Spiritual meaning of Russian fairy tales. Uzhankov is a really cool scientist

It can also be recommended for reading romantic works, but be sure to look at how they are written and for what purpose. Why is a person stronger than evil spirits, and when is he stronger? When he is with God, when he is a believer. Why, say, Thomas Brutus dies in the story “Viy”? Because he is of little faith, although he is a student and studies at the seminary - do you understand? - but he has no faith. He gets drunk for courage, so to speak, before going to the temple to reprimand the lady. Why? Because he is weak in faith, he does not believe that the Lord can save him. What, will vodka help, add courage? You see, each work has its own specific zest, you must definitely see it.

“Portrait” and “Overcoat” should be studied together - this is how they stand in the “Petersburg Tales” cycle

Very strong works - I think you should definitely know these works - both “Portrait” and “Overcoat”. But they should be studied together. This is how they stand in the cycle " Petersburg stories“Gogol, this is how they should be viewed. Why? Because “Portrait” is dedicated to the consideration of a person’s talent, to the fact that one must serve God with talent. This nameless artist who painted a portrait of a moneylender, in which he embodied evil spirits, which is what he sinned, then he repented, went to a monastery and served God - he wrote “Christmas”. You see, we see here a transformation of personality. And the story "The Overcoat". Analyzing it, we talk about spiritual poverty little man Akaki Akakievich, who collects earthly riches, not spiritual ones.

Undoubtedly, “Taras Bulba” needs to be read, especially through the prism of the events that are happening now in Ukraine. And paying attention specifically to the author’s second edition of the story is also an important point. There are first and second editions. In the second edition, the word “Russian” in the meaning of “Orthodox” was used by Gogol, if I’m not mistaken, 36 times, and in the first edition, in my opinion, three or four times.

Russian means Orthodox. These are synonyms, and Gogol knew it

How is this story now translated? Ukrainian language? There, instead of “Russian”, the word “Ukrainian” is used, and this has a completely different meaning. Because Russian means Orthodox. These are synonyms, and Gogol knew this. That's how it was in Ancient Rus' and in ancient Russian literature, Gogol uses this concept in exactly the same meaning in his story. When we look at “Taras Bulba” precisely from these positions, a special meaning opens up... Why? Because there they fight for the Orthodox faith, for the Russian land and for their Orthodox brothers... You see, then this is a completely different perception. And you also need to remember: “Well, son, did your Poles help you?” This sounds like a warning to us: are the Poles, and the West in general, helping or not?

You need to read at least three works, progressively. These are “Crime and Punishment”, “The Idiot” and “The Brothers Karamazov”. Complex works, but you have to read it that way, incrementally. Dostoevsky needs to be considered and read after Gogol, because he starts from Gogol. And try to consider what problem the writer is raising. In the first novel - the problem of a proud personality. And the novel “The Idiot” was originally conceived as a novel about the manifestation of humility in a proud person. But Dostoevsky started it twice and abandoned it twice - it didn’t work. Why? Because proud man, such as Raskolnikov was, does not humble himself. And therefore it was necessary to show a meek man - Prince Myshkin. On the other hand, Dostoevsky poses the question: if Russia is an Orthodox power, if Russians consider themselves Orthodox, then have they preserved Orthodoxy, are they truly Orthodox? Are they ready for the Second Coming of Christ - that is the question. If they are God’s chosen people and if the Russian idea is the preservation of Orthodoxy until Last Judgment, then did they keep it or not? Let's say in Crime and Punishment we see relatively healthy society, I emphasize - relatively healthy society and two sick people - Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov, then, say, in The Idiot - on the contrary: there are two relatively healthy person. It turns out: Nastasya Filippovna and Prince Myshkin - two relatively healthy person and absolutely sick society. Dostoevsky shows: who can accept Christ if society is sick?

Dostoevsky shows: who can accept Christ if society is sick?

