The artistic originality of the satire of the history of the city. Ideological and artistic features of the novel “The History of a City. What the book teaches

The idea for the book was formed by Saltykov-Shchedrin gradually, over several years. In 1867, the writer composed and presented to the public a new fairy-tale-fiction “The Story of the Governor with a Stuffed Head” (it forms the basis of the chapter known to us called “The Organ”). In 1868, the author began work on a full-length novel. This process took a little over a year (1869-1870). The work was originally entitled “Foolish Chronicler.” The title “The History of a City,” which became the final version, appeared later. The literary work was published in parts in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski.

Due to inexperience, some people consider Saltykov-Shchedrin’s book to be a story or a fairy tale, but this is not so. Such voluminous literature cannot claim the title of short prose. The genre of the work “The History of a City” is larger and is called a “satirical novel.” It represents a kind of chronological overview of the fictitious town of Foolov. His fate is recorded in chronicles, which the author finds and publishes, accompanied by his own comments.

Also, terms such as “political pamphlet” and “satirical chronicle” can be applied to this book, but it only absorbed some features of these genres, and is not their “purebred” literary embodiment.

What is the work about?

The writer allegorically conveyed the history of Russia, which he assessed critically. He called the inhabitants of the Russian Empire “Foolovites.” They are residents of the city of the same name, whose life is described in the Foolov Chronicle. This ethnic group originated from an ancient people called “bunglers”. For their ignorance they were renamed accordingly.

The Bunheads were at enmity with neighboring tribes, as well as with each other. And so, tired of quarrels and unrest, they decided to find themselves a ruler who would establish order. After three years they found a suitable prince who agreed to rule over them. Together with the acquired power, people founded the city of Foolov. This is how the writer outlined the formation of Ancient Rus' and Rurik’s calling to reign.

At first, the ruler sent them a governor, but he stole, and then he arrived in person and imposed strict order. This is how Saltykov-Shchedrin imagined the period of feudal fragmentation in medieval Russia.

Next, the writer interrupts the narrative and lists the biographies of famous mayors, each of which is a separate and complete story. The first was Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty, in whose head there was an organ that played only two compositions: “I won’t tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” Then his head broke, and anarchy set in - the turmoil that came after the death of Ivan the Terrible. It was his author who portrayed him in the image of Brudasty. Next, identical twin impostors appeared, but they were soon removed - this is the appearance of False Dmitry and his followers.

Anarchy reigned for a week, during which six mayors replaced each other. This is the era of palace coups, when the Russian Empire was ruled only by women and intrigue.

Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov, who established mead making and brewing, is most likely a prototype of Peter the Great, although this assumption runs counter to historical chronology. But the reformist activities and iron hand of the ruler are very similar to the characteristics of the emperor.

The bosses changed, their conceit grew in proportion to the degree of absurdity in the work. Frankly insane reforms or hopeless stagnation were ruining the country, the people were sliding into poverty and ignorance, and the elite either feasted, then fought, or hunted for the female sex. The alternation of continuous mistakes and defeats led to horrific consequences, satirically described by the author. In the end, the last ruler of the Gloomy-Burcheev dies, and after his death the narrative ends, and because of the open ending, there is a glimmer of hope for changes for the better.

Nestor also described the history of the emergence of Rus' in The Tale of Bygone Years. The author draws this parallel specifically to hint who he means by the Foolovites, and who are all these mayors: a flight of fancy or real Russian rulers? The writer makes it clear that he is not describing the entire human race, but rather Russia and its depravity, reshaping its fate in his own way.

The composition is arranged in chronological sequence, the work has a classic linear narrative, but each chapter is a container for a full-fledged plot, which has its own heroes, events and results.

Description of the city

Foolov is in a distant province, we learn about this when Brudasty’s head deteriorates on the road. This is a small settlement, a county, because they come to take away two impostors from the province, that is, the town is only a small part of it. It doesn’t even have an academy, but thanks to the efforts of Dvoekurov, mead making and brewing are thriving. It is divided into “settlements”: “Pushkarskaya settlement, followed by the settlements Bolotnaya and Negodnitsa.” Agriculture is developed there, since the drought, which occurred due to the sins of the next boss, greatly affects the interests of the residents, they are even ready to rebel. With Pimple, harvests increase, which pleases the Foolovites immensely. “The History of a City” is replete with dramatic events, the cause of which is the agrarian crisis.

