“The story of one city”: denunciation of a stupid administration. Onufriy Ivanovich Negodyaev, former Gatchina stoker The era of dismissal from wars

“Writer Saltykov-Shchedrin” - “Fairytale cycle” - beginning of 1869. Shchedrin's satire is a special phenomenon in Russian literature. In the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province, in a wealthy landowner family. Summer 1850 The stories “Contradictions” (1847) and “A Confused Affair” (1848) were published in Otechestvennye zapiski. “The history of one city” 1869-1870. By the age of six he was taught French and German.

“Tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin” - Works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Elements of Russian folk tale. N. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote the book of fairy tales with a break. What is the social significance of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales? How is the owner of the peasants depicted in the fairy tale “The Wild Landowner”. “Tales” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. What do the fairy tales “The Tale of ...” and “The Wild Landowner” have in common?

“A game based on the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin” - In what form the two generals arrived on the island. What is the name of the “Wild Landowner?” How the generals returned home. With whom did the landowner hunt hares? Golden word. What did the man feed the generals on the way to St. Petersburg? The main character of a fairy tale about a wild landowner. Generals. Pears. Bird snares. Genre of the work. Man.

“Works of Shchedrin” - The final work of the writer is considered to be “Fairy Tales”. The novel depicts the disintegration of a bourgeois family. Shchedrin's fairy-tale genre flourished in the 1980s. The fantasy of Shchedrin's fairy tales is real and carries a generalized political content. The language of Shchedrin's tales is deeply folk, close to Russian folklore.

“Shchedrin the writer” - Literary heritage. Mikhail Evgrafovich died in 1889... ...he lived for 63 years! Parents of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Brief information: Education of Mikhail Evgrafovich. Mikhail Evgrafovich SALTYKOV - SHCHEDRIN. The first 10 years of Saltykov’s life were spent on his parents’ estate. “The story of how a man fed two generals.”

“The history of a city lesson” - Lesson summary. Techniques for typing a satirical image-character. Techniques of satirical depiction of characters used by Saltykov-Shchedrin in the novel: The writer’s works are still relevant. Expressive reading of a passage by role. Stylization of the narrative in the style of chroniclers-archivists. Why are the people described in the novel called blockheads?

Someone please give a description of any official from "The History of a City", or a link where it can be downloaded and received the best answer

Answer from Anyutka Rychkova[guru]
Vasilisk Semenovich Borodavkin replaced Brigadier Ferdyshchenko as mayor of the city of Glupov. Wartkin was distinguished by a thirst for activity that frightened the Foolovites. He “astounded with his quickness and some unheard-of corrosiveness, which manifested itself with special energy in questions concerning the eaten egg. Constantly buttoned up with all the buttons and having his cap and gloves at the ready, he was the type of mayor whose legs are at any time ready to run to God knows where...” It is also known about Wartkin that he constantly screamed, had a good appetite and ate with haste. In general, all his actions are accompanied by some kind of haste, absolutely unfounded. And the watchful eye! This is simply proof of the eternal functioning of the brain. If you do not take into account the comical nature of the image and setting, then in the reader’s mind the image of an active mayor may well form, taking care of his charges, trying with all his might to improve their situation. Wartkin's reign is called the era of wars for enlightenment. The mayor sought to revive the order established by the only worthy predecessor, in his opinion, Dvoekurov. Under a very serious name hides a series of stupid “battles” that had reasons for mustard, the benefits of stone foundations, Persian chamomile and the rumor about the establishment of an academy in Foolov. The “good” intentions of the mayor turned into the plight of the Foolovites (the “enlightener” himself learned about this too late). In his dreams, Wartkin captured Byzantium, and then went to the Drava, Morava, to the distant Sava, to the quiet and blue Danube, like a great commander. Thus, the approximate plan of his actions as mayor included the capture of Byzantium, the education of the people and, as a result, universal respect and honor. Having achieved that the Foolovites recognized mustard (this campaign was the longest), and Persian chamomile and other “useful” inventions, Wartkin discovered the complete ruin of his possessions. And then, as luck would have it, the French Revolution, which forced the valiant mayor to doubt, and then become completely disillusioned with the wars for enlightenment and begin the reverse process - wars against enlightenment. It is not difficult to guess that the people had a hard time living due to the changing whims of Wartkin. The most terrible phenomenon for the Foolovites were the fantastic tin soldiers, filled with blood and destroying the city's economy. Other methods were also used, namely: flogging (“not a single Foolovite could point to a place on his body that had not been carved”), proclamations hung in the streets and causing complete bewilderment and other punishments for riots, which in essence and there wasn't. “The Foolovites even tried hard to get Wartkin to shed light into their dark heads, but they didn’t get success, and they didn’t get it precisely because of the mayor.” For law-abiding citizens, Wartkin’s reign ended with the destruction of households and a complete misunderstanding of the true goals of the “enlightener”... One cannot fail to note satirical techniques in the depiction of the mayor. First of all, this is typification: the author even emphasizes that Wartkin was a special “type” of mayor - efficient and meticulous. Then, the grotesque: Saltykov-Shchedrin gives the hero fantastic features (not closing his eyes), and also exaggerates the capabilities of the tin Soldiers (they filled with blood, talked and destroyed houses). And finally, the documents drawn up by the mayor are an absolute parody of state laws and proclamations. Thus, in the “War for Enlightenment” section, Saltykov-Shchedrin revealed to the reader another type of mayor, hiding behind noble goals.

