(351 words) 140 years ago, an epic poem was written by N.A. Nekrasov "Who Lives Well in Russia?", Describing the hard life of the people. And if the poet were our contemporary, how would he answer the question posed in the title? In the original poem, the peasants were going to look for the happy among the landowners, officials, priests, merchants, noble boyars, sovereign ministers, and, in the end, they intended to reach the tsar. During the search, the heroes' plan changed: they learned the stories of many peasants, townspeople, even robbers. And the seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov was the lucky one among them. He saw his happiness not in peace and contentment, but in intercession for his beloved homeland, for the people. It is not known how his life will turn out, but it was not lived in vain.

After almost a century and a half, who is happy? If you follow the original plan of the heroes, it turns out that almost all of these paths also remain thorny. It is extremely unprofitable to be a farmer, because it is more expensive to grow agricultural products than to sell them. Businessmen are constantly maneuvering in the changing market situation, risking bankruptcy every day. The bureaucratic work remained dull, it is free only in areas close to the government. The presidential service is difficult, responsible, because the lives of millions depend on it. The priests received rather comfortable conditions, in contrast to the 19th century, but the respect became even less.

What are the people? The townspeople, basically, live from paycheck to paycheck, being in constant time pressure. They sit out their working day, go home, sit down at the TV, then go to bed. And so every day, all my life. Existence is not so poor (at least in comparison with the 19th century), but it is becoming more and more standardized. The villagers live more gloomily, because the villages are bent: there are no roads, hospitals, schools. Only old people live there, others have nothing to do - either run or drink.

If material goods are taken as the criterion of happiness, then in our time deputies live well. Their business is to receive a salary of 40 living wages and periodically come to meetings. But if the criterion of happiness is intangible, then the happiest person today is a person who is free from routine and fuss. You cannot completely get rid of this, but you can build your inner world in such a way that the "slime of little things" will not drag out: achieve some goals, love, communicate, be interested. You don't need to be specific for this. In order to live well, you need to be able to sometimes look around and think about something insubstantial.

Interesting? Keep it on your wall!
The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov "Who lives well in Russia" has its own unique feature. All the names of the villages and the names of the heroes clearly reflect the essence of what is happening. In the first chapter, the reader can get acquainted with seven peasants from the villages Zaplatovo, Dyryaevo, Razutovo, Znobishino, Gorelovo, Neelovo, Neurozhaiko, who argue who lives well in Russia, and nothing cannot agree. No one is even going to concede to another ... This is how unusual the work begins, which Nikolai Nekrasov conceived in order, as he writes, "to set out in a coherent story everything that he knows about the people, everything that happened to hear from his lips ..."

The history of the creation of the poem

Nikolai Nekrasov began working on his work in the early 1860s and finished the first part five years later. The prologue was published in the January book of the Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Then painstaking work began on the second part, which was called "The Last One" and was published in 1972. The third part, entitled "The Peasant Woman", was published in 1973, and the fourth "A Feast for the Whole World" - in the fall of 1976, that is, three years later. It is a pity that the author of the legendary epic did not manage to completely finish his plan - the writing of the poem was interrupted by an untimely death - in 1877. However, even after 140 years, this work remains important for people, it is read and studied by both children and adults. The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is included in the compulsory school curriculum.

Part 1. Prologue: who is the happiest in Russia

So, the prologue tells how seven men meet on the high road, and then go on a journey to find a happy person. Who in Russia lives freely, happily and cheerfully - this is the main question of curious travelers. Each, arguing with the other, believes that it is he who is right. The novel shouts that the landowner has the best life, Demyan claims that the official is living remarkably, Luka proves that he is a priest after all, the others also express their opinion: to the “noble boyar”, “the merchant's fat-bellied man”, “the sovereign's minister” or the tsar ...

This disagreement leads to the ridiculous fight that birds and animals witness. It is interesting to read how the author reflects their surprise at what is happening. Even a cow "came to the fire, stared at the peasants, listened to crazy speeches and, heart, began to hum, hum, hum! .."

Finally, having nailed each other's sides, the men came to their senses. They saw a tiny chick of a warbler flying up to the fire, and Pakhom took it in his hands. The travelers began to envy the little birdie, which can fly wherever it wants. We were talking about what everyone wants, when suddenly ... the bird spoke in a human voice, asking to release the chick and promising a large ransom for it.

The bird showed the peasants the way to where the real self-assembled tablecloth was buried. Blimey! Now you can certainly live without grieving. But the quick-witted wanderers also asked that they should not wear clothes. “And a self-assembled tablecloth will do it,” said the warbler. And she kept her promise.

The men began to live well-fed and cheerful. Here are just the main question they have not yet resolved: who, after all, lives well in Russia. And the friends decided not to return to their families until they find the answer to it.

