Tolstoy Peter 1 analysis briefly. Analysis of the reign of Peter I

Roman A.N. Tolstoy’s “Peter the Great” is the central work in revealing the Petrine theme in the writer’s work. However, the object of the image in it is not only the personality of the famous Russian Tsar, but also a whole era of reforms and upheavals, a time when peasant Russia, which had hitherto followed its own special path, suddenly came into contact with the attributes of European civilization. And this contact was both progressive and painful, because attempts to impose a European way of life sometimes came into deep contradiction with national traditions, did not take root well on Russian soil and, of course, gave rise to resistance.

The novel consists of three books. The narration is told on behalf of the author. In the work they act as fictional characters, and real historical figures. Huge role Crowd scenes, dialogues, descriptions of home, everyday life and portraits of characters play a role in organizing the development of the plot.

A. Tolstoy emphasizes the natural resources of the Russian land: centuries-old pine trees, open spaces deep rivers, bushy-tailed squirrels, caravans of birds. “The earth spread out before our eyes; there was no edge to it.”

In the traditions of I. Shmelev, A. Tolstoy in the novel depicts, first of all, Orthodox Rus'. This is evidenced in the very first scene of the work by the portrait of the episodic heroine: “The mother’s wrinkled face was illuminated by fire. Most terribly, the tear-stained eyes flashed from under the torn cloth,

Like an icon." This laconic description of a simple Russian woman, in fact, reveals the difficult fate of a person in the pre-Petrine era: constant material deprivation, the habit of everyday work and at the same time perseverance, spiritual depth, honed in torment and suffering.

From the description of the peasant way of life in the house of Ivan Brovkin A.N. Tolstoy moves on to the story of the nobleman Vasily Volkov, who also barely makes ends meet: he has to pay huge taxes to the monastery and quitrents and tribute to the royal treasury. In a conversation with neighbor Mikhaila Tyrtov, Volkov exclaims with pain: “All peoples live in wealth, in contentment, we are the only beggars.” Vasily remembers how he went to Moscow to Ku-kui-Sloboda, where the Germans live. Everything there is clean and tidy, people are friendly. And they live richer than all of Moscow.

The reasons for the miserable existence of Russia A.N. Tolstoy sees in mismanagement, sometimes reaching the point of elementary greed, and in theft, and in riots on the roads, when the prince’s son maintains a gang of robbers who rob merchants on the road. The Russian mentality seemed especially absurd to foreigners. They were surprised that at the royal court there were no balls and gallant fun, no subtle entertainment with music. Russian people work little. There is almost no time left for this: they defended it three times a day church services, ate four hearty meals, and also slept during the day for health. However, A.N. Tolstoy shows that European manners are increasingly entering the lives of representatives of the royal court. The house of Prince Golitsyn is guarded by the Swiss. He himself shaves his beard, wears a French suit, and reads Latin books. The house has French and Italian exquisite furniture. Golitsyn is thinking about liberating the peasantry and creating academies. However, even his interlocutor, Mr. de Neuville, does not believe that this entire utopian program can be implemented in Russia. In a conversation with Sophia, the idea is heard that the clergy who support patriarchal traditions will not be happy with European manners.

Notable in the novel is the image of medieval Moscow with its ancient toponymy (Iverskaya, St. Basil's, Spassky Gate, Varvarka, All Saints Bridge). In the Kalashny row of Gostiny Dvor they sell hot pies and sbiten with honey. In Moscow, like nowhere else in Russia, the property gap between the highest nobility and the people is acutely felt: the brocade fur coat of Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn can buy half of Moscow.

WITH high degree details written by A.N. Tolstoy about the fierce struggle for the royal throne waged by Sophia and her brother Peter. But a woman, even in political affairs, remains a woman: for one wrinkle on the face of her beloved Prince Golitsyn, Sophia is ready to burn half of Moscow. In an indomitable desire to wrest power from Peter’s hands at any cost, she is ready to destroy him. In the scene when Sofya and Natalya Kirillovna listen to the advice of Patriarch Jokim on how to pacify the archers, A.N. Tolstoy compares Sophia to a snake.

As fate would have it, Peter came to the Russian throne ahead of schedule. He was still a boy. The first description of Peter in the novel eloquently testifies to this: “Monomakh’s hat slid down over his ear, revealing his black cropped hair. Round-cheeked and blunt-nosed, he craned his neck. The eyes are round, like those of a mouse. The small mouth is clenched in fear.” This is how the cruel and powerful Russian Tsar Peter first appeared before his subjects. He remembered the Streltsy riots for the rest of his life.

Growing up, Tsar Peter increasingly visited the Kukuevskaya settlement: he became interested in the life of the Germans, gradually adopting their manners. A.N. Tolstoy tells in detail how the tsar puts on a European costume for the first time, how he dances with Frau Schimelpfe-nigg and Anchen kontrdans. Then Peter invites German teachers to study mathematics and fortification.

