In 1790, in the capital of Tsarist Russia, the novel by A. N. Radishchev, "Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow," was published. This event became a real scandal - because of the content, the book was banned, and its author was exiled to Siberia. Despite this, the work was distributed among the cultural elite of the country in the form of handwritten copies. The book was able to survive its persecutors and is now included in the school curriculum. In this material we learn some information about the content of the story "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", the genre of its writing and the fate of the author.
What is the essence of the epigraph to the work
Since in the 18th century, when Radishchev’s book was published, it was unsafe to talk about the shortcomings of power (especially after the Pugachev uprising), the author had to resort to many metaphors and hints. The first of these is the epigraph to "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow": "The monster shook, mischievously, enormously, harshly and (barking) barking."
This phrase was borrowed from the popular poem of V. Trediakovsky “Telemachis” in those years and described Cerberus - the legendary monster guarding the entrance to the kingdom of the dead.
Why did Radishchev take this phrase as an epigraph to "Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow"? Most researchers believe that in this way he tried to describe his contemporary social structure in Russia. Moreover, the author blamed not only the monarch, but also every resident of the country in whose hands there is at least a share of power. Indeed, throughout the journey, the hero is faced with the fact that bribery, indifference to the fate of others and work after the sleeves are present at absolutely all levels: from the groom at the station to the head of state.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, when “Journey ...” again became popular in the wake of revolutionary unrest, the epigraph to it turned into a catch phrase.
Genre: Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow
At the beginning of the XVIII century. in the UK, travel writing has become fashionable. In them, the authors described not only the path of their character and what he saw, but also the impression of the trip.
In 1768, one of the most famous books of this kind was published - The Sentimental Journey by Lawrence Stern. It was after her in literature that such a genre as sentimentalism finally formed.
The main feature of such works was the desire of the authors to pity the readers, this effect was achieved by influencing their feelings.
With the British light hand, sentimentalism and travels soon spread throughout Europe, including the Russian Empire.
Radishchev’s book “Traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow” is one of the brightest examples of works of this genre. Indeed, in addition to criticizing the social structure, Alexander Nikolaevich in most chapters described cases from the life of serfs, thereby successfully influencing the emotions of readers, making them empathize.
The history of writing and the fate of the first run
Having dealt with the genre “Travels from Petersburg to Moscow” (a sentimental story-journey), it is worth paying attention to some features of literary work. In fact, Radishchev’s book is not one work, but a collection of short stories, poetry, essays, historical and philosophical treatises that are united by a sentimental hero and shown to the reader through the prism of his perception.
How did the author come up with the idea of such a work?
To understand why such a wealthy person like A. N. Radishchev decided to risk everything and write his scandalous story, you need to remember some points from his biography.
Unlike most Russian nobles of that time, the author of Travel ... studied with the best professors in Moscow, and then learned law at the University of Leipzig. After living abroad, Radishchev was inspired by revolutionary ideas about changing the social order, promoted by famous French and German writers and philosophers.
Upon returning to his homeland, forced to serve in the state apparatus, Alexander Nikolaevich was personally convinced of his backwardness from world trends.
Having no real power in his hands to try to change all this, the writer decides to at least state the real situation on paper.
The history of writing Travel from Petersburg to Moscow begins in 1785. This year, the author writes the first essay on the sale of peasants from the auction (entered the story as the head of "Copper").
In future years, he continues to create short stories about the disenfranchised position of serfs and laziness of officials.
In 1787, an event takes place that pushes Radishchev to the beginning of active work on the book. At this time, Empress Catherine decides to take a ride around the country to see how her people live. In order not to upset the queen, her favorite, Grigory Potemkin, creates a series of fake villages with mumbled happy peasants along the line of the mistress's motorcade.
As a result of this journey, Catherine and her entire court begin to sacredly believe (or simply want to believe) that everything is fine in the country, and the serfs are well-fed, dressed and happy with their fate.
Such a vile deception and the desire of the authorities to live in illusions caused outrage among many, including the writer. He decides to create a work of travel dedicated to what the queen would have faced if she traveled incognito through her empire.
