1. Amadeus Manuilovich Clementy (1731 - 1734). In the past, he was an excellent pasta chef. He ended up in Russia thanks to the Duke of Courland. He rose to the rank of mayor. He demanded that the inhabitants skillfully cook pasta. He ended up in Berezovo for treason.

2. Fotiy Petrovich Ferapontov (1734 to 1738.) Brigadier. P In the past - a hairdresser of the same duke. Main activity: fighting those who did not pay taxes. Favourite hobby: gazing at those who were beaten with rods. Destiny: eaten by evil dogs in the forest.

3. Ivan Matveyevich Velikanov (1738 to 1740.) Activity: drowned the director of the economy in the river, introduced a tax of 3 kopecks from each (personally for his own needs). The captain beat the police officers. Sent to prison for a love affair with Avdotya Lopukhina. ...

4. Manyl Samylovich Urus-Kugush-Kildibaev (1740 - 1745) Lieutenant captain from the Life Guards. He was "brave", he took by storm the city he ruled. Fired.

5. Lamvrokakis (1745 - 1756). Greek, fled from the country without rank, name and even patronymic. Occupation: trade. C Supporter of classical education. Was eaten by bedbugs.

6. Ivan Matveyevich Baklan (1756 to 1761) Brigadier. Tall (three arshins three vershoks). He believed that he was a relative of Ivan the Great. Dismembered in half during a terrible storm.

7. Bogdan Bogdanovich Pfeifer (1761 to 1762) Guard sergeant. From Holstein. Did nothing and was fired for ignorance.

8. Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty (1762) Instead of a brain in the head - an organ. He worked on the intonation of the phrase "I will not tolerate", with the help of which he communicated with the townspeople. They were afraid of Him. He loved to collect arrears. Anarchy and wars are the result of government.

9. Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov (1762 to 1770). Under him, two streets were paved. Breweries appeared. Forced to grow mustard and Bay leaf... I wanted to open an academy. He loved to beat the inhabitants of the city. He died himself.

10. Marquis Anton Protasievich de Sanglot (1770 - 1772) From France. Cheerful person. He loved to sing indecent songs. Destiny: fired.

11. Petr Petrovich Ferdischenko (1772 to 1779) From the soldiers (from Potemkin's orderlies). Until 1778, the city, which he ruled, was calm. Not smart, tongue-tied. I did not collect arrears. Under him, there was famine and fire in the city. He died of gluttony while traveling around the city.

12. Vasilisk Semenovich Borodavkin (1779 to 1798). He actively fought against arrears, collecting 2.5 rubles. Under him became popular card game lamouche and olive oil. I made one street green and paved one pavement. Instead of an academy, he built a house for prisoners. Under him there were four wars for the education and 3 wars against the education. I was going to set fire to the city, but accidentally died.

13. Onufriy Ivanovich Negodyaev (1798 to 1802). Origin: from peasants. Was a stoker in Gatchina. He took stones from the pavements and built monuments. The city fell into decay under him, and the inhabitants became "woolen" ..

14. Ksaver Georgievich Mikaladze (1802 to 1806) From the Kindest Princes. He knew how to communicate with a smile. I adored women. Under him, the population grew. He died of exhaustion .. 15. Feofilakt Irinarkhovich Benevolensky (1806 - 1811) State Councilor, comrade Speransky. The inhabitants loved him and got fat. In love with the merchant Raspopova, I loved to eat. He translated philosophers from Latin and invented sermons for priests. He ordered residents to eat mustard and use Provencal oil. Received a tribute for the ransom. Sent into exile for communication by Bonaparte.

16. Ivan Panteleich Pimple (since 1811, a certain number of years). An officer. Under him, the Foolovites themselves ruled the city. His head was stuffed. Killed by a nobleman

17. Nikodim Osipovich Ivanov (1811 - 1819) State councilor, fool. He did not understand the laws, he died of zeal to understand the decree.

18. Viscount Angel Dorofeevich Du Chariot (1811 - 1821). Born in France. He loved ladies' dresses and frogs. Yes, and was a girl. Sent home

19. Erast Andreevich Grustilov (1815 and 1825) State Councilor. Friend of Karamzin. Melancholic. He loved women and compose voluptuous poetry. The tribute from the ransom under him was high: five thousand rubles a year.

20. Gloom-Grumblev Residents noted his idiocy and shamelessness. Destroyer of the old city. I rested on the ground. He ordered people to wear military uniform, to march, to work incessantly. He died during some natural phenomenon... Disappeared during a strange natural phenomenon.

21. Archangel Stratilatovich Intercept-Major. Of those who entered the city on a white horse. He managed to burn down the gymnasium and criticize all sciences.

The mayors rule in the city with the self-explanatory name Foolov.

Valentina SHENKMAN,
Perm

"The indestructible forever city of Fools ..."

On the use of role-playing games in the study of the “History of one city” by M.Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin

In the grotesque, fantastic world of Saltykov-Shchedrin, anything is possible ...

Once the city governors came to life and left the pages of his book, in different time who ruled the notorious city of Foolov with varying degrees of success. At the end of the 20th century, they decided to meet with representatives of the funds mass media, obviously so that they would not hesitate to tell the whole world about the life and deeds of these glorious persons.

And what do you think? To the great delight of the aforementioned persons, in the blink of an eye, numerous ministers of the pen and dictaphone flocked to meet them.

The press conference took place.

Gentlemen, the mayors told about the various methods and means of combating the population ... sorry, the means of managing the people they used while at their post.

Messrs. Journalists managed to ask interviewees a great many questions, often very, very provocative, from which majors, foremen and others former scoundrels they felt uneasy and wanted to return as soon as possible to such cozy pages of the book ...

Here is such incredible story happened once. Where and when? At a literature lesson in the 10th grade. When studying the book of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin's "The History of a City", a difficult, interesting and surprisingly modern book. The tenth graders themselves acted as mayors and journalists, and the teacher acted as a leader and, if necessary, a commentator.

I think many colleagues will agree that reading this work is given to our children with a certain amount of difficulty. And teachers, unfortunately, do not always choose this book for study, despite the fact that it is one of the best Shchedrin's works and has an enduring cultural value. There are explanations for this.

“The History of a City” is perhaps the most demonstrative work of Russian classics of the 19th century in terms of its artistic convention. Brought up mainly in the likeness of classical realism, we are often afraid to plunge into such an unusual art world"Stories...". And we miss the great chance of literary research, games, the opportunity to simply get aesthetic pleasure from the amazing creation of the great writer, who knew how to combine the acute pain for many phenomena of social life with a riot of phantasmagoric images, the element of bitter, but all-conquering laughter.

Yes, of course, “The History of a City” is difficult to read. At first, you have to literally “wade through the fog”. But isn't it interesting? And since we often approach literature pragmatically, isn't it useful? Interesting. Not useless in different meanings: both in the development of a literate reader, and in the upbringing of a person, citizen, personality. In addition, the significance of Saltykov-Shchedrin's work as a truly talented, great artist of the word is not limited to the framework of the contemporary era for the writer, but is characterized by an amazing ahistoricism, timelessness. And the teacher's task is to make sure that young readers do not consider this book hopelessly outdated, exposing some kind of autocratic system, so that they understand and appreciate the brilliant wit, the inexhaustible fantasy of the satirist, and feel the “deepest suffering” (MA Bulgakov) hidden under caustic, sarcastic laugh, so that they themselves experience the “heartache” of love for Russia.

In the recent past, Shchedrin's satire was firmly associated only with the pre-October period in the history of our country. Perhaps that is why “History ...” was not studied at school, because it did not fit into the Procrustean bed of concrete historical interpretation. How recognizable in it are not only the events and faces of the past, the Shchedrin and “pre-Shchedrin” periods, but also the multiple analogies of Soviet and post-Soviet reality!