Chapter 1. Pop

On the way, the peasants met the priest and, bowing low, asked him to answer “in good conscience, without laughter and without cunning,” whether he was really doing well in Russia. What the pop told me dispelled the notions of seven curious about his happy life. No matter how harsh the circumstances - a deep autumn night, or severe frost, or spring floods - the priest has to go where his name is, without arguing or contradicting. The work is not easy, besides, the groans of people leaving for another world, the crying of orphans and the sobbing of widows completely upset the peace of the priest's soul. And only outwardly it seems that pop is held in high esteem. In fact, he is often a target for the ridicule of the common people.

Chapter 2. Country Fair

Further, the road leads purposeful wanderers to other villages, which for some reason turn out to be empty. The reason is that all the people are at the fair, in the village of Kuzminskoye. And it was decided to go there to ask people about happiness.

The life of the village aroused not very pleasant feelings among the peasants: there were a lot of drunks around, everywhere it was dirty, sad, uncomfortable. Books are also sold at the fair, but low-quality books, Belinsky and Gogol cannot be found here.

By evening, everyone is so drunk that even the church with the bell tower seems to be staggering.

Chapter 3. Drunken night

At night, the men are on the road again. They hear drunk people talking. Suddenly Pavlusha Veretennikov attracts attention, making notes in a notebook. He collects peasant songs and sayings, as well as their stories. After everything that has been said is recorded on paper, Veretennikov begins to reproach the assembled people for drunkenness, to which he hears objections: “the peasant drinks mainly because he has grief, and therefore it is impossible, even a sin, to reproach for it.

Chapter 4. Happy

The men do not retreat from their goal - to find a happy person by all means. They promise to reward with a bucket of vodka the one who will tell what it is for him to freely and happily live in Russia. Those who like to drink peck at such a "tempting" offer. But no matter how they try to colorfully paint gloomy everyday life who want to get drunk for free, nothing comes of them. The story of an old woman who had up to a thousand turnips, a sexton, rejoicing when he was poured with a kosushchka; the paralyzed former courtyard, who licked dishes with the best French truffle at the master's for forty years, does not impress the stubborn seekers of happiness on the Russian land.

Chapter 5. Landlord.

Maybe here they will be lucky - the seekers of a happy Russian person assumed when they met the landowner Gavrila Afanasyich Obolt-Obolduev on the road. At first he was frightened, thinking that he had seen the robbers, but upon learning about the unusual desire of the seven men who blocked his path, he calmed down, laughed and told his story.

Perhaps the landowner had previously considered himself happy, but not now. Indeed, in the old days, Gavriil Afanasyevich was the owner of the entire district, a whole regiment of servants and organized holidays with theatrical performances and dances. He did not hesitate to invite even peasants to pray in the manor house on holidays. Now everything has changed: the family estate of Obolt-Obolduev was sold for debts, after all, being left without peasants who knew how to cultivate the land, the landowner who was not used to working suffered great losses, which led to a disastrous outcome.

Part 2. The last

The next day, the travelers went to the banks of the Volga, where they saw a large hay meadow. Before they had time to talk with the locals, they noticed three boats at the pier. It turns out that this is a noble family: two gentlemen with their wives, their children, a servant and a gray-haired old gentleman by the name of Utyatin. Everything in this family, to the surprise of the travelers, happens according to such a scenario, as if there was no abolition of serfdom. It turns out that Utyatin became very angry when he learned that the peasants were given free rein and fell ill with a blow, threatening to deprive their sons of the inheritance. To prevent this from happening, they came up with a cunning plan: they persuaded the peasants to play along with the landowner, posing as serfs. As a reward, after the death of the master, they promised the best meadows.

Utyatin, hearing that the peasants were staying with him, perked up, and a comedy began. Some even liked the role of serfs, but Agap Petrov could not come to terms with the shameful fate and expressed everything to the landowner in person. For this, the prince sentenced him to flogging. The peasants played a role here too: they took the “rebellious” to the stable, put wine in front of him and asked him to shout louder, for the sake of visibility. Alas, Agap could not bear such humiliation, drank heavily and died that very night.

Further, the Last One (Prince Utyatin) arranges a feast, where, barely moving his tongue, he makes a speech about the advantages and benefits of serfdom. After that, he lies down in the boat and gives up the spirit. Everyone is glad that they finally got rid of the old tyrant, however, the heirs are not even going to fulfill their promise to those who played the role of serfs. The peasants' hopes were not justified: no one gave them meadows.

Part 3. Peasant woman.

No longer hoping to find a happy man among the men, the pilgrims decided to ask the women. And from the lips of a peasant woman named Korchagina Matryona Timofeevna they hear a very sad and, one might say, terrible story. Only in her parents' house was she happy, and then, when she married Philip, a ruddy and strong guy, a hard life began. Love did not last long, because the husband left to work, leaving his young wife with his family. Matryona works tirelessly and does not see any support from anyone except the old man Savely, who lives a century after the hard labor that lasted twenty years. Only one joy appears in her difficult fate - the son of Demushka. But suddenly a terrible misfortune fell upon the woman: it is impossible even to imagine what happened to the child due to the fact that the mother-in-law did not allow her daughter-in-law to take him with her to the field. Through an oversight of the grandfather, the boy is eaten by pigs. What a grief to a mother! She mourns Demushka all the time, although other children were born in the family. For their sake, a woman sacrifices herself, for example, takes on the punishment when they want to flog Fedot's son for the sheep that the wolves carried away. When Matryona was carrying another son, Lidor, in her womb, her husband was unjustly taken as a soldier, and her wife had to go to the city to seek the truth. It's good that the governor, Elena Aleksandrovna, helped her then. By the way, Matryona gave birth to a son in the waiting room.