And, of course, the pinnacle of the writer’s creativity is “The Brothers Karamazov”, with the most important issue: where is salvation - in the world, in the Church, or between the world and the monastery, like Alyosha Karamazov? But this is an unfinished work, because three brothers appear in it and, according to Dostoevsky’s plan, a novel should have been dedicated to each of them, and in general it should have been a trilogy. And, accordingly, in each of these novels a dominant idea was assumed. The written novel is dominated by Ivan Karamazov, with his rationalism and rational consciousness. In the second - Dmitry Karamazov, with his passions. The third novel was supposed to be about Alyosha and spiritual development and himself, and society, and other heroes, and the reader.

You see, the question is not even what to read, the question is how to read. Because in every writer we can find works that are very strong and very weak. This is natural: every person is capable of ups and downs, mistakes and achievements. Of course, in order to reduce the search time to some extent necessary works, it’s better to ask a mentor, a teacher, a teacher for advice on what to read. But I repeat: from every writer we can find absolutely wonderful works, but the most important thing is how we read them.

Uzhankov Alexander Nikolaevich, born in 1955 in Shchors, Chernigov region, Ukraine. Professor, doctor philological sciences, Candidate of Cultural Studies. Graduated from the Russian department of the Lviv Faculty of Philology state university them. I. Franko (1980).

In his last year, he began publishing in Komsomolskaya Pravda, where, after graduating from university, he was invited as a correspondent to the Press Bureau, then moved to the department of literature and art (1981-82). After Komsomolskaya Pravda he worked as editor of the criticism department of the magazine Oktyabr, senior editor of the publishing house Soviet writer» SP USSR, General Director specialized publishing and trading enterprise "Heritage", created by order of the USSR Council of Ministers at the USSR Academy of Sciences (1988-89).

Since 1989 scientific work at the Institute of World Literature. A.M.Gorky Academy of Sciences of the USSR, since 1992 - teaching. He was the dean of the Faculty of Philology and vice-rector for scientific work of the State Academy of Slavic Culture. Initiator of the creation and first executive director of the “Society of Researchers of Ancient Rus'” at the Institute of Literature of the USSR Academy of Sciences (then RAS).

From 2006 to present - Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky. Professor at Moscow State University. M. Lomonosov (MSU), Russian Academy painting, sculpture and architecture by Ilya Glazunov, Institute of the History of Cultures (UNIK), Sretensky Theological Seminary (SDS), Higher Theological Courses at the Moscow Theological Academy.

He gave lectures at Charles University (Czech Republic, Prague), University of Palermo (Italy), Lviv National University (Ukraine), Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), Kemerovo State University, etc.

Member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR (1985) and the Union of Writers of Russia (2000). Executive editor (2006), then Chairman of the editorial board of the Bulletin of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky" (2012), member of the editorial board of the series "Religious and Philosophical Heritage of Ancient Rus'" (IP RAS), member of the editorial board of the literary and journalistic almanac "Ruslo" (St. Petersburg). Author and presenter of the program about Russian literature “Time Factor” on the Prosveshchenie TV channel (since 2011), author of lectures on TV “Culture” in the program “Academy” (since 2011).

Honorary worker of higher education vocational education Russian Federation. Full member (academician) of the Academy of Russian Literature.

Member Public Council under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Theorist and historian of Russian literature and culture of Ancient Rus'.

He is responsible for research on the new dating of “The Tale of Law and Grace”, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”, “Readings about Boris and Gleb”, “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, “Tales of Igor’s Host”, “Tales of the Destruction of the Russian Land” , “The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky”, “The Chronicler of Daniil Galitsky”, etc.

He proposed a new concept for understanding ancient Russian chronicles, linking it with the eschatological ideas of Russian medieval scribes; discovered traces of the influence of the biblical “Book of the Prophet Jeremiah” on “The Tale of Igor’s Host”; reinterpreted “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”; studied the evolution of the depiction of nature in ancient Russian literature; history of the genre of ancient Russian stories, developed new technique by dating ancient Russian works, created a new “Historical poetics of ancient Russian literature”, etc.

He developed a theory of the staged development of Russian literature from the 11th to the first third of the 18th century and a theory of literary formations of Ancient Rus'.

The results of his research were included in university and school textbooks.

A.N. Uzhankov’s works have been translated into Ukrainian, Italian and English.

