I continue the once started series "Literary Heroes" ...

Heroes of Russian literature

Almost every literary character has its own prototype - a real person. Sometimes it is the author himself (Ostrovsky and Pavka Korchagin, Bulgakov and the Master), sometimes it is a historical figure, sometimes it is an acquaintance or relative of the author.
This story is about the prototypes of Chatsky and Taras Bulba, Ostap Bender, Timur and other heroes of books...

1. Chatsky "Woe from Wit"

The main character of Griboyedov's comedy - Chatsky- most often associated with the name Chaadaeva(in the first version of the comedy, Griboyedov wrote "Chadsky"), although the image of Chatsky is in many ways a social type of the era, a "hero of the time."
Petr Yakovlevich Chaadaev(1796-1856) - participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, was on a foreign campaign. In 1814 he joined the Masonic lodge, and in 1821 he agreed to join a secret society.

From 1823 to 1826, Chaadaev traveled around Europe, comprehended the latest philosophical teachings. After returning to Russia in 1828-1830, he wrote and published a historical and philosophical treatise: "Philosophical Letters". The views, ideas, and judgments of the thirty-six-year-old philosopher turned out to be so unacceptable to Nicholas Russia that the author of the Philosophical Letters suffered an unprecedented punishment: he was declared insane by a royal decree. It so happened that the literary character did not repeat the fate of his prototype, but predicted it...

2. Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba is written so organically and vividly that the reader does not leave the feeling of his reality.
But there was a man whose fate is similar to the fate of the hero Gogol. And this man also had a surname Gogol!
Ostap Gogol was born at the beginning of the 17th century. On the eve of 1648, he was a captain of the "panzer" Cossacks in the Polish army stationed in Uman under the command of S. Kalinovsky. With the outbreak of the uprising, Gogol, along with his heavy cavalry, went over to the side of the Cossacks.

In October 1657, Hetman Vyhovsky, with a general foreman, of which Ostap Gogol was a member, concluded the Treaty of Korsun between Ukraine and Sweden.

In the summer of 1660, Ostap's regiment took part in the Chudnivsky campaign, after which the Slobodischensky treaty was signed. Gogol took the side of autonomy within the Commonwealth, he was made a gentry.
In 1664, an uprising broke out in Right-Bank Ukraine against the Poles and the hetman Teteri. Gogol at first supported the rebels. However, he again went over to the side of the enemy. The reason for this was his sons, whom Hetman Potocki held hostage in Lvov. When Doroshenko became hetman, Gogol came under his mace and helped him a lot. When he fought with the Turks near Ochakov, Doroshenko at the Rada proposed to recognize the supremacy of the Turkish Sultan, and it was accepted.
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At the end of 1671, the Crown Hetman Sobieski took Mogilev, Gogol's residence. During the defense of the fortress, one of the sons of Ostap died. The colonel himself fled to Moldavia and from there sent Sobieski a letter of his desire to obey.
As a reward for this, Ostap received the village of Vilkhovets. The letter of salary of the estate served the grandfather of the writer Nikolai Gogol as evidence of his nobility.
Colonel Gogol became Hetman of Right-Bank Ukraine on behalf of King Jan III Sobieski. He died in 1679 at his residence in Dymer, and was buried in the Kiev-Mezhigorsky monastery not far from Kyiv.
story analogy is obvious: both heroes are Zaporozhye colonels, both had sons, one of whom died at the hands of the Poles, the other went over to the side of the enemy. In this way, a distant ancestor of the writer and was the prototype of Taras Bulba.

3.Plyushkin
Orlovsky landowner Spiridon Matsnev he was extremely stingy, walked around in a greasy dressing gown and dirty clothes, so that few could recognize him as a rich gentleman.
The landowner had 8,000 souls of peasants, but he starved not only them, but also himself.

This stingy landowner N.V. Gogol brought out in "Dead Souls" in the form of Plyushkin. “If Chichikov had met him, dressed up like that, somewhere at the church doors, he would probably have given him a copper penny”...
“This landowner had more than a thousand souls, and someone else would have tried to find so much bread in grain, flour and simply in luggage, who would have pantries, barns and dryers cluttered with such a multitude of canvases, cloths, dressed sheepskins and rawhide ... " .
The image of Plyushkin became a household name.

4. Silvio
"Shot" A.S. Pushkin

Silvio's prototype is Ivan Petrovich Liprandi.
Pushkin's friend, Silvio's prototype in Shot.
Author of the best memories of Pushkin's southern exile.
The son of a Russified Spanish grandee. Member of the Napoleonic Wars since 1807 (from the age of 17). Colleague and friend of the Decembrist Raevsky, member of the Union of Welfare. Arrested in the case of the Decembrists in January 1826, he sat in a cell with Griboyedov.

“... His personality was of undoubted interest in terms of his talents, fate and original way of life. He was gloomy and gloomy, but he liked to gather officers at his place and treat them widely. The sources of his income were shrouded in mystery for everyone. A scribbler and book lover, he was famous for his breter, and a rare duel took place without his participation.
Pushkin "Shot"

At the same time, Liprandi, as it turned out, was a member of military intelligence and the secret police.
Since 1813, the head of the secret political police under the army of Vorontsov in France. Closely communicated with the famous Vidocq. Together with the French gendarmerie, he participated in the disclosure of the anti-government Pin Society. Since 1820 he was the chief military intelligence officer at the headquarters of the Russian troops in Bessarabia. At the same time, he became the main theorist and practitioner of military and political espionage.
Since 1828 - the head of the Supreme Secret Foreign Police. Since 1820 - in the direct subordination of Benckendorff. The organizer of the provocation in the circle of Butashevich-Petrashevsky. Organizer of Ogarev's arrest in 1850. The author of the project on the establishment of a school of spies at the universities ...

5. Andrey Bolkonsky

Prototypes Andrei Bolkonsky there were several. His tragic death was "written off" by Leo Tolstoy from the biography of the real prince Dmitry Golitsyn.
Prince Dmitry Golitsyn was signed up for service in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Justice. Soon, Emperor Alexander I granted him to the chamber junkers, and then to the actual chamberlains, which was equated to the rank of general.

In 1805, Prince Golitsyn entered the military service and, together with the army, went through the campaigns of 1805-1807.
In 1812, he filed a report with a request to be enrolled in the army., became the Akhtyrsky hussar, Denis Davydov also served in the same regiment. Golitsin participated in border battles as part of the 2nd Russian army of General Bagration, fought on the Shevardinsky redoubt, and then ended up on the left flank of the Russian orders on the Borodino field.
In one of the clashes, Major Golitsyn was seriously wounded by a grenade fragment., he was taken out of the battlefield. After the operation in the field infirmary, it was decided to take the wounded man further east.
"House of Bolkonsky" in Vladimir.


They made a stop in Vladimir, Major Golitsyn was placed in one of the merchant houses on a steep hill on the Klyazma. But, almost a month after the Battle of Borodino, Dmitry Golitsyn died in Vladimir ...
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Soviet literature

6. Assol
The gentle dreamer Assol had more than one prototype.
First prototype - Maria Sergeevna Alonkina, secretary of the House of Arts, almost everyone living and visiting this House was in love with her.
Once, going up the stairs to his office, Green saw a short, swarthy-faced girl talking to Korney Chukovsky.
There was something unearthly in her appearance: flying gait, radiant look, sonorous happy laughter. It seemed to him that she looked like Assol from the story "Scarlet Sails", on which he was working at that time.
The image of 17-year-old Masha Alonkina occupied Green's imagination and was reflected in the extravaganza story.


“I don’t know how many years will pass, only in Kapern one fairy tale will bloom, memorable for a long time. You will be big, Assol. One morning in the distance of the sea, a scarlet sail will sparkle under the sun. The shining bulk of the scarlet sails of the white ship will move, cutting through the waves, straight to you ... "

And in 1921, Green meets with Nina Nikolaevna Mironova, who worked in the newspaper "Petrograd Echo". He, gloomy, lonely, was easy with her, he was amused by her coquetry, he admired her love of life. Soon they got married.

The door is closed, the lamp is on.
In the evening she will come to me
No more aimless, dull days -
I sit and think about her...