The young Tsar falls in love with a pretty German woman. But even the monarch in Russia cannot step over the established foundations. Peter must marry the one his mother chose for him.

The scene of the king's wedding is notable in the novel. In this whole ceremony, it is only important to observe the ritual. The fact that young people have no feelings for each other does not bother anyone. The hay girls dress the bride for a long time with songs. The jewelry was choking Evdokia’s throat, pulling her ears back, and her hair was tied so tightly that the bride could not blink her eyes.” All these details emphasize the pompous unnaturalness of this situation. The groom's gifts, presented to the bride according to custom, are symbolic and personal: sweets, jewelry, a chest with handicrafts and a rod. It was assumed that after the wedding the wife became completely dependent on her husband, and for disobedience she could be beaten with a whip.

During the wedding itself, everyone behaves unnaturally: they are afraid of making a mistake. Evdokia's ribs are trembling with fear. The bride's relatives are afraid to even eat, so as not to show that they are hungry, so as not to ruin themselves in the eyes of the king. During the wedding, Peter only thinks about the fact that he could not say goodbye to Ankhen.

Peter submitted to his mother's will, but this was one of the last concessions to ancient customs. When the newlyweds were escorted to the bedchamber, Peter turned sharply to the guests. “They lost their laughter when they saw his eyes and backed away...” writes A.N. Tolstoy, showing with this scene the depth of the sovereign’s anger, who does not want to make a mockery of his life.

The further plot of the novel paints an image of the active Peter. He builds ships, studies new technologies. Sitting on the throne, shouting, stamping your feet - this is not how Peter imagines his life. Having matured, he managed to get a real state power in the country. A.N. Tolstoy shows how the Russian Tsar “spits on royal greatness for the sake of curiosity about trade and science...”. Peter understands well that Russia needs sea trade routes. For their sake, he, relying on the Cossacks, takes Azov by siege at the cost of enormous human sacrifices after unsuccessful assaults.

In parallel with artistic biography Petra A.N. Tolstoy tells in the novel about the fate of his devoted assistants - Aleksashka Menshikov and Aleshka Brovkin. For the first time, the reader sees them on the pages of the novel as boys with difficult, but typical destinies for people of that time. Gradually, these heroes begin to fight for their own happiness and dignity and become Peter’s closest associates.

Seeing the contempt of European captains for their homemade fleet, the tsar resorted to “Asian cunning,” as A.N. writes. Tolstoy, all the time emphasizing that Peter’s work

This is Russia's path from Asia to Europe. The Russian Tsar asks foreigners to help Russia overcome squalor.

The author of the novel openly writes about the difficulties that await Peter in his difficult task. Vast distances and the lack of high-speed communications mean that while the tsar is traveling around Europe, he does not have reliable information about what is happening in Russia. There are also all sorts of ridiculous rumors about him.

Russian economic ruin in the novel is contrasted with German neatness. Remembering Moscow in Germany, Peter, out of frustration, wants to burn it down. He is planning to build new town- a true paradise.

Peter's first assistant in bringing Russia closer to Europe is Franz Lefort, who understands his wishes perfectly. This hero in the novel has an extraordinary mind, European polish, hard work, a good-natured and cheerful disposition. “We thought with one mind,” Peter will say about Lefort, saying goodbye to his dead friend. However, not everyone was happy about Peter’s friendship and cooperation with Lefort. Some called him a "damned foreigner."

The image of ignorant Russia is created by dozens of scenes and episodes of the novel, describing torture, witchcraft, untidiness, brutal executions. The Russian Tsar suppresses any resistance with barbaric cruelty. A.N. Tolstoy eloquently shows this in the scene of the massacre of Tsykler, in the description of the Streltsy execution.

Changes in Russian life A.N. Tolstoy describes, using the example of the family of Roman Borisovich Buinosov, as well as the fate of Sanka Brovkina, who suddenly turned from a peasant girl into a noble lady, even at the same time learning to read. Peter shaved the boyars' beards, forced the Russian nobility to wear German clothes and drink coffee in the morning. But all these external changes did not give a qualitatively new level of economic management in the country. True, Ivan Brovkin created a linen factory, which good profit gives, and Vasily Volkov is under the tsar, building the Russian fleet.

The main idea of ​​the novel is the desire to show the progressive nature of Peter's reforms. The author believes in the bright future of his country and wishes it great power and economic prosperity.

// Analysis of Tolstoy’s novel “Peter the Great”

From the words of the great writer Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy it follows that understanding the secrets of the Russian people lies in knowing their past, their history. Perhaps this is why the era of Peter the Great, marked by a huge number of various transformations, attracted the attention of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy for so long. It is known that he worked on his novel of the same name, which consists of 3 volumes, for more than twenty years.

