was admitted to the hospital with a strangulated hernia, that Pavlik was left alone at home, and she miraculously managed to fly out of Simferopol. Svetlana and Tatyana announce to Ira that they will now live in her room. To their surprise, Ira doesn't mind. She hopes for the help of her sisters: she has no one else to count on. Tatyana declares that now they will take turns buying food and cooking, and Maxim will have to stop fighting. "There are two of us now!" she says to Svetlana. T. A. Sotnikova Your circle Story (1988) A friendly company for many years gathered on Fridays at Marisha and Serge. The owner of the house, Serge, talent and common pride, figured out the principle of flying saucers, he was invited to a special institute by the head of the department, but he preferred the freedom of an ordinary junior researcher at the Institute of the World Ocean. Andrey the informer, who worked with Serge, also belonged to the company. His informing did not frighten the audience: Andrei was obliged to knock only during ocean expeditions, but he was not hired on land. Andrei appeared first with his wife Anyuta, then with various women, and finally with his new wife Nadia, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy colonel, who looked like a spoiled schoolgirl, whose eye fell out on her cheek from excitement. Another participant in the Friday gatherings was the talented Zhora, the future doctor of sciences, a half-Jew, which no one ever stuttered about as some kind of his vice. There was always Tanya, a meter eighty-tall Valkyrie, who maniacally brushed her snow-white teeth for twenty minutes three times a day. Twenty-year-old Lenka Marchukaite, a beauty in the "export version", for some reason was never accepted into the company, although she rubbed herself into Marisha's confidence. And finally, the heroine belonged to the company with her husband Kolya, Serge's bosom friend. Whether ten years have passed in these drunken Fridays, whether fifteen, Czech, Polish, Chinese, Romanian events swept, political trials took place - all this flew past "its own circle". "Sometimes stray birds from other, adjacent areas of human activity" flew in - for example, district police officer Valera got into the habit of walking, tracking down unknown people at parties and dreaming of the imminent arrival of a "master" like Stalin. Once they all loved hiking, campfires, lived together in tents by the sea in the Crimea. All the boys, including Kolya, have been in love with Marisha, an inaccessible priestess of love, since their institute days. At the end of the common life, Kolya went to her, leaving his wife. By that time, Serge had left Marisha, continuing, however, to maintain the appearance of family life for the sake of his beloved daughter Sonechka, a child prodigy with outstanding abilities in drawing, music and poetry. The seven-year-old son of the heroine and Kolya, Alyosha, had no abilities, which terribly annoyed his father, who saw his copy in his son. The heroine is a tough person and treats everyone with mockery. She knows that she is very smart, and she is sure that what she does not understand does not exist at all. She has no illusions about the future and the fate of her son, because she knows that she is ill with an incurable kidney disease with progressive blindness, from which her mother recently died in terrible agony. Heartbroken, his father died of a heart attack shortly after his mother. Immediately after the funeral of his mother, Kolya just suggested that his wife get a divorce. Knowing about her imminent death, the heroine does not count on her ex-husband to take care of her son: on his rare visits, he only screams at the boy, annoyed by his lack of talent, and once hit him in the face when, after the death of his grandfather and grandmother, the child began to urinate to bed. On Easter, the heroine invites "her circle" to visit. Easter gatherings with her and Kolya have always been the same tradition as Friday ones with Marisha and Serge, and none of the company dares to refuse. Before that day, she cooked a lot of food with her mom and dad, then her parents took Alyoshka and left for a garden plot an hour and a half drive from the city, so that it would be convenient for guests to eat, drink and walk all night. On the first Easter after the death of her parents, the heroine takes her son to the cemetery to visit his grandparents, without explanation showing the boy what he will have to do after her death. Before the guests arrive, she sends Alyoshka alone to the summer cottage. During the usual general drinking, the heroine speaks aloud about the vices of "her circle": Kolya's ex-husband retires to the bedroom to take away the sheets; Marisha takes a closer look at the apartment, thinking about how best to exchange it; the successful Zhora condescendingly talks to the loser Serge; the daughter of Serge and Marisha Sonechka is sent to the time of the party to the son of Tanya the Valkyrie, and everyone knows what these children do in private. And in eight years, Sonechka will become the mistress of her own father, whose crazy love for his daughter "leads through life in corners, nooks and crannies and dark basements." The heroine casually announces that she is going to send her son to an orphanage, which causes general indignation. Finally getting ready to leave, the guests find Alyosha on the stairs under the door. In front of the whole company, the heroine rushes to her son and, with a wild cry until he bleeds, beats him in the face. Her calculation turns out to be correct: people of "their own circle", who could easily cut each other to pieces, could not stand the sight of children's blood. Outraged, Kolya takes his son, everyone is busy with the boy. Looking after them from the window, the heroine thinks that after her death, all this "sentimental" company will be embarrassing not to take care of her orphaned child and he will not go to boarding schools. She managed to arrange his fate by sending him without a key to a summer cottage. The boy had to return, and she played the role of the monster mother accurately. Parting forever with her son, the heroine hopes that he will come to her at the cemetery on Easter and forgive her for hitting him in the face instead of blessing. T. A. Sotnikova Venedikt Vasilyevich Erofeev (1938-1990) Moscow - Petushki, etc. Poem in Prose (1969) Venichka Erofeev travels from Moscow to a regional center near Moscow called Petushki. The sweetheart of the hero lives there, delightful and unique, to which he goes on Fridays, having bought a bag of sweets "Cornflowers" as a present. Venichka Erofeev has already begun his journey. The day before, he took a glass of bison, and then - on Kalyaevskaya - another glass, only not bison, but coriander, this was followed by two more mugs of Zhiguli beer and from the neck - alb-de-dessert. "Of course, you will ask: and then, Venichka, and then, what did you drink?" The hero will not be slow in answering, however, with some difficulty restoring the sequence of his actions: there are two glasses of hunting on Chekhov Street. And then he went to the Center to look at the Kremlin at least once, although he knew that he would still end up at the Kursk railway station. But he didn’t get to Kursk either, but ended up in some unknown entrance, from which he left - with a cloudy heaviness in his heart - when it was dawn. With pathetic anguish, he asks: what is more in this burden - paralysis or nausea? "Oh, ephemeral! Oh, the most powerless and shameful time in the life of my people - the time from dawn to the opening of shops!" Venichka, as he himself says, does not go, but is drawn, overcoming hangover nausea, to the Kursk railway station, from where the train leaves for the coveted Petushki. At the train station, he walks into a restaurant, and his soul shudders in despair when the bouncer reports that there is no alcohol. Her soul craves just a little - only eight hundred grams of sherry. And for this very thirst - with all his hangover cowardice and meekness - they pick him up under white hands and push him into the air, and then a suitcase with goodies ("Oh, the bestial grin of being!"). Two more "mortal" hours will pass before departure, which Venichka prefers to pass over in silence, and now he is already on a certain rise: his suitcase has acquired some weight. It contains two bottles of Kuban, two quarters of Russian and strong rose. And two more sandwiches, because Venichka can't do her first dose without a snack. Then, up to the ninth, he already calmly manages without it, but after the ninth, a sandwich is again needed. Venichka frankly shares with the reader the finest nuances of his way of life, that is, drinking, he spat on the irony of imaginary interlocutors, among whom are God, then angels, then people. Most of all, in his soul, according to his confession, "sorrow" and "fear" and still dumbness, every day in the morning his heart exudes this infusion and bathes in it until evening. And how, knowing that "world sorrow" is not a fiction at all, not to drink Kuban? So, having examined his treasures, Venichka became weary. Is this what he needs? Does his soul yearn for this? No, this is not what he needs, but it is desirable. He takes a quarter and a sandwich, goes out into the vestibule and finally releases his spirit, weary in the conclusion, for a walk. He drinks while the train passes sections of the way between the stations Serp and Molot - Karacharovo, then Karacharovo - Chukhlinka, etc. He is already able to perceive the impressions of being, he is able to recall different stories of his life, revealing his subtle and quivering soul to the reader. One of these stories, full of black humor, is how Venichka was thrown off the brigade leadership. The production process of the hard workers consisted of playing sica, drinking vermouth and unwinding the cable. Venichka simplified the process: they stopped touching the cable altogether, played sika for a day, drank vermouth or Freshness cologne for a day. But something else ruined him. A romantic at heart, Venichka, taking care of his subordinates, introduced individual schedules and monthly reporting: who drank how much, which was reflected in the charts. It was they who accidentally ended up in the administration along with the regular social obligations of the brigade. Since then, Venichka, having rolled down the public stairs, on which he now spits, has gone on a spree. He can’t wait for Petushki, where on the platform there are red eyelashes, prostrate, and the swaying of forms, and a braid from the back of the head to the priest, and behind the Petushki is a baby, the plumpest and most meek of all babies, who knows the letter "u" and waits for it from Venichka Nuts. Queen of heaven, how far is it to Petushki! Is it possible to endure it so easily? Venichka goes out into the vestibule and drinks Kuban straight from the bottle, without a sandwich, throwing her head back like a pianist. Having drunk, he continues his mental conversation either with heaven, where they are worried that he will not make it again, or with a baby, without whom he feels lonely. No, Venichka is not complaining. Having lived in the world for thirty years, he believes that life is beautiful, and, passing through different stations, shares the wisdom gained over a not so long