Until 1789, Radishchev worked on the text of the novel “A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”. And so that there would be no problems with printing, the author equips his own printing house on his estate, where he publishes the work.
The circulation of the book was 650 copies, but the author managed to sell only 100. It is believed that the remaining 550 were burned by Radishchev. However, given how much work and money the author has invested in this enterprise, it is more likely that Alexander Nikolaevich handed over books to true friends. Otherwise, where did the manuscript versions come from in the coming decades? It wasn’t from memory that they were made up, especially since the “Journey ...” was by no means small in content.
Some researchers of the writer's work believe that in writing "Travel ..." he was helped by an unknown nobleman. After all, building your own printing house to print just one book is not an expensive thing, for which the author simply would not have had enough of his own funds.
How censorship and advanced thinkers of the 18th-19th centuries met work of Radishchev
The irony in that, the genre of "Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow" helped him to pass the most severe censorship.
In those years, the fashion for sentimental travel in literature was high, so lazy censors considered the work of Alexander Nikolaevich one of them. Therefore, they only read the names of the chapters and the pathos, a bit ornate introduction. Thus, "Journey ..." seemed to them a kind of guide to the Russian hinterland between the two capitals, and the censors allowed it to be published.
Fortunately, the readers were more attentive, and soon after the appearance of the book made a real sensation.
As for the public reaction, despite the ban, the work was distributed in handwritten versions. So the book was read by the most intelligent people of that time, not only sympathizing with the problems set forth in it, but also denying their existence.
First of all, this is Catherine II, who positioned herself as the Great. In fairness, it is worth noting that she really was one of the smartest and most educated women of her time. Approximate empresses say that she carefully read the work of Radishchev and left quite a few caustic remarks on the sidelines of the book. Basically, Catherine noted the borrowing of the style of writing from popular European writers, and also criticized the problems depicted in "Journey ...", calling them vulgar and far-fetched.
The story was perceived by her as an encroachment on the "most holy" institution of imperial power. Therefore, like Pugachev, Radishchev was sentenced to death.
Having cooled down a bit, the queen had mercy and replaced her with a link to Siberia for 10 years. This was a more deliberate decision. After all, it was somehow strange to kill a man who dared to tell about mockery of serfs, given the fact that 22 years earlier, the tsarina ordered severely punishing the noble noblewoman Daria Saltykova for the murders and bullying of the peasants subject to her. Therefore, if Radishchev were executed, the numerous and very influential relatives of Saltychikha would begin to ask a number of unpleasant questions for Catherine, as well as demand the release of Daria, who by that time was still alive.
It is interesting that the son of Tsarina Pavel I, who was not beloved by writers and nobles, after entering the throne ordered to mitigate the measure of punishment for Radishchev - to replace the reference to house arrest on the author’s estate. Although this ruler was fanatically confident in the divine origin of the monarchy, it is worth noting that, contrary to criticism of her short reign, Paul tried to make life easier for the serfs. Many historians believe that it was the "Journey ..." that prompted him to such a decision, because the king never really traveled outside the capital for his life.
The grandson of Catherine Alexander I went further than his father. He not only completely removed all charges from Radishchev, but also included him in the Commission for drafting laws in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, a year after this event, the writer died of consumption.
It is worth noting that most readers of The Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow were outraged / admired by its content, but rarely spoke about the art form. However, Pushkin (who, in order to familiarize himself with the original, bought out a copy stored in the Secret Chancellery) criticized the author’s style in many ways. At the same time, he, like Catherine, considered many of the problems described in the book to be exaggerated.
Another great genius of Russian literature (who, unlike Alexander Sergeyevich, knew firsthand how peasants live), Dostoevsky also criticized Radishchev's style of authorship and argued that many of the plots and thoughts in The Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow were borrowed from French works educators.
Heroes of the story
In the center of the plot is a sentimental hero, traditional for that time. He is a storyteller who left his friends in St. Petersburg and decided to go to the Mother See.
Over the course of 26 chapters of the book, he meets with different characters from various social backgrounds.
Some of the described characters of Travel from Petersburg to Moscow were close in spirit to the narrator, some sympathized with him (Krestyankin, victim of a swindler), while others only aroused contempt from him (greedy cruel landowners, swindlers, lecheries).