In the first book, Peter is a transformer, acting in close relationship with the environment and time. The writer shows in his image a gifted statesman. The ruler of a huge country is brave, persistent and persistent. It combines all the best national traits. And at the same time, Alexey Nikolaevich does not forget to show how the costs of reforms affect ordinary people.

The king appears on the pages historical novel not an established, integral personality, he is shown in the process of development and formation. We see the dynamics of this transformation.

The first volume depicts Peter's childhood. The strict ruler appears before the readers at first as a frightened child. Fear is associated with the rebellion of the archers and the demonstration of him, the future king, to the people. Then this is a young man of 12 years old, taking lessons from. Peter learns a trick - to thread a needle through his cheek. But now the character of the king is revealed, this is clearly reflected in the scene of bickering with sister Sophia over which of them should carry the icon.

A person develops, and the image on the pages of the novel undergoes changes. A little later we see Peter as a lanky young man, timidly and awkwardly dancing an overseas dance. But this is a young king who returned from Europe and began to brutally deal with the archers, not disdaining to participate in these executions himself.

A.N. Tolstoy notes that Peter’s youth saw the most intense clashes for power. These dramatic events in many ways determined the character of the king. Peter the Great is gaining strength and experience and is approaching the implementation of reforms. Now he is definitely ready for them.

And here is the second volume. How many different government initiatives we see on the pages of this part of the novel. It’s impossible to count them all: new laws, rearmament of troops, construction of a fleet. Peter is so ideological that he himself participates in forging the anchor for the ship “Fortress”.

The author is not trying to idealize the king. He shows all situations as they really were. Peter's meeting with the boyar Streshnev, who was negligent in supplying the troops with food, shows the cruelty of the ruler. Re-reading these scenes, we do not allow the thought that A. Tolstoy tried to show the ideal Peter the Great on the pages of his grandiose novel.

Chapters replace one another, the image of the king of our country is supplemented with new colors. Tsar Peter becomes a mature ruler of a huge state and carries out his policies seriously and judiciously.

The third volume introduces us to a completely different ruler, he seems to become a head taller. Confident, dignified and proud Peter arrives in newly rebuilt St. Petersburg. Now this is not a frightened boy, not a modest young man, but a brave and self-confident ruler of one of the strong European states.

To show the scale of the figure of the Russian Tsar, Alexei Tolstoy gives next to him the image of other people: associates, political enemies, neighboring rulers.

In general, in the novel “Peter the Great” there is a lot different heroes, each of which is characterized by its own appearance and, accordingly, its own destiny. True, they also have some kind of communication: moving forward, striving to achieve their goals.

The author admires how Alexander Menshikov, a man of humble origin, becomes right hand the sovereign himself, and the village girl - a famous noblewoman. He is glad that the simple icon painter Andryushka Golikov is going to study not just anywhere, but to Italy itself.

The novel “Peter the Great” remained unfinished. The work was interrupted first due to the writer’s illness, and then due to the subsequent death. The completion of the work was chapter 6 of the third volume.

In the novel, the writer depicts a whole panorama historical life country, an entire people, but does not forget about the fate of individual heroes, who make up such a large-scale picture.

The third book, which remained unfinished, was created in 1945, the year the Great Patriotic War ended. Patriotic War. She vividly developed the theme of the heroism of Russian soldiers and paid tribute to domestic weapons.

The cherished dream of Tsar Peter the Great is to make Russia the richest power in the world, and so that only happy people. And it doesn’t matter which path he took, because the main thing is the goal, and the means are secondary. Alexey Tolstoy understood this and wrote about it on the pages of his immortal novel “Peter the Great”.

Roman A.N. Tolstoy’s “Peter the Great” is the central work in revealing the Petrine theme in the writer’s work. However, the object of the image in it is not only the personality of the famous Russian Tsar, but also a whole era of reforms and upheavals, a time when peasant Russia, which had hitherto followed its own special path, suddenly came into contact with the attributes of European civilization.

And this contact was both progressive and painful, because attempts to impose a European way of life sometimes entered into deep contradictions with national traditions, did not take root well on Russian soil and, of course, gave rise to resistance.

The novel consists of three books. The narration is told on behalf of the author. The work features both fictional characters and real historical figures. A huge role in organizing the development of the plot is played by crowd scenes, dialogues, descriptions of home, life and portraits of heroes.

A. emphasizes the natural riches of the Russian land: centuries-old pine trees, expanses of deep rivers, bushy-tailed squirrels, caravans of birds. “The earth spread out before our eyes; there was no edge to it.”