The history of creation and the problem of the narrator. The work was created by the writer at the turn of the 60s and 70s (1868-1870). According to the memoirs of E. Zhukovskaya, Shchedrin, “while living in Tula, wrote a whole chronicle about governors” and read it to his Tula and St. Petersburg acquaintances. The mention of “chronicle” here is not accidental. The work was written on behalf of the chroniclers of the city of Foolov in the form of a historical chronicle, reproducing the “deeds and days” of local mayors, describing the years (“summers”) of their administration, as a chronicle narration does. The manuscript of the “Foolov chronicler” was found in the archive by a certain Publisher, who makes it public, periodically commenting in his “notes” on the text of the voluminous notebook. The main narrative, therefore, belongs to the chronicler and the publisher, behind whom stands the all-seeing and all-evaluating author. At the same time, the first two narrators do not become image-characters and have the character of original masks that Shchedrin needs to solve satirical problems.

The time reflected in the chronicle of the Foolovites. The chronicle of the Foolovites covers the period from 1731 to 1826. The work actually contains names, facts and episodes dating back to the 18th century. Thus, Shchedrin sarcastically notes that “the mayors of Biron’s time are distinguished by their recklessness, the mayors of Potemkin’s times by their stewardship, and the mayors of Razumovsky’s times by unknown origins and knightly courage. All of them flog the townsfolk, but the first flog the townsfolk absolutely, the latter explain the reasons for their management by the requirements of civilization, the third want the townsfolk to rely on their courage in everything.” It is obvious that such historical figures as Biron, Potemkin and Razumovsky are associated with the era of the 18th century. The book mentions a number of palace coups in the 18th century that brought Anna Ioannovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Anna Leopoldovna, and Catherine II to the throne. The latter’s famous journey to the Crimea is meant when talking about the extraordinary wanderings of Foolov’s mayors.

The work reflects episodes from more distant eras of Russian history: the calling of the Varangian princes, the unification of disparate principalities into a single state in the 15th century, the appearance of the impostor False Dmitry II in Tushino.

Living modernity in the book. However, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was least of all interested in the times of the distant past and even the historical episodes of the previous, 18th century. The writer goes far beyond the conventional time frame indicated by the archivist. The author of the book is concerned about living modernity, and he correlates the signs of different historical eras, projecting the past onto the present. When, for example, it comes to extraditing a poet who insulted Mother Wartkina in his poems, there is a hint of Alexander II, who was indignant at T. Shevchenko, who satirically portrayed the queen. The story of the old famine correlates with the “hungry” year of 1868. The mention of the “Charter on Respectable Baking” refers not only to Speransky’s legislation, but also to the reforms of the 60s of the 19th century. The story of the fires in the "thatched city" of the past alludes to the fires of 1862, which became the reason for the persecution of the "nihilists." The text mentions P. I. Bartenev, who published the magazine “Russian Archive” since 1863. These examples could be continued. That is why, in a letter to the historian A. N. Pypin, Shchedrin explained that an appeal to the past, “historical” satire was only a form, very convenient for him, but by no means the goal of the story. This was a means of misleading the censor, a way of thinking about the present with the help of the past. In addition, as the author noted in the same letter, “the same fundamentals of life that existed in the 18th century exist today.” By “the fundamentals of life,” the satirist meant a triple evil that needed to be eradicated: an outdated autocracy, bureaucratic dominance in the country and serfdom, the remnants of which hindered the country’s development along the path of progress.