On this day she will give me her hand,
I trust quietly and completely.
A terrible world rages around
Come, beautiful, dear friend.

Come, I've been waiting for you for a long time.
It was so dull and dark
But the winter spring has come,
Light knock ... My wife came.

To her, his "winter spring", Green dedicated the extravaganza "Scarlet Sails" and the novel "The Shining World".
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7. Ostap Bender and Children of Lieutenant Schmidt

The man who became the prototype of Ostap Bender is known.
It - Osip (Ostap) Veniaminovich Shor(1899 -1979). Shor was born in Odessa, was an employee of the UGRO, a football player, a traveler .... Was a buddy E. Bagritsky, Y. Olesha, Ilf and Petrov. His brother was the futurist poet Natan Fioletov.

The appearance, character and speech of Ostap Bender are taken from Osip Shor.
Almost all the famous "Bendera" phrases - "The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!", "I will command the parade!", "My dad was a Turkish citizen ..." and many others - were gleaned by the authors from Shor's lexicon.
In 1917, Shor entered the first year of the Petrograd Institute of Technology, and in 1919 he left for his homeland. He got home almost two years, with many adventures about which he spoke authors of The Twelve Chairs.
The stories they told about how he, not knowing how to draw, got a job as an artist on a propaganda ship, or about how he gave a simultaneous game session in some remote town, introducing himself as an international grandmaster, were reflected in "12 Chairs" with virtually no changes.
By the way, the famous leader of the Odessa bandits, Mishka Jap, with whom the employee of the UGRO Shor fought, became the prototype Beni Krika, from " Odessa stories” by I. Babel.

And here is the episode that gave rise to the creation of the image "children of Lieutenant Schmidt".
In August 1925, a man with an oriental appearance, decently dressed, wearing American glasses, appeared at the Gomel provincial executive committee and introduced himself Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Uzbek SSR Faizula Khodzhaev. He told Yegorov, chairman of the gubernia executive committee, that he was going from Crimea to Moscow, but money and documents were stolen from him on the train. Instead of a passport, he presented a certificate that he really was Khodzhaev, signed by Ibragimov, chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Crimean Republic.
He was warmly received, given money, they began to take him to theaters and banquets. But one of the police chiefs decided to compare the personality of the Uzbek with the portraits of the chairmen of the CEC, which he found in an old magazine. Thus, false Khodjays were exposed, who turned out to be a native of Kokand, who was on his way from Tbilisi, where he was serving a term ...
In the same way, posing as a high-ranking official, the former convict had a fun time in Yalta, Simferopol, Novorossiysk, Kharkov, Poltava, Minsk...
It was a fun time the time of the NEP and such desperate people, adventurers as Shor and false Khodjays.
Later I will write separately about Bender ...
………

8. Timur
TIMUR is the hero of the screenplay and A. Gaidar's story "Timur and his team." One of the most famous and popular heroes of Soviet children's literature of the 30s - 40s.
Under the influence of A.P. Gaidar "Timur and his team" in the USSR arose among the pioneers and schoolchildren in the beginning. 1940s "Timurov movement". Timurovites provided assistance to the families of military personnel, the elderly ...
It is believed that the “prototype” of the Timurov team for A. Gaidar was a group of scouts that operated back in the 1910s in a suburban suburb of St. Petersburg.“Timurovites” and “scouts” really have a lot in common (especially in the ideology and practice of “chivalrous” care of children about the people around them, the idea of ​​doing good deeds “in secret”).
The story told by Gaidar turned out to be surprisingly consonant with the mood of a whole generation of guys: the struggle for justice, the underground headquarters, the specific signaling, the ability to rapidly assemble "along the chain", etc.

It is interesting that in the early edition the story was called "Duncan and his team" or "Duncan to the rescue" - the hero of the story was - Vovka Duncan. The influence of the work is obvious Jules Verne: yacht "Duncan"» at the first alarm went to help Captain Grant.

In the spring of 1940, while working on a film based on a still unfinished story, the name "Duncan" was rejected. The Cinematography Committee expressed bewilderment: "Good Soviet boy. Pioneer. I came up with such a useful game and suddenly -" Duncan ". We consulted with our comrades here - you need to change your name"
And then Gaidar gave the hero the name of his own son, whom he called "the little commander" in life. According to another version - Timur- the name of the boy next door. Here comes the girl Zhenya received the name from the adopted daughter of Gaidar from her second marriage.
The image of Timur embodies the ideal type of a teenage leader with his desire for noble deeds, secrets, pure ideals.
concept "Timurovets" firmly established in everyday life. Until the end of the 1980s, children who provided disinterested assistance to those in need were called Timurovites.
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9. Captain Vrungel
From the story Andrey Nekrasov "The Adventures of Captain Vrungel"".
The book is about the incredible sea adventures of the resourceful and resilient captain Vrungel, his senior assistant Lom and the sailor Fuchs.

Christopher Bonifatievich Vrungel- the main character and narrator, on whose behalf the story is being told. An old experienced sailor, with a solid and judicious character, is not without ingenuity.
The first part of the surname uses the word "liar". Vrungel, whose name has become a household name - the marine analogue of Baron Munchausen, telling stories about his sailing adventures.
According to Nekrasov himself, the prototype of Vrungel was his acquaintance with the surname Vronsky, a lover of telling maritime fiction stories with his participation. His surname was so suitable for the protagonist that the original book should have been called " Adventures of Captain Vronsky", however, for fear of offending a friend, the author chose a different surname for the protagonist.
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1. What and how did the heroes of Russian classics read? Review of works and their heroes

The book is a source of knowledge - this common belief is familiar, perhaps, to everyone. Since ancient times, educated people who understood books were respected and revered. In the information about Metropolitan Hilarion, who has made an enormous contribution to the development of Russian spiritual and political thought with his treatise "The Sermon on Law and Grace", which has survived and has come down to the present time, it is noted: "Larion is a good man, fasting and bookish." It is "knizhen" - the most accurate and most capacious word, which, probably, in the best way characterizes all the advantages and advantages of an educated person over the rest. It is the book that opens the difficult and thorny path from the Cave of Ignorance, symbolically depicted by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his work "The State", to Wisdom. All the great Heroes and Villains of mankind scooped thick and fragrant jelly of knowledge from books. The book contributes to the answer to any question, if, of course, there is an answer to it at all. The book allows you to do the impossible, if only it is possible.

Undoubtedly, many writers and poets of the "golden age", characterizing their heroes, mentioned certain literary works, the names and surnames of great authors, who were either raved about, or admired, or who were lazily read from time to time by artistic characters. Depending on certain characteristics and qualities of the hero, his book addictions, his attitude to the process of reading and education in general were also covered. Going a little beyond the time frame of the given topic, the author considers it appropriate to make a short digression into history in order to understand, using some examples of earlier literature, what and how the heroes of Russian classics read.

For example, take the comedy D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth", in which the author ridiculed the narrow-mindedness of the class of landowners, the unpretentiousness of his life attitudes and ideals. The central theme of the work was formulated by its main character, directly immature Mitrofan Prostakov: "I don't want to study, I want to get married!" And while Mitrofan painfully and unsuccessfully tries, at the insistence of the teacher Tsyfirkin, to divide 300 rubles into three, his chosen one Sophia is engaged in self-education through reading:

Sophia: I was waiting for you, uncle. I have now read a book.

Starodum: What?

Sophia: French, Fenelon, about the education of girls.

Starodum: Fenelon? The author of Telemachus? Good. I don’t know your book, but read it, read it. Whoever wrote Telemachus will not corrupt morals with his pen. I fear for you the present sages. I happened to read from them everything that was translated into Russian. True, they strongly eradicate prejudices and uproot virtue.

The attitude to reading and books can be traced throughout the comedy "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov. "The most famous Muscovite of all Russian literature," Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, is quite critical in his assessments. Upon learning that his daughter Sophia "everything is in French, aloud, reading locked up," he says:

Tell me that it's not good for her eyes to spoil,

And in reading it is not great:

She has no sleep from French books,

And it hurts me to sleep from the Russians.