In the traditions of I. Shmelev, A. Tolstoy in the novel depicts, first of all, Orthodox Russia. This is evidenced in the very first scene of the work by the portrait of the episodic heroine: “The mother’s wrinkled face was illuminated by fire. Most terribly of all, from under the torn cloth, the tear-stained eyes flashed, like on an icon.” This laconic description of a simple Russian woman, in fact, reveals the hardships of a person in the pre-Petrine era: constant material deprivation, the habit of everyday work and at the same time perseverance, spiritual depth, honed in torment and suffering.

From the description of the peasant way of life in the house of Ivan Brovkin A.N. Tolstoy moves on to the story of the nobleman Vasily Volkov, who also barely makes ends meet: he has to pay huge taxes to the monastery and quitrents and tribute to the royal treasury. In a conversation with neighbor Mikhaila Tyrtov, Volkov exclaims in pain: “All peoples live in wealth, in contentment, we are the only beggars.” Vasily remembers how he went to Moscow to Kukui-Sloboda, where the Germans live. Everything there is clean and tidy, people are friendly. And they live richer than all of Moscow.

The reasons for the miserable existence of Russia A.N. Tolstoy sees in mismanagement, sometimes reaching the point of elementary greed, and in theft, and in riots on the roads, when the prince’s son maintains a gang of robbers who rob merchants on the road. The Russian mentality seemed especially absurd to foreigners. They were surprised that at the royal court there were no balls and gallant fun, no subtle entertainment with music. Russian people work little. There is almost no time left for this: they held church services three times a day, ate heartily four times, and even slept during the day for health. However, A.N. Tolstoy shows that European manners are increasingly entering the lives of representatives of the royal court. The house of Prince Golitsyn is guarded by the Swiss. He himself shaves his beard, wears a French suit, and reads Latin books. The house has French and Italian exquisite furniture. Golitsyn is thinking about liberating the peasantry and creating academies. However, even his interlocutor, Mr. de Neuville, does not believe that this entire utopian program can be implemented in Russia. In a conversation with Sophia, the idea is heard that the clergy who support patriarchal traditions will not be happy with European manners.

Notable in the novel is the image of medieval Moscow with its ancient toponymy (Iverskaya, St. Basil's, Spassky Gate, Varvarka, All Saints Bridge). In the Kalashny row of Gostiny Dvor they sell hot pies and sbiten with honey. In Moscow, like nowhere else in Russia, the property gap between the highest nobility and the people is acutely felt: the brocade fur coat of Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn can buy half of Moscow.

A.N. writes with a high degree of detail. Tolstoy about the fierce struggle for the royal throne waged by Sophia and her brother Peter. But a woman, even in political affairs, remains a woman: for one wrinkle on the face of her beloved Prince Golitsyn, Sophia is ready to burn half of Moscow. In an indomitable desire to wrest power from Peter’s hands at any cost, she is ready to destroy him. In the scene when Sofya and Natalya Kirillovna listen to the advice of Patriarch Jokim on how to pacify the archers, A.N. Tolstoy compares Sophia to a snake.

As fate would have it, Peter came to the Russian throne ahead of schedule. He was still a boy. The first description of Peter in the novel eloquently testifies to this: “Monomakh’s hat slid down over his ear, revealing his black cropped hair. Round-cheeked and blunt-nosed, he craned his neck. The eyes are round, like those of a mouse. The small mouth is clenched in fear.” This is how the cruel and powerful Russian Tsar Peter first appeared before his subjects. He remembered the Streltsy riots for the rest of his life.

Growing up, Tsar Peter increasingly visited the Kukuevskaya settlement: he became interested in the life of the Germans, gradually adopting their manners. A.N. Tolstoy tells in detail how the tsar puts on a European costume for the first time, how he dances with Frau Schimelpfenig and Anchen country dance. Then Peter invites German teachers to study mathematics and fortification.

The young Tsar falls in love with a pretty German woman. But even the monarch in Russia cannot step over the established foundations. Peter must marry the one his mother chose for him. The scene of the king's wedding is notable in the novel. In this whole ceremony, it is only important to observe the ritual. The fact that young people have no feelings for each other does not bother anyone. The hay girls dress the bride for a long time with songs. The jewelry was choking Evdokia’s throat, pulling her ears back, and her hair was tied so tightly that the bride could not blink her eyes.” All these details emphasize the pompous unnaturalness of this situation. The gifts of the groom, presented to the bride according to custom, are symbolic: sweets, jewelry, a chest with handicrafts and a rod. It was assumed that after the wedding the wife became completely dependent on her husband, and for disobedience she could be beaten with a whip.

During the wedding itself, everyone behaves unnaturally: they are afraid of making a mistake. Evdokia's ribs are trembling with fear. The bride's relatives are afraid to even eat, so as not to show that they are hungry, so as not to ruin themselves in the eyes of the king. During the wedding, Peter only thinks about the fact that he could not say goodbye to Ankhen.

