Chichikov hoped when buying dead souls. Why did you buy “dead souls”

Studying the works of the classics at school, we sometimes don’t think about what real, practical benefits we can draw from them for ourselves personally. Meanwhile, it is enough to carefully read some works to find in them not only useful, but also harmful advice. For example, tormented by the exorbitant amount of knowledge invested in them, unfortunate schoolchildren are simply not able to pay attention to some of the “advices” that are quite openly and transparently communicated in them by the classics. Take, for example, “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol. Most of us remember: Chichikov bought dead Souls

, i.e., the souls of deceased serfs who were listed as other landowners. Why did you buy it, how many people remember? And did you ever know? Meanwhile, there was a practical meaning in this, and quite a big one. It was not for nothing that the brilliant Pushkin suggested the plot of the work to Gogol; apparently, in his time there were cunning businessmen who could make their own business out of this seemingly useless product.

These worthless souls could enrich the nimble Chichikov in different ways. But first, let's look at the history of that time.

Each landowner indicated the number of serf souls in a special list (revision tales), which was then transferred to the revision departments (census). Since censuses (audits) were carried out quite rarely, approximately once every ten years, and naturally it never occurred to anyone to count the serfs “by head”, it is clear that during these years the landowner owned the number of serfs that was listed according to these lists. What practical benefit or harm does this have? Firstly, from this list the state received information about the number of possible recruits in case of mobilization or work force

The first benefit lies on the surface. By buying essentially dead people, but quite alive and functional, according to documents, Chichikov becomes a completely wealthy landowner. His greatly increased status practically opens the way to marriage with any, even the richest bride, which means an even greater increase in his wealth (and this time quite real) due to her dowry. But this is the simplest and not the most profitable way to get rich. After all, the desired dowry also included a bride, and Chichikov never expressed any special desire for the voluntary deprivation of his bachelor’s freedom throughout the entire novel.

Another, more profitable, way of getting rich, and more complex. This multi-step combination included several stages original business plan(let's call it so modern).

Chichikov, using the genius of Gogol, came up with a grandiose scam: buy dead souls that were alive according to documents (that is, those who died during the period between censuses) for removal to the Kherson province (at that time the vast territory of Novorossiya was being developed), where land was distributed free of charge. In addition, when settling the southern provinces, banks issued subsidies of 200 rubles per soul to “feed” serf souls. When enough large quantities serf souls the amount was quite impressive.

That’s why Chichikov bought dead souls for next to nothing, because large quantity the soul is on his paper, the larger the loan he would have been given. When it came to repaying the loan, Chichikov would simply advise the bank to take the pledged property (land along with serfs) as payment, at the then price for one serf up to 500 rubles. And it’s not his fault, they say, that these souls would have turned out to be dead by that time.

So, Chichikov’s goal – obtaining start-up capital, obtaining a loan secured by serf souls along with land. Consequently, the Guardian Council of the Orphanage, from which he was going to take out a loan, had to provide a certificate of ownership of the land (obtained in the Kherson region for free) and deeds of sale for supposedly living serfs.

If Chichikov had not stayed in the city for several weeks, this scam would have been quite successful for him, remaining unnoticed. But local landowners, completely surprised by the opportunity to trade dead souls, accidentally revealed his brilliant plan, and if Fortune had not intervened in his fate in the form of the death of the prosecutor, he would have been in prison. And so, having escaped with a slight fright, the rogue in the finale of the novel rushes in a bird-troika along the southern Russian road to a profitable loan with a full set of documents.

What is the moral of Gogol's work?

Businessmen should be more careful in choosing partners when concluding trade transactions, and banks should be more careful when checking the proposed collateral.

In concluding this article, let me slightly alter the words of the great classic. “We were all taught a little bit: something, and somehow”... But life forced (and, thank God) us to look into books again!

Almost everyone at school read Gogol's work, in which a cunning retired official buys up the souls of long-dead peasants. But not everyone can answer with confidence why Chichikov bought dead souls. Some people simply don’t remember anymore, others didn’t really understand it even then.

A certain official comes to a small town. The purpose of his arrival is to buy up souls who have died, but according to the census results are still alive. Gradually he manages to acquire just over 400 souls. Some of the owners sold them for pennies to avoid unnecessary expenses, while others even gave them away for nothing. Due to the fact that the official stayed in the town longer than expected, local residents they begin to understand why Chichikov bought dead souls. For this reason, he has to leave hastily, taking with him the necessary documents.

Concept

What's the point? Why did Chichikov buy dead souls? Of course, the point of the scam is money. At that time, it was possible to obtain a sum of money from a bank secured by any property, including movable property - that is, serfs. The population census was carried out very rarely, once every twenty years. Thus, if, for example, at the time of the census the landowner had one thousand peasants, then in 20 years about half of this number could die. And these peasants, officially alive but dead in practice, were bought by a former official.