And he considers the cause of Chatsky's madness to be exclusively teaching and books:

If evil is to be stopped:

Take away all the books and burn them!

Alexander Andreevich Chatsky himself reads only progressive Western literature and categorically denies authors respected in Moscow society:

I'm not stupid,

And more exemplary.

Let's move on to later works of literature. In the "encyclopedia of Russian life" - the novel "Eugene Onegin" - A.S. Pushkin, characterizing his heroes as they get to know the reader, pays special attention to their literary preferences. The protagonist was "cut in the latest fashion, dressed like a London dandy", "he could speak and write in French", that is, he received a brilliant education by European standards:

He knew enough Latin

To parse epigrams,

Talk about Juvenal

At the end of the letter put vale,

Yes, I remember, though not without sin,

Two verses from the Aeneid.

Branil Homer, Theocritus;

But read Adam Smith

And there was a deep economy.

Onegin's village neighbor, the young landowner Vladimir Lensky, "with a soul like that of Gottingen," brought back the "fruits of learning" from Germany, where he was educated on the works of German philosophers. The mind of the young man was especially excited by reflections on Duty and Justice, as well as the theory of the Categorical Imperative by Immanuel Kant.

Pushkin's favorite heroine, "dear Tatyana", was brought up in the spirit characteristic of her time and in accordance with her own romantic nature:

She liked novels early on;

They replaced everything for her;

She fell in love with deceptions

Both Richardson and Rousseau.

Her father was a good fellow

Belated in the last century;

But I saw no harm in books;

He never reads

They were considered an empty toy

And didn't care about

What is my daughter's secret volume

Slept until morning under the pillow.

His wife was herself

Mad about Richardson.

N.V. Gogol in the poem "Dead Souls", when we meet the main character, says nothing about his literary preferences. Apparently, the collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov did not have those at all, for he was "not handsome, but not bad-looking, not too fat, not too thin; one cannot say that he was old, but not so that he was too young": middle lord. However, about the first to whom Chichikov went for dead souls, the landowner Manilov, it is known that "in his office there was always some kind of book, bookmarked on the fourteenth page, which he had been constantly reading for two years."

The triumph and death of "Oblomovism" as a limited and cozy world by Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, against the background of whose metamorphoses the active life of Andrei Stolz beats with an indefatigable key, was illuminated in his novel by I.A. Goncharov. Undoubtedly, the difference in the reassessment of the values ​​of the two heroes casts its shadow on their attitude to reading and books. Stolz, with his characteristic German perseverance, showed a special desire to read and study as early as his childhood: “From the age of eight, he sat with his father at a geographical map, disassembled Herder, Wieland, Bible verses into warehouses and summed up the illiterate accounts of peasants, philistines and factory workers, and I read Sacred History with my mother, taught Krylov's fables and dismantled Telemaka according to the warehouses.

Once Andrei disappeared for a week, then he was found sleeping peacefully in his bed. Under the bed - someone's gun and a pound of gunpowder and shot. When asked where he got it, he replied: "So!" The father asks his son if he has a German translation of Cornelius Nepos ready. Learning that he wasn’t, his father dragged him by the collar into the yard, kicked him and said: “Go, where you came from. And come again with a translation, instead of one or two chapters, and mother learn the role from the French comedy that she asked: without this don't show up!" Andrei returned a week later with a translation and a learned role.

The process of reading Oblomov as the main character I.A. Goncharov gives a special place in the novel:

What did he do at home? Was reading? Did you write? Studied?

Yes: if a book, a newspaper, falls under his hands, he will read it.

Hears about some wonderful work - he will have an urge to get to know him; he is looking for, asking for books, and if they bring it soon, he will take it, he begins to form an idea about the subject; another step and he would have mastered him, and look, he was already lying, looking apathetically at the ceiling, and the book lay beside him unread, misunderstood.

If he somehow managed to get through a book called statistics, history, political economy, he was completely satisfied. When Stoltz brought him books that needed to be read beyond what he had learned, Oblomov looked at him for a long time in silence.

No matter how interesting the place where he stopped was, but if the hour of dinner or sleep caught him at this place, he put the book with the binding up and went to dinner or extinguished the candle and went to bed.

If they gave him the first volume, he did not ask for the second after reading it, but brought it - he slowly read it.

Ilyusha studied, like others, until the age of fifteen in a boarding school. “Of necessity, he sat straight in the classroom, listened to what the teachers said, because there was nothing else to do, and with difficulty, with sweat, with sighs, he learned the lessons given to him. Serious reading tired him.” Oblomov does not perceive thinkers, only poets managed to stir up his soul. Stoltz gives him books. "Both were worried, wept, gave each other solemn promises to follow a reasonable and bright path." But nevertheless, while reading, "no matter how interesting the place where he (Oblomov) stopped was, but if the hour of lunch or sleep caught him at this place, he put the book with the binding up and went to dinner or extinguished the candle and went to bed" . As a result, "his head represented a complex archive of dead deeds, faces, eras, figures, religions, unrelated political, economic, mathematical or other truths, tasks, positions, etc. It was like a library consisting of some scattered volumes in different areas of knowledge. It also happens that he is filled with contempt for human vice, for lies, for slander, for evil spilled in the world, and flares up with a desire to point out to a person his ulcers, and suddenly thoughts light up in him, walk and walk in his head, like waves in the sea. ", then they grow into intentions, ignite all the blood in him. But, you look, the morning will flash by, the day is already leaning towards evening, and with it Oblomov's weary forces tend to rest."

reading hero Russian novel

The apogee of the well-readness of the heroes of a literary work is, without a doubt, the novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". Pages simply abound with names, surnames, titles. Here there is Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang Goethe, whom Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov respects. Nikolai Petrovich instead of Pushkin "children" give "Stoff und Kraft" by Ludwig Buchner. Matvei Ilyich Kolyazin, "preparing to go to the evening to Mrs. Svechina, who then lived in St. Petersburg, read a page from Candillac in the morning." And Evdoxia Kuk-shina really shines with erudition and erudition in a conversation with Bazarov:

You, they say, began to praise George Sand again. Retarded woman, and nothing more! How is it possible to compare her with Emerson? She has no ideas about education, or physiology, or anything. She, I am sure, has never heard of embryology, but in our time - how do you want without it? Oh, what an amazing article Elisevich wrote about this.

Having reviewed the works and their characters in terms of the literary preferences of the latter, the author would like to dwell in more detail on the characters of Turgenev and Pushkin. They, as the most vivid exponents of literary predilections, will be discussed in the following parts of the work.

"The Cherry Orchard" by A.P. Chekhov: the meaning of the name and features of the genre

Deliberately depriving the play of "events", Chekhov directed all his attention to the state of the characters, their attitude to the main fact - the sale of the estate and the garden, to their relationships, collisions. The teacher should draw students' attention to...

Analysis of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by F.M. Dostoevsky

The protagonist of the novel is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former student. “He was remarkably good-looking, with beautiful dark eyes, dark blond, taller than average, thin and slender. But soon he fell into deep thought, as it were, even...

V.M. Shukshin - a nugget of the Altai land

Shukshin carried through his whole life and work the main thought and idea - a serious study of the national character. All his heroes are simple people living their lives, seeking, thirsting, creating...

The Significance of Shevyrev's Criticism for Russian Journalism of the 19th Century

For the first time in Russian literature, the word "critic" was used by Antioch Kantemir in 1739 in the satire "On Education". Also in French - critique. In Russian spelling, it will come into frequent use in the middle of the 19th century ...

The image of the north in the early works of Oleg Kuvaev

In his student years, Kuvaev first developed an interest in the North: he begins to collect literature about this region. The works of the famous Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen had a strong influence on the young man...

M.A. Bulgakov and his novel "The Master and Margarita"

BUT). Yeshua and Woland. In the novel The Master and Margarita, the two main forces of good and evil, which, according to Bulgakov, should be in balance on Earth, are embodied in the faces of Yeshua Ha-Notsri from Yershalaim, close in image to Christ...

The motif of the road and its philosophical sound in the literature of the nineteenth century

1.1 The symbolic function of the road motif The road is an ancient image-symbol, the spectral sound of which is very wide and varied. Most often, the image of the road in the work is perceived as the life path of the hero...