Gloomy-Burcheev fought with the river, from which we conclude that the district is located on the shore, in a hilly area, since the mayor is leading the people in search of a plain. The main place in this region is the bell tower: unwanted citizens are thrown from it.

Main characters

The prince is a foreign ruler who agreed to take power over the Foolovites. He is cruel and narrow-minded, because he sent thieving and worthless governors, and then led with only one phrase: “I’ll screw it up.” The history of one city and the characteristics of the heroes began with it.
Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty is a withdrawn, gloomy, silent owner of a head with an organ that plays two phrases: “I won’t tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” His apparatus for making decisions became damp on the road, they could not repair it, so they sent for a new one to St. Petersburg, but the working head was delayed and never arrived. Prototype of Ivan the Terrible.
Iraida Lukinichna Paleologova is the wife of the mayor, who ruled the city for a day. An allusion to Sophia Paleologue, the second wife of Ivan IIII, grandmother of Ivan the Terrible.
Clémentine de Bourbon is the mother of the mayor, she also happened to rule for one day.
Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish is a pompadour who also wanted to stay in power. German names and surnames of women - the author’s humorous look at the era of German favoritism, as well as a number of crowned persons of foreign origin: Anna Ioanovna, Catherine the Second, etc.
Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov is a reformer and educator: “He introduced mead making and brewing and made it mandatory to use mustard and bay leaves. He also wanted to open the Academy of Sciences, but did not have time to complete the reforms he had begun.
Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko (a parody of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov) is a cowardly, weak-willed, loving politician, under whom there was order in Foolov for 6 years, but then he fell in love with a married woman Alena and exiled her husband to Siberia so that she would succumb to his onslaught. The woman succumbed, but fate struck a drought on the people, and people began to die of hunger. There was a riot (referring to the salt riot of 1648), as a result of which the ruler’s mistress died and was thrown from the bell tower. Then the mayor complained to the capital, and they sent him soldiers. The uprising was suppressed, and he found himself a new passion, because of which disasters occurred again - fires. But they also dealt with them, and he, having gone on a trip to Foolov, died from overeating. It is obvious that the hero did not know how to restrain his desires and fell into their weak-willed victim.
Vasilisk Semenovich Wartkin, an imitator of Dvoekurov, imposed reforms with fire and sword. Decisive, likes to plan and organize. Unlike my colleagues, I studied the history of Foolov. However, he himself was not far off: he instituted a military campaign against his own people, in the darkness “friends fought with their own.” Then he carried out an unsuccessful transformation in the army, replacing the soldiers with tin copies. With his battles he brought the city to complete exhaustion. After him, Negodyaev completed the plunder and destruction.
Cherkeshenin Mikeladze, a passionate hunter of the female sex, was only concerned with arranging his rich personal life at the expense of his official position.
Feofilakt Irinarkhovich Benevolensky (a parody of Alexander the First) is a university friend of Speransky (the famous reformer), who composed laws at night and scattered them around the city. He loved to be clever and show off, but did nothing useful. Dismissed for high treason (relations with Napoleon).
Lieutenant Colonel Pimple is the owner of a head stuffed with truffles, which the leader of the nobility ate in a hungry fit. Under him, agriculture flourished, since he did not interfere in the lives of his charges and did not interfere with their work.
State Councilor Ivanov is an official who arrived from St. Petersburg, who “turned out to be so small in stature that he could not contain anything spacious” and burst from the strain of comprehending the next thought.
The emigrant Viscount de Chariot is a foreigner who, instead of working, just had fun and threw balls. Soon he was sent abroad for idleness and embezzlement. It was later discovered that he was female.
Erast Andreevich Grustilov is a lover of carousing at public expense. Under him, the population stopped working in the fields and became interested in paganism. But the wife of the pharmacist Pfeiffer came to the mayor and imposed new religious views on him, he began to organize readings and confessional gatherings instead of feasts, and, having learned about this, the higher authorities deprived him of his post.
Gloomy-Burcheev (a parody of Arakcheev, a military official) is a martinet who planned to give the whole city a barracks-like appearance and order. He despised education and culture, but wanted all citizens to have the same homes and families on the same streets. The official destroyed the entire Foolov, moved it to a lowland, but then a natural disaster occurred, and the official was carried away by a storm.