In 1871, Saltykov-Shchedrin, responding to accusations of "historical satire", wrote to the editorial board of the "Vestnik Evropy" magazine that he meant "a completely ordinary satire" directed against those characteristic features of Russian life that make it not quite convenient "and" produce results ... very bad, namely: insecurity of life, arbitrariness, lack of foresight, lack of faith in the future, etc. " The listed “results”, sadly enough, are traditionally characteristic of our “Russian life” to one degree or another.

Showing the reality of the second half of the 19th century, the writer revealed the eternal Russian problems. The city of Foolov is not just a generalized, allegorical image of contemporary Russia for the author, it is a universal picture Russian life in any state structure. A terrible description of this city was given by Igor Severyanin in a medallion dedicated to the satirist (see fully below): “The indestructible forever city of Foolov - // Prushenny, ubiquitous, mischievous ...”

Would this decomposition continue? .. Will we understand the “cacophony of a sonorous troubadour”? ..

I believe we need Saltykov-Shchedrin today more than ever.

Reflecting on how to revive the process of studying "History ...", to bring it closer to modernity, wishing to find original form lesson, more or less adequate to the content and artistic originality of the book, somehow unexpectedly for myself I came up with the idea to conduct a role-playing game. (Note that this idea did not arise from scratch. The form role play started promoting S.M. Ivanova. See: “Literatura”, 2001, No. 40.) Press conference - this is what can be remarkably consistent with the material of the lesson “Images of mayors in the“ History of one city ”! Perhaps this was indirectly prompted me by numerous press conferences and speeches of our current politicians. But some of their features are easily recognizable in Foolov's mayors! By the way, our school artists felt this and endowed their heroes with painfully familiar gestures, intonations and other strokes of portraits of modern “mayors” and their predecessors. After the lesson, I realized that I was not mistaken in choosing the shape. (This form was later successfully used by some other teachers who confirmed its effectiveness. And children who graduated from school a few years ago still remember the details of studying the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin.)

Let's consider the place of this lesson in the system of lessons for studying the “History of one city” and the peculiarities of its preparation and conduct.

The role-playing game can be carried out after a two-hour lesson devoted to the general characteristics of the book, which examines the topic, genre, composition, determines the main conflict, analyzes the system of images and the image of the narrator, identifies the means of artistic depiction and expressiveness, satire techniques, and textually studies the first chapters. An enlarged, detailed image of individual mayors and their relationship with the Foolovites begins with the chapter "Organchik". The material for the lesson is chapters from "Organchik" to the end of the book.

In general, the system of lessons for a work can be structured as follows (the number of lessons at each stage is determined by specific conditions):

Lessons devoted to the analysis of the images of mayors can be structured in different ways. Possible ways:

Monographic head-to-head analysis (collectively, frontally);

Students' messages based on self-analysis of individual chapters;

A combination of the first and second, for example: 1st lesson - collective analysis of the chapter "Organchik", 2nd lesson - seminar (group reports), 3rd lesson - independent work (analysis of the image of Gloom-Burcheev).

As one of the options for a lesson in a strong class, role-playing is possible, for which a sufficiently long preparation is required (see the appendix “The place and meaning of role-playing in the lesson”). In weaker classes, it is recommended to conduct it as an extracurricular activity. Partially the game can be used as a fragment of the lesson, including one or two theatrical miniatures.

Consider the progress of the work. The story about each of the mayors is relatively complete, independent (sometimes several parts can be distinguished within one chapter, or several chapters are devoted to the history of one mayor): “Organchik” (Brudasty); “The Legend of the Six City Governors”; “News about Dvoekurov”; The Hungry City, The Straw City, The Fantastic Traveler (Ferdyshchenko); Wars for Enlightenment (Wartkin); “The era of dismissal from wars” (Mikaladze, Benevolensky, Pimple); “Adoration of Mammon and Repentance” (Ivanov, du Chariot, Melancholy); “Confirmation of repentance. Conclusion ”(Gloom-Grumblev). For the analysis, you can use a general scheme, quite traditional: 1) specific features of a particular mayor, vivid, memorable features (in parallel, methods and means of creating an image are considered), 2) the generalized meaning of the image, its typifying meaning. When characterizing mayors, you can follow approximately the following sequence:

Features of appearance and character;

Speech, expression in speech of views and ideals;

The essence of administrative activities, basic actions;

Relationship with the Foolovites (the life of the Foolovites during his reign).

Materials for the analysis and interpretation of the image Organchika.

Saltykov-Shchedrin mainly calls his hero by his nickname, but in addition to the nickname he also gives full name his character - Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty. The nickname indicates the mechanistic nature of the thinking and actions of the character, the surname indicates his extreme cruelty (the Brudas are a breed of Russian hound dogs, distinguished by their large growth, evil disposition and the dead grip of the persecuted victim). Taken together, the two names of the hero create a terrifying type of imagination.

- "Silent and gloomy", "flashed his eyes", "snorted - and showed the back of his head." "I had some special device in my head." "There was an empty vessel on the shoulders instead of a head." “The mayor's body, clothed in a uniform, sat behind writing desk, and in front of him, on a pile of unpaid registers, lay, in the form of a dandy paperweight, a completely empty town governor's head. " The image is based on grotesque and the realization of the “empty head” metaphor. The meaning of the technique is ironically commented on by the author: there have been examples in history when those in power had “on their shoulders, although not empty, but still as if empty vessel ”.

- "I will not tolerate!" and "I will break!" - the whole speech of the hero represents these two "plays", which could be performed by a small organ inserted into the empty head of the mayor. The author exposes the inhuman cruelty of the hero, denounces his inability to delve into the essence of what is happening, programmed to act and manage threats, violence, coercion.

- “As soon as I broke into the boundaries of the city pasture, right there, at the very border, I crossed a lot of drivers.” “... I didn’t eat, didn’t drink, and I scratched everything with my pen ... Unheard-of activity suddenly began to boil in all parts of the city: private bailiffs galloped off; the quarter ones galloped; the assessors galloped off ... "The satirist emphasizes that under Organchik, the police car became especially active as the main and only means of control, police arbitrariness reigned in the city:" They grab and catch, flog and whip, describe and sell ... And the mayor sits and scrapes everything. more and more compulsions ... ”The actions of the hero completely follow from the content of the two“ plays ”, once again confirming his cruel mechanism. Particular acuteness and tension arise at the moment when Organchik orders to punish the Foolovites who spoke in his defense. It is clear that such an Organchik will stop at nothing in his mayor's zeal.

The Foolovites at first rejoiced for the sole reason “that he was new”, then “they were horrified”. “The streets were deserted, animals of prey appeared in the squares. People only left their homes out of need and, for a moment showing frightened and exhausted faces, were immediately buried ”; "We felt only fear, ominous and unaccountable fear." Again, the author uses a hyperbole that grows into a grotesque. The feeling of pity for the Foolovites is combined with indignation caused by their stupid obedience and "love for the boss." With all that was happening in the city, they tried to explain the need for Brudasty's cruel arbitrariness: “But what if this is exactly the way it should be? what if it is considered necessary that in Foolov, for his sake, there should be just such, and not another mayor? " Left without a town governor, "many of the townsfolk cried because they felt like orphans." "What have you done with our priest?" - screamed the crowd, angry to the point of fury, when the assistant mayor appeared before him. The slavish consciousness of the Foolovites evokes bitterness among the readers, as the author probably wanted.

A similar result when studying the images of Foolov's mayors can be reached in the course of the role-playing game.

Preparing for the "press conference", students thoroughly study the text of one or several chapters about "their" mayor and dramatize it. It is better if the preparation begins in advance, perhaps a week or two before the lesson, since it will be necessary to tune in, get used to the image, come up with some zest for the performance. It seems methodologically justified to precede the study of "History" with an analysis of fairy tales, despite the chronological inconsistency. Fairy tales will facilitate the student's path to the world of Saltykov-Shchedrin, since acquaintance with them began in the 7th grade, they are relatively small in volume and, most importantly, bear the specific features of the writer's artistic world.