period of time: either he studies drunken hiccups in its mathematical aspect, or he unfolds before the reader recipes for delicious cocktails consisting of alcohol , different types of perfumes and polishes. Gradually, more and more gaining, he talks with fellow travelers, shines with a philosophical mindset and erudition. Then Venichka tells another tale to the controller Semenych, who takes fines for stowaways in grams of alcohol and is a big hunter for all sorts of alcove stories, "Shahrazad" Venichka is the only stowaway who managed to never bring Semenych, each time listening to his stories. This continues until Venichka suddenly begins to dream of a revolution in a separate "Petushinsky" district, plenums, his election, Venichka, to the presidency, then renunciation of power and an offended return to Petushki, which he cannot find in any way. Venichka seems to come to his senses, but the passengers also smirk dirtyly at something, looking at him, then they turn to him: "comrade lieutenant", then in general indecently: "sister". And outside the window is darkness, although it seems to be morning and light. And the train most likely goes not to Petushki, but for some reason to Moscow. Venichka comes out, to her sincere amazement, and indeed in Moscow, where on the platform she is immediately attacked by four thugs. They beat him, he tries to run away. The pursuit begins. And here it is - the Kremlin, which he so dreamed of seeing, here it is - the paving stones of Red Square, here is the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, past which the hero fleeing from his pursuers runs. And everything ends tragically in an unknown entrance, where those four overtake poor Venichka and stick an awl in his very throat ... E. A. Shklovsky Boris Petrovich Ekimov (b. 1938) Kholushino Compound Story (1979) The glory of the strongest owner on the Don farm Vikhlyaevsky is firmly held by the one-legged bean Kholusha, according to the passport Bartholomew Vikhlyantsev, seventy years old. So he lived up to the moment when they allowed the peasants, "so that they keep everything as much as possible." And then, after all, the disabled person had to indulge in tricks, just to hide the number of livestock in the subsidiary farm. Few people on the farm remembered that a working family used to live in this estate: a father, mother, three sons and a daughter. Two big wars and years of hard times swept them through life. The spacious yard was once surrounded by bases, sheds, kitchens and other buildings. Cattle lived and bred here, a bucket cow with a two-year-old heifer and a six-month-old bull, a dozen goats and a goat Yerema, and with them six lambs rested on winter contentment. Pigs grunted peacefully and two dozen geese wandered around the yard and a herd of well-fed turkeys with two turkeys. In one of the Epiphany frosts, Kholyush discovered a trace of a single-horse sleigh in his courtyard. There is no hope for a local drunkard. Just in case, I went to the collective farm office - the duty officer promised to call the district police. And after that Kholyusha realized: is all the good intact? I looked around, I felt White-sided - it should have been kitten; checked White-Eared - the old man dreamed of making the whole goat farm with such rare fluff as hers - with a blue tint. But the dearest of all animals was Zorka. It was her tenth year, and she led her family from a distant, legendary Star - the foremother of milking, "food" cows. Zorkina's years were over, it was time to change her, and soon she was to calve again ... The district militia inspected the scene the next morning. Touched Kholusha began to invite both guardians of order to the table. One of them seemed to be waiting for this. It turned out that Egor is the brother-in-law of the victim, the husband of the granddaughter of Kholyushin's own sister Fetinya, who lives in the city. Egor was not embarrassed by the abomination of the desolation of Kholyushin's dwelling, in which hordes of mice were operating, he did not disdain to taste the master's fried eggs with bacon with vodka and listened to a simple story about life and being: "Everyday at work ... Doing and deeds. Hands break off ..." Egor was struck by the scale of Kholyushin economy. He felt sorry for the old man and felt respect for him. And suddenly it dawned on him. In a city not far from them, a house with a garden is sold for five thousand, if only Kholusha could move there and live with Fetinya and her eldest daughter, who are suffering from the oppression of another son-in-law. The police car drove off with the guest, and another concern fell upon Kholusha - Belobokaya was plain. Already late at night, Kholyusha remembered about Yegorov's proposal and decided to insist on his own: "It is unthinkable stupid to leave such an estate and go to a foreign side. We will live together here! .." In the evening of the next day, the thieves again came to Kholusha. When the neighbors arrived in time for his cry, they found that everything was turned upside down in his house, and the owner himself was stretched out on the bog. Kholusha was only deafened. In the house, he woke up and the first thing he looked at the locks on the chests in the upper room. And when he discovered the loss of an accordion from the red corner, he again lost consciousness. Evil tongues claimed that it was in it that he kept his considerable cash. But no trouble could get rid of the usual worries. By morning Kholusha barely got up. At noon, Yegor and his partner visited the victim. He answered questions, cried, but he couldn’t remember how much money was in the accordion! Yegor redid all Kholushin's affairs, and refused the invitation to move to Vikhryaevskoye - he has a service and a family, but there are no schools or hospitals here. And Fetinje has no turning back. However, if Kholusha does not have enough money to move, Yegor promised to help. Left alone, Kholusha could not sleep for the first time in many years. His thoughts were about leaving. The thieves were not caught, and Egor's visits became more frequent, he approved the house in the regional center of Kholyusha and immediately decided in a businesslike manner that he would put new strong bases for the cattle in the courtyard. Yegor categorically rejected these plans: where to graze a cow and where to mow hay? The old garden will of course be taken away. So there is only one conclusion - to liquidate the economy! It's time to relax - play dominoes, cards. After another sleepless Kholushina night, the move became a matter of decision. Kholusha paid for the house at once. Cattle and poultry were sold with a bang. Moved furniture. Spring was approaching and the final move. It remains to find a buyer for Dawn. The new collective farm agronomist came to bargain with Yegor at a time when Kholusha was clearly out of his mind. Yesterday night Zorka calved. A new Star was born - "everything is clean with her, without bringing it!". The legend about the progenitor of the Zorka clan-tribe was embodied in this heifer. What kind of bargaining can there be if the Lord sent Kholusha such happiness in the end? And is it possible to transport a heifer from such grass and water? In addition, White-eared also brought two goats ... Yegor looked at him and did not know whether to cry or laugh. ... Kholusha died in early April. He poked his blackened face into the ground from the black porch. Found him in the evening. After the funeral, the courtyard was suddenly empty. On the farm, Kholusha was sometimes remembered, rarely kindly. And in mid-May, the collective farm electrician Mitka discovered Kholushin's harmonica in one of the deep sandy caves. She was stuffed full of papers. These were receipts-obligations for the supply of milk, meat, butter, eggs, wool, potatoes, raw materials and furs to the state. "People's Commissariat ... Ministry of Finance ... State Bank ... on the basis of a decree ... You are obliged ... Receipt No. 328857 received from Vikhlyantsev ... to the National Defense Fund in the amount of two thousand five hundred rubles ... August 16, 1941 ... 1937 ... 1939 ... 1952 ... 1960 ... 1975 ... You are obliged to hand over milk with a basic fat content (3,9%) 115 liters or melted butter 4600 ... " Mitka burned all this "office", and buried the harmonica - out of harm's way. On the farm he bought a quarter and went to Kholushino farmstead ... M. V. Chudova Anatoly Andreevich Kim (b. 1939) nightingale echo Tale (1980) On a rainy summer night in 1912, on one of the piers of the Amur, a steamship leaves a young man alone. This is the German Otto Meissner, Master of Philosophy, a student of the University of Königsberg. An indistinct feeling that he had once been here is stored in his soul. It seems to him that he is the counterpart of another Otto Meissner, who already existed a long time ago or will exist in the times to come. Otto Meissner touches in his pocket a letter of recommendation to the local opium buyer, the Korean Tyan, from the Khabarovsk merchant Opoelov. Otto's grandfather, Friedrich Meissner, had long-standing and great business with the merchant. There are many points in the prescription that the grandfather made before the trip for his grandson. The purpose of visiting the Far East is to study the production of opium and the possibilities of monopoly coverage of the trade in this product, as well as to obtain another useful knowledge for the young seeking mind. Like Charon, an old man in a boat appears at the pier. Otto Meissner asks him how to find the merchant Tian. The guides lead the master to the village above the high bank. In the merchant's house, Otto hears a woman's weeping and wailing. After reading the letter, the merchant leaves the guest in the room allotted to him. Going to bed, Otto mentally wishes his grandfather good night. After the morning toilet, Otto prepares coffee on an alcohol stove, the smell of which spreads throughout the house. The owner comes, tells about his misfortune: his youngest daughter is seriously ill and is dying. But Tian assures the guest that he will do everything for him as Opoelov writes in the letter. The Korean leaves, but after some time returns and asks for a cup of coffee. It turns out that a dying eighteen-year-old girl wants to try something that smells so amazing. Otto makes a new coffee pot and brings it to the girl. And during the time that a thin stream of coffee is pouring into a porcelain cup, the grandson of Otto Meissner, who tells this story many years later, sees everything that will come true between his grandfather and the Korean girl Olga prostrated before him on the sickbed. The patient is recovering. And the merchant Tian now fully pays attention to the guest, teaching him the tricky secrets of poppy cultivation. One night, Otto listens to the nightingale for a long time and in a dream sees his explanation with Olga. Above the waters of the Styx, on a high bridge, under which one can hear the dull cough of Charon left without work, they meet, and Olga says that from now on and forever she belongs only to him, Otto, and offers to run away from her parents' house together. And not in a dream, but in reality, they soon discuss the plan of escape. Olga leaves home - supposedly to stay with her relatives, in another village she boards a steamer. By the time this ship arrives, Otto