People's war in the novel "War and Peace"

In the novel, Tolstoy expresses his thoughts on the reasons for Russia's victory in the war of 1812: "No one will argue that the cause of the death of Napoleon's French troops was, on the one hand ...

The role of allusions to the novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe "The Sufferings of Young Werther" in Ulrich Plenzdorf's story "The New Sufferings of Young V."

So, in the novel by J.W. Goethe, we have the following characters: Werther, Charlotte (Lotta), Albert (fiance, and later Lotta's husband) and Werther's friend Wilhelm (the addressee of letters, an off-stage character, so to speak, because ...

The originality of the writer E.L. Schwartz

Modern Russian Literature. Roman Zamyatina "We"

The Modern Literary Process Literature is an integral part of a person's life, a kind of photograph of him, which perfectly describes all internal states, as well as social laws. Like history, literature develops...

A work of art as an intercultural mediator

For students studying in schools in Belarus, Russian literature is the second after native Belarusian literature, studied with the aim of effectively implementing interethnic contacts, familiarizing with the achievements of world culture...

Recently, the BBC showed a series based on Tolstoy's "War and Peace". In the West, everything is like ours - there, too, the release of a film (television) adaptation dramatically increases interest in the literary source. And now the masterpiece of Lev Nikolaevich suddenly became one of the bestsellers, and with it the readers became interested in all Russian literature. On this wave, the popular literary site Literary Hub published the article "10 Russian Literary Heroines You Should Know" (The 10 Russian Literary Heroines You Should Know). It seemed to me that this is a curious look from the outside on our classics and I translated the article for my blog. I post it here too. The illustrations are taken from the original article.

Attention! There are spoilers in the text.

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We know that all happy heroines are equally happy, and each unhappy heroine is unhappy in her own way. But the fact is that there are few happy characters in Russian literature. Russian heroines tend to complicate their lives. It should be so, because their beauty as literary characters largely comes from their ability to suffer, from their tragic destinies, from their “Russianness”.

The most important thing to understand about Russian female characters is that their destinies are not stories of overcoming obstacles to achieve "and they lived happily ever after." Keepers of primordial Russian values, they know that there is more to life than happiness.

1. Tatyana Larina (A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin")

In the beginning there was Tatyana. This is a kind of Eve of Russian literature. And not only because it is chronologically the first, but also because Pushkin occupies a special place in Russian hearts. Almost any Russian is able to recite the poems of the father of Russian literature by heart (and after a few shots of vodka, many will do this). Pushkin's masterpiece, the poem "Eugene Onegin", is the story not only of Onegin, but also of Tatyana, a young innocent girl from the provinces, who falls in love with the protagonist. Unlike Onegin, who is shown as a cynical bon vivant spoiled by fashionable European values, Tatyana embodies the essence and purity of the mysterious Russian soul. Including a penchant for self-sacrifice and neglect of happiness, which is shown by her famous rejection of the person she loves.

2. Anna Karenina (L.N. Tolstoy "Anna Karenina")

Unlike Pushkin's Tatyana, who resists the temptation to get along with Onegin, Anna Tolstoy leaves both her husband and son to run away with Vronsky. Like a true dramatic heroine, Anna voluntarily makes the wrong choice, a choice she will have to pay for. Anna's sin and the source of her tragic fate is not that she left the child, but that selfishly indulging her sexual and romantic desires, she forgot the lesson of Tatyana's selflessness. If you see a light at the end of a tunnel, make no mistake, it could be a train.

3. Sonya Marmeladova (F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment")

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Sonya appears as the antipode of Raskolnikov. A whore and a saint at the same time, Sonya accepts her existence as a path of martyrdom. Upon learning of Raskolnikov's crime, she does not push him away, on the contrary, she attracts him to herself in order to save his soul. Characteristic here is the famous scene when they read the biblical story of the resurrection of Lazarus. Sonya is able to forgive Raskolnikov, because she believes that everyone is equal before God, and God forgives. For a repentant killer, this is a real find.

4. Natalia Rostova (L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace")

Natalia is everyone's dream: smart, funny, sincere. But if Pushkin's Tatyana is too good to be true, Natalya seems alive, real. Partly because Tolstoy added other qualities to her image: she is capricious, naive, flirtatious and, for the mores of the early 19th century, a little daring. In War and Peace, Natalia starts out as a charming teenager, exuding joy and vitality. Throughout the novel, she grows older, learns the lessons of life, tames her fickle heart, becomes wiser, her character acquires integrity. And this woman, which is generally uncharacteristic for Russian heroines, after more than a thousand pages, is still smiling.

5. Irina Prozorova (A.P. Chekhov "Three Sisters")

At the beginning of Chekhov's play Three Sisters, Irina is the youngest and full of hope. Her older brothers and sisters are whiny and capricious, they are tired of life in the provinces, and Irina's naive soul is filled with optimism. She dreams of returning to Moscow, where, in her opinion, she will find her true love and be happy. But as the chance to move to Moscow fades, she becomes increasingly aware that she is stuck in the countryside and is losing her spark. Through Irina and her sisters, Chekhov shows us that life is just a series of dull moments, only occasionally punctuated by short bursts of joy. Like Irina, we waste our time on trifles, dreaming of a better future, but gradually we realize the insignificance of our existence.

6. Liza Kalitina (I.S. Turgenev "The Noble Nest")

In the novel "The Nest of Nobles" Turgenev created an example of a Russian heroine. Liza is young, naive, pure in heart. She is torn between two boyfriends: a young, handsome, cheerful officer and an old, sad, married man. Guess who she chose? The choice of Lisa says a lot about the mysterious Russian soul. She is clearly on her way to suffering. The choice of Lisa shows that the desire for sadness and melancholy is no worse than any other option. At the end of the story, Liza is disappointed in love and goes to a monastery, choosing the path of sacrifice and deprivation. “Happiness is not for me,” she explains her act. “Even when I hoped for happiness, my heart was always heavy.”

7. Margarita (M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita")

Chronologically, the last on the list is Bulgakov's Margarita, an extremely strange heroine. At the beginning of the novel, this is an unhappy woman in marriage, then she becomes the lover and muse of the Master, in order to later turn into a witch flying on a broomstick. For Master Margarita, this is not only a source of inspiration. She becomes, like Sonya for Raskolnikov, his healer, lover, savior. When the Master is in trouble, Margarita turns to none other than Satan himself for help. Having concluded, like Faust, a contract with the Devil, she still reunites with her lover, albeit not quite in this world.

8. Olga Semyonova (A.P. Chekhov "Darling")

In Darling, Chekhov tells the story of Olga Semyonova, a loving and tender soul, a simple person who is said to live by love. Olga becomes a widow early. Twice. When there is no one around to love, she closes herself in the company of a cat. In a review of Darling, Tolstoy wrote that, intending to ridicule a narrow-minded woman, Chekhov accidentally created a very endearing character. Tolstoy went even further, he condemned Chekhov for being too harsh on Olga, urging her to judge her soul, not her intellect. According to Tolstoy, Olga embodies the ability of Russian women to love unconditionally, a virtue unknown to men.

9. Anna Sergeevna Odintsova (I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons")

In the novel "Fathers and Sons" (often mistranslated "Fathers and Sons"), Mrs. Odintsova is a lonely woman of mature age, the sound of her surname in Russian also hints at loneliness. Odintsova is an atypical heroine who has become a kind of pioneer among female literary characters. Unlike other women in the novel, who follow the obligations imposed on them by society, Mrs. Odintsova is childless, she has no mother and husband (she is a widow). She stubbornly defends her independence, like Pushkin's Tatyana, refusing the only chance to find true love.

10. Nastasya Filippovna (F.M. Dostoevsky "The Idiot")

The heroine of The Idiot, Nastasya Filippovna, gives an idea of ​​how complex Dostoevsky is. Beauty makes her a victim. Orphaned as a child, Nastasya becomes a kept woman and mistress of the elderly man who picked her up. But every time she tries to break free from the clutches of her position and build her own destiny, she continues to feel humiliated. Guilt casts a fatal shadow on all her decisions. According to tradition, like many other Russian heroines, Nastasya has several options for fate, mainly associated with men. And in keeping with tradition, she fails to make the right choice. Resigned to fate instead of fighting, the heroine drifts to her tragic end.