Education:

• In 1980 he graduated from the Russian department of the philological faculty of Lvov State University. I. Franko. Worked his way up from being a newspaper correspondent TVNZ"to the General Director of the specialized publishing and trading enterprise "Heritage", created by order of the USSR Council of Ministers at the USSR Academy of Sciences.

• Since 1989, scientific work at the Institute of World Literature named after. M. Gorky Academy of Sciences of the USSR,
• Since 1992 - teaching.
• Professor at Moscow State Linguistic University (1992-2012).
• Dean of the Faculty of Philology and Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the State Academy of Slavic Culture (1996-2006).
• Vice-rector for scientific work and professor of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky (2006-2016).
• Professor, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (since 2014)
• Professor at Sretensky Theological Seminary (since 1999).
• Head of the Center basic research Russian medieval culture Russian Research Institute of Cultural and natural heritage them. D.S. Likhacheva. Full member (academician) of the Academy of Russian Literature. Member of the Bureau of the Scientific Council for the Study and Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Member of the Society of Researchers of Ancient Rus'. Member of the Science Council under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR and the Union of Writers of Russia.

• Initiator of the creation and first executive director of the “Society of Researchers of Ancient Rus'” at the Institute of Literature of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
• Editor-in-chief of the journal "Bulletin of MGUKI", Chief Editor magazine "Culture and Education", member of the editorial board of "Bulletin of the Kemerovo State University of Culture and Arts" and "New Philological Bulletin", member of the editorial board of the series "Religious and philosophical heritage of Ancient Rus'" (IP RAS), member of the editorial board of the literary and journalistic almanac "Ruslo" "(St. Petersburg), etc.
• Author and presenter of the program about Russian literature “Time Factor” on the Prosveshchenie TV channel (since 2011), author of lectures on TV “Culture” in the program “Academy” (since 2011).
• Gave lectures at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow University of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Ilya Glazunov Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), Kemerovo State University, Tomsk Pedagogical State University, University of Tokyo (Japan), Kyoto University (Japan), Charles University (Czech Republic, Prague), University of Palermo (Italy), Lviv National University (Ukraine), etc.

• Laureate of the All-Russian Orthodox Church literary prize named after the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky; All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize "Alexander Nevsky", Literary Prize named after. A.S. Griboyedova; Literary Prize named after A.P. Chekhov, the Union of Eurasian Writers “Literary Olympus”.

He developed a theory of the staged development of Russian literature from the 11th to the first third of the 18th century and a theory of literary formations of Ancient Rus'. Author of more than 200 studies on the theory and history of ancient Russian literature, worldview and culture of Ancient Rus'.


Specialist in the field of literature, history and culture of Ancient Rus'. He is responsible for research on the new dating of “The Tale of Law and Grace”, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”, “Readings about Boris and Gleb”, “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, “Tales of Igor’s Host”, “Tales of the Destruction of the Russian Land” , “The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky”, “The Chronicler of Daniil Galitsky”, etc.