Interestingly, the author does not give names to most of the characters in the book. Probably, the purpose of such an artistic device is to create an impression among readers that the prototype of another or another person is a familiar face.
Summary of “Introduction”, “Departure”, “Sofia”, “Tosny” and “Lyuban”
Having considered the circumstances of the writing of the book, its genre and artistic features, it is worth exploring the summary of “Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow”.
In chapter 1, the narrator mainly philosophizes about human suffering and the soul. The most interesting and important thought in it can be considered the appeal of readers not to live in slavery of illusions.
Chapter 2 is of little interest. It briefly describes the hero’s journey from St. Petersburg to the Sofia station, where the main action of section 3 takes place. In those days, everyone rode horses, and the animal is not a car, he needs rest. In order not to wait, it was possible to leave tired horses at post stations and harness fresh ones. This is what the hero intended to do in Sofia. However, it was too late, and the caretaker did not want to trouble himself, so he lied that there were no animals and that he had to wait until the morning.
Although the hero could get the punishment of a negligent employee, he decided to give the peasants a bribe “for vodka”, and they harnessed fresh horses to him.
On the way to Tosna, the narrator complains about the condition of the roads. At the station itself, he meets a lawyer who was a registrar at the bit archive, and is now engaged in "falsification" of the pedigree, as there are rumors that noble families older than 200-300 years will soon receive higher ranks.
In Lyuban, a traveler met a peasant who, despite Sunday, plowed his field. It turned out that the unfortunate knows that he is repairing sin, but he has no choice. The fact is that the rest of the week he is forced to cultivate the lord's field, and if he does not work on a holiday, he will starve to death.
Summary of “Miracle”, “Spasskaya Poleststvo”, “Podberezie”, “Novgorod” and the chapter “From the Chronicles of Novgorod”
At the station in Chudovo, the narrator is met by his friend Ch. From Petersburg. It turns out that he recently took a boat trip from Kronstadt to Sisterbek. The boat nearly sank due to the storm. But two rowers, at their own peril and risk, swam to the shore and asked for help from the local chief. He refused them, since this is not his duty. The daredevils managed to find help themselves and save the rest.
Later Ch. Complained to his Petersburg friends, but, not finding sympathy in them, he decided to leave the city.
In the next chapter, the traveler gets acquainted with the unfortunate person whom the companion deceived, and he lost not only money, but also his good name, and the hero’s wife died due to a miscarriage.
Compassion for him, the hero sees a dream: allegedly he is “King, Shah, Khan, King, Bey, Nabab, Sultan”. In this role, the hero feels great and fair. But at a certain moment he realizes that this is only an appearance.
In chapter 8, the narrator meets a seminarian who complains about the modern Russian educational system, because of which students and pupils are not really taught anything.
9-10 chapters are devoted to Novgorod. Arriving here, the protagonist recalls how this city was before the capture of Ivan the Terrible and how a change in the form of power negatively affected his well-being.
The narrator also visits his friend Karp Dementievich. This man got rich with the help of scams with bills. And in order not to pay the bills, I issued everything for my spouse.
What are “Bronnitsy”, “Zaitsevo”, “Baptists”, “Yazhelbitsy”, “Valdai” about
Contemplation of the mountain, where the Slavic pagan temple used to be (during the stay in the next village), prompts the hero to think about the Lord and human happiness.
In Zaitsev, the narrator has the opportunity to meet with his longtime friend, the chairman of the criminal chamber, Krestyankin. He quit because of his last case - he was forced to condemn the death of obviously innocent people. These were serfs, whom the gentleman and the velvet women brought to the uprising with their behavior (murders, violence against girls, starvation, etc.). People killed the owners and burned the house, for which they were executed.
In Sisters, the narrator observes the moment when the father says goodbye to his sons, who are leaving their home to serve. This spectacle makes him philosophize about the parental attitude to his children.
On the way to the next station, the hero sees his father bury his son. He laments that in the past he led a lecherous lifestyle and contracted a sexually transmitted disease. This disease was cured, but the medicine affected the health of the child born to him.