says goodbye to the owner and sails away - already together with Olga. After the first kiss, Olga goes to the cabin window to look at her native shore for the last time. And he sees an older sister clinging to the glass. The sister rushes into the water and shouts: "You will come back to me, Olga! You'll see!" On the second day, the fugitives get off the ship and get married in the church of a large village. On a high bank, under an apple tree, on a camp bed, Otto puts his wife to bed. And he himself looks into the sky, talking with one of the stars - with his future grandson. In Chita, where Otto brings his wife, he lives with the confidant of his grandfather, the owner of the fur factories Ryder. This time is the best in the life of young spouses. By Christmas, it turns out that Olga carries another life within her. Otto hides nothing in his letters to his grandfather and receives discreet congratulations in response. Grandfather reminds: in addition to personal happiness, a person should not forget about his highest destiny, his duties, and recommends his grandson to continue the journey to study the asbestos deposits of Tuva and the Baikal omul fisheries. In Irkutsk, Olga's first child is born. This event forces Otto to postpone all business for a long time, and only by the end of August they leave for Tuva. Nothing reveals the powerful connection of people through love like a moment of mortal danger. In winter, when the Meisners are riding in the steppes on a sleigh with a Khakass driver, they are attacked by wolves. Olga bends under a huge sheepskin coat over a child, the Khakass wildly tears the reins, Otto shoots back from the attacking wolves. Losing one predator after another, the flock slowly falls behind. And now a new driver is sitting in the cart, and it is harnessed by three large wolves, which the master of philosophy killed in a fight, and they are gaining height above the ground, looking in amazement at the heavenly world passing by. This is how the narrator of this story, one of the numerous fiery-red grandchildren, presents his grandfather and grandmother - Otto and Olga rewarded their descendants with red hair and Korean facial features. The war finds the Meisners in the Volga town. A German traveling in the depths of Russia arouses suspicion, and Otto himself decides to go to the police to explain himself to the authorities and hand over the revolver. Seeing him off, Olga feels the second child move under her heart. On the way, Meisner meets a huge crowd of demonstrators, and only miraculously "Teuton", as menacingly shouting to him from the crowd, avoids blind reprisal. Otto leaves the city, towards the eastern side of the horizon, and shoots himself at the edge of a distant rye field, having experienced nothing at that moment but a feeling of guilt towards his wife and mild physical pain. The owner of the house where the Meisners lived goes to the front, leaving his childless wife Nadya at home, with whom Olga is going through the war, the revolution and the Volga famine. In the twenty-fifth year, Olga and her children returned to the Far East to her sister, confirming her prediction. The narrator of this story, the grandson of Otto Meissner and Olga, leaves Moscow after the betrayal of his wife, settles in a Tatar village on the Volga and works at a local school. At night, he listens to nightingale concerts, as if echoing from the past, mentally talks with his grandfather Otto Meissner about the fact that everything in this world has a reason and its own special meaning. And this knowledge, revealed in their conversations, can be passed on even to their unborn golden-headed grandchildren - "this is why harmonious human writings live, rattle, run through transparent earthly time." V. M. Sotnikov Valery Georgievich Popov (b. 1939) Life is a success Tale (1977) This is a tragic farce, grotesque story, consisting of a dozen oral short stories. The author himself tells it like this: “Three friends live who met at the institute. Gradually, life separates them. Suddenly, two learn that the third fell through the ice near Leningrad, in January. Friends come to commemorate him and remember all their lives. And in the morning he comes out from under the ice alive, healthy and with a fish under his arm: it turns out that they downloaded water from under the ice and he calmly sat on a dry bottom all night. The author wanted to say that it is not necessary to die. " The author also wanted to say that life is given to a person once and it is stupid not to love it, your only one. It is even more foolish to spend it on such petty, boring things as struggle, envy: one should only do what brings pleasure. There is nothing that cannot be done in an hour. You can localize misfortune, and not consider that because of it your whole life collapsed. You can not stumble on the bars of the lattice, but calmly pass between the bars. The author expresses himself with such aphorisms, and so do his heroes. Fragmentary, with free movement in time and "burned bridges" between chapters (also the author's definition), the story begins as pure fantasy, cheerful, fascinating, not overshadowed by anything. The heroes - Lekha, Dzynya and the narrator, Popov's favorite trinity - make jokes and puns, make friends and fall in love, somehow study architecture (although they work solely by inspiration), and the missing money (which is always not enough) is received from the elephant in the zoo - he simply hands them a hundred each with his trunk if necessary. Unfortunately, one of the author's friends, Lekha, acts as a true blacksmith of his own misfortune: he always chooses the most difficult path in life on principle. Previously, ants followed him everywhere, which he brought with him to the city from his native village. Then the column of ants, bent over with a question mark, leaves Lekha, who is ashamed of them: for the first time he saw so clearly, the author is amazed, how his happiness leaves a person! With the departure of the ants, the grotesques also end: the cheerful hedgehog no longer offers the main character to freshen up with a frog from a hangover, the elephant does not give money, cheerful hamsters do not introduce beautiful girls ... The story of the main character's marriage is connected with the hamster. While Lyokha is absorbed in the struggle, and Dzynya is in a career (as a result of which the first becomes embittered, and the second becomes bureaucratic), the hero-narrator tries to preserve his young frivolity. On the street, he sees a hamster running fast somewhere from the mistress. This hostess becomes the wife of the priestly protagonist - after a fascinating, funny and unusual romance, when the room of a legless disabled person, terribly proud of his participation in someone else's happiness, is used for dates. Youth, however, passes, and "Life is good" turns into a completely realistic narrative. The hero, who is most concerned about not hurting anyone, not creating embarrassment for anyone with his anguish or discontent, does not at all receive retribution from those around him for his lightness and ease. Everyone dumps their problems on him. Life with the wife's parents is not a holiday, the work is more and more routine, and the favorite aphorism "The hut is rich, the wife is resilient" is less and less true. Finally, the hero falls ill: this is a relapse of a long-standing stomach disease, which once, in his youth, was cured with downright magical ease. Now there is nothing magical: everyone gets sick - wife, daughter, dog; for the hero, the matter smells of death at all; a young doctor who once performed an operation on him can now be obtained only for a big bribe ... True, even here everything is resolved almost miraculously: the doctor, despite all his busyness and venerability, operates on the hero according to old memory and thereby saves. But his life is fading before his eyes: everyday life, fatigue, boredom, the absence of cheerful and sympathetic comrades turn the only and such a successful life into a dull and dreary survival. The whole second part of the story is a yearning for lightness and fun, for that "philosophy of happiness" that permeates Popov's early prose and his main book. Enthusiastic surprise before the world, love for things and premises, the purpose of which is mysterious and incomprehensible - all this goes to no one knows where. Even a spider in the apartment of a hero who knows how to write, dipping into ink - and he writes a dull phrase: "I wish I could buy a coat for my wife, you scoundrel!" And the hero, plunging deeper and deeper into the so-called Real Life, in which there is a place for feat, but no place for joy, more and more often thinks to himself: "Oh, life!" In addition, his friends set him up at every turn, always riding on his hump and at his expense. A certain return of illusions, friendliness, hope is observed only in the completely cathartic finale of the story, when three friends, who have grown old and hardly find topics for conversation, meet at the dacha of the protagonist (the same dacha that Lekha once burned down during his wedding) . The house has since been rebuilt, and friendship, as it turns out, has not gone away. After long and unsuccessful attempts to kindle the stove, the friends are going to sleep gloomily, but then the stove flares up by itself, without any effort on the part of our summer residents. And in the midst of this idyll, remembering their youth and feeling a surge of mutual tenderness, Lyokha, Dzynya and the author watch the pink waves run along the ceiling. D. L. Bykov Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky (1940-1996) Dedicated to Yalta Poem (1969) Several people suspected of murder give evidence to the investigator, which is given in the order in which they were filmed. We do not hear the investigator's questions, but we reconstruct them according to the content of the answers of the interrogated. A person involved as a witness or a suspect in the investigation of a murder case answers the questions of the investigator. From his answers it follows that on Saturday evening his acquaintance was to come to him to make out Chigorin's chess study, which they agreed on on Tuesday by telephone. However, on Saturday afternoon, his friend called and said that he could not come in the evening. The testifier says that he did not notice traces of excitement in the interlocutor's voice over the phone, and explains some strange pronunciation only as a consequence of shell shock. The conversation proceeded calmly, his friend apologized, and they agreed to meet on Wednesday, having previously phoned. The conversation lasted about eight hours, after which he tried to analyze the etude alone and made a move that his friend advised him, but this move embarrassed him with its absurdity, strangeness and some inconsistency with the manner of Chigorin's playing, a move that nullified the very meaning of the etude. The interrogator calls a name and asks if it says anything to the person being interrogated. It turns out that he was in touch with this woman, but they broke up five years ago. He knew that she had become friends with his friend and chess partner, but assumed that he did not know about their former relationship, since the woman herself would hardly tell him about it, and he prudently removed her photograph