Peter submitted to the will of his mother, but this was one of the last concessions to ancient customs. When the newlyweds were escorted to the bedchamber, Peter turned sharply to the guests. “They lost their laughter when they saw his eyes and backed away...” writes A.N. Tolstoy, showing with this scene the depth of the sovereign’s anger, who does not want to make a mockery of his life.

The further plot of the novel paints an image of the active Peter. He builds ships, studies new technologies. Sitting on the throne, shouting, stamping your feet - this is not how Peter imagines his life. Having matured, he managed to gain real state power in the country. A.N. Tolstoy shows how the Russian Tsar “spits on royal greatness for the sake of curiosity about trade and science...”. Peter understands well that Russia needs sea trade routes. For their sake, he, relying on the Cossacks, takes Azov by siege at the cost of enormous human sacrifices after unsuccessful assaults.

In parallel with the artistic biography of Peter A.N. Tolstoy tells in the novel about the fate of his devoted assistants - Aleksashka Menshikov and Aleshka Brovkin. For the first time, the reader sees them on the pages of the novel as boys with difficult, but typical destinies for people of that time. Gradually, these heroes begin to fight for their own happiness and dignity and become Peter’s closest associates.

Seeing the contempt of European captains for their homemade fleet, the tsar resorted to “Asian cunning,” as A.N. writes. Tolstoy, all the time emphasizing that Peter’s work is Russia’s path from Asia to Europe. The Russian Tsar asks foreigners to help Russia overcome squalor.

The author of the novel openly writes about the difficulties that await Peter in his difficult task. Vast distances and the lack of high-speed communications mean that while the tsar is traveling around Europe, he does not have reliable information about what is happening in Russia. There are also all sorts of ridiculous rumors about him.

Russian economic ruin in the novel is contrasted with German neatness. Remembering Moscow in Germany, Peter, out of frustration, wants to burn it down. He plans to build a new city - a true paradise.

Peter's first assistant in bringing Russia closer to Europe is Franz Lefort, who understands his wishes perfectly. This hero in the novel has an extraordinary mind, European polish, hard work, a good-natured and cheerful disposition. “We thought with one mind,” Peter will say about Lefort, saying goodbye to his dead friend. However, not everyone was happy about Peter’s friendship and cooperation with Lefort. Some called him a "damned foreigner."

The image of ignorant Russia is created by dozens of scenes and episodes of the novel, describing torture, witchcraft, untidiness, and cruel executions. The Russian Tsar suppresses any resistance with barbaric cruelty. A.N. Tolstoy eloquently shows this in the scene of the massacre of Tsykler, in the description of the Streltsy execution.

Changes in Russian life A.N. Tolstoy describes, using the example of the family of Roman Borisovich Buinosov, as well as the fate of Sanka Brovkina, who suddenly turned from a peasant girl into a noble lady, even at the same time learning to read. Peter shaved the boyars' beards, forced the Russian nobility to wear German clothes and drink coffee in the morning. But all these external changes did not give a qualitatively new level of economic management in the country. True, Ivan Brovkin created a linen factory, which gives a good profit, and Vasily Volkov is under the tsar, building the Russian fleet.

The main idea of ​​the novel is the desire to show the progressive nature of Peter's reforms. The author believes in the bright future of his country and wishes it great power and economic prosperity.

Alexei Tolstoy dedicates the novel early period reign of Peter the Great. It depicts the suppression of the Streltsy revolt, the tsar’s struggle with unwanted boyars, the old order, military events (the Azov campaign, the storming of Narva).

To better understand Alexei Tolstoy's intention when writing this work, let's do brief analysis the novel “Peter the Great”, which will help you look at the text from a slightly different perspective.

The history of the creation of the novel “Peter the Great” by Tolstoy

The bulk of the work was created in the 1930s, although Tolstoy worked on the novel Peter the Great, which we are analyzing, until his death in 1945. Tolstoy did not agree when direct parallels were drawn between the beginning of the reign of Peter and the formation of a new state in the 1920-30s. However, he emphasized that there are certain similarities: these are colossal changes that took place in the country, when the way of life completely changed. This idea becomes obvious when we analyze the novel “Peter the Great”.

The third part of the novel was written during the Great Patriotic War, so Alexey Tolstoy pays the main attention to the military exploits of the Russian people, the unbroken spirit, despite the hardships of the Azov campaign.

While working on the novel “Peter the Great,” Tolstoy used a variety of historical sources: archival documents, memoirs of witnesses to events, notes from foreigners about Russia in those years, court reports, diaries and private letters, as well as historical songs, jokes and legends.

Genre of the novel “Peter the Great” by Tolstoy

An analysis of the novel “Peter the Great” would be incomplete without discussing the genre of the work. The genre of historical novel involves artistic image any period of history separated by time distance. Characters are historical figures(Peter the Great, Alexei Menshikov, Princess Sophia and others), the events that actually took place are shown.