After the purchase, he planned to go to the Board of Trustees, pawn these souls and get a loan. If the loan is not returned to them (which was planned), the property will become the property of the Orphanage. But property is just a fiction, so Chichikov lost absolutely nothing.

Failure

Actually, the ending of the poem cannot be confidently called a failure of the main actor, because, despite the fact that everyone in the city found out why Chichikov was buying up dead souls, he was not punished. Moreover, he left the city with all the deeds of sale for the peasants that he needed so much. And given that the town was expecting a new governor-general, no one would remember his machinations in the general bustle.

The finale of the work is a troika rushing across the plain. A man goes to get a loan of 80 thousand rubles for 24 years - that’s why Chichikov bought dead souls.

A lesson can be learned from this story today: entrepreneurs must not only choose contractors more carefully, but also carefully monitor time, staying within the predetermined framework. Banks should study borrowers' documents in more depth, adequately assessing the collateral - the last crisis made it clear that too large a percentage of the assets pledged turned out to be close relatives of Gogol's dead souls.

In Chichikov's biography (Chapter 11) there are a number of preliminary acts to the main feat of life - buying up dead souls. Chichikov strives to make a penny out of nothing, so to speak, “out of thin air.” While still a schoolboy, Chichikov put into circulation the half ruble left to him by his father: “he molded a bullfinch out of wax,” painted it and sold it at a profit; resold to hungry classmates a bun or gingerbread bought ahead of time at the market; I trained a mouse for two months and also sold it at a profit. Chichikov turned half a ruble into five rubles and sewed it into a bag (compare Korobochka). In his service, Chichikov is a member of the commission for the construction of a “state-owned, very capital structure,” which is not built above the foundation for six years. Meanwhile, Chichikov builds a house, gets a cook, a couple of horses, buys Dutch shirts, and soap “to give smoothness to the skin.” Convicted of fraud, Chichikov suffers a fiasco, loses his money and prosperity, but seems to be reborn from the ashes, becomes a customs official, and receives a bribe of half a million from smugglers. The secret denunciation of his partner almost brings Chichikov to a criminal court; Only with the help of bribes does our hero manage to escape punishment.

The benefit of landowners from selling dead souls is understandable, but why do Chichikov need them?
The first benefit lies on the surface. By buying essentially dead people, but quite alive and functional, according to documents, Chichikov becomes a completely wealthy landowner. His greatly increased status practically opens the way to marriage with any, even the richest bride, which means an even greater increase in his wealth (and this time quite real) due to her dowry. But this is the simplest and not the most profitable way to get rich. After all, the desired dowry also included a bride, and Chichikov never expressed any special desire for the voluntary deprivation of his bachelor’s freedom throughout the entire novel.
Another, more profitable, way of getting rich, and more complex.

At the beginning of the 19th century and until the abolition of serfdom, agrarian Russia was interested in ensuring that landowners’ farms were not completely ruined, and therefore allowed them to repeatedly mortgage and remortgage landowners’ property (land) to obtain a bank loan. But hypocritical serf Russia allowed transactions with land only together with the serf peasants assigned to the landowner (that is, to his land). Consequently, in order to receive loans, Chichikov needed not only land (which he did not have), but also serf souls.
Chichikov came up with a grandiose scam: to buy dead souls that were alive according to documents (that is, those who died during the period between censuses) for removal to the Kherson province (at that time the vast territory of Novorossiya was being developed), where the land was distributed free of charge. In addition, when settling the southern provinces, banks issued subsidies of 200 rubles per soul to “feed” serf souls. With a sufficiently large number of serf souls, the sum was quite impressive.
That’s why Chichikov bought dead souls for next to nothing, because the more souls he had on paper, the more credit he would have been given. When it came to repaying the loan, Chichikov would simply advise the bank to take the pledged property (land along with serfs) as payment, at the then price for one serf up to 500 rubles. And it’s not his fault, they say, that these souls would have turned out to be dead by that time.
So, Chichikov’s goal is to obtain start-up capital, to obtain a loan secured by serf souls along with land. Consequently, the Guardian Council of the Orphanage, from which he was going to take out a loan, had to provide a certificate of ownership of the land (obtained in the Kherson region for free) and deeds of sale for supposedly living serfs.

If Chichikov had not stayed in the city for several weeks, this scam would have been quite successful for him, remaining unnoticed. But the local landowners, completely surprised by the opportunity to trade in dead souls, accidentally revealed his brilliant plan, and if Fortune had not intervened in his fate in the form of the death of the prosecutor, he would have been in prison. And so, having escaped with a slight fright, the rogue in the finale of the novel rushes in a bird-troika along the southern Russian road to a profitable loan with a full set of documents.