Gallery of Foolov's mayors. The need for satirical ridicule of the first two evils prompted Saltykov-Shchedrin to create in his book a whole gallery of 22 mayors who in different years ruled and now rule the city of Foolov, personifying the entire autocratic state. It should be borne in mind that many of the types drawn by Shchedrin can be correlated with several historical figures. On the other hand, the historical figure we remember in the satirist’s book is embodied in a number of characters drawn by him. Thus, according to the observations of B. M. Eikhenbaum, the features of Alexander I can be found in the images of Grustilov, Mikaladze, du Chariot, Ivanov and Benevolensky. Each of the mayors has his own surname-nickname (here Shchedrin continues the tradition dating back to the 18th century, from Fonvizin to Griboedov, Gogol and A. Ostrovsky), is endowed with a memorable appearance and is marked by his “deeds”. But all of them are simultaneously brought together by the writer, who has established that each of them is completely incapable of ruling the city (and therefore the country), that each of them is alien to the interests of his people, that each is marked by signs of obvious idiocy and absolute ignorance.

So, Intercept-Zalikhvatsky “drove into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” Bogdan Pfeiffer, a “Holstein native”, “having accomplished nothing, was replaced in 1762 for ignorance.” Cormorant, Ivan Matveevich, was three arshins and three inches tall and “brought about the fact that it comes in a direct line from Ivan the Great,” that is, the famous bell tower in Moscow. Dvoekurov, however, “gave strong hope,” especially since he introduced mustard into use and wrote a note about the need to “consider the sciences.” But, overwhelmed with horror, “he could not do this”: decisiveness “was not in his morals at all.” Grustilov, Erast Andreevich, although distinguished by his tenderness and sensitivity of heart, raised the tribute from his farmstead to five thousand rubles a year and had “many inclinations, undoubtedly vicious.” Ferdyshchenko, although his mind was not very broad, was tongue-tied. The Marquis de Sanglot loved to sing obscene songs. Du Chariot loved to dress up in women's clothes and feast on frogs. Upon examination, she turned out to be a girl. Benevolensky had a love affair with the merchant's wife Raspopova, from whom he ate pies with filling on Saturdays. Many external signs bring him closer to Speransky (origin, activity, inclination towards legislation, career), but for Shchedrin this similarity and these properties are least important. The only important thing is that he was the first to impose tribute on the farm-out, from which he received three thousand rubles a year, and also indulged Bonaparte. Scoundrels, Onufriy Ivanovich, has many features that bring him closer to Paul I; it is not for nothing that he is called the “Gatchina stoker.” But it is much more important that he “constantly tested whether the Foolovites were strong enough in adversity,” and led the city to complete ruin and starvation. Wartkin is remembered for threatening the Foolovites to show “where the crayfish spend the winter,” and building on an “arctic fox” so that what they had built would “crash.” Velikanov became famous for imposing a tribute of three kopecks per soul on the residents in his favor.

Techniques of satirical depiction.

Showing the mayors, Shchedrin masterfully uses the grotesque, depicting the combination of incompatible things. Thus, characterizing Brudasty, the writer says that the mayor had a primitive mechanism installed instead of his head, which shouted only two words: “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” Nicknamed Organchik, he carries out his threats: he flogs the coachmen, puts the arrears in order, flogs the men. Shchedrin creates a different grotesque when he draws the mayor Pyshch: he gives him a “stuffed head”, which is eaten by the leader of the nobility with a very developed stomach. Unlike Brudasty, Pimple does not scare the Foolovites, but stops all business altogether, replacing them with visiting guests. And this was enough for the city to enter a period of prosperity. Another kind of grotesque is used in the case of the Cormorant: we remember that this ruler came from the bell tower.

The writer uses fiction generously. The Marquis de Sanglot mentioned above “flew through the air in the city garden.” Some mayors have their feet turned back. They surround themselves with tin soldiers and wage wars for the introduction of chamomile, turning into something like dolls or automata. During times of unrest, Dunka the Thick-Footed is eaten by bedbugs. And what about the face of Iraida Paleologova, dark brown in color, reminiscent of old printed images. This mayor, who tortured “her four serf girls,” got three soldiers drunk for courage, and “invaded the treasury” with a sword in her hand. And then “shamelessly robbed the treasury”, “flew up into the air together with the treasurer and accountant.” When drawing the mayors, Shchedrin uses the technique of duplication, conveying the sameness of these women with plump cherry lips and high breasts.