The work is carried out in small groups, in which one person will be the mayor, and the rest (2–4) will be journalists. The roles of mayors are predominantly assigned to young men. Special signs are being prepared for the press conference - Business Cards with the names of the heroes. The most fertile material is given by the following characters:

- Brudasty Dementy Varlamovich(No. 8 according to the "Inventory of the town governors", chapter "Organchik");

- Ferdyschenko Pyotr Petrovich(No. 11, chapters "The Hungry City", "The Straw City", "The Fantastic Traveler");

- Wartkin Vasilisk Semyonovich(No. 12, chapter "Wars for the Enlightenment", "voucher" No. 1);

- Mikaladze Ksaver Georgievich No. 14, chapter “The era of dismissal from wars”, “voucher” No. 2);

- Benevolensky Feofilakt Irinarkhovich(No. 15, chapter "The era of dismissal from wars", "voucher" No. 3);

- Pimple Ivan Panteleich(No. 16, chapter “The era of dismissal from wars”);

- Du Chariot Angel Dorofeevich(No. 18, chapter “Adoration of Mammon and Repentance”);

- Grustilov Erast Andreevich(No. 20, chapter “Adoration of Mammon and Repentance”);

- Gloom-Grumblev(No. 21, chapter “Confirmation of Repentance. Conclusion”).

At the “press conference,” the “mayor” talks about himself, his life, his actions and deeds, his relationship with the Foolovites and their life during his reign. The “journalists” get “compromising evidence”, that is, information that cannot be expressed through the lips of the character, since it denigrates him. The “mayor” and “journalists” must prepare together, by joint efforts they create a complete artistic impression of the image of the Shchedrino mayor. In the case of scattered preparation, the desired result will not be achieved. The concept of such a lesson is not to test the knowledge of the text and the ability of students to answer unknown questions about the text, but to jointly identify the features of the characters in the book, but this goal is only achieved in an unconventional way. In the conventional world of the game, the participants in the press conference are, of course, antagonistic, but in real life they are allies and solve common problems.

The result preparatory work each of the creative groups is a script (collective dramatic composition) for a mini-performance, which is played out in the lesson. This performance brightly and vividly shows the characteristic features of the hero, looks with interest and is remembered as an extraordinary event. The liveliness and volumetric perception of the main participants in the "press conference" is facilitated by the obligatory individualization of their speech in accordance with the author's text. It must be said that some of the performers drew enthusiastic applause from the whole class with their performances.

And the scope for invention and creativity is not limited here. Someone saw in their hero a resemblance to current figures and showed this, someone portrayed a characteristic accent, used expressive details of the costume, specific attributes, even eccentric techniques (for example, when “Busty” knocked on his forehead, the sound of an empty metal containers: the noise assistant hit the bucket). Some reading this article may be thinking: why did this have to be done? We will answer: in this way there was a very lively acquaintance with the heroes of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the barrier on the way to his book was broken. And the main character in the lesson was laughter. But it is no secret that the paradox of the school study of literature is precisely its absence when studying the satirical works of Russian classics: modern children often do not perceive the comic in a satirical text. I think this is just the case when the activation of the emotional sphere of schoolchildren contributes to the awakening of their minds, prepares deeply meaningful further work on the work.

The next lesson (seminar) is designed to synthesize and deepen information about the work, including the images of mayors.

As homework it is advisable to offer questions for reflection individually or in groups. Sample Topics:

• "And glorious Nero, and Caligula, shining with valor ..." (To prove the single essence of all city governors - their hostility to the people.)
• “We are beautiful people! We can endure. " (Show typical features Foolovtsev.)
• The problem of people and power in the image of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
• The role of hyperbole and grotesque in the “History of one city”.
• “Speaking” names and surnames of characters as a means of characterizing them.
• "The forever indestructible city of Fools ..."

For those who have not left the image of the hero of the press conference, such options for written creative works can be provided: an article in a newspaper, an essay, a reportage and the like (for journalists) or a speech, a speech on behalf of the mayor on some topic, for example , the election program for the post of the head of the city. (Another option for role-playing, by the way.)

You can end the seminar by thinking about Igor Severyanin's sonnet (1926):

SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN

Isn't it creepy - among the provincial fools
And fools, natives of Poshekhonya,
Frozen in the eternal stage of dullness
Is the immortal pompadour tenacious?

The troubadour is sounding unsound,
Whose voice, shaking the lawlessness,
He broadcast a funeral in the land of sterility,
Whose meaning is heavy, sarcastic and gloomy.

Rotting, stinking from moving corpses
Eternally indestructible city of Fools -
Prushenny, ubiquitous, mischievous.

Judas from each crack creep.
The country is being overcome. Overpowered.
And there is no hope. And where is the other lot?

Sample RPG Scenarios

The cenarii are offered as illustrations to the content of a lesson or extra-curricular activity in the form of a role-playing game. They are compiled on the basis of the text of Saltykov-Shchedrin and include individual turns of both the speech of the heroes and the speech of the narrator. The dialogue is preceded, if possible, by a laconic description of the protagonist, similar to Gogol's “remarks for gentlemen actors”. I consider it necessary to warn teachers, if they decide to apply the described form of work for educational purposes, from distributing the given scenarios for memorizing and further acting out, the proposed materials are recommended to be used only as a guideline for the teacher. At the same time, they can be the basis for a performance at an evening dedicated to the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Brudasty Dementy Varlamovich (Organchik)

(Based on the material of the chapter "Organchik")

He speaks sharply, abruptly, does not smile, rolls his eyes angrily. Can suddenly jump up and run to the window. Periodically shouts "I will not tolerate!" or "I will break!" Sometimes he seems to have a joint and speech jammed. When touching the head, the sound of an empty metal container is heard; it is possible that the head is even smeared with mud and beaten in several places.

Journalist. Mr. Brudasty, please tell us about your achievements as the mayor.

Busty. At first. During his reign. I put all the arrears in order. That my predecessor launched. Secondly. The city was calm and quiet in my presence. No drunkenness. No debauchery. No gatherings outside the gates of the houses. Not the clicking of sunflowers. I will not tolerate. To make people hang out in vain. Played grandmother. People only left their homes out of need. Order reigned all around. I immediately organized an unheard-of activity. The private bailiffs galloped off. The quarter ones galloped off. The audience galloped off. The housekeepers have forgotten what it means to eat. So since then and grab the pieces on the fly.

Journalist. But after all, you have caught up such fear on people! The city was deserted, and even predatory animals walked through it without fear ...

Busty. What?! Be silent! What animals ?! There was order and peace with me. Even the dogs didn't bark.

Journalist. From hunger?

Busty. I will not tolerate ... n ... n ... plu!

Journalist. Dear Dementy Varlamovich! How did the people treat you? Didn't you rebel?

Busty. People?! The people loved me! I haven't come to town yet. And he was already jubilant. Everyone congratulated each other with joy. They called me “handsome” and “clever”. But this is nonsense. I will not tolerate it! The people should not love their mayor. And to be afraid. That's why. As soon as I appeared in the city. Even at the very border. I've crossed a lot of coachmen. In addition, the townsfolk await my every word with awe ... I dawn !!! They are ready to stand in my yard from morning till night. With bags under the arms. They cannot live a day without me. Once it happened ... When I was not in the city for important matters... The Foolovites have raised such a revolt. They almost torn my assistant to pieces. “What have you done with our priest? Where have you done with the priest? " I will not tolerate ... plu! But I showed up on time. Calmed these troublemakers.

Journalist. How? After all, they are for your sake!

Busty. I will not tolerate it! I will ruin!

Journalist. Mr. Brudasty! Everyone knows that you have the nickname "Organchik". Is it true that your head is some kind of mechanism?