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The author of this text is the writer and diplomatic worker Guillermo Erades. He worked in Russia for some time, knows Russian literature well, is a fan of Chekhov and the author of Back to Moscow. So this view is not entirely outsider. On the other hand, how to write about Russian literary heroines without knowing the Russian classics?

Guillermo does not explain his choice of characters in any way. In my opinion, the absence of Princess Mary or “poor Liza” (which, incidentally, was written earlier than Pushkin's Tatyana) and Katerina Kabanova (from Ostrosky's Thunderstorm) is surprising. It seems to me that these Russian literary heroines are better known among us than Liza Kalitina or Olga Semyonova. However, this is my subjective opinion. Who would you add to this list?

Epics about Ilya Muromets

Hero Ilya Muromets, son of Ivan Timofeevich and Efrosinya Yakovlevna, peasants of the village of Karacharova near Murom. The most popular epic character, the second most powerful (after Svyatogor) Russian hero and the first domestic superman.

Sometimes a real person is identified with the epic Ilya Muromets, the Monk Ilya of the Caves, nicknamed Chobotok, buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and canonized in 1643.

Years of creation. 12th–16th centuries

What is the point. Until the age of 33, Ilya lay, paralyzed, on the stove in his parents' house, until he was miraculously healed by wanderers ("passing stones"). Having gained strength, he arranged his father's household and went to Kyiv, along the way capturing Nightingale the Robber, who terrorized the neighborhood. In Kyiv, Ilya Muromets joined the squad of Prince Vladimir and found the hero Svyatogor, who gave him the sword-treasurer and the mystical "real power". In this episode, he demonstrated not only physical strength, but also high moral qualities, not responding to the advances of Svyatogor's wife. Later, Ilya Muromets defeated the “great force” near Chernigov, paved the direct road from Chernigov to Kyiv, inspected the roads from Alatyr-stone, tested the young hero Dobrynya Nikitich, rescued the hero Mikhail Potyk from captivity in the Saracen kingdom, defeated Idolishche, walked with his squad to Tsargrad, one defeated the army of Kalin Tsar.

Ilya Muromets was not alien to simple human joys: in one of the epic episodes, he walks around Kyiv with “tavern goals”, and his offspring Sokolnik was born out of wedlock, which later leads to a fight between father and son.

What does it look like. Superman. Epics describe Ilya Muromets as "a remote, burly good fellow", he fights with a club "in ninety pounds" (1440 kilograms)!

What is he fighting for. Ilya Muromets and his squad very clearly formulate the purpose of their service:

“... stand alone for the faith for the fatherland,

... to stand alone for Kyiv-grad,

... to stand alone for the churches for the cathedral,

... he will save the prince and Vladimir.

But Ilya Muromets is not only a statesman - he is also one of the most democratic fighters against evil, as he is always ready to fight "for widows, for orphans, for poor people."

The way to fight. A duel with the enemy or a battle with superior enemy forces.

With what result. Despite the difficulties caused by the numerical superiority of the enemy or the dismissive attitude of Prince Vladimir and the boyars, he invariably wins.

What is it fighting against? Against the internal and external enemies of Russia and their allies, violators of law and order, illegal migrants, invaders and aggressors.

2. Archpriest Avvakum

"The Life of Archpriest Avvakum"

Hero. Archpriest Avvakum made his way from a village priest to the leader of the resistance to church reform, Patriarch Nikon, and became one of the leaders of the Old Believers, or schismatics. Avvakum is the first religious figure of this magnitude, who not only suffered for his beliefs, but also described it himself.

Years of creation. Approximately 1672–1675.

What is the point. A native of the Volga village, Avvakum from his youth was distinguished by both piety and violent temper. Having moved to Moscow, he took an active part in church and educational activities, was close to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but sharply opposed the church reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon. With his characteristic temperament, Avvakum waged a fierce struggle against Nikon, advocating the old order of church ritual. Avvakum, not at all embarrassed in expressions, conducted public and journalistic activities, for which he repeatedly went to prison, was cursed and defrocked, and was exiled to Tobolsk, Transbaikalia, Mezen and Pustozersk. From the place of the last exile, he continued to write appeals, for which he was imprisoned in an "earthen pit". Had many followers. Church hierarchs tried to persuade Avvakum to renounce his "delusions", but he remained adamant and was eventually burned.

What does it look like. One can only guess: Avvakum did not describe himself. Maybe this is how the priest looks like in Surikov’s painting “Boyar Morozova” - Feodosia Prokopyevna Morozova was a faithful follower of Avvakum.

What is he fighting for. For the purity of the Orthodox faith, for the preservation of tradition.

The way to fight. Word and deed. Avvakum wrote accusatory pamphlets, but he could personally beat the buffoons who entered the village and break their musical instruments. Considered self-immolation as a form of possible resistance.

With what result. Avvakum's passionate sermon against church reform made resistance to it massive, but he himself, along with three of his associates, was executed in 1682 in Pustozersk.

What is it fighting against? Against the desecration of Orthodoxy by "heretical novelties", against everything alien, "external wisdom", that is, scientific knowledge, against entertainment. He suspects the imminent coming of the Antichrist and the reign of the devil.

3. Taras Bulba

"Taras Bulba"

Hero.“Taras was one of the indigenous, old colonels: he was all created for abusive anxiety and was distinguished by the rude directness of his temper. Then the influence of Poland was already beginning to appear on the Russian nobility. Many already adopted Polish customs, started luxury, magnificent servants, falcons, hunters, dinners, courtyards. Taras didn't like it. He loved the simple life of the Cossacks and quarreled with those of his comrades who were inclined towards the Warsaw side, calling them serfs of the Polish lords. Eternally restless, he considered himself the legitimate defender of Orthodoxy. Arbitrarily entered the villages, where they only complained about the harassment of tenants and the increase in new duties on smoke. He himself carried out reprisals against his Cossacks and made it a rule for himself that in three cases one should always take up a saber, namely: when the commissars did not respect the foremen in anything and stood in front of them in hats, when they mocked Orthodoxy and did not honor the ancestral law, and, finally, when the enemies were the Busurmans and the Turks, against whom he considered it at least permissible to take up arms for the glory of Christianity.

Year of creation. The story was first published in 1835 in the collection Mirgorod. The edition of 1842, in which, in fact, we all read Taras Bulba, differs significantly from the original version.

What is the point. Throughout his life, the dashing Cossack Taras Bulba has been fighting for the liberation of Ukraine from oppressors. He, the glorious ataman, cannot bear the thought that his own children, flesh of his flesh, may not follow his example. Therefore, Taras kills Andriy's son, who betrayed the sacred cause, without hesitation. When another son, Ostap, is captured, our hero deliberately penetrates the heart of the enemy camp - but not in order to try to save his son. His only goal is to make sure that Ostap, under torture, did not show cowardice and did not renounce high ideals. Taras himself dies like Joan of Arc, having previously presented Russian culture with the immortal phrase: “There are no bonds holier than camaraderie!”

What does it look like. Extremely heavy and fat (20 pounds, in terms of - 320 kg), gloomy eyes, black-white eyebrows, mustache and forelock.

What is he fighting for. For the liberation of the Zaporozhian Sich, for independence.

The way to fight. Military actions.

With what result. With deplorable. All died.

What is it fighting against? Against oppressor Poles, foreign yoke, police despotism, old-world landowners and court satraps.

4. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov

"A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov"

Hero. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov, merchant class. Trades in silks - with varying degrees of success. Moskvich. Orthodox. Has two younger brothers. He is married to the beautiful Alena Dmitrievna, because of whom the whole story came out.