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Born in 1955 in the city of Shchors, Chernigov region, Ukraine. Doctor of Philology, Candidate of Cultural Studies. Theorist and historian of Russian literature and culture.
Professor of the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU), Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky, Sretensky Theological Seminary (SDS). Vice-rector for scientific work of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky.
Graduated in 1980 from the Russian department of the philological faculty of Lvov State University. I. Franko.
He was invited as a correspondent to the staff of the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda” (1980), worked as editor of the criticism department of the magazine “October” (1983), senior editor of the publishing house “Soviet Writer” (1983), General Director of the specialized publishing and trading enterprise “Nasledie” (1988) .
In 1989, he began research work as a senior researcher at the Department of Old Russian Literature at the Institute of World Literature named after. M. Gorky Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He initiated the creation and was the first executive director of the “Society of Researchers of Ancient Rus'” at the IMLI RAS (1990). Since 1992, he has been teaching at MSLU, was the dean of the Faculty of Philology (2000) and vice-rector for scientific work (2002) of the State Academy Slavic cultures(GASK), professor at the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (since 2007), professor and vice-rector for scientific work at the Literary Institute. A.M. Gorky (since 2006).
Member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR and the Union of Writers of Russia. Executive editor of the "Bulletin of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky”, member of the editorial board of the series “Religious and Philosophical Heritage of Ancient Rus'” (IP RAS).
Specialist in the field of literature, history and philosophy of Ancient Rus'. He is responsible for research on the new dating of “The Tale of Law and Grace”, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”, “Readings about Boris and Gleb”, “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, “Tales of Igor’s Host”, “Tales of the Destruction of the Russian Land” , “The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky”, “The Chronicler of Daniil Galitsky”, etc.
He proposed a new concept for understanding ancient Russian chronicles, linking it with the eschatological ideas of Russian medieval scribes; discovered traces of the influence of the biblical “Book of the Prophet Jeremiah” on “The Tale of Igor’s Host”; reinterpreted “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”; studied the evolution of the depiction of nature in ancient Russian literature; history of the genre of ancient Russian stories, etc.
He developed a theory of the staged development of Russian literature from the 11th to the first third of the 18th century and a theory of literary formations of Ancient Rus'.
Author of studies on the theory and history of ancient Russian literature, including separate publications: On the principles of constructing the history of Russian literature of the 11th - first third of the 18th century. - M., 1996; From lectures on the history of Russian literature of the 11th - first third of the 18th century: “The Word about Law and Grace.” - M., 1999; On the problems of periodization and the specifics of the development of Russian literature of the 11th - first third of the 18th century. - Kaliningrad, RSU named after. I.Kanta, 2007; Staged development of Russian literature of the 11th - first third of the 18th century. Theory of literary formations. - M., 2008; On the specifics of the development of Russian literature of the 11th - first third of the 18th century. Stages and formations. - M., 2009; The story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom. M., 2009.
Author of sections in collective monographs: Old Russian literature: Image of nature and man. Monographic study - M.: IMLI RAS, Heritage, 1995; Literature of Ancient Rus'. Collective monograph. - M.: Prometheus, 2004; History of cultures Slavic peoples. In 3 volumes. M.: GASK, 2003-2008, etc.
Compiled, author of the preface and comments: Russian everyday story of the 15th - 17th centuries. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1991; Reader on ancient Russian literature XI - XVII centuries. - M.: Russian language, 1991; A.M. Remizov. Essays. In 2 volumes. - M.: Terra, 1993, etc.

“Once upon a time there was a grandfather and a woman, and they had a pockmarked hen...” What is this fairy tale all about? Why do grandfather and woman try to break an egg, and then cry when the mouse manages to do it? And why is this strange tale passed down from generation to generation?

Small children did not let me think about it properly. They asked to tell the story again and again. And as soon as even one word was replaced or rearranged in it, they immediately corrected it with indignation, not allowing it to deviate from the canon. Amazing thing! The children knew the fairy tale by heart, but wanted to listen to it many times in a row! What is the secret of the vitality of a fairy tale and the power of its attraction?

According to the writer Mikhail Prishvin, in every children's fairy tale there is another one, which only an adult can fully understand. A child may not see it, perceiving the fairy tale only at the plot level. And it would be good for an adult to learn to read a fairy tale between the lines, like any other piece of art. How to do this was brilliantly demonstrated by Alexander Nikolaevich Uzhankov during a meeting with Sarov residents on April 9 in the House of Scientists. The lecture was called: “The Gospel basis of the Russian folk tale.” The scientist figured out the most famous fairy tales- from simple to complex, using two keys to decipher the meaning: Holy Scripture and the culture of Ancient Rus'.

Once upon a time there lived Adam and Eve

So, let's return to the fairy tale "The Ryaba Hen". According to A. N. Uzhankov, grandfather and woman are the progenitors Adam and Eve, the golden (incorruptible) egg is the image of the universe before the Fall, i.e. Paradise. The heroes of the fairy tale treated this gift from God with neglect, for which they paid. The mouse is a representative of infernal forces. The crying of a grandfather and woman means that they are no longer the same as before. They are given a simple egg - the world in which we live. This tale reflects the first book of the Bible - Genesis.

The meeting participants were stunned by the unexpected interpretation. Maybe the explanation is “far-fetched”? But the lecturer continued to use this method to reveal the meaning of other fairy tales...