The genre requires a truthful depiction of the life and customs of the era. Considerable attention is paid to the features of the language, reflecting the flavor of the time.

Analysis of the composition of the novel “Peter the Great”

Main feature the compositions can be called an interweaving of many storylines. The depiction of Peter's activities is given parallel to the stories about the life of the most ordinary people: Brovkins, Loskut, Overyan, Golikov. This shows the versatility of the era (new construction, schism, love, protest and rebellion).

It's interesting how Tolstoy relates to each other storylines- skillfully, subtly and historically accurate. Even if you read summary novel, you will notice this. However, continuing the analysis of the novel “Peter the Great” by Tolstoy, let’s move on to the image of the main character.

The image of Peter in Tolstoy's novel

The identity of Per the First is far from clear. Alexei Tolstoy is interested in the formation of the tsar’s character, the reasons, methods of carrying out and consequences of reforms. He notes the sovereign’s hatred of Moscow Rus', the morals of the boyars, and church customs. The reasons for this lie in the childhood and youth of the tsar, who observed the struggle for power, became accustomed to fearing the boyars and ran away from the boring life at court into a cheerful, as it seemed to him, German settlement, where the revelry continued for several days.

Subsequently, we see a young man who enters into a power struggle. He suppresses the Streltsy rebellion and himself participates in the merciless massacre of people, and imprisons his sister, Princess Sophia, in a monastery. Tolstoy does not hide the cruelty and injustice of the sovereign. In the third book we see a self-confident, decisive person who cares about Russia’s military achievements.

Analysis of the novel "Peter the Great" shows that the most important positive feature The king is the thirst for activity, energy, desire for something new. For example, it is important for Peter that Russian ships are no worse than the foreign ones that he saw in Arkhangelsk, so he attaches great value training Russian masters abroad. Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes that the tsar, in his appearance and manner, resembles a man of low rank; he himself works to create a fleet, communicates with ordinary people.

The military achievements of Peter the Great are shown in the final part. They open up the future prospect of victories for Russia.

An analysis of the novel “Peter the Great” by Tolstoy allows us to conclude that the main contradiction in the image of the tsar is that historically justified, serious and necessary transformations are carried out by barbaric methods, the new is built with the complete destruction of the old. However, Tolstoy emphasizes that many of the results of Peter’s activities deserve respect - a strong fleet, the construction of St. Petersburg, military victories.

You can think a lot about this work, you can analyze it a lot, but in this article our goal was to make a brief analysis of the novel “Peter the Great”. Alexey Tolstoy created a real masterpiece, and we hope that you will now love this book even more. Our literary blog contains many articles on similar topics, visit this section of our website. You may also be interested in

Alexey Tolstoy in the novel “Peter the Great” paid tribute to the image of Peter the Great, creating novel of the same name. Having accepted the revolutionary events, Tolstoy chose for a better understanding of them the most accurate analogy in Russian history - with the era of Peter.

Works historical genre, especially large forms, are distinguished by the presence of a pronounced artistic means the author's idea of ​​the laws of history, its driving forces and conflicts.

Unlike the novels of the 1920s and 1930s, which depicted popular uprisings and their leaders (“Razin Stepan” and “Walking People” by A. Chapygin, “Salavat Yulaev”
S. Zlobina, “The Tale of Bolotnikov” by G. Storm, etc.). A. Tolstoy placed at the center of the work the figure of the king, a figure of historical significance. In Peter, the writer first of all showed his transformative genius, his understanding of the need for fundamental changes in the life of the country (“In Russia, everything needs to be broken - everything is new”).

The author no longer doubts the historical prospects of reforms. The meaning of the Peter the Great era in A. Tolstoy’s novel is a breakthrough from the past to the future, from isolation and patriarchy to the number of the leading powers of the world, a time of sharp collision between the old and the new. In this Tolstoy saw a consonance between the “tragic and creative” era of Peter and the revolutionary history of Russia.

If the traditional historical novel is characterized by a focus on
depiction of the past, then A. Tolstoy sought to recreate the connection of times, to reveal common features turning points in history. This approach has become a fundamentally new phenomenon for historical prose.

"Personality formation in historical era"- this is how A. Tolstoy defined it main principle Images. The author not only recreates the biography of Peter, he seeks to show, on the one hand, how the era influenced the formation of the hero’s personality, and on the other, what was the impact of Peter’s
transformations on the fate of the country.

All other problems of the novel are connected with the solution of this main problem: the question of the objective necessity and significance of Peter’s transformations; depiction of an acute struggle between the new and the old; “identifying the driving forces of the era”, the role of the individual and the people in history.

