Russia in Gogol's time was ruled by landowners and officials similar to the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, had to be.
Following Chichikov on his journey from one landowner's estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry: their lot is poverty, illness, hunger, and terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them individually, without families; dispose of them like things. “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way, just watch!” Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.”
In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us is revealed a picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest. Particularly attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a remarkable carpenter-builder, and Uncle Micah, who meekly replaced the murdered Stepan in his dangerous work.
In the soul of the enslaved peasantry there lives a desire for freedom. When the peasants can no longer endure serfdom, they run away from the landowners. True, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But Plyushkin’s servant Popov still preferred life in prison to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, escaping serfdom, went into barge hauling.
Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation. The episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.
The great realist writer, Gogol, figuratively speaks about the downtroddenness of the people: “The police captain, even if you don’t go yourself, but only send one cap to your place, then this one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”
In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant little boxes, Nozdryovs and Dogevichs, it was not surprising to meet the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not know where the right side was and where the left side was.
But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “Russian people are capable of anything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut,” say officials, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks about the high qualities of the Russian person in his remarks about the “lively people”, about the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, about the remarkable ability of the Russian people to aptly characterize a person in one word.
Thus, depicting feudal-serf Rus', Gogol showed not only landowner-bureaucratic Russia, but also people’s Russia, with its persistent and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the working masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous likening of Russia to a “three bird”, personifying the essence of the national Russian character.

The people in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

Russia in Gogol's time was ruled by landowners and officials similar to the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, had to be.
Following Chichikov on his journey from one landowner's estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry: their lot is poverty, illness, hunger, and terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them individually, without families; dispose of them like things. “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way, just watch!” Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.”
In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us is revealed a picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest. Particularly attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a remarkable carpenter-builder, and Uncle Micah, who meekly replaced the murdered Stepan in his dangerous work.
In the soul of the enslaved peasantry there lives a desire for freedom. When the peasants can no longer endure serfdom, they run away from the landowners. True, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But Plyushkin’s servant Popov still preferred life in prison to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, escaping serfdom, went into barge hauling.
Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation. ‘The episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.
The great realist writer, Gogol, figuratively speaks about the downtroddenness of the people: “The police captain, even if you don’t go yourself, but only send one cap to your place, then this one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”
In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant little boxes, Nozdryovs and Dogevichs, it was not surprising to meet the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not know where the right side was and where the left side was.
But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “Russian people are capable of anything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut,” say officials, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks about the high qualities of the Russian person in his remarks about the “lively people”, about the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, about the remarkable ability of the Russian people to aptly characterize a person in one word.
Thus, depicting feudal-serf Rus', Gogol showed not only landowner-bureaucratic Russia, but also people’s Russia, with its persistent and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the working masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous likening of Russia to a “three bird”, personifying the essence of the national Russian character.

Russia and the Russian people in N. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”

Interest in the works of N.V. Gogol does not wane even today. The reason for this, most likely, lies in the fact that the writer was able to most fully show the character traits of the Russian people, the greatness and beauty of Russia.

The poem "Dead Souls" begins with an image of city life. Five chapters of the work are devoted to a narrative about the life of officials, five to a description of landowners, and one to the biography of Chichikov. As a result of this narrative, a general picture of Russia is created with a huge number of characters of different positions and conditions. In addition to officials and landowners, the author depicts other urban and rural residents - townspeople, servants, peasants. All this adds up to a complex panorama of life in Russia, contemporary to the author.

The theme of Russia and the Russian people occupies one of the main places in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. Let's see how he portrays the peasantry. The author is not at all inclined to idealize him; he talks about the merits of Russian people and their shortcomings. At the beginning of the poem, when Chichikov entered the city, two men, examining his chaise, determined that one wheel was not in order and that Chichikov would not go far. N.V. Gogol noted that the men were standing near the tavern. Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai, Manilov’s serf, are also shown as stupid in the poem, asking to earn money, but he himself goes to drink; the girl Pelageya does not know how to distinguish where is right and where is left; Proshka and Mavra are downtrodden and intimidated. The author does not accuse them of ignorance, it is not their fault, he simply laughs good-naturedly at them. But when talking about the coachman Selifan and the footman Petrushka, Chichikov’s courtyard servants, the writer shows kindness and understanding towards them. Because Petrushka is overwhelmed by a passion for reading, although he is more attracted not by what is written in the book, but by the process of reading itself, as if from the letters “some word always comes out, which sometimes the devil knows what it means.” And by revealing the image of Selifan, N.V. Go-gol shows the soul of the Russian peasant and tries to understand it. Let us remember what he says about the meaning of scratching the back of the head among the Russian people: “What did this scratching mean? And what does it even mean? Is it annoyance that the get-together planned for tomorrow with my brother didn’t work out... or some sweetheart has already started in a new place... Or it’s just a pity to leave a heated place in a people’s kitchen under a sheepskin coat, so that again to trudge through the rain and slush and all sorts of road misfortunes? »