But the mayors of Saltykov-Shchedrin are not only funny and absurd, but also scary. Such is Gloomy-Burcheev, a “seasoned scoundrel” who combines the features of Arakcheev and Nicholas I. Depicting him, the writer uses the techniques of hyperbole and caricature, enriching them with direct authorial characteristics and calling him a “gloomy idiot” with a “wooden face” and a “conical skull " This ruler completed the work of his predecessors and turned the city of Foolov into a desert with a fort in the middle.

All these Shchedrin mayors are fading into oblivion for reasons that are absurd, curious or shameful. One was eaten by bedbugs, another died from gluttony, the third from lust, the fourth from the effort with which he tried to overcome the Senate decree, the fifth from being torn to pieces by dogs. And Shchedrin accompanies their natural death with loud laughter.

A sad story about the Foolovites. There is another group image in the satirist’s book - Foolovites. The writer shows sympathy for the people, compassion for them, protects them from strangling despots. This is especially felt in the chapters “The Hungry Year” and “City of Straw.” The author of “History...” with deep sympathy depicts the people's walker Yevseich, seeking truth and justice. But Shchedrin refuses the sentimental idealization of the people. He directs his satire at the Foolovites, portraying them as entangled in prejudices, living in fear and submission, living under the “yoke of madness.” According to A. S. Bushmin, Shchedrin’s satire is two-sided: on autocracy and on the political passivity of the masses living in the “yoke of stupidity” and backwardness, darkness and downtroddenness, in slavish submission to the Gloomy-Burcheevs. The writer endows some of the Foolovites with the features of dolls, emphasizing that they “mechanically” bow in all directions, that they resemble “wooden craftsmen” “little people”. Shchedrin intends to awaken the self-awareness of people from the people, to remind them of their human dignity.

Using the technique stylization, the writer “dresses” the images and events of our time in the clothes of the past. Another means of Shchedrin’s satire is parody. D. S. Likhachev noted the presence in this book of a parodied chronicler, a parodied publisher (here the author sarcastically parodies official historiographers) and the only true consciousness - the consciousness of Saltykov-Shchedrin himself. The author curiously parodies the fierce discussions of the mid-19th century about the origins of Rus'. The writer skillfully uses the manner of a naive chronicler-everyman, thanks to which he conveys important ideas in a naive, fairy-tale form.

The symbol of the river and the mysterious “it”. The author contrasts the satirically revealed images of mayors and Foolovites with a symbolic image rivers, which embodies the element of life itself, which no one can abolish and conquer. The river not only does not submit to the wild gaze of the basilisk Ugryum-Burcheev, but also demolishes the dam made of garbage and manure. There is also a symbolic, menacing “It” in Shchedrin’s book, an image born of the Aesopian language of the satirist. This is something reminiscent of a tornado sweeping over Foolov in anger, an element sweeping away the absurdity of the social order of life and the slavish obedience of the Foolovites. Conveying the movement of this element, Shchedrin uses the expression of description, the technique of pumping up verbs and verbal forms, forming a complex rhythmic pattern. The writer creates a superbly thought-out structure, compositionally and stylistically reminiscent of Pushkin’s “The History of the Village of Goryukhin.” Contrary to the unfair judgments of liberal critics - A. Suvorin and K. Arsenyev - who accused Shchedrin of distorting Russian history and insulting the people, despite the angry statements of the censor N. S. Lebedev that “the author is already positively mocking the authorities,” I. S. Turgenev determined the global significance of “The History of a City.”

Questions and tasks

Under what circumstances did M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin create(“The story of a city”?

How did Shchedrin solve the difficult problem of the narrator?

What historical time is captured in the Chronicle?

How is living modernity introduced into the book’s narrative?

Who makes up the gallery of Foolov's city rulers? Whosedid the board make a particularly depressing impression on you?

What favorite artistic techniques does M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin use in his book?

What is the inconsistency of the writer’s portrayal?Foolovites?

Why did the text of the “chronicle” need a fantastic image of a river and a mysterious “it”? How do you understand this is the afterbirth?its designation?

The story of one city(summary by chapter)

Chapter contents: Inventory for mayors...

This chapter lists Foolov's mayors by name and briefly mentions their “achievements.”