The narrator sympathizes with his father, while recalling that he himself is not sinless, and reflects on the negative consequences of prostitution.
As if in response to these thoughts, the hero finds himself in Valdai, famous for its walking women in bathhouses, for the sake of which travelers often come here.
What is described in Yedrovo, Khotilov, Vyshny Volochek, Vydropusk, Torzhok and Brief Narrative on the Origin of Censorship
In Edrovo, the narrator meets a charming young peasant woman, Anna. It turns out that a girl cannot marry her beloved Vanyusha until they pay 100 rubles of ransom to the guy’s father. Charmed by the beauty and sincerity of the girl, the master goes to her mother and wants to give money for the wedding, but the peasants themselves find a way out.
In Khotilov, the hero reflects on the shortcomings of slavery. By chance, he finds a friend's notes on this topic.
In the Vyshny Volochek, the traveler’s eyes come across the possessions of a gentleman, known everywhere for his ability to competently manage a household so that it makes a profit. At first glance, the house and land here are a full bowl and paradise. However, it turns out that all this abundance is built on the merciless attitude of the landowner to the peasants. Unlike his other "colleagues", this gentleman deprived the serfs of the land laid by him and makes him work for him all year round, without days off and holidays. In exchange, the lord gives the family villagers food rations and clothes, and feeds the lonely and orphans at the common table with bread and kvass. At the same time, peasants are forbidden to keep animals in the house, except for the bird, and even that owner can take it.
In the Outlaw, the hero continues to read other people's papers. The records speak of court customs and luxury.
In the next 2 chapters, the narrator and his companion examine the history of censorship and its shortcomings.
Summary of "Copper", "Tver", "Gorodni", "Zavidovo" and "Wedge"
At the next point of his journey, the hero witnesses how all his property, including serfs, is sold for his master’s debts. During the auction, gentlemen easily tear apart peasant families, and the law does not prevent such inhuman treatment.
A new chapter is devoted to reflections on poetry in the Russian Empire and the fact that it is too focused on European traditions. In this section, a travel buddy reads his ode to Liberty.
In Gorodnya the hero finds the farewell of peasants to the army. Here he observes the grief of his father, losing the only breadwinner, and the cunning Frenchman, who sold himself as a slave, and then went into the soldiers.
At the new station, the young officer is trying to rob the narrator of the horses. His goal is to curry favor with his superiors. The main character manages to defend his honor and property. At the same time, he bitterly reflects on the habit of his compatriots to grovel in front of the highest ranks.
In Klin, a traveler meets a blind old man who is given a warm scarf.
The contents of the "Pawn", "Black Mud" and "Words about Lomonosov"
Having learned what is told in the main parts of the book, it is worthwhile to complete the consideration of the summary of “Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow”, paying attention to the last chapters.
In Pawns, the narrator finds himself in a poor hut of a serf woman who asks him for a piece of sugar for her child. Terrified by the poverty in the house, the hero discusses the shamelessness of the landowners.
In the next section, he gets to the wedding of peasants. However, the young people hate each other, and this marriage is the order of the master. Such an event prompts the narrator to reflect on the nature of marriage.
The final chapter is devoted to the story of Lomonosov and his contribution to the development of education and culture of Tsarist Russia.
A brief analysis of "Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow"
Having examined the characters and the content of Radishchev’s novel, it is worth analyzing it briefly.
Without a doubt, this work was very progressive for its time. After all, Alexander Nikolaevich for the first time in Russian literature decided to describe all the problems of his contemporary society, without embellishment.
Many contemporaries of the author, when analyzing Travels from St. Petersburg to Moscow, believed that Radishchev exaggerated. More courageous and sensible thinkers called this book the "encyclopedia of Russian life." Indeed, unlike "Eugene Onegin" (who bears this title), in "Journey ..." the truthful side of what was behind the life romanticized by the landowners in the village is shown.
Despite a fair amount of sentimentality (which there really is too much in the work), as well as the author’s active attempts to squeeze a tear from the reader, the realism of the one described by him is still amazing. And the saddest thing for every modern reader is that after many centuries since the release of "Travel ..." the situation in Russia has not really improved - the main problems have remained unchanged to this day.