This is where the list of heroes ends. The mayors in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s novel are people who, by adequate standards, are in no way capable of managing any populated area and being the personification of power. All their actions are completely fantastic, meaningless and often contradict one another. One ruler builds, the other destroys everything. One comes to replace the other, but nothing changes in people's life. There are no significant changes or improvements. The political figures in “The History of a City” have common features - tyranny, pronounced depravity, bribery, greed, stupidity and despotism. Outwardly, the characters retain an ordinary human appearance, while the inner content of the personality is fraught with a thirst for suppression and oppression of the people for the purpose of profit.

Themes

Power. This is the main theme of the work “The History of a City,” which is revealed in a new way in each chapter. Mainly, it is seen through the prism of a satirical image of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s contemporary political structure in Russia. The satire here is aimed at two aspects of life - to show how destructive autocracy is and to reveal the passivity of the masses. In relation to autocracy, it is a complete and merciless denial, but in relation to ordinary people, its goal was to correct morals and enlighten minds.
War. The author focused on the destructiveness of bloodshed, which only ruins the city and kills people.
Religion and fanaticism. The writer is ironic about the readiness of the people to believe in any impostor and in any idols, just to shift responsibility for their lives onto them.
Ignorance. The people are not educated and not developed, so the rulers manipulate them as they want. Foolov's life is not getting better not only due to the fault of political figures, but also because of the reluctance of people to develop and learn to master new skills. For example, none of Dvoekurov’s reforms took root, although many of them had a positive result for enriching the city.
Servility. The Foolovites are ready to endure any arbitrariness, as long as there is no hunger.

Issues

Of course, the author touches on issues related to government. The main problem in the novel is the imperfection of power and its political techniques. In Foolov, rulers, also known as mayors, are replaced one after another. But at the same time, they do not bring anything new into the life of the people and into the structure of the city. Their responsibilities include caring only about their well-being; the mayors do not care about the interests of the residents of the county.
Personnel issue. There is no one to appoint to the position of manager: all candidates are vicious and not fit for selfless service in the name of an idea, and not for the sake of profit. Responsibility and the desire to eliminate pressing problems are completely alien to them. This happens because society is initially unfairly divided into castes, and none of the ordinary people can occupy an important position. The ruling elite, feeling the lack of competition, lives in idleness of mind and body and does not work conscientiously, but simply squeezes out of the rank everything that it can give.
Ignorance. Politicians do not understand the problems of mere mortals, and even if they want to help, they cannot do it right. There are no people in power; there is a blank wall between classes, so even the most humane officials are powerless. “The History of a City” is only a reflection of the real problems of the Russian Empire, where there were talented rulers, but due to their isolation from their subjects, they were unable to improve their lives.
Inequality. The people are defenseless against the arbitrariness of managers. For example, the mayor sends Alena’s husband into exile without guilt, abusing his position. And the woman gives up because she doesn’t even expect justice.
Responsibility. Officials are not punished for their destructive acts, and their successors feel safe: no matter what you do, nothing serious will happen for it. They will only remove you from office, and then only as a last resort.
Reverence. The people are a great force; there is no point in it if they agree to blindly obey their superiors in everything. He does not defend his rights, does not protect his people, in fact, he turns into an inert mass and, by his own will, deprives himself and his children of a happy and fair future.
Fanaticism. In the novel, the author focuses on the theme of excessive religious zeal, which does not enlighten, but blinds people, dooming them to idle talk.
Embezzlement. All the prince’s governors turned out to be thieves, that is, the system is so rotten that it allows its elements to carry out any fraud with impunity.

the main idea

The author's intention is to depict a political system in which society comes to terms with its eternally oppressed position and believes that this is in the order of things. The society in the story is represented by the people (the Foolovites), while the “oppressor” is the mayors, who replace each other at an enviable speed, while managing to ruin and destroy their possessions. Saltykov-Shchedrin ironically notes that the residents are driven by the force of “love of authority,” and without a ruler they immediately fall into anarchy. Thus, the idea of the work “The History of a City” is the desire to show the history of Russian society from the outside, how people for many years transferred all responsibility for organizing their well-being onto the shoulders of the revered monarch and were invariably deceived, because one person cannot change the whole country. Change cannot come from outside as long as the people are ruled by the consciousness that autocracy is the highest order. People must realize their personal responsibility to their homeland and forge their own happiness, but tyranny does not allow them to express themselves, and they ardently support it, because as long as it exists, nothing needs to be done.