The concept of the work determined the features of the composition and plot.

The work is distinguished by its epic scope in depicting the life of the country at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. The basis of the plot is real events a short period, but rich in content, from 1682 to 1704.

The first book of the novel (1930) represents the background to Peter's reforms. This is the period of Peter's childhood and youth, cruel life lessons, studying with foreigners, the beginning of the creation of a fleet, the military “embarrassment,” the suppression of the Streltsy revolt.

The second book (1934) includes a description of the initial period Northern War And
ends with the construction of St. Petersburg.

Climax of the image government activities Peter was supposed to be the third book, but the novel remained unfinished. In the published chapters of the third book (1943-1944), in accordance with the spirit of wartime when it was created, the main motive was the glorious victories of Russian weapons (the capture of Narva). The novel recreates a living, dynamic, multifaceted picture of the era.

The first chapter is a historical exposition depicting life pre-Petrine Russia. Emphasized here negative sides patriarchal Russian life: “poverty, servility, lack of wealth,” lack of movement (“the sour twilight of a hundred years”).

The general dissatisfaction with life is emphasized by the author’s digressions (beginning of chapter 2; chapter 5, subchapter 12; beginning of chapter 7). They formulated a general conclusion: “What kind of Russia is this, a sworn country—when will you move?”

Creating an image of Russia awaiting change, the author uses the cinematic technique of changing camera angles. The action, which began in the peasant hut of Ivashka Brovkin, is transferred to the estate of Vasily Volkov,
from there to Moscow, will linger more than once on the roads of Russia, will lead to the royal chambers, where at the bedside of the dying Fyodor Alekseevich it is decided who will be king.

The scene of the action is a tavern on Varvarka, where opinions are expressed ordinary people, the room of Princess Sophia, the square where the archers riot, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Pereslavl, Arkhangelsk, Don, Voronezh, Germany and Holland, Narva.

The multifaceted composition gave the author the opportunity to depict the life of all classes and groups of Russian society: from royal family, boyars, foreigners to merchants and military people, peasants, schismatics, convicts, fugitives. Along with real facts Fictional events and characters play an important role in the story and characters in the novel.

In this regard, we can especially note the closely related Peter - history the Brovkin family, the example of which shows specific changes in the lives of Russian people.

Life, morals, customs, the very spirit of a bygone era are recreated in the novel based on documents, historical works and other sources. The most important of them was the book by Professor N. Novombergsky “The Word and Deed of the Sovereign,” which contains acts of the Secret Chancery and the Preobrazhensky Order. In these “torture recordings” she “told, moaned, lied, screamed in pain and fear folk Rus'"(XIII, pp. 567-568).

Simple and accurate colloquial The 17th century formed the basis of the language of A. Tolstoy’s novel. This made it possible to give the work a historical flavor, liveliness and imagery, while making it accessible to the modern reader.

The language of the work reflects the spirit of Peter’s reforms, it combines folk words and expressions, archaisms, foreign borrowings. Researchers are unanimous in their opinion about Tolstoy’s novel as the pinnacle of the artist’s verbal and visual skills.

Image of Peter the Great.

The peculiarity of the portrayal of the hero is that the writer shows Peter not as an already established statesman, but traces the process of personality formation under the influence of historical circumstances.

The depicted events in the life of the country become milestones personal biography Peter, the stages of his growing up. Tolstoy makes the young hero a witness
massacres of the Streltsy with his loved ones, and this memory will be echoed in the future by an irreconcilable conflict with his sister Sophia and the boyars in the struggle for power and brutal reprisals against the Streltsy.

A visit to the German settlement awakens Peter's interest in the European way of life. A trip to Arkhangelsk and the sight of foreign ships strengthens in Peter’s mind the idea of ​​the need for transformation.

The author repeatedly uses the technique of paired episodes, showing rapid changes in the character of the hero (for example, two meetings of the Boyar Duma - before
Azov campaign (book 1, chapter 5, subchapter 20.) and after it (book 1, chapter 7, subchapter 1) - they emphasize: Peter is now “... a different person: angry, stubborn, businesslike.”

These contrasts reveal the energy and determination of the protagonist, his willingness to learn from the most different people, learning lessons from defeats, his sincere pain for the poverty and backwardness of the country, simplicity and lack of arrogance.

Alexey Tolstoy shows Peter complex and controversial personality(for example scenes procession in the Assumption Cathedral - book. 1, ch. 4, subch. 2; end of book 1 - suppression of the Streltsy rebellion; Peter at the Kurfürstin - Prince. 1, ch. 7, subch. 8; in Zhemov’s forge - book. 2. Ch. 1, subch. 10; Peter near Narva - Prince. 2, ch. 4, subch. 3; book Z. Ch. 4, subch. 1; Peter In the dugout - book. 3, ch. 2, subch. 5).

