Why did Chichikov buy up dead souls from landowners
In order to understand what the actions of the main character were, the reader should familiarize themselves with the original source - the poem by N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”. From it it will become clear why Chichikov bought up dead souls. But sometimes there is not enough time for reading, and writing an essay somehow needs to be done. Well, of course, it's hard to sing like the Basque. Therefore, instead of transmitting Gogol’s rich language palette, I will confine myself to a simple retelling. But it’s a pity, because what are the only lyrical digressions in “Dead Souls” - you read and seem to see picturesque paintings. Well, an intrigued reader at his leisure will read the work, right? And I will continue.
What is the intrigue
The key intrigue on which Gogol’s poem Dead Souls is based was the possibility of obtaining a loan - money paid by the Board of Trustees. At the same time, serfs belonging to the landowner acted as collateral . The events described by Gogol could have happened almost two hundred years ago, so it will be appropriate to tell the reader some circumstances of Russian life of that era. And at the same time mention the position of the protagonist in society. Ultimately, we intend to sort out the question of why Chichikov bought up dead souls.
How it all began
At the end of 1718, Peter I issued a decree on the census of the male population. Since office equipment at that time was primitive, the time allotted for the execution of the royal decree was not enough. Instead of one year, it took as much as three, and then another three to conduct an “audit” - checking the accuracy of the lists, called “fairy tales”. Before the abolition of serfdom, such "revisions" were carried out ten years of their implementation are known. And here there is one curious moment - the time interval in which the events described in the poem could take place. By indirect signs, it can be judged that the action develops in the first third of the XVIII century. And already the Patriotic War of 1812 not only passed, but even slightly forgotten.
Case of the era
Even before we figured out why Chichikov bought up dead souls, we know that he bought only men and only “for withdrawal”, that is, he had the intention to relocate them to another province. It is also known that in 1833 a decree was issued according to which it was not allowed to “separate the families”. Consequently, the adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov accounted for the period between the “revisions” of 1815 and 1833. So, one of the circumstances of Russian life of that era is the following incident: the deceased peasants were conditionally listed as living, and a landlord was taxed for them until the next census — the “revision”.
Tax liability
Together with the acquired peasants, Pavel Ivanovich also incurred tax obligations, which looks like a total loss. It would seem that there is no logical explanation for such actions, and at first it is not clear why Chichikov bought up dead souls. But there were still some nuances in the then legislation that allowed the protagonist to build a fraudulent scheme for receiving money. At that time, the state supervised the landowners in order to prevent a decrease in their numbers and prevent loss-making. After all, the state needed to receive taxes and recruits. If the owner was dying without leaving adult (legally capable) heirs, or the housekeeping was carried out improperly, custody could be imposed on such names.
Board of Trustees
Imperial guardianship councils were established at Moscow and St. Petersburg educational homes. Their tasks included maintaining the nobility of land tenure, if only it did not cease to exist. Ruined estates could be auctioned off to a wealthier landlord. Or the landowner could get an interest-bearing loan to restore the economy secured by land and peasants. Such loans were issued by the guardianship councils, the main source of income of which was precisely the funds received from the auction. In case of late payment of interest or non-repayment of the loan at the appointed time, the estate was alienated in favor of a credit institution and sold at auction. This "wheel" could spin for a long time, however, the enterprising Chichikov figured out how to ride it with benefit for himself.
Fraud
Actually, he wanted to get a loan secured by serf souls, but since he didn’t have one, he decided to buy them. At the same time, he intended “on paper” to buy cheaply peasants who died but were legally considered to be alive. Of course, Chichikov was not going to pay the capitation in the future , interest on the loan and even more so to return the loan. It would be impossible to crank out his scam with receiving a pledge if Chichikov had only fictitious peasants, but there was no land. Buying land in the same province as the peasants would be expensive. Moreover, it would be too noticeable that there are virtually no serfs. Therefore, the wise Pavel Ivanovich decided to buy inexpensive land in the uninhabited Kherson province, and the peasants “to withdraw” to it. Everything agrees on the papers, but no one will check, which means they will give a loan.