Yes, life was not easy for the one who in the village was called "the lucky woman": she constantly had to fight for herself, and for children, and for her husband.

Part 4. A feast for the whole world.

At the end of the village of Valakhchina, a feast was held, where everyone was gathered: the peasants, pilgrims, and Vlas the headman, and Klim Yakovlevich. Among the celebrants there are two seminarians, simple, kind guys - Savvushka and Grisha Dobrosklonov. They sing funny songs and tell different stories. They do this because ordinary people ask so. From the age of fifteen, Grisha firmly knows that he will devote his life to the happiness of the Russian people. He sings a song about a great and mighty country called Rus. Isn't this the lucky man whom the travelers were so persistently looking for? After all, he clearly sees the purpose of his life - in serving a disadvantaged people. Unfortunately, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov died prematurely, not having time to finish the poem (according to the author's plan, the peasants were to go to Petersburg). But the thoughts of the seven pilgrims coincide with the thought of Dobrosklonov, who thinks that every peasant should live freely and cheerfully in Russia. This was the main idea of ​​the author.

The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov became legendary, a symbol of the struggle for the happy everyday life of ordinary people, and also the result of the author's reflections on the fate of the peasantry.

Once, seven peasants - recent serfs, and now temporarily liable from adjacent villages - Zaplatov, Dyryavin, Razutov, Znobishin, Gorelova, Neyolova, Neurozhayka, too, converge on the high road. Instead of going their own way, the peasants start a dispute about who in Russia lives happily and freely. Each of them judges in his own way who is the main lucky person in Russia: a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a sovereign minister or a tsar.

During the dispute, they do not notice that they have given a detour thirty miles away. Seeing that it was too late to return home, the men light a fire and continue the argument over vodka - which, of course, gradually develops into a fight. But the fight does not help to resolve the issue that worries the men.

The solution is found unexpectedly: one of the men, Pakhom, catches the chick of the warbler, and in order to free the chick, the warbler tells the men where to find a self-assembled tablecloth. Now the men are provided with bread, vodka, cucumbers, kvass, tea - in a word, everything they need for a long journey. And besides, the self-assembled tablecloth will repair and wash their clothes! Having received all these benefits, the peasants give a vow to inquire "who lives happily, freely in Russia."

The first possible “lucky man” he met on the way was a priest. (It was not the soldiers and beggars who we met to ask about happiness!) But the priest's answer to the question of whether his life is sweet disappoints the peasants. They agree with the priest that happiness lies in peace, wealth and honor. But the priest has none of these benefits. In haymaking, in harvesting, in a deep autumn night, in severe frost, he must go where there are sick, dying and born. And every time his soul hurts at the sight of funeral sobs and orphan grief - so that the hand does not rise to take copper dimes - a pitiful reward for demand. The landowners, who previously lived in family estates and got married here, baptized children, buried the dead, are now scattered not only throughout Russia, but also in distant foreign lands; there is no hope for their retribution. Well, and about the priest's honor, the peasants themselves know: they feel embarrassed when the priest blames obscene songs and insults to priests.

Realizing that the Russian priest is not one of the lucky ones, the men go to the festive fair in the trading village of Kuzminskoye to ask the people about happiness there. In a rich and dirty village there are two churches, a tightly boarded-up house with the inscription "school", a medical assistant's hut, and a dirty hotel. But most of all in the village there are drinking establishments, in each of which they barely manage to cope with the thirsty. Old man Vavila cannot buy goat shoes for his granddaughter, because he drank himself to a penny. It is good that Pavlusha Veretennikov, a lover of Russian songs, whom everyone for some reason calls "master", is buying the coveted present for him.

Peasants-pilgrims are watching the farcical Petrushka, watching as ofeni pick up book goods - but by no means Belinsky and Gogol, but portraits of fat generals unknown to anyone and works about "stupid my lord." They also see the end of a brisk trading day: general drunkenness, fights on the way home. However, the peasants are outraged by Pavlusha Veretennikov's attempt to measure the peasant by the master's measure. In their opinion, it is impossible for a sober person to live in Russia: he will not be able to withstand either backbreaking work or peasant misfortune; without the booze, a bloody rain would have fallen from the angry peasant soul. These words are confirmed by Yakim Nagoy from the village of Bosovo - one of those who "works to death, drinks to death." Yakim believes that only pigs walk on the ground and do not see the sky for centuries. During the fire, he himself did not save money accumulated over his entire life, but useless and beloved pictures that hung in the hut; he is sure that with the cessation of drunkenness, great sadness will come to Russia.