It speaks of twenty-two rulers. So, for example, about one of the city governors the document says: “22) Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, Arkhistrateg Stratilatovich, major. I won’t say anything about this. He rode into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.”

The history of one city (text in full chapters)

Inventory of mayors, at different times, appointed to the city of Glupoe by the higher authorities (1731-1826)

1) Clementy, Amadeus Manuilovich. Exported from Italy by Biron, Duke of Courland, for his skillful preparation of pasta; then, having suddenly been promoted to the proper rank, he was sent by the mayor. Arriving in Glupov, he not only did not give up pasta making, but even strongly forced many to do so, which is how he glorified himself. For treason, he was whipped in 1734 and, after his nostrils were torn out, he was exiled to Berezov.

2) Ferapontov, Fotiy Petrovich, foreman*. Former barber of the same Duke of Courland*. He made numerous campaigns against debtors and was so eager for spectacles that he did not trust anyone to flog him without himself. In 1738, while in the forest, he was torn to pieces by dogs.

3) Velikanov, Ivan Matveevich. He imposed a tribute of three kopecks per head on the residents in his favor, having previously drowned the director in the river of economy*. He killed many police captains. In 1740, during the reign of the meek Elizabeth, having been caught in a love affair with Avdotya Lopukhina, she was beaten with a whip* and, after cutting her tongue, was exiled to imprisonment in the Cherdyn prison.

4) Urus-Kugush-Kildibaev, Manyl Samylovich, captain-lieutenant from the Life Campanians*. He was distinguished by his insane courage, and even once took the city of Foolov by storm. Upon being informed of this, he did not receive praise and in 1745 he was dismissed with publication*.

5) Lamvrokakis, a fugitive Greek, without a name or patronymic, and even without a rank, caught by Count Kirila Razumovsky in Nizhyn, at the bazaar. He sold Greek soap, sponges and nuts; Moreover, he was a supporter of classical education. In 1756 he was found in bed, eaten by bedbugs.

6) Baklan, Ivan Matveevich*, foreman. He was three arshins and three inches tall, and boasted that he came in a direct line from Ivan the Great (the bell tower famous in Moscow). Broken in half during a storm in 1761.

7) Pfeiffer, Bogdan Bogdanovich, guard sergeant, Holstein native. Having accomplished nothing, he was replaced in 1762 for ignorance*.

8) Brudasty, Dementy Varlamovich*. He was appointed in a hurry and had some special device in his head, for which he was nicknamed “Organchik”. This did not prevent him, however, from putting in order the arrears left behind by his predecessor. During this reign, a disastrous anarchy occurred that lasted seven days, as will be described below.

9) Dvoekurov, Semyon Konstantinich, civilian adviser and gentleman. He paved Bolshaya and Dvoryanskaya streets, started brewing and mead making, introduced mustard and bay leaves into use, collected arrears, patronized the sciences and petitioned for the establishment of an academy in Foolov. Wrote an essay: “Biographies of the Most Remarkable Monkeys.” Being of a strong constitution, he had eight amantas in succession. His wife, Lukerya Terentyevna, was also very lenient, and thus greatly contributed to the splendor of this reign. He died in 1770 by natural causes.

10) Marquis de Sanglot, Anton Protasyevich, French native and friend of Diderot. He was frivolous and loved to sing obscene songs. He was flying through the air in the city garden, and almost flew away completely, when he caught his tails on a spitz, and was removed from there with great difficulty. For this undertaking, he was fired in 1772, and the next year, not losing heart, he gave performances at Izler’s mineral waters*.

11) Ferdyshchenko, Petr Petrovich, foreman. Former orderly of Prince Potemkin. Although his mind was not very broad, he was tongue-tied. Launched arrears; loved to eat boiled pork and goose with cabbage. During his leadership, the city suffered famine and fire. He died in 1779 from overeating.

12) Wartkin, Vasilisk Semenovich.* This mayorship was the longest and most brilliant. He led a campaign against arrears, and burned thirty-three villages and, with the help of these measures, collected arrears of two rubles and a half. Introduced the game of lamouche* and Provençal oil; paved the market square and planted the street leading to public places with birch trees; again applied for the establishment of an academy in Foolov, but, having received a refusal, built a house for moving out*. He died in 1798, during execution, with parting words from the police captain.

