At the beginning of 1842, Nicholas I issued a decree on the beginning of the construction of the first railway in Russia. She was supposed to connect Moscow and St. Petersburg. All the work, which was led by the chief route manager P. A. Kleinmichel, was completed in record time. Already in 1852 the road was launched.
The Russian poet, Nekrasov Nikolai Alekseevich, dedicated one of the most significant poems of a civic orientation to this event. That's just his attention to a greater extent was attracted not so much by the benefits that the road gave, which allowed to reduce the travel time from one week to a day, but how much it cost Russia.
From the history of the creation of the work
The poem "Railway" by Nekrasov was written in 1864 and published in the journal Sovremennik. By that time, the railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg was called Mykolayiv, and P. A. Kleinmichel, who was incredibly cruel to his subordinates and who compromised power, was removed from office by Alexander II.
However, the problem that the author of the work raises in the 60s of the XIX century was very topical. At this time, the construction of railways began in other parts of the country. At the same time, the working and living conditions of the peasants involved in the work differed little from those described by Nekrasov.
While working on a poem, the poet studied a number of journalistic documents, including articles by N. Dobrolyubov and V. Sleptsov about the brutal attitude of managers to subordinates, published in 1860-61, which extends the timeline of the work. The surname of Kleinmichel was to a greater extent distract the attention of censorship from the relevance of the topic. But even this did not make him less revealing, which allows us to understand a detailed analysis. Nekrasov’s “Railway” was perceived by many contemporaries as a bold denunciation of the existing orders under Alexander II.
Composition of the poem
The work consists of 4 chapters, united by the images of the narrator (lyrical hero), the general and his son Vanyusha, who appeared together in the train car Moscow-Petersburg. The role of the exposition is played by the epigraph, designed as a dialogue between father and son. It was the general’s answer to his son’s question about who built this railway that made the narrator intervene in their conversation. The dispute that arose as a result was the basis of the poem (the plan is given below) “Railway”.
Nekrasov addresses his work to the same children as Vanya. According to the poet, they certainly should know even the bitter, but still true history of their country, since they have the future of Russia.
Chapter 1. Autumn landscape
The beginning of the poem "Railway" Nekrasov is imbued with a sense of admiration and pacification. The first line sets this tone: “Glorious autumn!” For the author, paintings of nature flickering outside the window of the car represent all of our beloved Russia (from the very name, ancient and already a thing of the past, it blows with warmth and love), so unique and dear to the heart. Everything here is beautiful and harmonious, even “kochi”, “moss swamps and stumps” falling into the field of vision. Only one word is knocked out of the general plan, which makes the reader wary: "there is no outrage in nature ...". Involuntarily the question arises: "Then where is it?"
Chapter 2. The builders of the railway
Next, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov returns the reader to the epigraph and asks the “dad” not to “charm” (here - the error) to keep his son, but to tell him the bitter truth about the creation of the road. At the beginning of the conversation, the narrator notes the fact that “this work ... cannot be done alone”, which means that Kleinmichel himself could not conduct construction. Stronger than the manager and even the Russian emperor could be only one tsar - Famine. It was he who at all times decided the fate of millions of people. As far as the narrator is right in this statement, the following pictures drawn by the author and their analysis help to understand.
The "railway" of Nekrasov continues with a story about how innumerable the troubles and suffering of the people during the construction of the road were. The first conclusion that the author makes is that these wonderful paths were built on the bones of Russians. “How many of them ?!” - a rhetorical exclamation-question in this case speaks more eloquently than any words and numbers. And suddenly, Vanya, drowning under the sound of wheels, sees a terrible picture. Until recently, such a beautiful landscape has been replaced by a description of the dead people running after the carriage - the builders of the road. Silence and peace are broken by the sound of shovels, gnashing of teeth, moaning, crying and a loud song about the suffering experienced. Instead of bread and money, many people found a grave here, since work was carried out all daylight hours from early spring to late autumn, and sometimes in winter. But the words of the dead are filled with triumph (the author speaks on their behalf, which gives the portrayal even more credibility): "We love to see our work." It is to this "habit ... noble" - to work - and the narrator draws the attention of the boy.