Peasants-wanderers do not lose hope of finding people who live well in Russia. But even for a promise to give water to the lucky ones for nothing, they fail to find those. For the sake of gratuitous booze, both an overstrained worker and a paralyzed former courtyard who licked plates with the best French truffle at the master's for forty years, and even tattered beggars are ready to declare themselves lucky.

Finally, someone tells them the story of Yermil Girin, the steward in the patrimony of Prince Yurlov, who has earned universal respect for his fairness and honesty. When Girin needed money to buy out the mill, the peasants lent it to him without even demanding a receipt. But Yermil is now unhappy: after the peasant revolt, he is in prison.

About the misfortune that befell the nobles after the peasant reform, the ruddy sixty-year-old landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev tells the peasant wanderers. He recalls how in the old days everything amused the master: villages, forests, fields, serf actors, musicians, hunters, who completely belonged to him. Obolt-Obolduev tells with emotion how he invited his serfs to pray at the master's house on the twentieth holidays, despite the fact that after that they had to drive women from all over the estate to clean the floors.

And although the peasants themselves know that life in serf times was far from the idyll drawn by the Obolduevs, they still understand: the great chain of serfdom, having broken, hit both the master, who at once lost his usual way of life, and the peasant.

Desperate to find a happy one among the men, the wanderers decide to ask the women. Nearby peasants remember that Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina lives in the village of Klinu, whom everyone considers to be a lucky woman. But Matryona herself thinks differently. In confirmation, she tells the pilgrims the story of her life.

Before marriage, Matryona lived in a teetotal and prosperous peasant family. She married a stove-maker from a strange village, Philip Korchagin. But the only happy night was for her when the groom persuaded Matryona to marry him; then the usual hopeless life of a village woman began. True, her husband loved her and beat her only once, but soon he went to work in St. Petersburg, and Matryona was forced to endure grievances in her father-in-law's family. The only one who felt sorry for Matryona was grandfather Savely, who in the family lived out his life after hard labor, where he ended up for the murder of the hated German manager. Savely told Matryona what Russian heroism is: it is impossible to defeat a peasant, because he "bends, but does not break."

The birth of the first-born Demushka brightened up Matryona's life. But soon the mother-in-law forbade her to take the child into the field, and the old grandfather Savely did not keep track of the baby and fed him to the pigs. In front of Matryona's eyes, the judges who came from the city performed an autopsy on her child. Matryona could not forget her first child, although after she had five sons. One of them, Fedot the shepherd boy, once allowed the she-wolf to carry the sheep away. Matryona took upon herself the punishment assigned to her son. Then, being pregnant with her son Liodor, she was forced to go to the city to seek justice: her husband, bypassing the laws, was taken into the army. Matryona was then helped by the governor's wife Elena Alexandrovna, for whom the whole family is now praying.

By all peasant standards, Matryona Korchagina's life can be considered happy. But it is impossible to tell about the invisible spiritual storm that passed through this woman - just like about unrequited mortal grievances, and about the blood of the firstborn. Matryona Timofeevna is convinced that a Russian peasant woman cannot be happy at all, because the keys to her happiness and free will are lost from God himself.

In the midst of haymaking, wanderers come to the Volga. Here they witness a strange scene. On three boats a noble family swims up to the shore. The mowers, who have just sat down to rest, immediately jump up to show the old master their zeal. It turns out that the peasants of the Vakhlachina village help the heirs to hide the abolition of serfdom from the out-of-mind landowner Utyatin. Relatives of the Evident-Utyatin promise the peasants floodplain meadows for this. But after the long-awaited death of the Follower, the heirs forget their promises, and the whole peasant performance turns out to be in vain.

Here, near the village of Vakhlachina, pilgrims listen to peasant songs - corvée, hungry, soldier's, salty - and stories about serfdom. One of these stories is about the exemplary serf Jacob the faithful. Yakov's only joy was the gratification of his master, the small landowner Polivanov. The tyrant Polivanov, in gratitude, beat Yakov in the teeth with his heel, which aroused even greater love in the lackey's soul. By old age, Polivanov lost his legs, and Yakov began to follow him like a child. But when Yakov's nephew, Grisha, decided to marry the serf beauty Arisha, Polivanov out of jealousy gave the guy to recruits. Yakov started to drink, but soon returned to the master. And yet he managed to take revenge on Polivanov - the only way he could, in a lackey's way. Having brought the master into the forest, Yakov hanged himself directly above him on a pine tree. Polivanov spent the night under the corpse of his faithful servant, driving away birds and wolves with groans of horror.

Another story - about two great sinners - is told to the peasants by God's wanderer Jonah Lyapushkin. The Lord awakened the conscience of the ataman of the robbers Kudeyar. The robber for a long time atoned for his sins, but they were all forgiven him only after he killed the cruel Pan Glukhovsky in a rush of anger.