By the will of God, the turnip grew very, very big (the fairy tale does not say that the grandfather looked after it, he just planted it). Turnip is a breadwinner, one of the main foodstuffs in pre-Petrine Rus'. It is for everyone, and everyone has to work hard to get it. « If anyone does not want to work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3.10). To participate in common cause, the cat trusts the dog, and the mouse trusts its natural enemy, the cat. Moreover, the effort of a weak mouse turns out to be decisive. A. N. Uzhankov summed up: “A common creative work can only be done in harmony. And where there is agreement, there is love, because without love there will be no trust. And the Gospel shows that the relationship between the Savior and people is built on love...” This fairy tale has been verified by Russian history, when in the face of a common enemy the people united, forgetting enmity and disagreements.

The next fairy tale is “Kolobok”. Kolobok is a small loaf of bread. Interesting point. Considering the relationships in this and other fairy tales between spouses, Alexander Nikolaevich introduced listeners to the book “Domostroy”, which describes an ideal-exemplary dispensation family life. And then people learned a lot of unexpected things. For many, it was a revelation that the words “let the wife fear her husband” should be understood as “fear of losing her husband’s love.” But let's return to the kolobok.

Grandfather and grandmother created a kolobok, and it has a purpose - to be eaten. But out of boredom, the bun came to mind to live the way he wanted. And he rolled (down an inclined path) towards the forest (a symbol of human passions). There I met a hare (fear), a wolf (aggression) and a bear (strength and power). He sings a song to all of them, in which he egocentrically “yaks”, bragging about the fact that he left his grandfather and grandmother. Also man walking into the world, forgetting about your Creator and relying only on yourself. Kolobok was lucky until he met a charming fox. And the main charmer is the enemy of God, the devil. The story of the kolobok is the path of a man who did not want to serve the Creator and fell into the hands of the devil.

Hero Transformation

The fairy tale “Geese and Swans” also has evangelical overtones. The parents promise the girl gifts for keeping her brother. Sister and brother are soul and flesh. A person comes into the world, and he is given instructions to take care of his soul and body for their common salvation. In the fairy tale, the sister forgot about her brother (the soul about the body), and he was kidnapped by geese-swans (geese dressing up as swans). Sister is coming help him out. As the tale progresses, she humbles herself out of a state of pride and, with the help of a river, an apple tree and a stove, manages to get home on time. A person is also given a deadline - his life path, there is a command to take care of soul and body, and in the end he will receive a reward or punishment from God.

In the fairy tales "Po pike command" and "The Frog Princess" the main character is transformed from a “decrepit” materialist into a spiritually renewed person. According to A. N. Uzhankov, everything best works Russian literature shows the path of man either to God or from God. And fairy tales were no exception. Of course, there are just everyday tales— about human cunning and ingenuity, but that’s another topic.

Alexander Nikolaevich was bombarded with questions. He answered them wonderfully. Listeners learned what the images of Baba Yaga, Koshchei, Gray wolf, and how Russian fairy tales differ from Western European ones.

We sow seeds with fairy tales

When asked whether children should be taught Christian motives fairy tales, Alexander Nikolaevich answered: it is possible if the child is able to understand it, but the main thing is that the parents themselves understand it. With fairy tales they sow seeds that in due time will sprout and give spiritual sprouts. “Fairy tales teach us directly or indirectly. Indirectly - when we accept the secret knowledge that is found in fairy tales, without realizing it. For a while it lies hidden and then awakens when a certain impulse appears, and it arises in the case of our spiritual growth», - noted A. N. Uzhankov.

But children often understand much more than we think. Once, my seven-year-old son and I read Eduard Uspensky’s fairy tale “Down the Magic River” - the adventures of a boy who found himself in the world of a Russian fairy tale.

— Is this a Russian folk tale? — I asked the child to find out what he understood.

- No, it was invented by the writer Uspensky.

— How does it differ from a folk tale? After all, here is Baba Yaga and others fairy tale characters?

- IN folk tale“It makes sense,” the young bearer of the culture of his people answered without hesitation.

At the end of the conversation, A. N. Uzhankov invited Sarov residents to his VKontakte page (