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There are trifles of everyday life, without which much is incomprehensible in the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Leo Tolstoy. This is the history of culture - and there are no trifles in it. Why is Tatyana Larina, who wrote a letter to Onegin, risking her honor? Why did Onegin, not wanting to kill Lensky in a duel, shoot first? ...

If the highest manifestation of culture is art, then the "culture of everyday life" is its foundation. A person begins to learn the art of behavior in society from childhood, as mother tongue, and usually does not realize how many skills - "words" of this cultural language - he masters. This is the natural way of development. But there are cases when a person must behave in a special way: for example, in a church, at a diplomatic reception or in a palace. This is ritual behavior, and a person learns the rules of such behavior as foreign language- it is impossible to break the "grammar" of this behavior, it is even dangerous.

There are times in history when the whole structure of society changes dramatically, and then even everyday behavior has to be learned as ritual. In Russia, such a sharp turn is associated with the name of Peter I. In his desire to turn the country towards Europe, the reforming tsar introduced foreign customs with an iron fist. Then Paul I forbade wearing round hats - these fashions came from France, which executed its king, and were perceived in Russia as revolutionary. And Nicholas I pursued goatees as an unacceptable manifestation of freethinking.

In the 18th century, everyone understood the language of taffeta flies on the face. With their help, high society coquettes could declare their love or show their severity. And the “language of flowers” ​​was copied into albums back in late XIX centuries ... All these features of life, separated from us by two centuries, are a foreign language, it requires decoding.

About love [ed. ]

Letters are a remarkable monument of the era. To understand a person, read his letters. The same person writes differently to different people. We build an image not only of the one who writes the letter, but also of the one to whom it is addressed.

Lermontov writes one of his most significant poems, "Valerik", and begins it with words from Tatyana's letter. This is not a trifle, but one of the most important cultural phenomena. We observe one of the most complex universal mechanisms of culture - the creation of the context of an era, we see how a separate work is embedded in a mosaic of texts.

Tatyana wrote her letter in French: Pushkin explained that "she knew Russian poorly." In the 19th century French was the language of heartfelt confessions. Tatyana looked for samples of letters of confession from her favorite writers, in French novels. Diaries, albums, letters allow us to imagine the people of Pushkin's time with great certainty. So, Pushkin always wrote letters to women in French.

Time passed. The enthusiastic romanticism of the early 19th century was replaced by a fascination with Byron and his skeptical heroes. Onegin was already laughing at the dreamy Lensky. The young people of the 1820s were not like their older contemporaries.

So I'm getting married... [ed. ]

Most people saw the wedding as shawls borrowed, a new carriage and a pink dressing gown. Others - dowry and sedate life. Still others got married because everyone gets married, and they are already 30 years old.

Marriage is an important step in a young person's life. A wedding is a sacrament, and divorce was then practically impossible. The girl was considered a bride at the age of fourteen or fifteen. At this age, she already danced like an adult at children's balls, where young people came to look for brides. This was the custom among the nobility; and merchants and officials lived in the old fashioned way, the bride was instructed to find a matchmaker, and certainly find out how much her dowry was.

A special story is the weddings of kings and emperors. When the time came to marry or give in marriage the grand dukes and princesses, they looked through all the influential families of foreign countries where suitable grooms or brides could be, and, in accordance with the need for a state union, strengthening relations, they sent someone to find out about the mood of this court. Here marriage is a matter of state.

Romantics considered feelings the most important condition for a happy marriage. The norm of "romantic" behavior at the beginning of the 19th century was the "kidnapping" of the bride for mutual pleasure. If everything went as it should, after they “hit hands”, an agreement followed, a dinner with relatives and close friends, at which the engagement was announced. In the remaining time between the agreement and the wedding, on the eve of the church ceremony, the groom said goodbye to his single life, arranging a “bachelor party”, and the bride had a “girl party”.

After the wedding, family life began. Unfortunately, not always successful. It was very difficult to get a divorce in the old days, and therefore, most often, spouses, having discovered a complete dissimilarity of characters, simply, as they said then, lived on the road.

When entering into marriage, an employee nobleman was obliged to ask for the highest permission. The serfs had to get permission to marry from their mistress.

duels [ed. ]

Russia before late XVII never known anything like it. Duels entered the Russian reality in the times of Peter the Great. In the “Military Article” of Peter I, a chapter “Patent on fights and initiation of quarrels” appeared. The Russian emperor forbade duels: only the tsar could manage the lives of his subjects and judge them.