Peasants-pilgrims also listen to the story of another sinner - Gleb the elder, who for money hid the last will of the late admiral-widower, who decided to free his peasants.

But not only peasant wanderers think about the people's happiness. The son of a sexton, a seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, lives in Vakhlachina. In his heart, love for his deceased mother merged with love for all of Vakhlachina. For fifteen years Grisha knew firmly to whom he was ready to give his life, for whom he was ready to die. He thinks of all mysterious Russia as of a wretched, abundant, powerful and powerless mother, and expects that the invincible strength that he feels in his own soul will still be reflected in her. Such strong souls as those of Grisha Dobrosklonov are called by the angel of mercy to an honest path. Fate prepares Grisha "a glorious path, a resounding name for the people's defender, consumption and Siberia."

Nikolay Alekseevich Nekrasov

Who lives well in Russia

PART ONE

In what year - count
In which land - guess
On a pole track
Seven men came together:
Seven temporarily liable
Tightened province,
Terpigorev County,
Empty parish,
From adjacent villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
Bad harvest too,
Agreed - and argued:
Who has fun
Is it at ease in Russia?

The novel said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
Luke said: ass.
To the fat-bellied merchant! -
The brothers Gubins said,
Ivan and Metrodor.
Old man Pakhom strained
And he said, looking into the ground:
To the noble boyar,
To the Sovereign Minister.
And Prov said: to the king ...

A man that is a bull: will be blown
What a whim in the head -
Colom her from there
You can't knock it out: they rest,
Everyone stands their ground!
Was such a dispute started,
What do passers-by think -
To know, the guys found the treasure
And divide among themselves ...
On the case, everyone in their own way
I left the house before noon:
I kept that path to the forge,
He went to the village of Ivankovo
Call Father Prokofy
To christen the child.
Groin honeycomb
Carried to the market in Velikoye,
And the two bros of Gubin
So easy with a halter
To catch a stubborn horse
They went to their own herd.
It would be high time for everyone
Return on your own path -
They go side by side!
They walk as if they are chasing
Behind them are gray wolves,
What is far away is sooner.
They go - they reproach!
They shout - they will not come to their senses!
And time does not wait.

They did not notice the dispute,
As the sun went down red
As the evening came.
Probably a whole night
So they walked - where they did not know,
Whenever they meet a woman,
Gnarled Durandikha,
She did not shout: “Honorable ones!
Where are you looking at night
Have you thought of going? .. "

She asked, laughed,
Whipped, witch, gelding
And galloped off ...

"Where? .." - exchanged glances
Here are our men
They are standing, silent, looking down ...
The night is long gone
Frequent stars lit up
In the high skies
A month has surfaced, shadows are black
The road was cut
Zealous walkers.
Oops shadows! shadows are black!
Who won't you catch up?
Whom won't you overtake?
Only you, black shadows,
You can't catch - hug!

To the forest, to the path-path
Pakhom looked, was silent,
He looked - scattered with his mind
And finally he said:

"Well! devil is a nice joke
He made fun of us!
After all, we are almost
We have gone thirty versts!
Home now toss and turn -
Tired - we won't get there
Let's sit down - there's nothing to do.
We'll rest until the sun! .. "

Dumping trouble on the devil,
Under the forest by the path
The men sat down.
We lit a fire, folded up,
Two ran for vodka,
And the others are pokudova
The glass was made,
The birch barks are folded.
Vodka came soon.
Has come and a snack -
The peasants are feasting!

The kosushki drank three at a time,
Have eaten - and argued
Again: to whom it is fun to live,
Is it at ease in Russia?
The novel shouts: to the landowner,
Demian shouts: to the official,
Luka shouts: ass;
To the fat-bellied merchant, -
Brothers are shouting Gubins,
Ivan and Metrodor;
Groin shouts: to the most luminous
To the noble boyar,
To the Minister of the Tsar,
And Prov shouts: to the king!

Visor more than ever
Playful men
Swearing swearing
No wonder they will grab onto
In each other's hair ...

Look - we’ve already clung to it!
Roman plays with Pakhomushka,
Demian plays with Luka.
And the two bros of Gubin
Iron Prova hefty, -
And everyone shouts his own!

A resounding echo woke up,
I went for a walk, for a walk,
I went to shout, shout,
As if to provoke
Stubborn men.
To the king! - to the right is heard,
Responds to the left:
Pop! ass! ass!
The whole forest was alarmed,
With flying birds
By swift beasts
And creeping reptiles, -
And moan, and roar, and hum!