Conclusion

Gogol endowed each landowner with original, specific features. Whatever the hero, he is a unique personality. But at the same time, his heroes retain their ancestral, social signs: low cultural level, lack of intellectual demands, desire for enrichment, cruelty in treatment of serfs, moral uncleanliness, lack of a basic concept of patriotism. These moral monsters, as Gogol shows, are generated by feudal reality and reveal the essence of feudal relations based on the oppression and exploitation of the peasantry. Gogol's work stunned, first of all, ruling circles and landowners. Ideological defenders of serfdom argued that the nobility best part population of Russia, passionate patriots, support of the state. Gogol dispelled this myth with images of landowners. Herzen said that the landowners “pass before us without masks, without embellishment, flatterers and gluttons, obsequious slaves of power and ruthless tyrants of their enemies, drinking the life and blood of the people... “Dead Souls” shocked all of Russia.”

From the landowners

In order to understand what the main character’s actions were, the reader must familiarize himself with the original source - N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. From it it will become clear why Chichikov bought up dead souls. But sometimes there is not enough time to read, and somehow you need to write an essay. Well, of course, it’s difficult to sing like a Basque. Therefore, instead of conveying Gogol’s rich linguistic palette, I will limit myself to a simple retelling. It's a pity, because they cost so much lyrical digressions in “Dead Souls” - you read and seem to see picturesque paintings. Well, okay, the intrigued reader will read the work at his leisure, right? And I will continue.

What's the intrigue?

The key intrigue on which Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” was built was the possibility of getting a loan - cash, paid by the board of guardians. In this case, the collateral property was that which belonged to the landowner. The events described by Gogol could have taken place almost two hundred years ago, so it would be appropriate to inform the reader of some circumstances Russian life that era. And at the same time mention the position of the main character in society. Ultimately, we intend to understand the question of why Chichikov bought dead souls.

How it all started

At the end of 1718, Peter I issued a decree on a census of the male population. Since office equipment in those days was primitive, the time allotted for the execution of the royal decree was not enough. Instead of one year, three whole years were spent, and then another three, to carry out an “audit” - checking the accuracy of the compiled lists, called “fairy tales.” There were ten such “audits” before, the years of their implementation are known. And here there is one curious point - the time interval in which the events described in the poem could have occurred. Based on indirect evidence, one can judge that the action develops in the first third of the 18th century. And already a year has not only passed, but even been slightly forgotten.

Incident of the era

Even without having yet figured out why Chichikov was buying up dead souls, we know that he only bought men and only “for withdrawal,” that is, he had the intention of relocating them to another province. It is also known that in 1833 a decree was issued according to which it was not allowed to “separate families.” Consequently, the adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov fall on the period of time between the “revisions” of 1815 and 1833. So, one of the circumstances of Russian life of that era is the following incident: dead peasants were conditionally considered alive, and for them a tax was collected from the landowner until the next census - “revision”.

Tax obligations

Along with the acquired peasants, Pavel Ivanovich also took on tax obligations, which looks like a complete loss. It would seem that there is no logical explanation for such actions, and at first it is not clear why Chichikov bought up dead souls. But there were still some nuances in the legislation of that time that allowed the main character to build a fraudulent scheme to obtain money. At that time, the state exercised supervision over landowner farms in order to prevent a decrease in their numbers and prevent loss of profit. After all, the state needed to receive taxes and recruits. If the owner died without leaving adult (capable) heirs, or the management was conducted improperly, guardianship could be appointed over such estates.

Guardianship Councils

Imperial guardianship councils were established at the Moscow and St. Petersburg educational houses. Their task was to maintain noble land ownership, so that it would not cease to exist. Ruined estates could be sold at auction to a wealthier owner. Or the landowner could receive an interest-bearing loan to restore the farm on the security of the land and peasants. Such loans were issued by guardianship councils, whose main source of income was funds received from auctions. If interest was not paid on time or the loan was not repaid on time, the estate was alienated in favor of the credit institution and sold at auction. This “wheel” could spin for a long time, but the enterprising Chichikov figured out how to ride it to his advantage.

Fraud

He, in fact, wanted to get a loan secured by serf souls, but since he didn’t have any, he decided to buy them. At the same time, he intended to buy cheaply “on paper” peasants who had died, but were legally considered alive. Of course, Chichikov had no intention of paying interest on the loan in the future, much less repaying the loan. It would have been impossible to carry out his scam of obtaining collateral if Chichikov had only fictitious peasants, but no land. It would be expensive to buy land in the same province as the peasants. Moreover, it would be too noticeable that there are actually no serfs. Therefore, the wise Pavel Ivanovich decided to buy inexpensive land in the uninhabited Kherson province, and bring peasants to it. According to the papers, everything matches, but no one will check, which means they will give you a loan.