13) Negodyaev*, Onufriy Ivanovich, former Gatchina stoker. He placed the streets paved with his predecessors and built monuments from the quarried stone*. Replaced in 1802 for disagreement with Novosiltsev, Czartoryski and Strogonov (the famous triumvirate in their time) regarding constitutions, in which the consequences justified him.

14) Mikaladze, Prince Ksavery Georgievich, Cherkashenin, descendant of the voluptuous princess Tamara. He had a seductive appearance, and was so eager for the female sex that he almost doubled the Foolov population. I left a useful guide on this subject. He died in 1814 from exhaustion.

15) Benevolensky*, Feofilakt Irinarkhovich, state councilor, Speransky’s friend at the seminary. He was wise and had a penchant for legislation. He predicted public courts and zemstvo.* He had a love affair with the merchant's wife Raspopova, from whom, on Saturdays, he ate pies with filling. In his free time, he composed sermons for city priests and translated from the Latin works of Thomas a à Kempis. He reintroduced mustard, bay leaf and Provençal oil into use as being beneficial. The first imposed tribute on the farm-out, from which he received three thousand rubles a year. In 1811, for conniving with Bonaparte, he was called to account and exiled to prison.

16) Pimple, Major, Ivan Panteleich. He ended up with a stuffed head, which the local leader of the nobility caught him doing.*

17) Ivanov, state councilor, Nikodim Osipovich. He was so small in stature that he could not accommodate extensive laws. He died in 1819 from strain, trying to comprehend a certain Senate decree.

18) Du Chariot, Viscount, Angel Dorofeevich, French native. He loved to dress up in women's clothes and feast on frogs. Upon examination, she turned out to be a girl. Sent abroad in 1821.

20) Grustilov, Erast Andreevich, state councilor. Karamzin's friend. He was distinguished by his tenderness and sensitivity, loved to drink tea in the city grove, and could not see black grouse mating without tears. He left behind several works of idyllic content and died of melancholy in 1825. The tribute from the farm raised to five thousand rubles a year.

21) Gloomy-Burcheev, a former scoundrel. He destroyed the old city and built another in a new place.

22) Interception-Zalikhvatsky*, Arkhistrateg* Stratilatovich, major. I won’t say anything about this. He rode into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.

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Classics of literature (satires) from the collection of works for reading (stories, novellas) of the best, famous satirical writers: Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin. .................

Socio-political The situation in the country in the 60-70s of the 19th century was characterized by instability and protest of the masses against the existing system. The autocracy was the main enemy of the people and, of course, could not but arouse the indignation of the progressive people of that time, which included many Russian writers. One of these writers who openly hated autocracy as a cruel and inhumane system was M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

All my creative life Saltykov-Shchedrin rained down furious, angry blows on the representatives of the administrative-political system of that time, on the bureaucracy and serfdom. Having chosen as his weapon a well-aimed satire and all available methods of denunciation, the writer created vivid works in which he ridiculed, criticized, and exposed all the vices of society, pointing out not only the injustice, cruelty and limitations of the authorities, but also the unforgivable, shameful slave psychology of ordinary people. The most striking and outspoken political satire was Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work “The History of a City,” created in 1869-1870.

In this work the subject angry sarcasm and caustic irony for the first time became the supreme state. Saltykov saw that the country was filled with evil that required immediate eradication. By this evil he understood the outdated autocracy, bureaucratic dominance and serfdom, the remnants of which hampered Russia's development along the path of progress. However, the writer could not openly denounce the authorities. Therefore, he resorted to complex artistic disguise, casting his satire in the form of a historical chronicle of the 18th century. Although anyone who carefully read his “History of a City”, it became clear that the author had in mind not the past, not history, but the present. He directed his decisive and well-aimed blow against the remnants of serfdom that were strangling the country after the reform, against all sorts of liberal illusions that distracted from the real struggle.

• “Satire,” wrote I. S. Turgenev, “exaggerates the truth, as if through a magnifying glass, but never distorts its essence.” The “magnifying glass” of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s satire turned out to be very timely. It was this genre, with its penchant for the grotesque, for extremely conventional images, that became the artistic form that allowed the author of “The History of a City” to solve the task he had set for himself.