Before everyone is a gray hare
From a nearby bush
Suddenly jumped out, as if disheveled,
And he ran away!
Behind him the little ones grumble
At the top of the birch trees raised
Disgusting, sharp squeak.
And then there is the chiffchaff
With fright, a tiny chick
I fell from the nest;
Chirping, crying chiffchaff,
Where is the chick? - will not find!
Then the old cuckoo
Woke up and made up my mind
Cuckoo for someone;
It was taken ten times,
Yes, every time I got confused
And she started again ...
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!
Bread will be pricked
You choke on an ear -
You will not cuckoo!
Seven owls flew together,
Admire the carnage
From seven big trees
Laughing, night owls!
And their eyes are yellow
They burn like an ardent wax
Fourteen candles!
And the raven, the smart bird,
Is in a pinch, sits on a tree
By the fire itself.
Sits and prays to the devil
To be smacked to death
Someone!
A cow with a bell
That fought back in the evening
From the herd, I barely heard
Human voices -
I came to the fire, set
Eyes on the men
I listened to crazy speeches
And the beginning, heart,
Moo, moo, moo!

The stupid cow hums,
The little ones are squealing.
The violent guys are shouting,
And the echo echoes to everyone.
He has one concern -
To tease honest people
Scare guys and women!
Nobody saw him
And everyone has heard
Without a body - but it lives,
Without a tongue - screams!

Owl - zamoskvoretskaya
The princess is mooing right there,
Flies over the peasants
Shuffling on the ground,
That about the bushes with a wing ...

The fox itself is cunning,
By the curiosity of a woman,
Sneaked up to the men
Listened, listened
And she walked away, thinking:
"And the devil won't understand them!"
Indeed: the debaters themselves
We hardly knew, remembered -
What are they making noise about ...

Humping the sides decently
Each other, come to their senses
The peasants finally
Drank from a puddle
We washed ourselves, freshened up,
The dream began to roll them ...
At that time, a tiny chick,
Little by little, half a plant,
Low flying,
I got close to the fire.

Pakhomushka caught him,
Brought it to the fire, looked
And he said: “Little bird,
And the marigold is awesome!
I breathe - you will roll off the palm,
I sneeze - you will roll into the fire,
I click - you roll dead,
And all the same, you, little bird,
Stronger than a man!
The wings will get stronger soon,
Huh! wherever you want
You will fly there!
Oh you, little birdie!
Give us your wings
We will fly around the whole kingdom,
Let's see, taste,
We will ask - and we will find out:
Who lives happily
Is it at ease in Russia? "

"Wouldn't even need wings,
If only we had bread
Half a day, -
And so we would be Mother Russia
We measured it with our feet! " -
Said the gloomy Prov.

"Yes, a bucket of vodka", -
Have increased the desire
Before the vodka, the Gubin brothers,
Ivan and Metrodor.

"Yes, in the morning there would be cucumbers
There are ten salty ones ", -
The men were joking.
"And at noon I would have a jug
Cold kvass ".

"And in the evening for a teapot
Hot seagull ... "

While they grumbled
The warbler whirled, whirled
Above them: listened to everything
And she sat down by the fire.
Chiviknula, jumped
And with a human voice
Pahomu says:

“Let the chick free!
For a chick for a small
I will give a large ransom. "

- What will you give? -
"I'll give you some bread
Half a day a day
I'll give you a bucket of vodka,
In the morning I will give cucumbers,
And at noon sour kvass,
And in the evening a seagull! "

- And where, small bird, -
The Gubin brothers asked, -
You will find wine and bread
Are you seven men? -

“Find - you will find yourself.
And I, little birdie,
I'll tell you how to find it. "

- Tell! -
“Go through the woods,
Against the thirtieth pillar
Just a mile away:
You will come to the clearing
Are standing in that meadow
Two old pines
Under these under the pines
The box is buried.
Get her, -
The box is that magic:
There is a self-assembled tablecloth in it,
Whenever you want
Feed, give water!
Just say quietly:
"Hey! self-assembled tablecloth!
Treat the peasants! "
According to your desire,
At my behest
Everything will appear immediately.
Now - let the chick go! "

- Wait! we are poor people
We go on a long road, -
Pakhom answered her. -
I see you are a wise bird
Respect - old clothes
Bewitch us!

- So that the Armenians are peasants
Was worn, not worn! -
Roman demanded.

- So that linden lapotts
They served, did not break, -
Demian demanded.

- That louse, nasty flea
In shirts did not multiply, -
Luke demanded.

- Wouldn't they be deceived by the girls ... -
Gubina demanded ...

And the bird answered them:
“All the tablecloth is self-assembled
Repair, wash, dry
You will ... Well, let it go! .. "