Year of creation. 1838

What is the point. Lermontov was not fond of the theme of Russian heroism. He wrote romantic poems about nobles, officers, Chechens and Jews. But he was one of the first to find out that the 19th century is rich only in the heroes of his time, but heroes for all time should be sought in the deep past. There, in the Moscow of Ivan the Terrible, a hero was found (or rather, invented) with the now speaking surname Kalashnikov. The young oprichnik Kiribeevich falls in love with his wife and attacks her at night, persuading her to surrender. The next day, the offended husband challenges the oprichnik to a fistfight and kills him with one blow. For the murder of his beloved oprichnik and for the fact that Kalashnikov refuses to name the reason for his act, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich orders the execution of a young merchant, but does not leave his widow and children with mercy and care. Such is royal justice.

What does it look like.

"His falcon eyes are burning,

He looks at the oprichnik intently.

Opposite him, he becomes

Pulls on combat gloves

Mighty shoulders straightens.

What is he fighting for. For the honor of his woman and family. Kiribeevich's attack on Alena Dmitrievna was seen by the neighbors, and now she cannot appear before the eyes of honest people. Although, going out to fight with the guardsman, Kalashnikov solemnly declares that he is fighting "for the holy truth-mother." But heroes sometimes distort.

The way to fight. Fatal fistfight. In fact, a murder in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses.

With what result.

“And they executed Stepan Kalashnikov

Death is fierce, shameful;

And the untalented head

She rolled on the chopping block in blood.

But on the other hand, Kiribeevich was also buried.

What is it fighting against? Evil in the poem is personified by an oprichnik with a foreign patronymic Kiribeevich, and even a relative of Malyuta Skuratov, that is, an enemy squared. Kalashnikov calls him "basurman's son", alluding to his enemy's lack of Moscow registration. And the first (and also the last) blow this person of eastern nationality inflicts not on the face of a merchant, but on an Orthodox cross with relics from Kyiv, which hangs on a valiant chest. He says to Alena Dmitrievna: “I am not a thief, a forest murderer, / I am a servant of the king, the terrible king ...” - that is, he hides behind the highest mercy. So the heroic act of Kalashnikov is nothing but a deliberate murder on the basis of ethnic hatred. Lermontov, who himself participated in the Caucasian campaigns and wrote a lot about the wars with the Chechens, the theme of "Moscow for Muscovites" in its anti-Basurman section was close.

5. Danko "Old Woman Izergil"

Hero Danko. Biography unknown.

“In the old days, only people lived in the world, impenetrable forests surrounded the camps of these people on three sides, and on the fourth there was a steppe. They were cheerful, strong and courageous people ... Danko is one of those people ... "

Year of creation. The short story "Old Woman Izergil" was first published in Samarskaya Gazeta in 1895.

What is the point. Danko is the fruit of the irrepressible imagination of the very old woman Izergil, whose name is Gorky's short story. A sultry Bessarabian old woman with a rich past tells a beautiful legend: at the time of the ona, there was a redistribution of property - there were disassemblies between the two tribes. Not wanting to stay in the occupied territory, one of the tribes went into the forest, but there the people suffered a massive depression, because "nothing - neither work nor women exhaust the bodies and souls of people as exhausting dreary thoughts." At a critical moment, Danko did not allow his people to bow to the conquerors, but instead offered to follow him - in an unknown direction.

What does it look like.“Danko… a handsome young man. The beautiful are always bold.

What is he fighting for. Go know. For getting out of the forest and thereby ensuring freedom for your people. Where are the guarantees that freedom is exactly where the forest ends, it is not clear.

The way to fight. An unpleasant physiological operation, indicating a masochistic personality. Self-dismemberment.

With what result. With dual. He got out of the forest, but died immediately. Sophisticated mockery of one's own body does not go in vain. The hero did not receive gratitude for his feat: his heart, torn from his chest with his own hand, was trampled under someone's heartless heel.

What is it fighting against? Against collaborationism, conciliation and cringing before the conquerors.

6. Colonel Isaev (Stirlitz)

A corpus of texts, from "Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" to "Bomb for the Chairman", the most important of the novels is "Seventeen Moments of Spring"

Hero. Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov, aka Maxim Maksimovich Isaev, aka Max Otto von Stirlitz, aka Estilitz, Bolsen, Brunn. An employee of the press service of the Kolchak government, an underground Chekist, intelligence officer, professor of history, exposing the conspiracy of the followers of Nazism.

Years of creation. Novels about Colonel Isaev were created over 24 years - from 1965 to 1989.

What is the point. In 1921, Chekist Vladimirov liberates the Far East from the remnants of the White Army. In 1927, they decided to send him to Europe - it was then that the legend of the German aristocrat Max Otto von Stirlitz was born. In 1944, he saved Krakow from destruction by helping the group of Major Whirlwind. At the very end of the war, he was entrusted with the most important mission - the disruption of separate negotiations between Germany and the West. In Berlin, the hero does his hard work, saving the radio operator Kat along the way, the end of the war is already close, and the Third Reich is collapsing to the song of Marika Rekk "Seventeen Moments of April". In 1945, Stirlitz was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

What does it look like. From the party characteristics of a member of the NSDAP since 1933 von Stirlitz, SS Standartenführer (VI department of the RSHA): “A true Aryan. Character - Nordic, seasoned. Maintains good relations with co-workers. Fulfills his duty without fail. Merciless to the enemies of the Reich. Excellent athlete: Berlin tennis champion. Single; he was not noticed in connections discrediting him. Marked with awards from the Fuhrer and thanks from the Reichsfuehrer SS ... "

What is he fighting for. For the victory of communism. It is unpleasant for oneself to admit this, but in some situations - for the motherland, for Stalin.

The way to fight. Intelligence and espionage, in some places the deductive method, ingenuity, skill-disguise.

With what result. On the one hand, he saves everyone who needs it and successfully carries out subversive activities; reveals covert intelligence networks and defeats the main enemy - Gestapo chief Muller. However, the Soviet country, for the honor and victory of which he is fighting, thanks his hero in his own way: in 1947, he, who had just arrived in the Union on a Soviet ship, was arrested, and by order of Stalin, his wife and son were shot. Stirlitz is released from prison only after the death of Beria.

What is it fighting against? Against whites, Spanish fascists, German Nazis and all enemies of the USSR.

7. Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov "Look into the eyes of monsters"

Hero Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov, symbolist poet, superman, conquistador, member of the Order of the Fifth Rome, arbiter of Soviet history and fearless destroyer of dragons.

Year of creation. 1997

What is the point. Nikolai Gumilyov was not shot in 1921 in the dungeons of the Cheka. From execution, he was saved by Yakov Wilhelmovich (or James William Bruce), a representative of the secret Order of the Fifth Rome, created back in the 13th century. Having acquired the gift of immortality and power, Gumilyov walks through the history of the 20th century, generously leaving his traces in it. He puts Marilyn Monroe to bed, along the way building chickens to Agatha Christie, gives valuable advice to Ian Fleming, starts a duel with Mayakovsky out of absurdity of character and, leaving his cold corpse in Lubyansky passage, runs, leaving the police and literary critics to compose a version of suicide. He takes part in the congress of writers and sits down on xerion - a magical dope based on dragon blood, which gives immortality to members of the order. Everything would be fine - the problems begin later, when the evil dragon forces begin to threaten not only the world in general, but the Gumilyov family: wife Annushka and son Stepa.

What is he fighting for. First, for goodness and beauty, then he is no longer up to high ideas - he simply saves his wife and son.

The way to fight. Gumilyov participates in an unthinkable number of battles and battles, owns hand-to-hand combat techniques and all types of firearms. True, in order to achieve special sleight of hand, fearlessness, omnipotence, invulnerability and even immortality, he has to throw xerion.

With what result. Nobody knows. The novel "Look into the eyes of monsters" ends without giving an answer to this burning question. All the continuations of the novel (both the Hyperborean Plague and the March of the Ecclesiastes), firstly, are much less recognized by Lazarchuk-Uspensky's fans, and secondly, and most importantly, they also do not offer the reader clues.

What is it fighting against? Having learned about the real causes of the disasters that hit the world in the 20th century, he fights first of all with these misfortunes. In other words, with a civilization of evil lizards.

8. Vasily Terkin

"Vasily Terkin"

Hero. Vasily Terkin, reserve private, infantryman. A native of Smolensk. Single, no children. He has an award for the totality of feats.