The work reflects social phenomena and conflicts that were characteristic of serf Russia in the thirties and forties of the nineteenth century. At this time, the country was ruled by landowners and officials. N.V. Gogol also depicts a bleak picture of the life of peasants. The landowners mercilessly exploit them, buy and sell them like things, treat them like slaves. Afraid of selling dead souls too cheaply, Korobochka tells Chichikov: “...it has never happened to me to sell the dead. I gave up the living ones, and for the third year now I gave two girls a hundred rubles each...” The true image of the people is seen, first of all, in the description of the dead peasants. Both the author and the landowners admire them. In their memory they acquire a certain epic image; they are endowed with fabulous, heroic features. The dead peasants seem to be contrasted with the living serfs with their poor inner world. Although this people consists of “dead souls,” they have a lively and lively mind; they are a people “full of the creative abilities of the soul...”.

This is how Sobakevich boasts about his dead peasants: “Milushkin, a brickmaker, could install a stove in any house. Maxim Telyatnikov, shoemaker: whatever pricks with an awl, so do the boots, whatever the boots, then thank you, and even if it’s a drunken mouth! And Eremey Soro-koplekhin! Yes, that guy alone will stand for everyone, he traded in Moscow, brought one rent for five hundred rubles. After all, this is what people are like! And the coachman Mikheev! After all, I never made any other carriages other than spring ones.” And when Chichikov answers him that they have already died a long time ago and cannot be worth much, that this is only a “dream,” Sobakevich objects to him: “Well, no, not a dream! I’ll tell you what Mikheev was like, you won’t find such people: such a machine that he wouldn’t fit into this room... And he had such strength in his shoulders that a horse doesn’t have....” And Chichikov himself, looking at the lists of purchased peasants, sees them as if in reality, each man in his eyes acquires “his own character”: “My fathers, how many of you are crammed here! What have you, my dear ones, done in your lifetime? How did you get by?” The image of the carpenter Stepan Cork, endowed with heroic strength, who probably set out from all the provinces with an ax in his belt, attracts attention: “Probka Stepan, carpenter, exemplary sobriety... Ah! Here he is... here is the hero who would be fit for the guard!” Serfs are hardworking, any work is successful in their hands.

N.V. Gogol paints a terrifying picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their courage and patience, outbursts of anger and protest during Chichikov’s reflections on the list of souls he acquired. In the soul of an enslaved people there lives a desire for freedom. On Plyushkin’s estate, the peasants, reduced to extreme poverty, are “dying like flies” and fleeing from the landowner. Examining the list of fugitives, Chichikov concludes: “Even though you’re still alive, what’s the use of you! The same as the dead... are you sitting in prisons or are you stuck with other masters and plowing the land? Plyushkin's yard servant Popov prefers to live in prison than to return to his master's estate. Over the course of many pages of his work, the author introduces us to the diverse destinies of ordinary people. In the episodes of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin, the author talks about cases of mass indignation of peasants against their oppressors.

At the same time, N.V. Gogol also sees the mighty power of the people, crushed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the hard work of the Russian people, in their ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. He portrays the people as cheerful, lively, talented and full of energy. Discussing the resettlement of peasants bought by Chichikov to the Kherson province, officials argue: “Russian people are capable of everything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut.”

The image of the people in the poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol gradually develops into the image of Russia. Here you can also see the contrast between the real Russia and the future, ideal Russia. In lyrical digressions, the author refers to the “immense space”, “mighty space” of the Russian land. Russia stands before us in all its greatness. This is not at all a country where officials take bribes, landowners mercilessly squander their estates, peasants get drunk, roads and hotels are always bad. Through this real Russia, N.V. Gogol sees a different Rus', the “three bird.” “Aren’t you, Rus, like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing along?” The writer sees a great country, showing the way to others; it seems to him how Rus' is overtaking other countries and peoples, who, “squinting, turn aside and give her the way.” The image of the bird-troika becomes the image of the future Russia, which will play the main role in world development. It is with such an optimistic mood that N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” ends.