before his arrival. He found out about the murder that same night. This woman herself called and informed. "That's who was excited voice!" The next to testify is a woman who reports that over the past year she rarely saw the murdered man, no more than twice a month, and each time he warned her in advance by calling about his arrival so that there would be no overlap: after all, she works in the theater, and there are all sorts of surprises. The murdered man knew that she had a man with whom the relationship was serious, but, despite this, she sometimes met with him. He, according to her, was strange and unlike others, during meetings with him the whole world, everything around her seemed to cease to exist, "on the surface of things - both moving and stationary - something like a film suddenly appeared, or rather, dust, which gave them some senseless resemblance. It was this that attracted her to him and forced her not to break completely, even in the name of the captain, with whom she intended to link her fate. She does not remember when and where she met the murdered man, it seems that this happened on the beach in Livadia, but she remembers very well his words, with which their acquaintance began. He said: “I understand how disgusting I am to you…” She doesn’t know anything about his family, he didn’t introduce her to his friends, and she doesn’t know who killed him, but this is clearly not his chess partner, this weak-willed person , a rag who "went crazy with the Queen's Gambits". She never understood their friendship at all. And the captain was at the theater that evening, they returned together and found a body lying in her front door. At first, because of the darkness, they imagined that he was drunk, but then she recognized him by his white cloak, which at that moment was covered in mud. Apparently, he crawled for a long time. Then they brought him into her apartment and called the police. Following the woman, the captain gives testimony. But he is afraid to disappoint the investigator, since he knows nothing about the murdered man, although he, for obvious reasons, "hated this subject." They didn’t know each other, he just knew that his girlfriend had someone, but who exactly didn’t know, and she didn’t say, not because “to hide something”, but she just didn’t want to upset the captain, although there was nothing particularly upsetting there, because for almost a year, "as if there was nothing between them," which she herself confessed to him. The captain believed her, but it did not make him feel better. He simply could not help but believe, and if the investigator is surprised that with such an attitude towards people he has four stars on shoulder straps, then let him not forget that these are small stars, and many of those with whom he started already have two big stars. . Therefore, he is a loser and it is unlikely that by nature he could be a murderer. The captain has been a widower for four years now, he has a son, and on the evening of the day of the murder he was in the theater, after the performance he escorted his friend home, and they found a corpse in her entrance. He immediately recognized him, as he once saw them together in a store, and sometimes met him on the beach. Once he even spoke to him, but he answered so dismissively that the captain felt a surge of hatred and even felt that he could kill him, but then, fortunately, he still did not know who he was talking to, since he was not even familiar with the woman. They did not meet again, and then the captain met this woman at a party at the House of Officers. The captain admits that he is even glad of this turn of events, otherwise it could all drag on forever, and every time after meeting this man, his girlfriend seemed to be out of her mind. Now, he hopes, everything will work out, since, most likely, they will leave. He "has a call to the Academy", to Kyiv, where she will be taken to any theater. He even believes that they can still have a baby. Yes, he has a personal weapon, a captured "parabellum" has remained from the war. Yes, he knows that the wound was a gunshot wound. Says the captain's son. "That evening, dad went to the theater, and I stayed at home with my grandmother." They were watching TV, it was Saturday and they didn't have to do their homework. The program was about Sorge, but he overlooked it. Through the window, he saw that the deli opposite was still open, so it was not ten, and he wanted ice cream. leaving, he put his father's pistol in the pocket of his jacket, as he knew where his father was hiding the key to the box. He took it just like that and did not think about anything. He does not remember how he found himself in the park above the port, it was quiet, the moon was shining, "well, in general it was great beautiful." He did not know what time it was, but it was not yet twelve, since the Pushkin, which leaves at twelve on Saturday, had not yet departed, and the illuminated colored windows in the dance-room in his stern looked like an emerald. He met that man at the exit of the park and asked him for a cigarette, but the man did not give it, calling him a scoundrel. "I don't know what happened to me! Yeah, like someone hit me. It's like something filled my eyes, and I don't remember how I turned around and shot him." The man continued to stand in the same place and smoke, but because the boy decided that he had not hit. He screamed and took off running. He doesn't want to be told about this to his father because he is afraid. When he returned home, he put the pistol back in its place. Grandma had already fallen asleep without even turning off the TV. "Don't tell dad! It won't kill you! After all, I didn't hit! I missed! Really? Really? Really?!" In the cabin of the ship "Colchis" the investigator is talking to someone. They say that there were three suspects, which in itself is already eloquent, since the position suggests that each of them was capable of committing the murder. But this deprives the investigation of any meaning, "because as a result" you only find out who exactly, "but not at all about the fact that others could not ...". And in general it turns out that "the killer is the one who has no reason to kill..." But "this is an apology for absurdity! Apotheosis of senselessness! Nonsense!" The ship has left the pier. Crimea "was melting in the midnight darkness. Or rather, it returned to those outlines that the geographical map tells us about." E. L. Beznosov Marble Drama (1982) In the second century after our era, two people are sitting in a prison cell - Tullius Varro and Publius Marcellus. The prison is located in a huge steel tower, about a kilometer high, and the cell of Publius and Tullius is located at a height of about seven hundred meters. Tullius and Publius did not commit any crimes, but under the laws of the Empire, established by Emperor Tiberius, they are serving life sentences. These laws are based on statistics, according to which at all times about 6,7 percent of the population of any country is in prison. Emperor Tiberius reduced this number to 3 percent, abolished the death penalty and issued a decree according to which 3 percent should be imprisoned for life, regardless of whether a particular person committed a crime or not, but the computer determines who should be imprisoned. The cell of Tullius and Publius is "a cross between a one-room apartment and a spacecraft cabin." In the middle of the chamber is the steel support of the Tower, which runs along the entire height; in the chamber, it is decorated like a Doric column. Inside it is an elevator and a garbage chute. The bodies of the dead prisoners are lowered into the garbage chute, at the bottom of which are steel chopping knives, and even lower - live crocodiles. All of these serve as measures to prevent prison breaks. With the help of an elevator located inside the pipe, everything necessary is supplied to the cells, as well as what the prisoners order, the waste is removed through the garbage chute. Inside the chamber, on shelves and in niches, there are marble busts of classical writers and poets. Tullius is a Roman by origin, and Publius is a native of the province, a barbarian, as his cellmate calls him. This is not only a characteristic of their origin, but also a characteristic of their attitude. The Roman Tullius does not protest against his position, but this does not mean resignation to fate, but an attitude towards it as a form of being, the most adequate to its essence, for the lack of space is compensated by an excess of Time. Tullius is stoically calm and does not feel the loss of what is left behind the walls of the prison, since he is not attached to anything or anyone. He considers such an attitude to the world worthy of a real Roman, and he is annoyed by Publius' attachment to worldly pleasures. He calls this barbarism, which prevents one from comprehending the true meaning of life, which is to merge with Time; get rid of sentiment, love, hate, the very thought of freedom. This should lead to a merger with Time, dissolution in it. Tullius is not annoyed by the uniformity of the prison routine, since the true Roman, in his opinion, does not seek diversity, but, on the contrary, longs for uniformity, because he looks at all sup specie aeternitatis. The idea of Rome in his understanding is to bring everything to its logical end - and beyond. Anything else he calls barbarism. Time in the cell passes in constant bickering between Tullius and Publius, during which Tullius reproaches Publius for his desire for freedom, which he also considers a manifestation of barbarism. Escape is the exit of their History into Anthropology, "or better: from Time - into history." The idea of the Tower is a struggle with space, "for the absence of space is the presence of Time." Because, he believes, the Tower is so hated by Publius, that the passion for space is the essence of barbarism, while the true Roman prerogative is the desire to know pure Time. Tullius does not strive for freedom, although he believes that it is possible to get out of prison. But it is precisely the desire for the possible that is disgusting for the Roman. Publius, according to Tullius, is easier, like a barbarian, to become a Christian than a Roman, because out of self-pity he dreams of either escaping or committing suicide, but both, in his opinion, give away the idea of eternal life. Tullius offers Publius a bet on sleeping pills, which is supposed to be prisoners, that he will escape. While Publius is sleeping, Tullius, leaving only the busts of Ovid and Horace in the chamber, throws the rest of the marble statues into the garbage chute, in the expectation that with their weight, increased by the acceleration of free fall from a height of seven hundred meters, they will destroy the chopping knives and kill the crocodiles. Then he stuffs the mattress and pillows into the garbage chute and climbs in himself. Waking up, Publius notices something wrong in the cell and discovers the absence of busts. He notices that Tullius has disappeared, but cannot believe it after realizing what has happened. Publius begins to think about a new cellmate and informs the praetor, that is, the jailer, on the internal telephone about the disappearance of Tullius Varro. But it turns out that the praetor already knows this, since Tullius himself called