Years of creation. 1941–1945

What is the point. Contrary to popular belief, the need for such a hero appeared even before the Great Patriotic War. Tvardovsky came up with Terkin during the Finnish campaign, where he, along with the Pulkins, Mushkins, Protirkins and other characters in newspaper feuilletons, fought with the White Finns for their homeland. So in 1941, Terkin entered an already experienced fighter. By 1943, Tvardovsky was tired of his unsinkable hero and wanted to send him into retirement due to injury, but letters from readers returned Terkin to the front, where he spent another two years, was shell-shocked and surrounded three times, conquered high and low heights, led fights in the swamps, liberated villages, took Berlin and even spoke with Death. His rustic but sparkling wit invariably saved him from enemies and censors, but he definitely did not attract girls. Tvardovsky even turned to readers with an appeal to fall in love with his hero - just like that, from the heart. Still, Soviet heroes do not have the dexterity of James Bond.

What does it look like. Endowed with beauty He was not excellent, Not tall, not that small, But a hero - a hero.

What is he fighting for. For the cause of peace for the sake of life on earth, that is, his task, like that of any soldier-liberator, is global. Terkin himself is sure that he is fighting “for Russia, for the people / And for everything in the world”, but sometimes, just in case, he also mentions the Soviet government - no matter what happens.

The way to fight. In war, as you know, any means are good, so everything is used: a tank, a machine gun, a knife, a wooden spoon, fists, teeth, vodka, the power of persuasion, a joke, a song, an accordion ...

With what result. Several times he was on the verge of death. He was supposed to receive a medal, but due to a typo in the list, the award did not find the hero.

But imitators found him: by the end of the war, almost every company already had its own “Terkin”, and some even had two.

What is it fighting against? First against the Finns, then against the Nazis, and sometimes against Death. In fact, Terkin was called upon to fight depressive moods at the front, which he did with success.

9. Anastasia Kamenskaya

A series of detective stories about Anastasia Kamenskaya

Heroine. Nastya Kamenskaya, major of MUR, the best analyst of Petrovka, a brilliant operative, in the manner of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot investigating serious crimes.

Years of creation. 1992–2006

What is the point. The work of an operative involves hard everyday life (the first evidence of this is the television series "Streets of Broken Lights"). But it is difficult for Nastya Kamenskaya to rush around the city and catch bandits in dark alleys: she is lazy, in poor health, and loves peace more than anything in the world. Because of this, she periodically has difficulties in relations with management. Only her first boss and teacher, nicknamed Kolobok, believed in her analytical abilities without limit; the rest have to prove that she is the best at investigating bloody crimes, sitting in the office, drinking coffee and analyzing, analyzing.

What does it look like. Tall, lean blonde, her features expressionless. She never wears make-up and prefers casual, comfortable clothes.

What is he fighting for. Definitely not for a modest police salary: knowing five foreign languages ​​​​and having some connections, Nastya can leave Petrovka at any moment, but she does not. It turns out that he is fighting for the triumph of law and order.

The way to fight. First of all, analytics. But sometimes Nastya has to change her habits and go on the warpath on her own. In this case, acting skills, the art of reincarnation and female charm are used.

With what result. Most often - with brilliant: criminals are exposed, caught, punished. But in rare cases, some of them manage to hide, and then Nastya does not sleep at night, smokes one cigarette after another, goes crazy and tries to come to terms with the injustice of life. However, so far there are clearly more happy endings.

What is it fighting against? Against crime.

10. Erast Fandorin

A series of novels about Erast Fandorin

Hero. Erast Petrovich Fandorin, a nobleman, the son of a small landowner who lost his family fortune at cards. He began his career in the detective police as a collegiate registrar, managed to visit the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, serve in the diplomatic corps in Japan and incur the disfavor of Nicholas II. He rose to the rank of State Councilor and retired. Private detective and consultant to various influential people since 1892. Phenomenally lucky in everything, especially in gambling. Single. Has a number of children and other descendants.

Years of creation. 1998–2006

What is the point. The turn of the XX-XXI centuries again turned out to be an era that is looking for heroes in the past. Akunin found his defender of the weak and oppressed in the gallant 19th century, but in the professional field that is becoming especially popular right now - in the special services. Of all Akunin's stylistic undertakings, Fandorin is the most charming and therefore the most enduring. His biography begins in 1856, the action of the last novel dates back to 1905, and the end of the story has not yet been written, so you can always expect new achievements from Erast Petrovich. Although Akunin, like Tvardovsky earlier, since 2000 has been trying to end his hero and write his last novel about him. The Coronation is subtitled The Last of the Novels; the “Lover of Death” and “The Mistress of Death” written after her were published as a bonus, but then it became clear that Fandorin's readers would not let go so easily. The people need, need, an elegant detective who knows languages ​​and is wildly popular with women. Not all the same "Cops", in fact!

What does it look like.“He was a very pretty young man, with black hair (which he was secretly proud of) and blue (alas, it would be better also black) eyes, rather tall, with white skin and a cursed, indestructible blush on his cheeks.” After the experience of misfortune, his appearance acquires an intriguing detail for ladies - gray temples.

What is he fighting for. For an enlightened monarchy, order and law. Fandorin dreams of a new Russia - ennobled in the Japanese manner, with firmly and reasonably established laws and their scrupulous execution. About Russia, which did not go through the Russo-Japanese and the First World War, revolution and civil war. That is, about Russia, which could be if we had enough luck and common sense to build it.

The way to fight. A combination of the deductive method, meditation techniques and Japanese martial arts with almost mystical luck. By the way, there is also female love, which Fandorin uses in every sense.

With what result. As we know, the Russia that Fandorin dreams about did not happen. So globally, he suffers a crushing defeat. Yes, and in small things too: those whom he tries to save most often die, and the criminals never go to jail (they die, or pay off the court, or simply disappear). However, Fandorin himself invariably remains alive, as does the hope for the final triumph of justice.

What is it fighting against? Against the unenlightened monarchy, revolutionary bombers, nihilists and socio-political chaos, which in Russia can come at any moment. Along the way, he has to fight bureaucracy, corruption in the highest echelons of power, fools, roads and ordinary criminals.

Illustrations: Maria Sosnina

Men are attracted to predominantly male characters, while women are interested in both male and female characters.

In the Year of Literature, the Reading Section of the RLA held an Internet action “Monument to a Literary Hero”, inviting readers of different generations to talk about literary traditions and literary preferences.

From January 15 to March 30, 2015, a questionnaire was published on the RBA website with the possibility of reprinting it. Colleagues from many libraries, regional book and reading centers, educational institutions, and the media supported the action by posting a questionnaire on their resources.

The action was attended by more than four and a half thousand people from 63 subjects of the Russian Federation aged from 5 to 81 years. In general, women made up 65% of the sample, men - 35%. Answering the question “Which literary hero would you like to see a monument in the area where you live?”, the respondents named 510 heroes out of 368 works created by 226 authors. Adults over 18 named 395 heroes. Children and teenagers 17 years and younger - 254 heroes. Adult women named 344 heroes. Men - 145 heroes.

The first ten heroes, whose monuments the participants of the action would like to see, are as follows:

1st place: Ostap Bender - named 135 times (including a joint monument with Kisa Vorobyaninov), 179 mentions;

2nd place: Sherlock Holmes - 96 times (including a joint monument with Dr. Watson), is 108 mentions;

3rd place: Tom Sawyer - 68 times (including the joint monument to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), is 108 mentions;

4th place: Margarita - 63 (including the joint monument with the Master) is 104 mentions;

5th place: Eugene Onegin - 58 (including the joint monument with Tatyana) is 95 mentions;

6th-7th place was shared by Vasily Terkin and Faust - 91 times each;

8th place: Romeo and Juliet - 86;

9th place: Anna Karenina - 77;

10th place: Stirlitz - 71.