Busty. Who said? I will not tolerate it!

Journalist. The watchmaker Baibakov claims that one night he was awakened and, frightened, brought to you. You took off your own head and gave it to Baybakov. Then I read out Baybakov's testimony:

“Looking closer at the box in front of me, I found that it contains in one corner a small organ that can perform some easy pieces of music. There were two of these plays: "I will ruin!" and "I will not tolerate!" But since the head became somewhat damp on the way, some of the pegs on the roller loosened, and others completely fell out. From this very mister the mayor could not speak clearly, or they spoke with omission of letters and syllables ”. Subsequently, Baybakov, as he claims, daily examined your head and cleaned the dirt from it.

Busty. Thief! Rogue! Troublemaker! I will ruin !!! I will not tolerate ... plu ... plu !!!

Journalist. There are other witnesses as well. For example, the assessor Tolkovnikov once came by surprise to your office and saw how you were playing with your own head. And the assessor Mladentsev once saw your head surrounded by locksmith and carpentry tools when he walked past Baybakov's workshop and looked out the window.

Busty. P ... p ... plu! P ... p ... plu ...

Journalist. It looks like Organchik's new head is also faulty. So carelessly it was brought from St. Petersburg that the mayor again lost the gift of speech. Instead of keeping it carefully in weight, an inexperienced messenger threw it to the bottom of the cart, and when it was bitten by its caviar, threw it onto the road. And in general, is this Brudasty? Do you remember on which cheek he had a birthmark before?

Ferdyschenko Pyotr Petrovich

(Based on the chapters "Hungry City", "Straw City", "Fantastic Traveler")

Dressed in a new uniform. He gives the impression of an affectionate and friendly person, but occasionally shouts in a voice that is not his own. Tongue-tied.

Leading. Ladies and gentlemen, journalists, I ask you to address your questions to the mayor of Ferdyshchenko Petr Petrovich.

Ferdyschenko. Well, brothers, sudariki, here's what: I'll go out for now, but as soon as I go back, hit the tazy now, start congratulating me. Well, I would have accepted some gifts from you, but more!

Leading. Mister Ferdyschenko, don't forget! You are not in the city of Foolov.

Ferdyschenko. Well, why are you silly people angry at me? Ask your questions.

Journalist. What problems did you face during your reign?

Ferdyschenko. What are the problems? After all, there is no need to argue with God. Fire, you say? It was so. It was burning. What do I have to do with it? These idle people, the Foolovites, gathered in my yard and began to bother me and kneel down, so that I would bring a petition. Eh, dear ones, God gave - God took. He wrote, of course, how not to write. The team came: “Tu-ru! Tu-ru! " Enlightened the people. What problems?

Journalist. Was there a food problem before you?

Ferdyschenko. What kind of food you say? Well, brothers, sudariki, there was a drought. What will I do? The little people were haggard, of course, they walked with downcast heads. But I ordered them to be taken away. The people need to be encouraged. Well, they had a picnic in a country grove, and fireworks were set up. But for Alyonka, I bought a new handkerchief, an old one. The beauty!

Journalist. And this at a time when a terrible famine reigned in the city ?! When the city was almost depopulated, because the young people all fled to one, because the churches were overflowing with coffins, and the corpses of artless people were lying around the streets untidy ?!

Ferdyschenko. In shackles! To Siberia!

Journalist. Are you afraid to hear the truth?

Ferdyschenko. Okay honey, don't be angry. Only here is what I say to you: it would be better for you to sit at home with the truth than to call trouble on yourself. Truth ... How could she, your truth, not run into trouble!

Journalist. And yet, Pyotr Petrovich, did you feed the people?

Ferdyschenko. But how! I had to write. He wrote a lot, wrote everywhere. He reported this: if there is no bread, at least let the team arrive at least. And the Foolovites, brothers-sudariki, every day became more importunate and importunate. How am I thinking? There is nothing to be done with these people! Here, not convictions are required, but one of two things: either bread, or ... a team! But the team is better! Tu-ru, tu-ru! So she arrived soon.

Journalist. So, Mr. Ferdyshchenko, in any situations you prefer to use forceful methods of solving important issues?

Ferdyschenko. Strength is strength, but you, young girl, want to live with me in love?

Journalist. ?!

Ferdyschenko. And if I tell you to flog?

Journalist. Mr. Ferdyschenko! We have information that you are used to getting your way by any means, by all means. We know that even the women you liked you ordered to be flogged in order to force them to cohabit with you.

Ferdyschenko. You are in vain, brothers-sudariki. It's not me. What time do we have? Here they talk about the benefits of the elective beginning. And I am not in charge of my sole authority. I will gather my beloved Foolovites in this way, I will briefly outline the matter, and even demand that the disobedient be punished immediately. And how many will be assigned to whom, I agree in advance. Maybe there are as many as there are stars in the sky, and for whom, maybe more.

Journalist. Tell me, please, why did you suddenly become active? After all, for the first six years of your reign, you did nothing, did not interfere in anything, were content with moderate tributes, went to taverns, played cards, and instead of a uniform you wore an oiled robe. At this time, the city did not burn, did not starve, did not experience widespread diseases, and the citizens thanked you for this. For the first time, they realized that living “without oppression” was better than living “with oppression”.

Ferdyschenko. Oh, you foolish breed, teach me? I myself know what to do! I want - I sit on the porch, I want - I will travel! But I, brothers-sudariki, have traveled once. Through the city pasture. Old men showed me sights ...

Journalist. What are they? According to our information, there is nothing of interest there, except for one dung heap.

Ferdyschenko. Well, yes! Why do you think I went ?! Fields will grow fat, high-water rivers will spill, ships will float, cattle breeding will flourish, communication routes will appear! It seems, brothers-sudariki, you know more than me ...

Journalist. We know, Pyotr Petrovich, you are dead.

Ferdyschenko. How?

Journalist. From overeating! You drank and ate to the point that you felt ill. However, you overcame yourself and ate another goose with cabbage. And then your mouth twisted. Some kind of administrative vein shuddered on your face, trembled, trembled and suddenly froze ...

Ferdyschenko. !!!

Pimple Ivan Panteleich

(Based on the chapter "The era of dismissal from wars")

The look is rosy and cheerful. Shoulder-fisted. During a conversation, makes quick gestures. Differs in complacency and peacefulness. It emits a specific, very persistent sausage smell, stimulating the appetite of people nearby.

Journalist. Ivan Panteleich! They say that under your rule of the city came such an abundance, which has not been since the very foundation of the city. What steps have you taken to achieve this?

Acne. I AM simple man, and my program is simple, sir. It is my responsibility to make sure that the laws are intact and not scattered around the tables.

Journalist. What laws did you issue first?

Acne. I have not issued laws and will not publish them, sir. May everyone live with God! In difficult cases, I order you to search, but I demand only one thing: that the law be old. I don't like new laws, sir. In general, I do not accept or understand any new ideas. I don't even understand why they should be understood, sir.

Journalist. Have you never had a single idea?

Acne. Why is that? Was. And there is. Relax, sir! And I firmly followed the chosen path: went to the guests, hosted dinners and balls, hunted hares, foxes and some other people.

Journalist. That is, you pursued a policy of absolute non-interference in philistine affairs?

Acne. Yes, sir! I told my townsfolk: do not touch me, and I will not touch you. Plant and sow, eat and drink, start factories and factories - well, sir! all this is to your advantage, sir! For me, even erect monuments - I will not interfere with this!

Journalist. And no restrictions on the freedom of action of subordinates?

Acne. How, with no limits? We need to be more careful with fire, because there is not long before sinning. Burn your property, burn it yourself - what's good?

Journalist. It turns out that it was thanks to your non-interference that the well-being of the city grew?