him from the city and said that he was returning home, that is, to the Tower. Publius is in disarray, and at that moment Tullius appears in the cell, to the amazement of Publius, who cannot understand why Tullius, having successfully escaped, returned, but he replies that it was only to prove that he won the bet and get the sleeping pill he won , which, in essence, is freedom, and freedom is thereby a sleeping pill. But these paradoxes are alien to Publius. He is sure that if he had escaped, he would never have returned, and now there is one less way to escape. But Tullius assures that escape is always possible, but this only proves that the system is imperfect. Such a thought may suit a barbarian, but not him, a Roman striving for the absolute. He demands to give him the sleeping pill he won. Publius asks to tell how he managed to escape from the Tower, and Tullius opens the escape mechanism to him and says that it was the vial of sleeping pills that suggested the idea to him, which, like the garbage chute, has a cylindrical shape. But Publius wants to escape from prison not as a place of life, but as a place of death. He needs freedom because "there are variations on the theme of death." But, according to Tullius, the main drawback of any space, including this chamber, is that there is a place in it in which we will not be, while time is devoid of flaws, because it has everything except a place. And therefore he does not care where he will die, nor when it will happen. He is only interested in "how many waking hours is the minimum required for a computer to determine" the state of a person as being. That is, to determine if he is alive. And how many sleeping pills he "should take at a time in order to ensure this minimum." This maximum being outside of life, he believes, will really help him become like Time, "that is, its rhythm." Publius wonders why Tullius needs to sleep so long if their imprisonment is for life. But Tullius replies that "it passes for life posthumously. And if this is so, then it passes posthumously into life for life ... That is, during life there is an opportunity to find out how it will be there ... And the Roman should not miss such a chance." Tullius falls asleep, and Publius is afraid of the upcoming seventeen hours of loneliness, but Tullius consoles him by saying that, upon waking up, he will tell what he saw ... about Time ... He asks to move the busts of Horace and Ovid closer to him and in response to Publius' reproaches that he dearer than a person, he notices that a person is lonely, like "a thought that is forgotten." E. L. Beznosov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (1941-1990) Compromise Tale (1981) The protagonist, a journalist, left without a job, leafs through his newspaper clippings, collected over "ten years of lies and pretense." This is the 70s, when he lived in Tallinn. Each compromise newspaper text is followed by the author's memories - real conversations, feelings, events. Having listed in the note those countries from which the specialists arrived at the scientific conference, the author listens to accusations of political myopia from the editor. It turns out that the countries of victorious socialism should go at the beginning of the list, then all the rest. The author was paid two rubles for the information. He thought - three will pay ... The tone of the note "Rivals of the Wind" about the Tallinn Hippodrome is festive and sublime. In fact, the author easily agreed with the hero of the article, jockey Ivanov, to "paint" the program of the races, and the two of them won money by betting on a previously known leader. It's a pity that the hippodrome is over: the "rival of the wind" fell out of a taxi drunk and has been working as a bartender for several years. In the newspaper "Evening Tallinn", under the heading "Estonian primer", the hero writes cute nursery rhymes in which the beast responds to a Russian greeting in Estonian. The instructor of the Central Committee calls the author: "It turns out that the Estonian is a beast? I, the instructor of the Central Committee of the party, am a beast?" "A man was born ... A man doomed to happiness! .." - words from a custom report about the birth of the four hundred thousandth resident of Tallinn. The hero goes to the hospital. The first newborn he tells the editor about by phone, the son of an Estonian and an Ethiopian, is "married." The second, the son of a Jew, - too. The editor agrees to accept a report on the birth of a third - the son of an Estonian and a Russian, a member of the CPSU. They bring money for the father to name his son Lembit. The author of the upcoming report, together with the father of the newborn, celebrate the event. The happy father shares the joys of family life: "It used to lie like a cod. I say:" You didn't fall asleep for an hour? "-" No, he says, I hear everything. "-" Not much, I say, you have ardor And she: “It seems that the light is on in the kitchen ...” - “Why did you get it?” - “And the counter works like that ...” - “You should, I say, learn from him ...” Waking up in the middle of the night at his acquaintance, the journalist cannot remember the rest of the events of the evening ... The newspaper "Soviet Estonia" published a telegram from an Estonian milkmaid to Brezhnev with a joyful message about high milk yields, about her admission to the party, and Brezhnev's response telegram. The hero recalls how, in order to write a report from a milkmaid, he was sent along with a press photographer Zhbankov to one of the district committees of the party. The journalists were received by the first secretary, two young girls were assigned to them, ready to fulfill any of their desires, alcohol flowed like water. Of course, journalists fully "took advantage of the situation." They only briefly met with the milkmaid - and the telegram was written during a short break in the "cultural program". Saying goodbye to the district committee, Zhbankov asked for at least beer "for treatment". The secretary was frightened - "they can see it in the district committee." “Well, you chose a job for yourself,” Zhbankov sympathized with him. "The most difficult distance" - an article on a moral theme about an athlete, a Komsomol member, then a communist, a young scientist Tiina Karu. The heroine of the article turns to the author with a request to help her "liberate herself" sexually. Act as a teacher. The author refuses. Tiina asks: "Do you have scum friends?" "They prevail," the journalist agrees. After going through several candidates, he stops at Osa Chernov. After several failed attempts, Tiina finally becomes a happy student. As a token of gratitude, she hands the author a bottle of whiskey, with which he sets off to write an article on a moral topic. "They prevent us from living" - a note about the Republican press worker E. L. Bush who got into the sobering-up station. The author recalls the touching story of his acquaintance with the hero of the note. Bush is a talented man who drinks, cannot stand compromises with his superiors, and is loved by beautiful aging women. He interviews the captain of the West German ship Paul Rudy, who turns out to be a former traitor to the Motherland, a fugitive Estonian. The KGB officers offer Bush to testify that the captain is a sexual pervert. Bush, indignant, refuses, which causes an unexpected phrase from the KGB colonel: "You are better than I thought." Bush is fired, he does not work anywhere, lives with another beloved woman; they also have a hero. Bush is also invited to one of the editorial parties - as a freelance writer. At the end of the evening, when everyone is pretty drunk, Bush makes a scandal by kicking a tray of coffee brought in by the editor-in-chief's wife. He explains his action to the hero as follows: after the lies that were in all the speeches and in the behavior of all those present, he could not do otherwise. Living in America for the sixth year, the hero sadly recalls the dissident and handsome man, troublemaker, poet and hero Bush, and does not know what his fate is. "Tallinn says goodbye to Hubert Ilves". Reading an obituary about the director of the television studio, Hero of Socialist Labor, the author of the obituary recalls the hypocrisy of everyone who attended the funeral of the same hypocritical careerist. The sad humor of these memories is that, due to the confusion that occurred in the morgue, an "ordinary" dead person was buried in a privileged cemetery. But the solemn ceremony was brought to an end, hoping to change the coffins at night ... "Memory is a formidable weapon!" - a report from the republican gathering of former prisoners of fascist concentration camps. The hero is sent to a rally along with the same photographer Zhbankov. At the banquet, after several glasses taken, the veterans are talking, and it turns out that not everyone was sitting only in Dachau. "Native" names flash by: Mordovia, Kazakhstan ... Sharp national questions are being clarified - who is a Jew, who is a Chukhonian, to whom "Adolf is their best friend." The drunken Zhbankov defuses the situation, placing a basket of flowers on the windowsill. "A gorgeous bouquet," says the hero. "This is not a bouquet," Zhbankov answered mournfully, "it's a wreath!" "On this tragic word, I say goodbye to journalism. Enough!" - the author concludes. V. M. Sotnikov foreigner Tale (1986) Marusya Tatarovich is a girl from a good Soviet family. Her parents were not careerists: the historical circumstances of the Soviet system, which destroys the best people, forced her father and mother to take vacant positions, and by the end of their working biography, they were firmly established in the middle-level nomenclature. Marusya had everything for happiness: a piano, a color TV, a policeman on duty at the house. After graduating from school, she easily entered the Institute of Culture, was surrounded by fans corresponding to her rank. Retribution for family happiness fell upon the Tatarovichs in the person of a Jew with a hopeless surname Tsekhnovitser, whom Marusya fell in love with in the nineteenth year. Parents did not consider themselves anti-Semitic, but it was a disaster for them to present their grandchildren as Jews. With incredible efforts, they "switched" Marusya to the son of General Fedorov, whom she also fell in love with. Young people got married. Dima Fedorov was a pedant and quickly got tired of Marusya. Out of boredom, she began to cheat on him indiscriminately and incessantly. Soon the young couple divorced. Marusya again became a bride, a girl from a good family. She fell in love with the famous conductor Kazhdan, then the famous artist Sharafutdinov, then the famous illusionist Mabis. They all left Marusya. At the same time, only one Everyone left her life delicately: after being poisoned by lampreys, he died. The behavior of the rest was somewhat reminiscent of flight. By this time, Marusa was under thirty. She became worried, realizing that two or three more years, and it would be too late to give birth. And then the famous pop singer Bronislav Razudalov appeared on her horizon. Marusya had something like a civil marriage with him. They went on tour together, Marusya led concerts. Soon, not without reason, she began to suspect Razudalov of adultery. Friends joked: "Razudalov wants to fuck everything that moves ..." Marusya thought for the first time: how to live on? Pleasure breeds guilt. Selfless deeds were rewarded with humiliation. It turned out a vicious circle ... A year later she had a boy. Razudalov went on tour. Convicted of yet another betrayal, he justified himself: “Understand, as an artist, I need an impulse ...” Marusya was in complete despair. Here, as in a fairy tale, Zekhnovitzer appeared. He gave Marusa the Gulag Archipelago to read and urged her to emigrate. At this time, many people left. Having experienced a dramatic explanation with her parents, Marusya fictitiously registered with Tsekhnovitser. Three months later they were in Austria. "Spouse" went to Israel. Having waited for an American visa, sixteen days later Marusya landed at the Kennedy airport. Son Levushka, seeing two blacks, burst into loud tears. Marusya was met by her maternal cousin Laura and her husband Fima. They settled Marusya with her son. Levushka was assigned to a kindergarten. At first he cried. A week later, he spoke English. Marusya began to look for work. Her attention was attracted by an advertisement for jewelry courses - knowledge of English was not a necessary condition. And Marusya understood jewelry. New York inspired Marusa with a sense of irritation and fear. She wanted to be self-confident, like everyone else, but she only envied the children, the beggars, the policemen - everyone who felt like a part of this city. The classes ended soon after. Marusya dropped a red-hot brass plate into her boot, after which she went home and decided not to return. So she became a housewife. The male part of the Russian colony reached out to her, like flies to honey. The dissident Karavaev invited her to jointly fight for a new Russia. Marusya refused. The publisher Drucker also called for a struggle - for the unity of the emigration. Taxi drivers acted more decisively: Pertsovich called for a ride somewhere in Florida. Eselevsky offered a cheaper option - a motel. Being rejected, they seemed to sigh with relief ... Baranov behaved best of all. Earning seven hundred dollars a week, he offered to give one hundred of them to Marusa just like that. It was even beneficial for him: he would drink less. Religious figure Lemkus presented the Bible in English, promising good conditions in the afterlife. The owner of the Dnepr store, Zyama Pivovarov, whispered: “We received fresh buns. An exact copy is you ...” The days dragged on the same, like bags from a supermarket ... By this time, the author of the story is already familiar with Marusya Tatarovich. She lives in a rented empty apartment, almost always without money. One day, Marusya calls the author and asks to come, complaining that she was beaten by a new admirer, a Latin American Rafael, Rafa. They began to live a strange and stormy life: Rafa either disappeared or appeared, where he got the money from, it was not clear, because all his enrichment projects were pure nonsense. Marusya considered him a complete fool, who had only a bed on his mind. True, he adored her son Levushka, with whom he felt on an equal footing. When the author comes to Marusa, he finds her with a black eye and a broken lip. Marusya complains about her boyfriend, soon he himself comes - all bandaged, smelling of iodine. The circumstances of the quarrel emerge clearly: Rafa defended himself from the angry Marusya. Causing, if not pity, then sympathy, he looks at Marusya with devoted and shining eyes. Over a bottle of rum, in the presence of the author and on his advice, Marusya and Rafa reconcile. The women of the Russian colony believed that in the position of Marusya it was necessary to be miserable and dependent. Then they would sympathize with her. But Marusya did not give the impression of being downtrodden and humiliated: she drove a jeep, spent money in expensive stores. For her birthday, Rafa gave her a Lolo parrot that ate sardines. "I was convinced a hundred times - poverty is an innate quality. Wealth too. Everyone chooses what he likes best. And oddly enough, many prefer poverty. Rafael and Musya preferred wealth." Marusya suddenly decides to return to her homeland. But communication with officials of the Soviet consulate cools her ardor. Razudalov's arrival in America on tour puts the final point in her doubts: this envoy of the past is afraid to meet his own son. The entire Russian colony gathers for the wedding of Marusya and Rafa. Numerous relatives of Rafa roll in a limousine intended for the groom as a gift. The bride is being serenadeed. Gifts include a white double bed and a welded cast iron cage for Lolo. Everyone is waiting for a living author, at the sight of which Marusya cries ... And here the author falls silent. Because he can't talk about good things. He would only find everywhere funny, humiliating, stupid and pitiful. Cursing and cursing. And this is a sin. V. M. Sotnikov Ruslan Timofeevich Kireev (b. 1941) Winner Roman (1973, publ. 1979) This Sunday, Ryabov returns home unusually late, at two o'clock in the morning. The wife sleeps peacefully because he is not one of those husbands whose morals are baked. However, he is an exemplary son and an excellent worker. An economist who brilliantly defended his Ph.D. at twenty-seven is a very rare case, comrades! But the mother, who went out into the kitchen, today does not recognize her exemplary, always such a restrainedly ironic son. He doesn't even drink his traditional kefir. In general, he somehow changed after his two-day trip on an excursion to Adjara. Five days until Saturday. And on Saturday morning, Ryabov will be in Zhabrov - it is there that the girl he met on the excursion and has just parted with works after distribution. Zhabrovo. Eighty kilometers from Svetopol, the regional center where our hero lives and works. In the morning, exercises with dumbbells, then a peaceful breakfast with my wife Larisa. "Eggs in a bag" - "Minaev called." - "This is the right person, he can make a cooperative apartment." - "Apartment?" While they live with Stanislav's parents, the prudent Larisa does not even want to hear about the child. Larisa is such a beautiful woman! Men stare in the street! Before the lectures, there is still time to go to Aunt Tamara, mother's sister. It was to her that Ryabov arranged a girl from Zhabrov for the night yesterday (she missed the last bus). But the aunt does not say a word about her night guest. Demonstrates to her nephew that she is not curious. But he willingly discusses the upcoming birthday of Andrei, Stanislav's brother. Brother is a destroyer. A geek in a family whose motto is creation. It is this word that is inscribed on the family banner, which for three decades has been held in unflagging hands by their mother, the director of the confectionery factory. But the brother does not care about the pharisaic sense of duty, his motto is "I want it." By thirty Andrei was going to become an artist. Constantly ranting about the fact that there is talent. Is talent really an indulgence from all sins, a letter of existence empty and loose? In this case, Stanislav does not apply for him, like his mother, however. Tomorrow Andrei is just thirty. The younger brother will not gloatingly remind him of his unachieved fame (and Andrei would not fail - he constantly denounces Stanislav for dryness, rationality, emotional underdevelopment). Andrei is a loser, makes some kind of hack work, advertising posters, but he despises the luck of his younger brother, suspecting almost lies and secret meanness behind her. The celebration will take place at Aunt Tamara's, since Andrei lost his home after the divorce. Neither father nor mother will come to their son's birthday. They do not communicate with him because, according to his mother, Andrey acted irresponsibly, leaving the family and leaving the child. In the department, Ryabov has news - the head, Margarita Goratsievna Shtakayan, came out after an illness. It is no secret to anyone, including Shtakayan, that Ryabov will be her successor. Actually, Panyushkin, director of the institute, tells him about this. Compliments the performance of a subordinate. After all, Margarita Goratsievna, in fact, is ill all the time and Ryabov is actually in charge of the department. The management appreciates Stanislav Maksimovich's modesty and his noble attitude towards his teacher. The management understands that it is not easy for Professor Shtakyan to leave the team. But things shouldn't suffer. If the planned work of the department is not delivered on time (“If you, Stanislav Maksimovich, hold it until May, do you want to head the department?”), the conversation with Margarita Horatievna will be the most fundamental. "On the first of April, the work will be handed over," the restrained Ryabov answers evenly. Most likely, now Ryabov will not see the head of the department as his own ears. Four days later - a trip to Zhabrovo. In the meantime, lunch with Minaev, who can help with the apartment. Ryabov really wants to tie bows. A freak in the male fraternity, he would rather have a daughter. Minaev's fat lips are sucking on a chicken bone with gusto. He argues that the foundation must be laid from a young age, then it will be too late, they will crush. Personally, he, Minaev, has everything in order with the foundation. He is a rather big boss, he has a high-ranking father-in-law. "By the way," Minaev asks, finishing the sturgeon, "maybe you have business with me?" "Nothing. Just wanted to talk about the past." Ryabov's eyes are pure and innocent. At Andrei's birthday party, Aunt Tamara is devastatingly elegant, the table is set without any philistine stuff. Brother's friend, the artist Tarygin, passionately talks about Renoir. Among the creative intelligentsia that reigns supreme here (say, an aunt is just a theater cashier, but she is completely devoted to the theater), perhaps only Ryabov, a rude utilitarian, represents an earthly profession. The aunt's gift, the Toulouse-Lautrec album, has a noisy success. There's still at least two more hours of fun to be had... Nearby, the birthday man is torturing another beloved woman, Vera: "Why is everything always difficult for me?" His spirit captures from the contradictions and boundlessness of his own soul. But with Stanislav everything is simple. Perform all their rituals - sigh, suffer, bow before Toulouse-Lautrec - why? To rush into the unknown Zhabrovo, into a hole eighty kilometers away, just to prove to himself that his heart, too, is prone to ecstasy... No, he won't go. May these joys remain for Andrey. Sentimentality is alien to Stanislav, he came into this world to work, not to sigh. He is like a mother, although he does not reach her. But, God, how small her hands are, how dangerous, how unhealthy the blue veins stood out on them ... I. N. Slyusareva Eduard Veniaminovich Limonov (b. 1943) It's me, Eddie Roman (1976) The young Russian poet Eduard Limonov emigrates with his wife Elena to America. Elena is a beauty and a romantic nature, she fell in love with Eddie for his, as it seems to him, immortal soul and for his sexual abilities. Eddie and Elena are madly in love with having sex, they do it in any circumstances, for example, during Solzhenitsyn's television speech. However, very quickly Elena gets bored with the impoverished emigrant life, she begins to make herself rich lovers of different sexes and does not