Despite the satirical and ironic basis of the story, it contains a very important essence. The point of the work “The History of a City” is to show that only if there is a free and critical vision of power and its imperfections, changes for the better are possible. If a society lives by the rules of blind obedience, then oppression is inevitable. The author does not call for uprisings and revolution, there are no ardent rebellious lamentations in the text, but the essence is the same - without popular awareness of their role and responsibility, there is no path to change.

The writer not only criticizes the monarchical system, he offers an alternative, speaking out against censorship and risking his public office, because the publication of “History ...” could lead to not only his resignation, but also imprisonment. He not only speaks, but through his actions calls on society not to be afraid of the authorities and to speak openly to them about painful issues. The main idea of Saltykov-Shchedrin is to instill in people freedom of thought and speech, so that they can improve their lives themselves, without waiting for the mercy of mayors. It fosters an active citizenship in the reader.

Artistic media

What makes the story special is the peculiar interweaving of the world of the fantastic and the real, where fantastic grotesquery and journalistic intensity of current and real problems coexist. Unusual and incredible incidents and events emphasize the absurdity of the depicted reality. The author skillfully uses such artistic techniques as grotesque and hyperbole. In the life of the Foolovites, everything is incredible, exaggerated, funny. For example, the vices of city governors have grown to colossal proportions; they are deliberately taken beyond the scope of reality. The writer exaggerates in order to eradicate real-life problems through ridicule and public disgrace. Irony is also one of the means of expressing the author's position and his attitude to what is happening in the country. People love to laugh, and it is better to present serious topics in a humorous style, otherwise the work will not find its reader. Saltykov-Shchedrin’s novel “The History of a City” is, first of all, funny, which is why it was and is popular. At the same time, he is ruthlessly truthful, he hits hard on topical issues, but the reader has already taken the bait in the form of humor and cannot tear himself away from the book.

What does the book teach?

The Foolovites, who personify the people, are in a state of unconscious worship of power. They unquestioningly obey the whims of the autocracy, the absurd orders and tyranny of the ruler. At the same time, they experience fear and reverence for the patron. The authorities, represented by the mayors, use their instrument of suppression to the fullest extent, regardless of the opinions and interests of the townspeople. Therefore, Saltykov-Shchedrin points out that the common people and their leader are worth each other, because until society “grows up” to higher standards and learns to defend its rights, the state will not change: it will respond to primitive demand with a cruel and unfair supply.

The symbolic ending of “The Story of a City,” in which the despotic mayor Gloomy-Burcheev dies, is intended to leave a message that the Russian autocracy has no future. But there is also no certainty or constancy in matters of power. All that remains is the tart taste of tyranny, which may be followed by something new.

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ORIGINALITY OF SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN'S SATIRE. In 1780, “The History of a City” by Saltykov-Shchedrin was published. It is very difficult to determine the genre of this work at first glance. This is most likely a historical chronicle with elements of fantasy, hyperbole, and artistic allegory. This is a brilliant example of socio-political satire, the relevance of which has become increasingly acute and brilliant over the years.

about other city governors, one of whom is more disgusting than the other. And this description ends with the image of Gloomy-Burcheev. This is where the despotic nature of absolutism and its “bridling possibilities” are fully revealed. Gloomy-burcheevism is a brilliant satirical generalization of all regimes and traditions based on unity of command. But then either a downpour or a tornado hit the town of Foolov and “the former scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had melted into thin air.” The chronicle ends with the mysterious words: “History has stopped flowing.” The entire population of Foolov is united by awe and submission to the curbing “measures” of the authorities. The Foolovites are almost always shown en masse: the Foolovites rush towards the mayor’s house in droves, throw themselves to their knees in their entirety, flee from the villages in crowds, even die together. Sometimes, however, they grumble and even rebel. But this is a “revolt on the knees,” with the cries of the flogged, the cries and groans of a maddened hungry crowd, as it was in a lean year.

This is the ending, equally bitter for all Foolovites. Saltykov-Shchedrin liked to repeat that the Russian peasant is poor in all respects, and above all in the consciousness of his poverty. Bearing in mind this poverty, passivity and humility of the peasant, the satirist bitterly exclaims on behalf of the people: “We endure cold, hunger, every year we keep waiting: maybe it will be better... How long?”