Acne. That's right, sir! In a year or two of all the good the Foolovites have had, not twice, not three times, but four times. The bee swarmed unusually, so that honey and wax were sent to Byzantium almost as much as under the Grand Duke Oleg. And how much skin was thrown off to Byzantium! And for everything they received in clean banknotes. And so much bread was born that everyone ate real bread, and it was not uncommon even for ordinary hirelings and welded cabbage soup.

Journalist. How has overall wellbeing affected your condition?

Acne. O! I was extremely happy! My barns were bursting with offerings, the chests did not hold silver and gold, and the bank notes were simply lying on the floor, sir.

Journalist. And how did the Foolovites treat you? Probably very much loved and respected?

Acne. Well, sir, we lived peacefully until the local leader of the nobility got wind of it ...

Journalist. What have you not sniffed out?

Acne. Do you know, sir, that this leader was a great deli, in other words, sir, a glutton? After all, he had such a sophisticated sense of smell that he could accurately guess the components of the most complex minced meat. And you guessed right, canalya!

Journalist. It is not clear how this has to do with you. Some kind of minced meat, sense of smell. Leader ...

Acne. Yes, sir ... I walked around, licked my lips and attacked once ...

Journalist. So, is it true that the leader ate your stuffed head? Now it is clear why there were rumors in the city that you were sleeping on a glacier, and not in an ordinary bedroom, that even when you go to sleep, you surround your body with mousetraps!

Acne. Well, sir? .. But well-being, sir ...

Journalist. But it definitely smells from him! As in a sausage shop!

Du Chariot Angel Dorofeich

(Based on the material from the chapter "Adoration of Mammon and Repentance")

Cheerful, smiling, sings funny melodies from time to time. Speaks with an accent, inserts French words into his speech. He is inclined to show coquetry, a woman's scarf like a boa is possible on his shoulder, a fan is in his hands and ... a frog (toy). Blowing kisses generously.

Du Chariot. Oh, honeys and monsieur! Bonjour! Bonjour! Please, ask your question! Oh, Sharman!

Journalist. Monsieur du Chariot, how did you find yourself in the post of mayor of the city of Foolov?

Du Chariot. Sil woo ple, masher! Those Glyupovskie pies with a chop! O! I'm really hungry. I am hungry. Oh pies and that at!

Journalist. What have you done to make the city prosperous?

Du Chariot. I do a lot! I have to explain to these rude brutes - fuy! - human rights. What fools se muzhik te Glupoff. They didn't know you could eat a frog! Ha ha ha!

Journalist. But what does human rights have to do with it? By the way, historians point out that you did start to explain human rights one day, but only ended up explaining Bourbon rights. Another time you began by persuading the Foolovites to believe in the Goddess of Reason, and ended by asking them to acknowledge the infallibility of the Pope. It looks like you had no convictions, and you were ready to defend anything if you got an extra quarter for it.

Du Chariot. O! Anfan teribl. You are very bad to do! How dare you say so! I am the son of the 18th century! O goddess of Reason! And Glyupovsky's myuzhik was such a fool at first! But I will stir up their spirit of exploration!

Journalist. Viscount! History bears witness: you have only corrupted the Foolovites. They began baptizing themselves in a violent custom and throwing bread under the table. They boldly said: "Let the pigs eat the bread, and we will eat the pigs - the same bread will be!" And in this you saw the spirit of exploration! After all, because of you, the Foolovites have gone downhill in their development. With your criminal connivance and even support, they completely stopped working: they thought that during their festivities the bread would grow by itself, and therefore they stopped cultivating the fields. Respect for elders has disappeared; the Foolovites agitated the question, shouldn't, when people reach famous years, eliminate them from life, but decided - just think! - sell old men and women into slavery in order to have some profit from this! And you don't feel guilty towards them?

Du Chariot. O! How did you say? Debauchery? It's a pleasure not to work, but only to walk, sing, have fun! Oh la-la! Wee is also a glupiy, how is a Glyupovsky muzhik? A propo, where do you have a place to have fun? I'm very good at singing the maneo song and dancing the cancan! I want to teach you this too! I'm pretty good person... I want you to have fun, to be entertained. It is com il fo! You need to do ku d "this! Forget your short life spoil at work? Gotta be clever man! Like me! Did I tell you that I am the son of the Goddess of Reason?

Journalist. Sorry, Monsieur du Chariot, it's difficult to talk to you, so we want to ask you last question... What is your fundamental life principle?

Du Chariot. Ha ha ha ha! Sharman! Sharman! Wee finally understand that it is necessary to go for a walk as soon as possible. It was I who instilled in you the spirit of freedom and taught you human rights! My motto is not to translate into your rude language. But you still don't understand such clever things. One of our king spoke very good words. You can say that I said: arae well le deluge. Now understand, you glupy fool? April well le deluge !!! About revoir! Cherche la femme! Ha ha ha !!!

Notes:Sil wu ple, masher - please dear; and that at - at any cost; Anfan Teribl - terrible child; and propo - by the way; ku d "this - coup d'état; arae well le deluge - after us even a flood (distorted. French).

Application

The place and meaning of role play in the lesson

Play has already firmly entered the practice of school education. The range of games used in the lesson and outside the classroom is very wide: from crosswords, puzzles, quizzes to role-playing (a meeting of a scientist (editorial) art council; discussion of supporters and opponents of any idea, person, phenomenon).

You can talk about playing in the lesson as a method of pedagogical technique and even as a basis for independent pedagogical technology... But it is imperative to remember that play remains only a means of teaching, development, upbringing, capable of activating and intensifying the educational process, it is unacceptable to turn it into an end in itself, to use it unreasonably. This is especially true for role-playing games. The role-playing game is the highest form development of gaming activities. It is advisable to use it in exceptional cases when the usual, traditional forms of work do not lead to the desired result.

The use of role play in the lesson becomes an extraordinary and memorable event. It is natural that everyday life cannot consist of a large number holidays, which, in fact, is the holding of the game. In addition, such an activity requires serious, thorough preparation. It should be emphasized that the success of the game at its main stage is predetermined by the quality of the preparatory work at the pre-game stage. In no case should you conduct a role-playing game if it is not prepared well enough, otherwise the whole event will leave a miserable impression, will not realize any of the rich potential possibilities of the game, will not achieve the goal, namely, purposefulness is the main condition for its application in the pedagogical process. If the game is prepared with high quality, then it simultaneously solves several problems. Let's take a look at some of them.

Didactic task games - to contribute to the assimilation of new knowledge, the development of general educational and special subject skills and abilities, first of all, the skills and abilities of speech-thinking activity, coupled with the processes of the development of imagination, the intuitive sphere. All researchers of the psychology of play note its undoubted importance for the development of personality. The teacher, as the organizer of the educational process, should be especially clearly aware of the didactic function of the game, since he is promisingly focused on the effectiveness of specific game activity.

Entertaining the same task the game is most relevant for children who are involved in the process, getting pleasure, momentary joy. Entertainment is the main property of the game by definition, therefore, the use of the game helps to create a favorable atmosphere, inspire each participant, and relieve emotional stress. The skill and tact of the teacher should help him make play for children not a forced form of work, but a desirable one, capable of arousing interest in the material studied in this way. An authoritarian style in organizing and conducting the game will not lead to a positive result. The teacher himself is also involved in the process of playing in a role, which helps to solve another problem.

The communicative task of the game is associated with the establishment of emotional and business contacts, with the unification of the team in a common process, with the construction of a special structure of relationships for all participants. Role play belongs to the sphere of subject-subject relations, that is, the main thing for it is the communication of the participants, which takes place simultaneously in two planes: real and conditional (enacted, imaginary). When using a role-playing game, cognitive activity is carried out in a collective form, in which each of the team members, performing their task in the presence of a common goal, participates in teaching everyone. This organizational form is modern, productive, developing, spreads in last years in different modifications and is contrasted with the traditional frontal form. Each student's work is collectively meaningful. In this regard, it is necessary to consider the distribution of roles deliberately, take into account many factors: the desire of children and their psychological characteristics, the nature of their abilities, interpersonal relationships in the team.