Description of Belarus
From the crowd following the train, a frozen figure of one of the hard workers stands out. He does not move, but only "with a rusty shovel, heats the frozen ground."
A detailed understanding of the consequences of unbearable labor and inhuman living conditions allows a detailed description of his figure and appearance, as well as their analysis (The Railway by Nekrasov is a deeply realistic work, showing everything without embellishment). Fallen eyelids and bloodless lips, sores covered with skinny hands and swollen legs (“forever in the water”), “pit chest” and a humpbacked back ... The author even describes a hair curl - a sign of unsanitary conditions and constant painful disease. And also monotonous, brought to automatic traffic. Here, the distinction between the dead and the living, but very sick man, as the Belarusian Nikolai Nekrasov portrays. The railway as a result for some becomes a source of glory, for others - a grave. Thousands of unknown tortured people are buried in it.
So the feeling of delight caused by the beauty of nature in Chapter 1 is replaced by a description of the brutal exploitation of some people by others.
Chapter 3. The role of the people in history
The locomotive whistle, like the cry of a rooster, dispelled the visions that seemed so real (we recall the features of the ballad that Nekrasov successfully uses in the poem "Railway").
The idea of the narrator about the great feat accomplished by the people, and the story of Vanya about an amazing dream, cause the general only laughter. For him, simple men are nothing more than drunkards, barbarians and destroyers. In his view, admiration is only worthy of the true creators of the beautiful, and this must certainly be talented spiritualized people. An esthete in his soul, who recently saw the best creations of art in Rome and Vienna, the general despises an uneducated man, who, in his opinion, is not capable of anything. Including the construction of the railway. This dispute between the heroes reflected the actual confrontation of materialists and aesthetes in the middle of the century about what is more useful: practicality (that is, a clay pot) or beauty - a statue of Apollo (A. Pushkin, “Poet and Crowd”).
The father believes that such stories are initially harmful to the heart of the child, and asks to show the "bright side" of construction. The poem “Railway” by Nekrasov ends with a story about the award the people received for their work.
Chapter 4. The "bright side" of construction
And now the rails are laid, the dead are buried, the sick are in the dugouts. It's time to get a reward for your labors. All the foremen counted over the time of work: "whether he took to the bathhouse, or if he was lying sick." As a result, each clerk must also remain. Against this background, the words of the meadowsweet, who rolled out a barrel of wine: “And I give back the arrears!” Cheerless thoughts are inspired by the last chapter and its analysis. Nekrasov’s “Railway” is a work not only about the labor feat of the Russian people, but also about its servile essence, which cannot be broken in any way. A tormented, impoverished man, accustomed to submissiveness, the man rejoiced and “the merchants shouted“ Hurray! ”
The image of the lyrical hero in the poem "Railway"
Nekrasov, the topic of humiliation and enslavement of the people for which was one of the main ones, showed himself as a citizen, feeling personal responsibility for the fate of his native country.
The lyrical hero openly declares his position and attitude towards what becomes the subject of the image. Recognizing the stubbornness and humility, in fact, inherent in the Russian peasant, he admires his strength of mind, strength of character, stamina and incredible hard work. Therefore, he does not leave hope that the moment will come when the sense of human dignity will prevail and the humiliated masses will be able to defend themselves.
The attitude of contemporaries to the poem
The new work of N. Nekrasov caused a wide public response. It is no coincidence that one of the censors called him "a terrible slander that cannot be read without a shudder." And the Sovremennik magazine, the first to publish the text, received a warning of closure.
G. Plekhanov recalled his acquaintance with a poem in the graduating class of a military gymnasium. According to his testimony, the first desire of him and his comrades was one thing: to take a gun and go "to fight for the Russian people."