In 1780, “The History of a City” by Saltykov-Shchedrin was published. It is very difficult to determine the genre of this work at first glance. This is most likely a historical chronicle with elements of fantasy, hyperbole, and artistic allegory. This is a brilliant example of socio-political satire, the relevance of which has become increasingly acute and brilliant over the years.

“He knows his native country better than anyone,” I. S. Turgenev wrote about Shchedrin, and it is very noteworthy that these words were evoked from him precisely by “The History of a City.” The book begins with the fact that the ancient chronicler, “having said a few words in praise of his modesty,” continues: “There was... in ancient times a people called bunglers.” These same bunglers ruined their lands, quarreled with their neighbors and “stripped the bark from the last pine into flat cakes.” Then “they decided to look for a prince.” Thus, they no longer became blockheads, but Foolovites, and their city began to be called Foolov. The narrative itself is preceded by an “inventory of mayors” in the amount of 21 copies. And the collection of biographies of Foolov’s mayors begins with Dementy Valamovich Brudasty. A huge mechanism was operating in his head, playing two shouting words: “I won’t tolerate it” and “I’m dawning.” According to the satirist, Brudasty embodies the type of extremely simplified administrative leader, resulting from the very nature of totalitarianism. The chronicle continues with “The Tale of the Six City Governors,” which evokes in the reader’s memory the excesses of favoritism of the era of palace coups in Russia. Amalka Shtokfim overthrew Clémentine de Bourboni and put her in a cage. Then Nelka Lyakhovskaya overthrew Amalka and locked her in the same cage with Klemantinka. The next morning, “there was nothing left in the cage except stinking bones.” This is how the writer played on the meaning of the figurative expression “ready to eat each other.” And then there are stories about other mayors, one of whom is more disgusting than the other. And this description ends with the image of Gloomy-Burcheev. This is where the despotic nature of absolutism and its “restraining capabilities” are fully revealed. Gloomy-burcheevism is a brilliant satirical generalization of all regimes and traditions based on unity of command. But then either a downpour or a tornado hit the town of Foolov and “the former scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had melted into thin air.” The chronicle ends with the mysterious words: “History has stopped flowing.” The entire population of Foolov is united by awe and submission to the curbing “measures” of the authorities. The Foolovites are almost always shown as a mass: the Foolovites pour into the mayor’s house in droves, throw themselves to their knees as a whole, flee from the villages in crowds, even die together. Sometimes, however, they grumble and even rebel. But this is a “revolt on the knees,” with the screams of the flogged, the cries and groans of a maddened hungry crowd, as it was in a lean year.