take poor Eddie for her entertainment. Eddie continues to love Elena, he is not even against her lovers, as long as she continues to sleep with him. Elena does this less and less often, and Eddie, in complete desperation, tries to cut her veins, tries to strangle Elena, and soon the spouses begin to live separately. Eddie receives "welfare" - an allowance in the amount of two hundred and seventy-eight dollars, lives in a tiny room in a dirty hotel, which, however, is located on one of the main streets. The circle of his forced communication consists of emigrants - weak, lost, crushed by life people who believed American propaganda and found themselves in America in a humiliated position. Eddie stands out from these people with his love for expensive and frilly clothes (high-heeled shoes, lace shirts, white vests), on which he spends almost all his money. He tries to work in a restaurant as a busboy, an assistant waiter - among people in this profession it is customary to finish drinking after customers from glasses and eat up meat leftovers from plates. Eddie also does this, but soon leaves a work unworthy of a Russian poet. In the future, he sometimes moonlights as a loader. All his thoughts continue to occupy Elena. "Though bitches, even adventurers, even bandits, but together all my life. Why did she leave me?" Here and there he meets traces of his love in huge New York: for example, the letters "E" and "E", scratched with a key on the elevator door in some hotel. Eddie makes several attempts to change her life, and quite traditional for a Russian writer: to get a job as a teacher in one of the countless educational institutions in America (and even gets an invitation to work in the town of Bennington, but she realizes how boring it is, and does not go), and his attempts are rather fantastic: he offers himself as a companion to a rich lady who has published an advertisement in the newspaper about looking for a travel partner. Eddie is a leftist, sympathizes with all anarchist, communist and terrorist movements, believes that the world is unfair, that it is not normal when some people are born poor and others rich, and hopes to eventually join one of the militant organizations and take part in some any revolution. A portrait of Mao hangs on the wall of his room. In the meantime, he goes to meetings of the modest Workers' Party, but they seem too boring to him. In search of new sexual partners, Eddie understands that since "women are disgusting", it's time to master male love. He meets a wealthy elderly homosexual Raimon, they are mutually attracted, but Raimon has recently got a new lover, and Edichka is not sure that he can give Raimon what he wants, a tender big feeling. However, Eddie's desire to lose this kind of innocence comes true soon enough. Staggering at night in some suspicious areas, he meets a black guy sleeping in the ruins, almost certainly a criminal, throws himself into his arms. And the next morning, lying in his hotel, Edichka thinks that he is "the only Russian poet who managed to ... hang out with a black guy in a New York wasteland." Eddie also has other lovers: another black Johnny, a Jewess Sonya and an American Rosanna (with whom the connection happened on July 4, 1976, on Independence Day), but he still cannot forget Elena. He sometimes meets with her (once, for example, she calls him to a fashion show, where she acts as a fashion model - Elena tries to master the podium without any success), and each meeting resonates in his soul with hellish pain. On the day of the fifth anniversary of his acquaintance with Elena, he finds himself in the house where she cheated on him, and this bitter coincidence makes him unconsciously drown himself with beer and marijuana. Eddie's best friend is New York. In his high heels, he can walk three hundred New York streets in a day. He bathes in fountains, lies on benches, walks in the heat on the sunny side, chats with beggars and street musicians, watches children, visits galleries: he enjoys the rhythm of the great city. But not for a second does Eddie forget that his Elena lives somewhere in this city. Aggressive desires periodically flare up in him: to steal Elena, to ask a doctor friend to remove a coil that prevents pregnancy from her womb, to rape her and keep her locked up for nine months until she gives birth to his child. And then to raise a child who was born by a beloved woman. In her incessant thoughts about Elena, Eddie comes to the conclusion that she herself is still a child, does not know what she is doing, does not understand what pain she is capable of inflicting on people. And that someday she - who never truly loved - will understand what it is, and the one on whom she pours out all this accumulated love will be happy. But by chance, Elena’s diary falls into Edichka’s hands, from which he learns that she understands a lot, that she pities him and scolds herself for such ruthless behavior, and it turns out that she understands something, but that’s not the point, but the devil knows what. V. N. Kuritsyn Alexander Abramovich Kabakov (b. 1943) Non-returner Tale (1988) Yuri Ilyich, a researcher at an academic research institute, during the years of perestroika becomes the object of recruitment by a certain organization that calls itself the "editor's office". The "editors" Igor Vasilyevich and Sergei Ivanovich, who came to him directly to work, demand that he use his unusual abilities on their instructions: Yuri Ilyich is an extrapolator who can project himself into the future. Moving in time, Yuri Ilyich finds himself in 1993 - in an era called the Great Reconstruction. It is dangerous to move around in dark Moscow, pierced by an icy wind, without weapons; the coat of the hero, like that of other passers-by, sticks out "Kalashnikov". Tanks rush through the middle of Tverskaya every now and then, explosions rumble near Strastnaya Square, and round-ups of fighter squads of Ugulovtsy - fighters for sobriety - pass through the streets. Occasionally, the hero turns on the transistor, saving precious batteries. The news is heard on the radio about the congress in the Kremlin of countless parties whose names sound phantasmagoric - such as the Constitutional Party of the United Bukhara and Samarkand Emirates, there is also information from the newspaper of the American communists "Washington Post" ... Fleeing from another raid, Yuri Ilyich finds himself in a dark entrance to the house where he spent his childhood. Here he meets a woman from Yekaterinoslav (former Dnepropetrovsk), who came to Moscow for boots. Through the back door, they manage to escape both from a detachment of "Afghans" who are killing passengers of an old "Mercedes" and from a raid by the People's Security Commission, which is clearing Moscow's houses of bureaucrats. They pass the black ruins of the Beijing Hotel, inhabited by Moscow anarchists. Recently, in one of the windows, the corpse of a "metalworker" guy, executed by executioners from Lyubertsy, hung on a chain. Near the house with the "bad apartment" described by Bulgakov, pickets of "Satan's entourage" in cat masks are on duty. Having learned that Yuri Ilyich has invaluable coupons for which essential items are issued, the woman does not lag behind him a single step. She tells an unexpected companion about what a rich life she used to have - until her husband, who worked at a car service, was killed by his own neighbors. The woman first fawns over the owner of the coupons, then gives herself to him right on the frost-covered bench, and then, swearing from class hatred for the "Moscow journalist", she tries to shoot him from his own machine gun - all for the sake of the same coupons. Only another raid by the People's Security Commission, from which both are forced to flee, allows the hero to avoid death. He describes all these incidents to his "editors", having returned to the present. Finally, they explain to Yuri Ilyich what is the main goal of recruitment: in the future there is an extrapolator "from the other side", which they are trying to identify. The hero plunges again in 1993. Having escaped the raid of the Commission (the caught "residents of the house of social injustice" are sent to the building of the Moscow Art Theater on Tverskoy Boulevard, where they are destroyed), Yuri Ilyich and his companion immediately become hostages of the Revolutionary Committee of the fundamentalists of Northern Persia. They define their enemies by the presence of a cross on their chest - in contrast, for example, to anti-Semitic "knights" in black undershirts, for whom the sign of baptism is knowing by heart "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". Having miraculously left the fundamentalists, unwitting companions come to a chic night tavern to a friend of Yuri Ilyich, a youthful Jew Valentin. Music plays in the tavern, delicacies are served to visitors: real bread, pasteurized American ham, French pressed cucumbers, moonshine from Hungarian green peas ... Here Yuri Ilyich finally learns that his companion's name is Yulia. Once again on Strastnaya Square, they watch the restoration of the monument to Pushkin, blown up by Stalinist terrorists for the non-Slavic origin of the poet, proceed. In the metro, Yuri Ilyich manages to buy a Makarov pistol to replace the machine gun lost in the raids. In the cars of the night trains, naked girls dance, people in chains, in tailcoats, in the spotted combat uniform of paratroopers who won back in Transylvania; teenagers sniff gasoline; sleeping ragamuffins from the starving Vladimir and Yaroslavl. Having got out of the metro, Yuri Ilyich finally drives away Yulia, who is ready for anything for the sake of boots. Immediately, a strange, luxuriously dressed man comes up to him, treats him with Galoise cigarettes and starts a conversation about what is happening in the country. From his free gestures, from his old-fashioned habit of constructing a phrase, Yuri Ilyich understands from what time his unexpected interlocutor arrived ... He believes that the bloody nightmare and dictatorship are the result of unreasonable social surgery, with the help of which the anomaly of Soviet power was destroyed. Yuri Ilyich objects: there was no other way to recover, and now the country is in intensive care and it is too early to make a final forecast. The interlocutor gives Yuri Ilyich his phone number and address, offering help if he wants to change his life. Returning to the present, Yuri Ilyich again falls into the clutches of the ubiquitous "editors". They are sure that the night companion of the hero is the wanted extrapolator, and demand to give out his address and phone number. On the next trip in 1993, the hero sets off with his wife. At the Spassky Gates, they see the white tank of the dictator General Panaev rushing to the Kremlin, accompanied by riders on white horses. On Red Square, products are given out on coupons: yak meat, sago grits, bread produced by the Common Market, etc. Yuri Ilyich and his wife are going home. They are overtaken by fugitives from Zamoskvorechye, Veshnyakov and Izmailovo, from the workers' districts, where the militants of the Social Distribution Party take everything from people down to their shirts and give them protective uniforms. Yuri Ilyich throws away a card with the phone of his night companion, who offered him to change his