Opening a wide palm,
I let the chick go through the groin.
Let it go - and a tiny chick,
Little by little, half a plant,
Low flying,
He went to the hollow.
A chiffchaff soared behind him
And on the fly she added:
“Look, mind you, one!
How much edible it will endure
Womb - then ask
And you can demand vodka
One bucket a day.
If you ask more,
And one and two - it will come true
According to your desire,
And in the third there will be trouble! "
And the warbler flew away
With my dear chick,
And the men in single file
Stretched to the road
Search for the thirtieth pillar.
Found! - Walk silently
Directly, rightly
Through the dense forest,
Each step is counted.
And how the mile was measured,
We saw a clearing -
Are standing in that meadow
Two old pines ...
The peasants dug
We got that box
Opened - and found
That self-assembled tablecloth!
They found it and cried out at once:
“Hey, self-assembled tablecloth!
Treat the peasants! "
Lo and behold - the tablecloth unfolded,
From where it came from
Two hefty hands
They put a bucket of wine,
A mountain of bread was laid
And they hid again.
"Why aren't there cucumbers?"
"What's not hot seagull?"
"That there is no cold kvask?"
Everything appeared suddenly ...
The peasants unbelted,
We sat down by the tablecloth.
Let's go to the feast like a mountain!
They kiss for joy
A friend to a friend is promised
Do not fight in vain forward,
But the matter is really controversial
According to reason, in a divine way,
On the honor of the story -
Do not toss and turn in the houses,
Not see any wives,
Not with little guys
Not with the old people,
As long as the matter is controversial
No solution will be found
Until they bring
As it may be for certain:
Who lives happily
Is it at ease in Russia?
Having set such a zarok,
In the morning like the dead
The men fell asleep ...

Centuries change, and the name of the poet N. Nekrasov - this knight of the spirit - remains unforgettable. In his work, Nekrasov revealed many aspects of Russian life, talked about the peasant grief, made him feel that under the yoke of need and darkness lurk still undeveloped heroic forces.

The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is the pivotal work of N.A. Nekrasov. It is about peasant truth, about "old" and "new", about "slaves" and "free", about "rebellion" and "patience."

What is the history of the creation of the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"? The 60s of the 19th century were characterized by an increase in political reaction. Nekrasov needed to defend the Sovremennik magazine and the course followed by the publication. The struggle for the purity of the chosen direction demanded the activation of the Nekrasov muse. One of the main lines, which Nekrasov adhered to, and which met the tasks of that time, was the people's, peasant. The work on the work "Who Lives Well in Russia" is the main tribute to the peasant theme.

The creative tasks that faced Nekrasov when creating the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" should be considered in the focus of literary and social life in the 60s and 70s. XIX century. After all, the poem was created not one year, but more than ten years, and the moods that possessed Nekrasov in the early 60s changed, just like life itself changed. The beginning of writing the poem falls on 1863. By that time, Emperor Alexander II had already signed a manifesto on the abolition of serfdom.

The work on the poem was preceded by years of collecting bit by bit of creative material. The author decided not just to write a work of fiction, but a work that is accessible and understandable to ordinary people, a kind of "folk book", which shows with the utmost completeness an entire era in the life of the people.

What is the genre originality of the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"? Literary experts identify this work of Nekrasov as an "epic poem". This definition dates back to the opinion of Nekrasov's contemporaries. An epic is a large piece of fiction of an epic character. According to the genre "Who Lives Well in Russia", the work is lyric-epic. It combines epic foundations with lyric and dramatic. The dramatic element in general permeates many of Nekrasov's works, the poet's passion for drama is reflected in his poetry.

The compositional form of the work "Who Lives Well in Russia" is rather peculiar. Composition is the construction, arrangement of all the elements of a work of art. Compositionally, the poem is built according to the laws of the classical epic: it is a collection of relatively autonomous parts and chapters. The unifying motive is the motive of the road: seven men (seven is the most mysterious and magical number) are trying to find an answer to the question, which is essentially philosophical: who lives well in Russia? Nekrasov does not lead us to a certain climax in the poem, does not push us towards the final event and does not activate the action. His task, as a major epic artist, is to reflect aspects of Russian life, to draw the image of the people, to show the variety of people's roads, directions, ways. This creative work of Nekrasov is a large lyric-epic form. It involves a lot of characters, a lot of storylines are deployed.

The main idea of ​​the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is that the people are worthy of happiness and it makes sense to fight for happiness. The poet was sure of this, and with all his work he presented evidence of this. The happiness of one, separately taken individual is not enough, it is not a solution to the problem. The poem appeals to thoughts about the embodiment of happiness for the whole people, about "A Feast for the Whole World."

The poem begins with the "Prologue", in which the author tells how seven men from different villages met on the high road. A dispute arose between them about who lives better in Russia. Each of the disputants expressed their opinion, and no one wanted to give in. As a result, the disputants decided to go on a journey in order to find out first-hand who and how life in Russia and to find out which of them was right in this dispute. From the chiffchaff bird, the wanderers learned where the magic self-assembled tablecloth is located, which will feed and give them drink on a long journey. Having found a self-assembled tablecloth and convinced of its magical abilities, seven men set off on a long journey.

In the chapters of the first part of the poem, seven pilgrims met people from different classes on their way: priest, peasants at a rural fair, landowner and asked them the question - how happy are they? Neither the priest nor the landowner believed that their life was full of happiness. They complained that after the abolition of serfdom, their lives had deteriorated. At the rural fair, fun reigned, but when the wanderers began to ask the people dispersed after the fair how happy each of them was, it turned out that only a few of them could be called truly happy.