Considering male and female preferences, we can say that men are attracted mainly to male images, while women are interested in both male and female characters. The top ten male preferences are as follows (we consider by analogy with the data for the entire array, taking into account joint monuments): 1) Ostap Bender; 2) Stirlitz; 3) Musketeers; 4-5) Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote; 6) Margarita; 7) Fedor Eichmanis; 8) Sharikov; 9) Artyom Goryainov; 10-11) the shepherd of Santiago; Robinson Crusoe. So, in the top ten there is only one female image - Margarita. It should be added that Galina is very rarely present with Artyom Goryainov. Women's preferences look different: 1) Ostap Bender; 2) Tatyana Larina; 3) Anna Karenina; 4-5) Romeo and Juliet; Arseny-Laurus; 6) Sherlock Holmes; 7-8) Cat Behemoth; Margarita; 9-10) Strange children; Angie Malone; 11) Mary Poppins.

The survey data provide strong evidence of intergenerational reading preferences. The top ten preferences for girls aged 17 and under include (in descending order): Assol, Romeo and Juliet, Mermaid, Thumbelina, Snow Maiden, Little Red Riding Hood, Gerda, Mary Poppins, Harry Porter, Alice.

Thus, the majority are female images. At the same time, girls' orientation toward female images is not as pronounced as the preference for male images among boys.

The top ten preferences of boys aged 17 and younger: Tom Sawyer, Vasily Terkin, Robinson Crusoe, D'Artagnan and the Musketeers, Dunno, Sherlock Holmes, Andrey Sokolov, Mowgli, Faust, Hottabych.

Boys, like men, clearly demonstrate a preference for and need for male heroes. The boys in the top twenty heroes do not have female images at all. The first of them appear only in the third ten of the rating, and even then in the company of male heroes: The Master and Margarita; Harry, Hermione, Ron; Romeo and Juliet.

According to the survey, the absolute leader in the number of preferred monuments is Ostap Bender.

Comparison of preference lists according to different parameters shows that the image of Ostap Bender is the undisputed leader, but he is still closer to men.

Why is this image of a hero-adventurer so attractive to our contemporaries? Analyzing the most numerous and famous monuments to beloved literary heroes that arose in the post-Soviet period (Ostap Bender, Munchausen, Vasily Terkin, Koroviev and Begemot), M. Lipovetsky notes the common thing that unites them: “Apparently, the fact that they are all in to varying degrees, but always quite clearly represent the cultural archetype of the trickster.

Looking back at Soviet culture in its various manifestations, it is not difficult to see that most of the characters that gained mass popularity in Soviet culture represent various versions of this ancient archetype.

Moreover, the author proves that the significance of such images is preserved in post-Soviet culture. Both men and women are also interested in the image of Sherlock Holmes, who, according to M. Lipovetsky, also belongs to the trickster archetype.

Traditionally, in the structure of women's preferences, the proportion of domestic and foreign classics, as well as melodramas, is higher. Among men, especially young ones, there is a clear interest in the heroes of adventure literature.

The survey clearly showed other preferences related to the age and gender of readers. Each new generation wants to see its heroes, corresponding to their time, acting in the books created at the present time. So, "The House of Peculiar Children" by R. Riggs is interesting mainly for 20-year-olds and mostly for girls. Also, mostly 20-year-olds are interested in "A Street Cat Named Bob" by J. Bowen.

According to online stores, both books are in great demand among readers. Their high rating among the youth is also noted by various online reader communities. And the image of Katerina from the story by V. Chernykh for the film “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” gathers a female audience at the age of 40-50 and is not found among those who are younger than 30 and older than 60 years.

The undisputed hero of the older generation is Stirlitz. Among 20-year-olds, it is never mentioned once, among 30-year-olds - 1 time, 40-year-olds - 7 times, 50-year-olds - 26 times, among 60-year-olds - the absolute leader in men, it is also found in women and is in the lead in general in the older age group. The Julian Semyonov Cultural Foundation has already conducted an Internet voting “Monument to Stirlitz. What should he be?"

However, the monument to one of the most iconic heroes of Soviet literature and cinema never appeared.

The results of the FOM study “Idols of Youth”, conducted in 2008, noted: “It is significant that the relative majority of people who had idols in their youth remain faithful to them in adulthood: two-thirds (68%) of such people (this is 36% of of all respondents) admitted that they can still call their idol the one who was them in the years of their youth. Probably, this can partly explain the attitude of older people towards Stirlitz.

According to the survey, readers would like to erect monuments to the heroes of completely different books: including the heroes of Homer and Sophocles, Aristophanes, J. Boccaccio, as well as L.N. Tolstoy, A.S. Pushkin, I.S. Turgenev, N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.A. Goncharova, M.Yu. Lermontov, A.P. Chekhov. Among the foreign literature of the 20th century, the heroes of the books of G. Hesse, G. Garcia Marquez, R. Bach were named; among domestic - the heroes of the books of K. Paustovsky, V. Astafiev, B. Mozhaev, V. Zakrutkin, V. Konetsky, V. Shukshin and many others.

If we talk about the works of the latest literature, then the survey participants showed considerable interest in the characters of the trilogy "Russian Canary" by D. Rubina and the characters of the novel "The Abode" by Z. Prilepin.

It should be noted another work of modern fiction, which has earned a fairly high reader's rating - this is E. Vodolazkin's novel "Laurel", which received the "Big Book" award in 2013. Here there is one main character - Arseniy-Laurus, to whom they would like to put monument.

Among the works whose heroes would like to erect a monument, thus, clear leaders are noted:

The diversity of the presented literature is noteworthy. The top ten books include Russian and foreign classical literature, classics of world adventure literature, the best domestic literature created in the Soviet period, and modern bestsellers.

When asked what existing monuments to literary heroes like and where they are located, 690 people answered, which is 16.2% of the number of participants. In total, 355 monuments dedicated to 194 heroes were named. These heroes act in 136 works created by 82 authors.

The rating of heroes whose monuments are well known and liked is headed by: The Little Mermaid; Ostap Bender; Pinocchio; White Bim Black Ear; Chizhik-Pyzhik; Baron Munchausen; Mu Mu; Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson; The Bremen Town Musicians…

The overall ranking of monuments is headed by: The Little Mermaid from Copenhagen; White Bim Black Ear from Voronezh; Samara Pinocchio; Petersburg Chizhik-Pyzhik, Ostap Bender, Mumu; Baron Munchausen from Kaliningrad; Moscow Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson; Bremen Town Musicians from Bremen; monument to the Cat Behemoth and Koroviev from Moscow.

These monuments are located in 155 cities, including 86 domestic cities (55.5%) and 69 foreign (44.5%). Among foreign cities the leaders are: Copenhagen, Odessa, London, Kyiv, Bremen, Kharkov, New York, Osh, Nikolaev. Among domestic: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Samara, Kaliningrad, Ramenskoye, Tobolsk, Tomsk. It should be said that actually two cities of the country lead the list in terms of the number of mentions of monuments: the monuments of Moscow were named 174 times, and the monuments of St. Petersburg - 170 times. In third place is Copenhagen with the only monument to the Little Mermaid - 138 times, in fourth place is Voronezh - 80 times.

During the survey, the participants of the action also named the region of their residence. Comparison of the region of residence of the survey participant with the hero to whom they would like to erect a monument (and it was a question of a monument for their place of residence), as well as with those existing monuments that they like, showed that respondents from less than half of the regions named real or desired monuments , where the hero, author of the work, or scene of action was associated with the place of residence of the participant.

In modern Russia, a tradition has been formed to put up street sculptures for literary heroes, and small-form architecture is being developed. Literary heroes can and do become local cultural symbols.

The social demand for such symbols is quite large. Literary monuments create comfortable conditions for the pastime of citizens, are aimed at a reciprocal emotional response, form the unity of local self-consciousness.

A series of events develop around them, that is, they are included in traditional commemorative or everyday practices, they are getting used to the urban environment.

The appearance of objects of decorative urban sculpture, monuments to literary heroes, monuments dedicated to books and reading can contribute not only to the aesthetic education of the population, but also to the formation of a personal perception of their small homeland, new traditions.

Sculptures, especially street ones, close to a person, play and entertain the townspeople, form unofficial practices of handling such an object and personal attitude towards it.

Filling public spaces with such symbols undoubtedly carries a positive emotional load and contributes to the humanization of the social environment.