In Gogol's poem “Dead Souls” the theme of the people occupies one of the leading places. During Gogol’s time, Russia was ruled by landowners and officials, “obsequious slaves of power and ruthless tyrants of their slaves, drinking the life and blood of the people” (as Herzen aptly described it).
The author shows a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry. The landowners ruthlessly exploit them, treat them as their slaves, and can buy and sell them like things. The “club-headed” Korobochka, afraid of selling dead souls too cheaply, complains to the guest: “...it has never happened to me to sell the dead. I gave up the living ones, so the archpriest gave two girls for a hundred rubles each...” Peasants are obliged to fulfill all the whims of their masters. Before going to bed, Korobochka asks Chichikov: “Perhaps, my father, you are used to having someone scratch your heels at night? My deceased could not fall asleep without this.”
Nozdryov’s “breadth of nature” has a detrimental effect, first of all, on the serfs. Their work is devalued. Everything that was grown by the labor and sweat of the peasants and sold at the fair “at the best price” was sold by the landowner in a few days. He proudly tells Chichikov about this: “Congratulations: he’s blown away!”
The author presents a terrifying picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, outbursts of protest, while Chichikov is reflecting on the list of dead souls he acquired. Reading the names of the peasants, the hero, sighing, said: “My fathers, how many of you are crammed here! What have you, my dear ones, done in your lifetime? How did you get by?” The image of the carpenter Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, who probably walked all over the province with an ax in his belt, attracts attention. No less interesting is the image of shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who studied with a German and was unable to organize his own business. Apparently he had become an alcoholic and was lying drunk on the street, saying: “No, it’s bad in the world! There is no life for the Russian people, all the Germans are in the way.” Grigory You get there, you won't get there, he lived as a driver, renounced his home and gave his soul to God somewhere on the road.
In the soul of an enslaved people there lives a desire for freedom. On Plyushkin’s estate, the peasants, reduced to extreme poverty, are “dying like flies” and fleeing from the landowner. Looking at the list of fugitives, Chichikov concludes: “Even though you’re still alive, what’s the use of you! The same as the dead... do you sit in prisons or stick to other masters and plow the land? Plyushkin's yard servant Popov prefers life in prison to returning to his master's estate. Abakum Fyrov has gone to barge haulers and is dragging his feet to a mournful song.
Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation of peasants against their oppressors. This is clearly shown in the episodes of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin.
At the same time, Gogol also sees the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent, hard work, energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. Discussing the resettlement of peasants bought by Chichikov to the Kherson province, officials say: “Russian people are capable of everything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut.”
In one of his lyrical digressions, Gogol speaks about the accuracy and expressiveness of the Russian word, about the “living and lively Russian mind.”
Gogol in his poem showed Rus' with its hardworking and persistent people, in whom inexhaustible strength is hidden, and expressed faith in the bright future of the people and homeland.

Russia in Gogol's time was ruled by landowners and officials similar to the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, had to be.

Following Chichikov on his journey from one landowner's estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry: their lot is poverty, illness, hunger, and terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them individually, without families; dispose of them like things. “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way, just watch!” Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.”

In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us is revealed a picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest. Particularly attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a remarkable carpenter-builder, and Uncle Micah, who meekly replaced the murdered Stepan in his dangerous work.

In the soul of the enslaved peasantry there lives a desire for freedom. When the peasants can no longer endure serfdom, they run away from the landowners. True, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But Plyushkin’s servant Popov still preferred life in prison to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, escaping serfdom, went into barge hauling.

Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation. The episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.

The great realist writer, Gogol, figuratively speaks about the downtroddenness of the people: “The police captain, even if you don’t go yourself, but only send one cap to your place, then this one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”

In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant little boxes, Nozdryovs and Dogevichs, it was not surprising to meet the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not know where the right side was and where the left side was.

But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “Russian people are capable of anything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut,” say officials, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks about the high qualities of the Russian person in his remarks about the “lively people”, about the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, about the remarkable ability of the Russian people to aptly characterize a person in one word.

Thus, depicting feudal-serf Rus', Gogol showed not only landowner-bureaucratic Russia, but also people’s Russia, with its persistent and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the working masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous likening of Russia to a “three bird”, personifying the essence of the national Russian character.