The main burden in the preparation and conduct of role-playing games falls, as a rule, on gifted children. In the pre-game period, creatively gifted students can be of particular importance, for whom originality and flexibility of thinking, inquisitiveness of mind and meticulousness are characteristic: in order to dramatize the original text, create on its basis own work, requires research activity, the ability to restructure information. At the play stage, it is worth relying on children with artistic and performing abilities, and at the post-play stage - with intellectual ones.

The name of the city, the "history" of which is offered to the reader, is Foolov. There is no such city on the map of Russia, and there has never been one - and yet it was ... And it was - everywhere. Or maybe he did not disappear anywhere, despite the phrase with which the author-chronicler ends his narration: "History has stopped its course"? Could this be true? And isn't that Aesopian sly grin? ..

In Russian literature, Pushkin's History of the Village of Goryukhina immediately preceded the Shchedrin Chronicle. “If God sends me readers, then maybe they will be curious to know how I decided to write the History of the village of Goryukhina” - this is how Pushkin's story begins. And here is the beginning of the text "From the publisher", allegedly found in the "Foolov's city archive" "a voluminous bundle of notebooks carrying common name“Fool's Chronicler” ”:“ For a long time already I had the intention to write the history of some city (or region) ... but various circumstances hindered this undertaking ”.

But the Chronicler was found. The material collected since ancient times is at the disposal of the "publisher". In his address to the reader, he determines the content of the History. Read the text "From the Publisher" in full so that you are convinced that every word there is special, shines with its brilliance and merges in a common sparkle with others, one fantastically real (grotesque) image, having barely appeared on the page, is crowded into the next, and the best, what can be done is to become a reader of the chronicle of Foolov, this strangely familiar city to all of us.

The structure of itself readable work Shchedrin is not easy. Behind the chapter “ From the publisher"Follows" Address to the reader "- a text written directly on behalf of the "archivist-chronicler" and stylized in the language of the 18th century.

"Author" - "humble Pavlushka, Masloboinikov's son", the fourth archivist. Note that out of the other three archivists, two are the Tryapichkins (the surname is taken from Gogol's "Inspector General": this is how Khlestakov calls his friend "writing articles").

"On the Root of the Foolovites"

“On the Root of the Foolovites,” the chapter that opens The Chronicler, begins with a fictional quote imitating the text of The Lay of Igor's Host. Historians N.I. Kostomarov (1817-1885) and S.M. Solovyov (1820-1879) are mentioned here because they adhered to directly opposite views on the history of Russia and Russia: according to Kostomarov, the main thing in it was spontaneous folk activities (« gray wolf prowled the earth "), and according to Solovyov, Russian history was created only thanks to the deeds of princes and tsars (" he was spreading like a crazy eagle under the clouds ").

Both points of view were alien to the writer himself. He believed that Russian statehood can only be created through an organized and conscious popular movement.

"Inventory for town governors"

"Inventory of the city governors" contains explanations for further chapters and a short list of mayors, the narratives of whose rule are developed further. One should not think that every mayor is satirical image one particular "autocrat". These are always generalized images, like most of the text of the "History of one city", but there are clear correspondences. Scoundrels - Pavel I, Alexander I - Melancholy; Speransky and Arakcheev, close associates of Alexander I, were reflected in the characters of Benevolensky and Gloom-Burcheev.

"Organchik"

Organchik is the central and most famous chapter of the book. This is the nickname for the mayor Brudasty, who summarizes the most sinister features of despotism. The word "busty" has long been applied exclusively to dogs: busty - having a beard and mustache on the face and usually especially vicious (more often about a greyhound dog). He was named the organ because it was found in his head musical instrument, a mechanism that produces just one phrase: "I will not tolerate!" The foolish people also call Brudasty a scoundrel, but Shchedrin assures this word, they do not attach any definite meaning to this word. This means that the word has such - this is how the writer draws your attention to this word and asks you to understand it. Let's figure it out.

The word "scoundrel" appeared in Russian under Peter I from "profost" - regimental executor (executioner) in German army, in Russian it was used until the 60s of the XIX century in the same sense, after - the warden of military prisons. AI Herzen and N.P. Ogarev - Russian revolutionary publicists who published the Kolokol newspaper in London. Karl the Simple - Organ-like character medieval history- a real-life French king, deposed as a result of his unsuccessful wars. Freemasons - Freemasons, Freemasons, members of the Freemasons Society, which has been very influential in Europe since the Middle Ages.

"The Legend of the Six City Governors"

"The Tale of the Six City Governors" is a wonderfully written, hilariously funny, brilliant satire on the empresses of the 18th century and their favorite temporary workers.

The surname Paleologova is an allusion to the wife of Ivan III, the daughter of the last Byzantine emperor of the Palaeologus dynasty, Sophia. It was this marriage that gave the Russian rulers the basis to make Russia an empire and dream of annexing Byzantium.

The name Clementine de Bourbon is an allusion to the fact that the French government helped Elizabeth Petrovna to ascend to the Russian throne. The mention of the hard-to-pronounce fictitious surnames of the Polish cardinals here is probably an allusion to the Time of Troubles and Polish intrigue in Russian history.

"News about Dvoekurov"

"The News of Dvoekurov" contains allusions to the reign of Alexander I and features of his personality (duality, contradictory intentions and their implementation, indecision to cowardice). Shchedrin emphasizes that the Foolovites owe him the obligation to consume mustard and bay leaves. Dvoekurov is the ancestor of "innovators" who waged wars "in the name of potatoes." A hint of Nicholas I, the son of Alexander I, who introduced potatoes to Russia during the famine times of 1839-1840, which provoked "potato riots" that were brutally suppressed military force until the most powerful peasant uprising in 1842.

"Hungry City"

The Hungry City. The mayor Ferdyshchenko rules Foolov in this and the next two chapters. After listening to the priest's teaching about Ahab and Jezebel, Ferdyshchenko promises the people bread, and he himself summons troops to the city. Perhaps this is an allusion to the "liberation" of the peasants in 1861, carried out in such a way that it aroused the discontent of both the landlords and the peasants who resisted the reform.

"Straw City"

"Straw City". The war between "archers" and "gunners" is described. It is known that in May 1862, the famous St. Petersburg fires took place in the Apraksin Dvor. They blamed students and nihilists for them, but perhaps the fires were a provocation. The chapter is a broader generalization. It also contains hints of the 1824 flood in St. Petersburg.

"Fantastic Traveler"

"Fantastic Traveler". Ferdyshchenko embarks on a journey. The custom of the Russian autocrats was to embark from time to time on trips around the country, during which the local authorities strenuously portrayed the people's loyalty to the rulers, and the tsars bestowed favors on the people, often very insignificant. So, it is known that, by order of Arakcheev, during Alexander I's tour of military settlements, the same roasted goose was transferred from the hut to the hut.

"Wars of Enlightenment"

"Wars for the Enlightenment" - describes "the longest and most brilliant" reign, judging by many signs, of Nicholas I. Vasilisk Semyonovich Wartkin is a collective image, like everyone else, but some features of the era clearly hint primarily at this monarch. The historian K.I. Arseniev was the mentor of Nicholas I, who traveled with him across Russia.