In the chapters of the second part, united by the title "The Last One", the wanderers meet with the peasants of the village of Bolshie Vakhlaki, who live in a rather strange situation. Despite the abolition of serfdom, they portrayed serfs in the presence of the landowner, as in the old days. The old landowner reacted painfully to the reform of 1861 and his sons, fearing to be left without an inheritance, persuaded the peasants to portray serfs until the old man died. At the end of this part of the poem, it is said that after the death of the old prince, his heirs deceived the peasants and started a lawsuit with them, not wanting to give up valuable meadows.

After talking with the Vakhlak men, the travelers decided to look for happy people among women. In the chapters from the third part of the poem under the general title "Peasant" they met with a resident of the village of Klin, Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina, who was popularly nicknamed "the governor's wife". Matryona Timofeevna told them without concealment her whole long-suffering life. At the end of her story, Matryona advised the pilgrims not to look for happy people among Russian women, while telling them the parable that the keys to women's happiness were lost, and no one could find them.

The wandering of seven peasants, who are looking for happiness throughout Russia, continues, and they find themselves at a feast arranged by the inhabitants of the village of Valakhchina. This part of the poem was called "A Feast for the Whole World." At this feast, the seven pilgrims come to the realization that the question for which they set out on a campaign across Russia is of interest not only to them, but to the entire Russian people.

In the last chapter of the poem, the author gives the floor to the younger generation. One of the participants in the folk feast, the son of a parish deacon, Grigory Dobrosklonov, unable to fall asleep after stormy disputes, goes to wander around his native land and the song "Rus" is born in his head, which became the ideological finale of the poem:

"You are wretched,
You are abundant
You and downtrodden
You are omnipotent
Mother Russia! "

Returning home, and having recited this song to his brother, Gregory tries to fall asleep, but his imagination continues to work and a new song is born. If the seven pilgrims could find out what this new song is about, they could return home with a light heart, for the goal of the journey would have been achieved, since Grisha's new song was about the embodiment of the people's happiness.

Concerning the problematics of the poem "Who lives well in Russia", we can say the following: two levels of problematic (conflict) emerge in the poem - socio-historical (the results of the peasant reform) - the conflict grows in the first part and persists in the second, and deep, philosophical (salt national character), which arises in the second and dominates in the third part. Problems raised by Nekrasov in the poem
(the chains of slavery have been removed, but whether the peasant lot has been eased, whether the oppression of the peasants has stopped, whether the contradictions in society have been eliminated, whether the people are happy) - will not be resolved for a long period.

Analyzing the poem by N.A. Nekrasov "Who Lives Well in Russia", it is important to say that the main poetic dimension of this work is a three-legged, non-rhymed iambic. Moreover, at the end of the line, after the stressed syllable, there are two unstressed (dactylic clause). In some parts of the work, Nekrasov also uses iambic tetrameter. This choice of poetic size was due to the need to present the text in a folk style, but with the preservation of the classical literary canons of that time. The folk songs included in the poem, as well as the songs of Grigory Dobrosklonov, are written using three-syllable sizes.

Nekrasov strove to ensure that the language of the poem was understandable to an ordinary Russian person. Therefore, he refused to use the lexicon of classical poetry of that time, saturating the work with the words of common speech: "village", "breveshko", "empty dance", "yarmonka" and many others. This made it possible to make the poem understandable to any peasant.

In the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" Nekrasov uses numerous means of artistic expression. These include such epithets as "the sun is red", "shadows are black", "people are poor," a free heart "," a calm conscience "," an invincible force. " There are also comparisons in the poem: "I jumped out like a disheveled one", "yellow eyes burn like ... fourteen candles!"

Metaphors found in the poem: "the earth lies", "spring ... friendly", "the warbler is crying", "the turbulent village", "the boyars are cypress."

Metonyms - "the whole path has quieted down", "the crowded square has quieted down", "When a man ... will carry Belinsky and Gogol from the bazaar."

In the poem there was a place for such means of artistic expression as irony: "... a tale about the holy fool landowner: I think he hiccups!" and sarcasm: “Pig is proud: it scratched Oh master's porch!”.

There are also stylistic figures in the poem. These include addresses: "Well, uncle!", "Wait a minute!", "Come, desired! ..", "Oh people, Russian people!" and exclamations: “Chu! horse snoring! "," And at least not this bread! "," Eh! Eh! "," At least swallow a pen! "

Folklore expressions - at the "fair", apparently invisible.

The language of the poem is peculiar, adorned with sayings, sayings, dialects, "common" words: "mlada-young", "virgin", "pogudka".

I remember the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" by the fact that, despite the difficult times in which it was created and which it describes, it shows a positive, life-affirming beginning. The people deserve happiness - this is the main theorem proved by Nekrasov. The poem helps people to understand, to become better, to fight for their happiness. Nekrasov is a thinker, a person with a unique social instinct. He touched the depths of people's life, pulled out a scattering of original Russian characters from its depths. Nekrasov was able to show the fullness of human experiences. He strove to comprehend the full depth of human existence.

Nekrasov solved his creative tasks outside the box. His work is imbued with the ideas of humanism.