He, using Pushkin’s definition, “raised Russia on its hind legs with an iron hand.” Transformations are carried out through brutal exploitation, at the cost of thousands of lives; the country is breaking out of backwardness through mass executions, torture, and the forcible introduction of elements of European culture.

But the author balances the acute drama of the situation with attention to the image
the results of Peter’s case (you can compare the description of the life of peasants on Volkov’s estate during the reign of Sophia (book 1, chapter 4, subchapter 1) and on the Buinosov estate during the reign of Peter (book 2, chapter 1, subchapter 3) ; follow the changes in the life of Ivashka Brovkin).

Peter is shown through the eyes of different people: his mother, Sophia, the boyars, his comrades-in-arms: Menshikov, Brovkin, the German Lefort, ordinary people - the blacksmith Zhemov, the artist Golikov, peasants, builders, soldiers. This allows us to convey a polyphony of opinions about the main content of the image - the case of Peter.

The writer captured a phenomenon unique to the era depicted: a change in traditional social trajectories, the promotion of people not according to the nobility of their family, but according to their intelligence, efficiency, commitment to the new (Menshikov, Alyoshka Brovkin and his sister Sanka, Demidov, etc.).

Defining the relationship between the characters, the writer places them between two poles: supporters and opponents of Peter’s reforms. In relation to all characters, even minor ones, the principle of versatility of the image applies (for example, the image of the boyar Buinosov).

In revealing the psychology of the hero, Tolstoy widely uses the “internal gesture” technique. It's about transmission internal state through external manifestation. through movement, gesture. The writer was convinced that “you cannot paint a portrait of a hero on ten whole pages”, “the portrait of a hero must appear from the very movement, struggle, in clashes, in behavior”) (XIII, p. 499)3. That is why movement and its expression - the verb - are the basis for creating an image.

The people in the novel Peter the Great.

Peter In the novel by A.N. Tolstoy appears as the brightest embodiment of the Russian national character. Placing the tsar-reformer at the center of the work, the writer paid special attention to depicting the active role of the people in Peter’s reforms. In the work one can constantly hear the people’s assessment of what is happening, and for the author this is the most important criterion historical justice of Peter's case. In crowd scenes, people are not depicted statically, but in a clash of contradictory moods. Tolstoy skillfully uses polylogue, highlighting individual figures in the generalized image of the people.

In the second and third books, the author shows the growth of popular discontent, evidenced by the frequent mention of the name of the rebellious Stepan Razin. The schismatic movement is also interpreted by Tolstoy as one of the forms of protest against increased oppression in the era of Peter the Great.

Data embodies the conflict close-up images of Ovdokim, piebald Ivan and Fedka Wash yourself with Mud. The ending of the second book of the novel sounds symbolically: a gloomy, branded, shackled man “Fedka washed himself with Mud, throwing his hair on his sore wet forehead, beat and hit the piles with an oak sledgehammer...”. Here the bloody efforts to create a passage from Ladoga to the open sea are emphasized, and the threat posed by the construction of the new capital of the empire is emphasized.

Talking about the life of a Russian person, A. Tolstoy emphasizes his hard work and talent (images of Kuzma Zhemov, Kondrat Vorobyov (book 2, chapter 5, subchapter 3); Palekh painter Andrei Golikov (book 2, chapter 5, subchapter 3; book 2, chapter 2, subch.

In the battles that Peter wages, such qualities of the Russian people as heroism and courage are clearly manifested. Thanks to the interaction of the images of Peter and the people, the author was able to show the turbulent, contradictory historical movement of Russia and reveal the fate of the nation in crucial moment, which determined the course of its history for many centuries.

The novel “Peter the Great” is Tolstoy’s pinnacle work, which has received recognition both in Russia and in the Russian diaspora. If historical concept Peter's era was not accepted by everyone, but the highest mastery of depiction, living language, and inexhaustible humor made the novel classic work Russian literature.

War as a test of Russian character “During the days of the war, Alexei Tolstoy found himself at his post. His words encouraged, amused, and excited the fighters. Tolstoy did not go into silence, did not wait, did not refer to the estrangement of the muses from the music of battle. Tolstoy spoke in October 1941, and Russia will not forget this,” wrote Ilya Ehrenburg.

The leading theme of Tolstoy’s work is the Russian character in his historical development— during the Great Patriotic War it acquired particular relevance. As in historical theme, the image of native land, watered with the blood of their ancestors, protected by “smart, pure, leisurely” Russian people who “protect their dignity”. Characteristic for public consciousness and culture of the period of the Great Patriotic War, appeal to heroic images national history and culture, the exploits of fathers and grandfathers contributed to the strengthening of national identity. The writer saw the task of literature as being “the voice of the heroic soul
people."

Analysis of the novel "Peter the Great"