Speaking about the originality of satire in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin, you need to understand that his satirical style, his techniques and methods of depicting heroes were formed along with the ideological and creative formation of the writer’s views on the people. A person who is vitally and spiritually close to the masses of the people, who grew up among the people, and who, as a result of his duty, is constantly faced with the problems of the people, Saltykov-Shchedrin absorbed the people’s spirit, their language, their moods. This allowed him, already in his early satirical cycles (“Provincial Sketches”, “Pompadours and Pompadours”, “Tashkent People”, etc.) to very deeply and correctly assess the predatory essence of the serf owners, the nobility and the emerging bourgeoisie and kulaks.
It was here that the satirist’s weapons began to be honed. N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote about the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin at that time: “Among the masses of the people, the name of Mr. Shchedrin, when it becomes known there, will always be pronounced with respect and gratitude: he loves this people, he sees many kind people, noble, though undeveloped or misdirected, instincts in these humble, simple-minded workers. He protects them from all sorts of talented people and mediocre shy people; he treats them without any denial. In “Bogomolets” his contrast is magnificent between the simple-minded faith, the living, fresh feelings of common people and the arrogant emptiness of General Daria Mikhailovna or the disgusting fanfare of the tax farmer Khreptyugin.” But in these works Shchedrin does not yet possess the fullness of the satirical palette: the psychological portraits of officials, bribe-takers, bureaucrats, although supported by telling names, like that of this Khreptyugin, the backbone of the people, do not yet bear the stamp of evil accusatory laughter, with which the heroes are already branded “ Stories of one city.” In general, if “The History of a City” were not such a talented and profound work that it is, it could be used as a textbook on the forms and methods of using satire. It has everything: techniques of satirical fiction, unbridled hyperbolization of images, grotesque, Aesopian language of allegory, parody of various institutions of statehood and political problems.
“Problems of political life are those problems in whose artistic interpretation Shchedrin abundantly includes hyperbole and fantasy. The more acute the political problems addressed by the satirist, the more hyperbolic and fantastic his images” 2.224. For example, Saltykov-Shchedrin described the stupidity and narrow-mindedness of government officials engaged in robbing the people before, but only in “The History of a City” does Brudasty appear with his empty head, in which is built an organ with two romances “I’ll ruin!” and “I won’t tolerate it!” All the contempt that the author was capable of expressing for such figures is expressed in this grotesque image, conveyed in an allegedly fantastic way. But the author’s hint that such figures are not uncommon in Russian reality has a much more acute effect on public opinion. The image of Brudasty is fantastic and therefore funny. And laughter is a weapon. It helps an intelligent person to correctly assess a phenomenon or a person, and figures like Brudasty, having recognized themselves, are also forced to laugh, otherwise everyone would not know about their empty head. Here, the author, in addition, uses the technique of assigning telling surnames to his characters (Brudasty is a special breed of ferocious shaggy dogs) - and here we get the famous Shchedrin character: a stupid, ferocious man with a furry soul.
And then one can imagine what will happen to the people given over to such a ruler. “Unheard of activity suddenly began to boil in all parts of the city; private bailiffs galloped off; the policemen galloped; The guards forgot what it meant to eat, and from then on they acquired the bad habit of grabbing pieces on the fly. They seize and catch, flog and flog, describe and sell... and above all this hubbub, above all this confusion, like the cry of a bird of prey, the ominous “I will not tolerate it!” reigns. 44.20. A characteristic feature of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s satire is that he draws portraits of his heroes with special care, with great psychologism, and only then these heroes, as if independently, based on the portrait drawn by the author, begin to live and act.
All this is reminiscent of a puppet theater, which the author repeatedly mentioned in different periods of his life, as in the fairy tale “The Toy Business of Little People”: “A living doll tramples a living person with its heel.” It is not without reason that the contemporary artist A.I. Lebedev, in his cartoon drawing, depicted Shchedrin as a collector of dolls, which he mercilessly pins to the pages of his books with his sharp satire. An example of such living dolls in “The History of a City” can be called Wartkin’s tin soldiers, who, having entered the robes, filled with blood and ferocity, attack the houses of the residents of Foolov and in a few moments destroy them to the ground. A real soldier, in the understanding of Saltykov-Shchedrin, as a native of the same people, who is also called upon to protect the people from the enemy, cannot and should not speak out against the people. Only tin soldiers and dolls are able to forget their roots, bringing pain and destruction to their people 10.19. And yet, in “The History of a City” there is one purely fantastic period. This is the period of the reign of the gendarme officer - Colonel Pryshch (although in the “Inventory to the Mayors” he is only a major). But here, too, Saltykov-Shchedrin remains true to his manner: in that Pyshch turned out to have a stuffed head, which was bitten off by a certain voluptuous leader of the nobility, most likely the state councilor Ivanov following Pyshch, who “died in 1819 from strain, trying to comprehend some Senate decree” 44.17; there is nothing unusual in this fact for Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Even before “The History of a City,” the author drew images of officials eating each other. Envy and collusion, even to the point of palace coups, are such a characteristic feature of Russian reality that, no matter how the author tries to more naturally and more plausibly describe the fantastic eating of a head, doused with vinegar and mustard by the leader of the nobility, none of the readers has any doubt that the speech it is precisely about envy, a vile and dirty feeling that pushes a person to meanness and even to kill an opponent, preventing him from taking a sweet spot 10.21.
The fantasy of this period lies in something else: how could it happen that under the rule of the gendarme Pryshch, the city of Foolov “was brought to such prosperity, which the chronicles had not imagined since its very foundation”
The Foolovites suddenly had “two and three times as much as before,” 44.107, and Pimple looked at this prosperity and rejoiced. And it was impossible not to rejoice at him, because the general abundance was reflected in him. His barns were bursting with offerings made in kind; the chests did not hold silver and gold, and the banknotes simply lay on the floor” 44.105. The fantastic nature of such prosperity of the people lies precisely in the fact that in the entire history of Russia there has not been a single period when the people lived calmly and richly. Most likely, Saltykov-Shchedrin, with his characteristic corrosive sarcasm, is depicting here the habit that has taken root in Russia to show off, to build “Potemkin villages”