Campaigns to Streletskaya Sloboda again take us back to the 18th century, but they generalize the periods of the next century - the struggle of monarchs against Masons, "noble opposition" and the Decembrists. There is, it seems, an allusion to Pushkin (the poet Fedka, who "insulted" the venerable mother of the Basilisk with verses). It is known that after Pushkin's return from exile in 1826, Nicholas I told him in a personal conversation: “You've been fooling enough, I hope you will now be reasonable and we will no longer quarrel. You will send me everything that you compose, from now on I myself will be your censor. "

A trip to the Dung settlement implies the colonial wars of the Russian tsars. Talking about the economic crisis in Foolov, Shchedrin names the economists of the Russian Bulletin magazine - Molinari and Bezobrazova, who passed off any position as prosperity. Finally, the campaigns "against the enlightenment" and for the "destruction of the free spirit", dated by the year of the revolution in France (1790), indicate French revolution 1848 and the revolutionary events that broke out in European countries- Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary. Nicholas I introduces troops to Wallachia, Moldavia, Hungary.

"The era of dismissal from wars"

The chapter "The era of dismissal from wars" is devoted mainly to the reign of Negodyaev (Paul I), "replaced" in 1802, according to the "Inventory", for disagreement with Czartoryski, Stroganov and Novosiltsev. The named nobles were close advisers to Alexander, the son of the slain emperor. It was they who advocated the introduction of constitutional principles in Russia, but what a beginning they were! "The era of dismissal from wars" presents these "principles" in their true form.

Negodyaev is replaced by Mikaladze. The surname is Georgian, and there is reason to think that this refers to Emperor Alexander I, under whom Georgia (1801), Mingrelia (1803) and Imeretia (1810) were annexed to Russia, but that he is a descendant of the "voluptuous Queen Tamara" - a hint of his mother Catherine II. The mayor of Benevolensky - the arbiter of the destinies of Russia, who had a huge influence on Alexander I, - M.M. Speransky. Lycurgus and Dragon (Drakonte) - ancient Greek legislators; expressions "draconian rules", "draconian measures" became winged. Speransky was attracted by the tsar to draw up laws.

"Supporting documents"

In the last part of the book - "Justification documents" - there is a parody of the laws drawn up by Speransky. Benevolensky ended his career in the same way as Speransky, he was suspected of treason and exiled. The power of Pimple comes - the mayor with the stuffed head. This is a generalizing image, and it is not for nothing that Shchedrin compares the well-being of the Foolovites under the Pimple with the life of the Russians under the legendary Prince Oleg: this is how the satirist emphasizes the fictional, unprecedented nature of the described prosperity.

"Adoration of mammon and repentance"

Now we are talking about the townsfolk - about the Foolovites themselves. The exclusivity of their endurance and vitality is pointed out, because they continue to exist under the mayors listed in the Chronicle. The series of the latter continues: Ivanov (again Alexander I, we are even talking about two versions of his death: compare the legend of Alexander I's voluntary renunciation of power, his staging of his death in Taganrog and his secret departure to monasticism), then - Angel Dorofeich Du-Chariot (Angel is the nickname of the same monarch in the circles of those close and close, Dorofeich - from Dorotheus - the gift of God (Greek), followed by Erast Melanov (again Tsar Alexander I.) Alexander's beloved ones and their influence on his reign are listed under different allegorical names. The emergence of the generalized image of Pfeifersha (prototypes - Baroness V.Yu. von Krugener and E.F. Tatarinova) marks the beginning of the second half of the reign of Alexander I and the immersion of the "upper classes" and society in dark mysticism and social obscurantism. repentance, the real king disappears into nowhere.

“Confirmation of repentance. Conclusion"

All this mystical rabble and delirium is dispersed by the once offended officer who arose again (Gloom-Grumblev - Arakcheev (1769-1834), "a sullen idiot", "a monkey in a uniform," who fell out of favor under Paul I and was recruited by Alexander I). The first part of the chapter is devoted to his struggle for the embodiment of the insane idea of ​​military settlements for the maintenance of the army in Peaceful time the second - criticism of Russian liberalism. Arakcheev, who flourished during the years of the "liberation" of the peasants from serfdom, angered Shchedrin with his lack of principle, idealism and inconsistent caution, idle talk and a lack of understanding of the realities of Russian life. The list of martyrs of the liberal idea given in last chapter books, and their deeds also fall into the Decembrists, to whose activities Shchedrin could not help but be ironic, knowing Russia and realizing how fantastic were the hopes of the Decembrists for the overthrow of the autocracy with the help of their secret societies and an uprising on Senate Square... Archangel Stratilatovich Intercept-Zalivatsky is named the last in the series of mayors described in the Chronicler - an image that again brings us back to Nicholas I. “He claimed that he was the father of his mother. He again banished mustard, bay leaf and Provencal oil from use ... "Thus, the history of the city of Foolov in" The Chronicler "returns to square one. Everything in it is ready for a new cycle. This hint is especially clear in the Archangel's statement that he is the father of his mother. The phantasmagoric grotesque is read clearly.

Concluding the story of the great book of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, we will only note that when reading it, one should bear in mind Turgenev's statement about the author: "He knew Russia better than all of us."

Source (abridged): Mikhalskaya, A.K. Literature: Basic level: grade 10. At 2 o'clock, Part 1: uch. allowance / A.K. Mikhalskaya, O. N. Zaitsev. - M .: Bustard, 2018

The head of "Organchik" opens the procession of Foolov's mayors. "Organchik" is the name of the mayor Brudasty, who personifies the main features of government despotism. In Brudasty's head there is a mechanism that produces only one word: "I will not tolerate it!" This is the shortest formula for an autocratic system.

The very idea of ​​portraying the mayor with an "organ" instead of a head could have been suggested to Shchedrin by a common expression: "Not all screws are intact in his head."

1 In the edition of 1939 (p. 245), this paragraph was substantially corrected and supplemented: brilliant career which ended equally sadly: Deviera and Menshikova. Anton Manuilovich Devier (Divier), Portuguese by birth, was among the servants on a merchant ship that arrived in Holland. He was noticed by Peter I, who took him to him and enrolled him as an officer in the guard. Subsequently, Devier, despite Menshikov's resistance, married his daughter, and Peter appointed him the Petersburg police chief. After the death of Peter, Devier was accused of belonging to an anti-government conspiracy, stripped of all ranks, estates and titles, whipped and exiled to Siberia. AD Menshikov, a former cake-maker, and then a friend and assistant of Peter I, was then exiled to Berezov, where he died in 1730 ”. And further: "The fugitive Greek Lamvrokakis ... is, apparently, an allusion to the adventurer of Catherine's time, the" fierce Greek "Lambro-Kachioni, who became famous for his pirate raids on Turkey and was treated kindly by Potemkin." - Ed.

Shchedrin often uses such walking figurative expressions and sayings, treating them as if they had no comparison, no allegory. This is what he did with the sayings in the chapter "On the Root of the Foolovites," and so he does in a whole series of other cases.

The depiction of people in the form of dolls with mechanisms embedded in them is found in Shchedrin's story "The Toy Business of a Little Man", which, according to its material, is connected both with the essay "Our Foolov's Affairs" and with "The History of a City". The action of this tale takes place in the town of Lyubeznov, which was formerly called Buyanov; in the essay "Our Foolov Deeds" it is said that the city of Foolov was formerly called Umnov. Fairy dolls personify Russian administrators, of which one, for example, answers all questions: "Papp-p-pa". This is the undoubted ancestor of Brudasty.

In response to the bewilderment of critics about the name itself - "Organchik", Shchedrin wrote: "If instead of the word" Organchik "the word" Fool "was put, the reviewer probably would not have found anything unnatural" (18, 239).

So, Brudasty is the personification of government stupidity and narrow-mindedness. But that is not all.

In conversations among themselves, the Foolovites call Brudasty a "scoundrel" ("And where did this scoundrel come from!"), But, Shchedrin adds, they do not attach any "special meaning" to this word.

How to understand this?

The fact is that the word "scoundrel" (or "profost") is not Russian in origin - it appeared in Russia under Peter I. army regimental executors, or executioners. In the Russian army under Peter I, the word "scoundrel" had the same meaning, and then (up to the 60s of the 19th century) the so-called wardens of military prisons, who cleaned up sewage in cells.