Central theme The work became the attitude of the authorities to the people. The writer painted a true and accurate picture of life in the city of Foolov - a typical city in Russia at that time. This life appears to the author as “life on the brink of madness.” Therefore, it is shown in the work in an ugly comic form: everything here is fantastic, incredibly exaggerated, everything here is funny and at the same time scary. The most vividly drawn by the satirist are the figures of twenty-two Foolov’s mayors, in whose images Shchedrin exposes the power in Russia, the entire autocratic serfdom regime. All the mayors are brought together by the writer, who claims that each of them has the same vices, stupidity, ignorance, and therefore none of them is capable of ruling either the city, much less the country. Because they are all alien to the interests of their people, selfish, proud, marked by signs of obvious idiocy and meaninglessness.

Amadeus Manuilovich Klementy, who skillfully cooked pasta in Italy, having arrived in the city of Foolov, “not only did not give up pasta, but even strongly forced many to do so, which is what glorified himself.” A fugitive Greek “without a name or patronymic and even without a rank,” Lamvrokakis sold Greek soap, sponges and nuts at the market, which, apparently, was enough for him to later become a mayor. Pimple, a major with a “stuffed head,” was “exposed” by a local street leader of the nobility. The actions of the “former scoundrel” Ugryum-Burcheev boiled down to drill, leveling, and “correct formation.” Ferdyshchenko, who, having become a ruler, suddenly “decided to travel” from corner to corner of the city pasture, turned out to be incapable of managing anything at all, so he replaces real work with bright effects. Mayor Borodavkin, a representative of “civilizing measures,” while fighting arrears, “burned 33 villages and, with the help of these measures, collected arrears of two rubles and a half.” Velikanov became famous for imposing a tribute of three kopecks per soul on the residents in his favor. Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, having become the ruler of the city and riding into the city on a white horse, at one point “burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” Benevolensky, who composed the “Charter on Respectable Baking Pies,” reintroduced “mustard, bay leaf and Provençal oil as useful.”

Busty, who had a certain “organ” in his head that uttered only two words: “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin it!”, having arrived in the city, he locked himself in his office, didn’t drink, didn’t eat, and kept scratching something with his pen. Bogdan Pfeiffer, a “Holstein native”, “having accomplished nothing, was replaced in 1762 for ignorance.” Baklan Ivan Matveevich “brought about the fact that it comes in a direct line from Ivan the Great” - the bell tower famous in Moscow. Scoundrels Onufriy Ivanovich was famous for “constantly testing whether the Foolovites were strong enough in adversity.” Dvoekurov “showed strong hope,” since he wrote a note about the need to “consider the sciences,” but he did not take any real actions, because decisiveness “was not in his morals at all.” Grustilov increased the tribute from farming to five thousand rubles a year and generally had “many inclinations, undoubtedly vicious.” Other mayors also had similar inclinations: the Marquis de Sanglot loved to sing obscene songs, du Chario dressed in women's dresses and feasted on frogs, Benevolensky had a love affair with the merchant Raspopova, from whom he ate pies with filling on Saturdays.

All these colorful the images are intended to show the reader the meaninglessness and stupidity of the administrative system of the city, the ruler of which can be any brainless creature, making the inhabitants tremble with the help of threats and various obscene actions. Portraying representatives of Foolov’s government, Saltykov-Shchedrin emphasizes their anti-human essence. Even the nature of their death evokes an ominously comic impression. All of them die from insignificant, unnatural or curious reasons, as if following the popular proverb: “a dog and a dog’s death”: one was torn to pieces by dogs, another was eaten by bedbugs, the third died from gluttony, the fourth from damage to the head tool, the fifth from strain and etc.

To mayors The collective image of the officials of the city of Foolov as the personification of backwardness, darkness, fear, “trembling,” lawlessness and obedience of the masses of the people under the “yoke of madness” also corresponds.

Saltykov-Shchedrin in his work he shows how petty, senseless and useless all the actions of government officials are. They all commit the same lawlessness. And yet they always remain unpunished. But this is temporary. The ending of “The Story of a City” shows how hopeless the old government is. Yes, the mayors themselves see the approaching end of their reign. “It has come...”, “It will come...” says Gloomy-Burcheev mysteriously before disappearing. “The north became dark and covered with clouds; From these clouds something was rushing towards the city: either a downpour, or a tornado. Full of anger, it rushed, drilling the ground, roaring, humming and groaning, and from time to time spewing out some dull, croaking sounds... It was getting closer, and as it got closer, time stopped running. Finally, the earth shook, the sun darkened... the Foolovites fell on their faces. An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces and gripped all hearts...”

This picture of the Apocalypse- a formidable prophecy of the inevitable death of the monarchical regime and a call for an active fight against it.