life, despite the fact that he understands that his wife would be in place only where the "night master" called - where "they drink tea with milk, read family novels and do not recognize open passions. At this moment, Yuri Ilyich sees his "editors" threatening him with a pistol from a passing Zhiguli. But in a nightmarish future time in which he chose to stay of his own free will, the hero is not afraid of these people. T. A. Sotnikova Sasha Sokolov (b. 1943) School for fools Tale (1976) The hero goes to a special school for mentally retarded children. But his illness is different from the state in which most of his classmates are. Unlike them, he doesn't hang cats on the fire escape, act silly and wild, spit in anyone's face during breaks, or urinate in his pocket. The hero has, according to a literature teacher nicknamed Waterman, a selective memory: he remembers only what strikes his imagination, and therefore lives the way he wants, and not the way others want him to. His ideas about reality and reality as such are constantly mixed, overflowing into each other. The hero believes that his illness is hereditary, inherited from his late grandmother. She often lost her memory when she looked at something beautiful. The hero lives for a long time in the country with his parents, and the beauty of nature surrounds him all the time. The attending physician, Dr. Sauze, even advises him not to go out of town, so as not to exacerbate the disease, but the hero cannot live without beauty. The most severe manifestation of his illness is a split personality, a constant dialogue with the "other self". He feels the relativity of time, cannot decompose life into "yesterday", "today", "tomorrow" - just as he cannot decompose life into elements at all, destroy it by analyzing it. Sometimes he feels his complete dissolution in the environment, and Dr. Zause explains that this is also a manifestation of his illness. The director of the special school, Perillo, introduces a humiliating "slipper system": each student must bring slippers in a bag, on which it must be indicated in large letters that he is studying at a school for the feeble-minded. And the hero's favorite teacher, geographer Pavel Petrovich Norvegov, most often goes without shoes at all - at least in the country house where he lives not far from the hero. Norvegov is fettered by solid, habitual clothes for normal people. When he stands barefoot on the platform of the train, it seems that he is hovering over chipped boards and spitting of various virtues. The hero wants to become as honest as Norvegov - "Pavel, he is Saul." Norvegov calls him a young friend, student and comrade, talks about the One who sends the wind and laughs at the book of some Soviet classic, which was given to the hero by his father, the prosecutor. Instead, Norvegov gives him another book, and the hero immediately remembers the words from it: "And we like it - for Christ's sake, our light, to suffer." Norvegov says that in everything: in bitter wells of folk wisdom, in sweet sayings and speeches, in the ashes of the outcast and in fear of those close, in wandering sums and Judas sums, in war and peace, in the haze and in the ant, in shame and suffering, in darkness and light, in hatred and pity, in life and outside of it - there is something in all this, maybe a little, but there is. The prosecutor's father goes berserk at this stupid nonsense. The hero is in love with a thirty-year-old botany teacher Veta Akatova. Her father, academician Akatov, was once arrested for alien ideas in biology, then released after much bullying and now also lives in a summer cottage. The hero dreams of finishing school, quickly becoming an engineer and marrying Veta, and at the same time realizes the impossibility of these dreams. Veta, like a woman in general, remains a mystery to him. From Norvegov, he knows that a relationship with a woman is something completely different than the cynical inscriptions in the school toilet say about them. The director, instigated by the head teacher Sheina Trachtenberg-Tinbergen, fires Norvegov from his job for sedition. The hero tries to protest, but Perillo threatens to send him to a hospital. During his last lesson, saying goodbye to his students, Norvegov says that he is not afraid of being fired, but it is excruciatingly painful for him to part with them, girls and boys of the grandiose era of engineering and literary attempts, with Those Who Came and Will Leave, taking with them a great right judge without being judged. Instead of a will, he tells them the story of the Carpenter in the desert. This carpenter really wanted to work - to build a house, a boat, a carousel or a swing. But there were no nails or planks in the desert. One day, people came to the desert and promised the carpenter both nails and boards if he would help them drive the nails into the hands of the one who was crucified on the cross. The carpenter hesitated for a long time, but nevertheless agreed, because he really wanted to get everything necessary for his beloved work, so as not to die from idleness. Having received the promise, the carpenter worked hard and with pleasure. A crucified, dying man once called him and told him that he himself was a carpenter, and also agreed to drive a few nails into the hands of the crucified ... "Do you still not understand that there is no difference between us, that you and I are one and the same man, don't you understand that on the cross that you made in the name of your high carpentry skills, they crucified you yourself and when you were crucified, you yourself hammered in nails. Soon Norvegov dies. He is placed in a coffin in uncomfortable, solid clothes bought in a clubbing. The hero graduates from school and is forced to plunge into life, where crowds of smart people are eager for power, women, cars, engineering degrees. He talks about sharpening pencils in the prosecutor's office with his father, then he was a janitor in the Ministry of Anxiety, then he was an apprentice in Leonardo's workshop in the moat of the Milan fortress. Once Leonardo asked what the face in a female portrait should be, and the hero replied: it should be the face of Veta Akatova. Then he worked as an inspector, a conductor, a coupler, a carrier on the river ... And everywhere he felt like a bold truth-seeker, the heir of Saul. The author has to interrupt the hero: he has run out of paper. "Having fun chatting and counting pocket change, slapping each other on the shoulder and whistling stupid songs, we go out onto the thousand-foot street and miraculously turn into passers-by." T. A. Sotnikova Between dog and wolf Tale (1980) In the XNUMXst summer from the invention of the pin, when the month is clear and you can’t keep track of the numbers, Ilya Petrikeevich Dzynzyrela writes to the investigator for special cases, Sidor Fomich Pozhilykh, about his life. He complains about the small-plesovsky rangers, who stole his crutches and left him without supports. Ilya Petrikeyevich works as a grinder in the Artel of the Disabled named after D. Zatochnik. He lives, like other artel workers, in Zavolchie - in the area beyond the Volchya River. Another name for the river is Itil, and, therefore, the area can be called the same as the story of Ilya Petrikevich - Zaitilshchina. Ilya lives with a small bean, to which he has nailed himself because of his disability: he has no legs. But he loves a completely different woman - Orina Neklin. Love for Orina did not bring him happiness. Working at the railway station, Orina walked with all the "repair boors". She had been like that for a long time - even when, as a young girl in Anapa, she had mercy on all the Mariupol sailors. And everyone to whom this woman belonged cannot forget her in the same way as Ilya Petrikevich. Where Orina is now, he does not know: either she died under the wheels of the train, or she left with their son in an unknown direction. The image of Orina flickers, doubles in his mind (sometimes he calls her Maria) - just as the images of his native Za-wolf and its inhabitants flicker and multiply. But constantly appear among them, turning into each other, the Wolf and the Dog. With such a strange "middle" creature - a chalk - Ivan Petrikeevich once enters into battle on the ice, on the road across the Wolf River. In Zavolchie there are villages Gorodnishche, Bydogoshcha, Vyshelbaushi, Mylomukomolovo. After work, the inhabitants of Zavolchie - grinders, scrapers, fishermen, huntsmen - go to the "vomiter", nicknamed by some visitors "kubaret", to drink "sivoldai". They remember a simple life truth: "Don't go for a walk with your comrades - why then pull the strap?" The history of Zavolchie is written not only by Ivan Petrikevich, but also by the Drunken Hunter. Like Dzynzyrela, he loves the hour between the wolf and the dog - twilight, when "weasel is mixed with melancholy." But unlike Dzynzyrela, who expresses himself intricately, Okhotnik writes his "Hunting Tales" in classically simple verse. He describes the fate of the inhabitants of Zavolchie. In his chronicle - the story of "Kaliki from Kalik", the deaf-blind-mute salvage worker Nikolai Ugodnikov. Nikolai's wife got along with the wolf slayer and got Ugodnikov out of the yard. Nikolai was not accepted either in shelters or in the almshouse, only the salvage team warmed him up. Once the artel went to the tailor to wait. the scavengers took the wine and "sucked into rags." Waking up in the morning, they saw Nikolai Ugodnikov flying. Above his head, like two wings, crutches were raised. Nobody saw him again. Another hero of the chronicle of the Drunken Hunter is the Tatar Aladdin Batrutdinov. Aladdin was once skating across a frozen river to a movie theater and fell into a ravine. He swam only a year later - "in the pockets of a check and dominoes, and his mouth wasted by fish." Grandfather Peter and grandfather Pavel, who caught Aladdin, drank a check, played dominoes and called the right person. Many of those described by the Drunken Hunter lie on the Bydogoshchensky churchyard. There lies Peter, nicknamed Bagor, whom everyone called Fedor, and he himself called himself Yegor. On a dare, he hanged himself on a stolen shack. The hunchback carrier Pavel lies in the cemetery. He thought that the grave would save him from the hump, and so he drowned himself. And Gury the Hunter drank Berdanka and died of grief. The drunken Hunter loves his countrymen and his Zavolchie. Looking out the window of his house, he sees the same picture that Pieter Brueghel saw, and exclaims: "Here it is, my homeland, / It does not care about poverty, / And our life is beautiful / Notorious vanity!" At the time between the dog and the wolf, it is difficult to distinguish between the images of people and human destinies. It seems that Ilya Petrikevich is disappearing into oblivion, but his story continues. However, he may not die. After all, his name also changes: now he is Dzynzyrela, then Zynzyrella ... Yes, he himself does not know where, having scooped up "fuel fumes of human passions", he picked up such a gypsy name! Just as he explains in different ways the circumstances under which he became a cripple. "Or are my words hidden to you?" - asks Ilya Petrikevich in the last lines of his "Zaitilshchina". T. A. Sotnikova Editor: Novikov V.I.
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