The word "scoundrel" is also found in the "Inventory": it is also said about Gloom-Grumblev that he is a "former scoundrel." In the chapter Confirmation of Repentance, Shchedrin again speaks of Gloom-Grumblev: “Gloom-Grumblev was a scoundrel

in the full sense of the word. But only because he held this position in the regiment, a scoundrel with all his being, all his thoughts. "

In Organchik, Shchedrin uses the word "scoundrel", obviously, in two meanings at once: both as a historical (executioner) and as a modern, abusive one. Thus, Brudasty is called both an executioner and a scoundrel.

But what does the surname Brudasty mean? She, too, was not chosen by Shchedrin without intent. Brudusty is a word taken from the hunting language. V " Dead souls"Gogol Nozdrev persuades Chichikov to buy a dog from him:" I will sell you such a pair, it's just that the frost is crushing my skin! busty with a mustache ", etc.

Busty- one of the breeds of greyhounds and hounds, characterized by strong wool (mustache, beard like a goat, overhanging eyebrows) and viciousness. In hunting dictionaries about Russian bruddy hounds it is said that they are “large (up to 17 vershoks), usually gray in color, ferocious, stubborn and quarrelsome; have a good instinct, indefatigability and "dead" anger towards the beast. "

Calling the mayor Brudasty, Shchedrin, of course, had in mind all these signs. Thus, it turned out that the mayor, personifying the Russian autocratic power, was called a fool, a scoundrel, an executioner and an evil dog. These are the effects of Shchedrin's "Aesopian language."

The "bossy" Foolovites greeted Brudasty with enthusiasm, remember the victories over the Turks and hope that the new mayor "will take the Khotin fortress by storm for the second time." Khotin was taken by the Russians in 1739, after which Turkey made peace with Russia. Lomonosov at the same time wrote an enthusiastic ode ("to the victory over the Turks and Tatars and to the capture of Khotin"), beginning with the words: "Rapture captivated the sudden mind."

But the expectations of the Foolovites did not come true. The times that came under Brudast made them remember terrible times"Tushino Tsarik", that is, the impostor False Dmitry, who was camped in the village of Tushino near Moscow (" Time of Troubles" v early XVII century), and the time of Biron. However, says Shchedrin, the Foolovites “do not

carried away neither fashionable at the time revolutionary ideas, nor by the temptations presented by anarchy, but remained loyal to the love of authority ”.

This is one of those places where Shchedrin, as critics found, "mocks" the Russian people.

In response to these reproaches, Shchedrin wrote in his “letter to the editor”: “The misunderstanding regarding the mockery of the people, it seems, stems from the fact that my reviewer does not distinguish between the people of history, that is, those acting in the field of history, from the people as the embodiment of the idea of ​​democracy ... The first is appreciated and acquires sympathy in the measure of his deeds. If he produces the Wartkins and Gloom-Grumblevs, then there can be no question of sympathy; if he shows a desire to get out of the state of unconsciousness, then sympathy for him is completely legitimate, but the measure of this sympathy is nevertheless determined by the measure of efforts made on the path to consciousness. As for the "people" in the sense of the second definition, one cannot but sympathize with this people for the very reason that it contains the beginning and end of every individual activities» (18, 240).

The history of damage and repair of "Organchik" is accompanied by interesting notes and details. The confused public recalls, for example, the "London agitators" and decides that "treason has made a nest for itself in Foolov itself." The Russian reactionary press of the 1960s called the Russian revolutionary publicists A. I. Herzen and N. P. Ogarev, who published the famous Kolokol magazine in London, as London agitators.

Further, the superintendent of schools, when asked whether there have been in history similar examples, replies that there was “a certain Karl the Simple-minded, who had on his shoulders, although not empty, but still as if an empty vessel, but he fought wars and concluded treatises. " Karl the Simple- valid historical person: medieval French king (Charles III le Simple), who ascended the throne at the end of the 9th century. He fought unsuccessful wars with pirates, to whom he eventually had to cede Normandy, and was deposed in 923.

In his testimony, Master Baybakov declares that he belongs to the "sect of freemasons" and is a member of it

"A false priest," that is, a false priest. Freemasons are Freemasons ("Freemasons"), or simply Freemasons. So called secret societies, which arose in the VIII century among construction artels wandering around Europe and had the goal of moral improvement of people. In Russia, Freemasonry appeared in the 18th century, and especially spread in early XIX century, under Alexander I. Russian Masons set themselves not only moral and religious, but also political goals and therefore were considered "free thinkers". In the 60s, they wrote a lot about Freemasonry (including A. N. Pypin), seeing in it one of the manifestations of the liberal spirit. This interest in the Freemasons was reflected in literature: L. N. Tolstoy described the Freemasons in War and Peace, and later A. F. Pisemsky wrote the novel Freemasons. Shchedrin treated Freemasonry, as in general to noble liberalism, ironically, which was reflected, among other things, in Organchik.

The end of "Organchik" is remarkable. Instead of one mayor, there were two - both with "organs" in their heads. It turned out something like a "dumb scene" in Gogol's "The Inspector General", when, after Khlestakov's departure, a second appears, real auditor... As in Gogol's The Inspector General, Shchedrin's story becomes, as it were, endless. “The impostors met and measured each other with their eyes. The crowd dispersed slowly and in silence.

Let's point out one interesting detail. Having told about how the boy sent by Wintergalter threw the "talking baggage" on the road, Shchedrin writes: , taken out to the field in the form of fertilizer. "

However, will think attentive reader How can an organ, obviously made of wood and metal parts, serve as a material for fertilization? And the fact is that Organchik is a later adaptation of the very story that Shchedrin offered Nekrasov back in 1867 (see above, p. 456) - a story “about a governor with a stuffed head”. In the surviving manuscript of this original edition, the story is called The Unheard of Sausage. Here

it is not the watchmaker Wintergalter who fixes his head, but the Petersburg sausage maker Mora.

Later Shchedrin used the "stuffed head" for another mayor (Pimple), and here he replaced it with an "organ". The phrase about fertilization, in the original wording completely natural (rotting sausage), remained in new edition(as is often the case with this kind of alterations), where, of course, it is not entirely appropriate.

Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty is the eighth mayor appointed to rule the ill-fated city of Foolov. In the "Inventory of City Governors" his brief but capacious description is given: "He was appointed in a hurry and had some special device in his head ... This did not prevent him, however, from putting in order the arrears launched by his predecessor."
These sarcastic words contain both the meaning of the activities of this “great man” and the attitude in this activity of the author.
Silent and gloomy Brudasty knew only one word - "I will not pat it!" His reign began with the fact that he "crossed a lot of coachmen." And later, Brudasty created the appearance of the most violent activity - for days, he locked himself in his office, “scratching with a pen”. The consequences of this paperwork terrified the entire population of Foolov: "They grab and catch, flog and whip, describe and sell ..."
These six verbs were the essence of Brudasty's activities, which, however, did not differ from the activities of other mayors. Violence, cruelty, stupidity, inertia, admiration for the ranks and contempt for the people - these are the features of the reign of all Foolov's mayors, and Brudasty, in particular.
The image of this character is symbolic. Let's remember that he was nicknamed "Organchik" because instead of a head he had some kind of mechanical device. Brudasty's head had to be filled with artificial contents, otherwise it was just a shell, devoid of brains: empty town governor's head ... "
Thus, with the help of a capacious image, Shchedrin shows that the rulers are just puppets, guided by evil instincts, stupidity, inertia, and prejudice. But even without such leaders the Russian people cannot live. While Brudasty lay headless, waiting for the next organ, anarchy and devastation set in in the city. Soon, however, the Foolovites - "as a reward" for all their suffering - received two rulers at once - with "iron bascs". Such a finale of Brudasty's reign once again emphasizes the author's idea that all Foolov's rulers are the same - equally insignificant, faceless, terrible.