Essay on literature on the topic: The artistic originality of the novel “The History of a City”

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Saltykov resorts only to this kind of caricature, which exaggerates the truth as if through a magnifying glass, but never completely distorts its essence. I. S. Turgenev. The indispensable and first means of satire in “The History of a City” is hyperbolic exaggeration. Satire is a kind of Read More ......
The history of the city of Foolov, told by Saltykov-Shchedrin, has an ending no less significant than the entire previous story. Sad, evoking compassion for the Russian people and indignation at the rule of numerous mayors, the book of the democratic writer was directed against Russian autocratic despotism, bourgeois hypocritical and predatory satiety, human thoughtlessness, Read More......
Saltykov-Shchedrin is an original writer who occupies a special place in Russian literature. In his work, he showed the social shortcomings of the social structure of Russia, painted life without embellishment, but not only gave a list of vices and abuses, but also caustically ridiculed them. Saltykov-Shchedrin worked in Read More......
The main themes of the works of M. E, Saltykov-Shchedrin are the denunciation of the autocracy, the ruling class, as well as the problem of the people. Folklore traditions are strong in fairy tales and in the novel “The Story of a City.” Many fairy tales begin like Russian folk art: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a landowner” Read More ......

The artistic originality of the novel “The History of a City”

The main ideological and artistic features of the work are:

The genre parodies historical chronicles (chronicles). The history of the city of Foolov begins, as it should be, with the history of the tribes that inhabited the environs of the future city. Foolov, in a parodic vein, is compared with Rome, which, on the one hand, helps to remember that Rus' is the “Third Rome”, and also to see the absurdity of the claims of “bunglers” and other tribes to a special historical role.
An abundance of folk words and expressions, especially in the part that tells about the wanderings of the future Foolovites before the founding of the city. The so-called “unprecedents” and “nonsense” are used (a special type of oral folk art, see sections on folk poetry and ancient Russian literature on the essence of ancient Russian laughter).

The use of these obviously absurd folk maxims (for example, “They kneaded the Volga with oatmeal, dragged a calf to the bathhouse, ... then they greeted the crayfish with the ringing of a bell, then they drove the pike off its eggs, then they went to catch a mosquito eight miles away, and the mosquito sat on the Poshekhonets’ nose ", etc.) has a dual role: firstly, it succinctly and briefly characterizes the effectiveness of the actions of the Foolovites, and secondly, it implicitly ridicules the very “nationality” that was part of the triad of autocracy-Orthodoxy-nationality. Claims to a special historical role (see the previous paragraph) do not allow Foolovites and the compilers of the “chronicle” to take a sensible look at reality. As a result, stupidity and elementary incompetence are presented as some kind of valor, national identity.

Power in the city of Foolov already begins with all sorts of outrages, and “historical times” - with the cry of the first mayor “I’ll screw it up!”, i.e. with violence. Thus, it turns out that power is inherently vicious and based on arbitrariness.
The appearance of the mayors is drawn using the grotesque: a high position and the insignificance of those who occupy it are combined (combining incompatible things): Lamvrokakis is a runaway Greek who sold soap at the market and was subsequently eaten by clones, “Organchik” is not a person at all, but a mechanism, etc. However, the main evil is the Foolovites themselves, who endure all this and thereby give rise to ever new “monstrous modifications of power” (fear and reverence for the authorities, tenderness at the sight of Ferdyshchenko gorging himself, etc.).

The part dedicated to Gloomy-Burcheev contains an element of negative utopia (dystopia), which describes a variant of the structure of society, barracks-regulated to the very last degree. The features of totalitarian socialism are largely predicted: regulation of social and family life, creation of camps, militarization of the country, impoverishment and mass death of people, “turning back the rivers”, etc.
Paths to liberation have also been outlined. It happens from below:
1. “Unreliable elements” indicate that Gloomy-Burcheev is an ordinary idiot and help the Foolovites understand this, that is, to understand the essence of the power that controls them, and to abandon their past stereotype in relation to it.
2. The whirlwind carries Gloomy-Burcheev away (indignation of the people). “History stops flowing,” that is, the vicious circle of this particular history is broken - the history that began with the cry “I’ll screw it up!”