Peter's decrees were not canceled either during the time of Alexander I or under Nicholas I, but they were never executed. The duelist was sentenced to death, and then the execution was replaced by demotion to the soldiers and exile - most often to the Caucasus, "under the bullets of the highlanders." However, in the eyes of society, a person with such a history looked like a hero, and the young ladies fell in love with young sufferers, who, according to Lermontov's Pechorin, "have a passionate and noble heart beating under a thick overcoat."

A duel is not a fight or a murder. The duel of honor was based on adherence to the strict rules of the dueling code. The behavior of a person during a duel, as well as on the battlefield, created a reputation for a brave man or a coward.

AT different time attitude to the duel changed. The duel is a protest against the crushed position of the human person, proof that there are values ​​that are dearer than life itself and beyond the control of the state - honor, human dignity.

Parade [ed. ]

Watch parade - daily changing of the guard. In Catherine's time, this was a corporal's business, but Paul I himself was present at the ceremony every day and observed the thoroughness of the bearing, the harmony of the rows and the clarity of the execution of commands. The officers, going daily to the morning divorce, said goodbye to their loved ones and put a wallet with money in their bosoms, so that in the event of an unexpected exile, they would not be left without a penny.

The whole life of the state was under the vigilant control of the emperor. Even at home, in private life, the citizens felt themselves under a glass jar. With the end of the era of Paul I, watch parades did not stop immediately.

The parade brought up the spirit of obedience in a person, destroyed the personality. The army, brought up for the parade, was not fit for war. History has proved with all cruelty that life is different from a parade, and yet, for at least three reigns - Paul, Alexander and Nicholas - the sovereigns sought to build Russia "in front" in order to make it easier to manage a huge empire. Even military settlements were invented, when entire villages were given to soldiers, and the peasants themselves had to support the army and work in the field together with the whole family ...

And the ball shines in all its glory[ed. ]

The ball is a special event in the life of a person of the 19th century. For a young girl who has just begun to be taken out into the world, this is a cause for excitement: there she will be seen in a beautiful ball gown, and there will be a lot of light, and she will dance, and then everyone will know how light, graceful she is ... Natasha Rostova's first ball is remembered .

Ball is magic time. Despite the strict order, the ball allowed a lot of options, unexpected turns, and the longer it lasted, the more freedom, the more fun the dances.

The ball season began in late autumn and flared up in winter, when the capital's nobles returned from their estates, and the local nobles, having finished the field work, were dragged by whole convoys to Moscow with their adult daughters to the “bride fair”.

The ball was always opened by the Grand Duke with the Grand Duchess with a minuet, after which courtiers danced, guard officers no lower than a colonel. The second dance at the ball was often a quadrille, which sometimes took the place of the first solemn polonaise. After the polonaise and quadrille, it was the turn of the waltz. The main dance of the ball was the mazurka. The ball ended with a cotillion - a kind of quadrille, which was danced to the tune of a waltz, a dance-game, the most laid-back and playful.

Masquerade [ed. ]

In 1830, public balls and masquerades were opened for the first time in Russia. It was not difficult to get on them, you only had to buy a ticket and have a fancy dress.

A masquerade is an emancipation, a game in which everything impossible becomes possible. This is the demolition of all partitions, class and property, this is a rest from the endlessly normalized life. The mask made everyone equal. Here, a society lady could dance with a petty official who would never have been accepted in her house, and an eminent dandy could flirt with a demi-monde lady. Due to promiscuity, it was believed that there was no place for a decent woman in a masquerade, but the temptation was too great. Women were attracted to risky adventures.

Like any game, the masquerade had its own rules and its so-called playing space and time. Masquerades took place from Christmas time to Lent (during Lent, all public entertainment was stopped, only philharmonic concerts of serious music were allowed); their space was the ballrooms, decorated for the occasion in a special way. The rules allowed only those who appeared in masks and costumes to participate in the celebration.

The custom of meeting New Year in a public masquerade established itself in Russia in the 18th century, especially during the reign of Catherine II. Like balls, masquerades began at six o'clock and ended after midnight. During the holiday, the mask became a substitute for personality. The person was freed, played the role that he liked. Therefore, the choice of mask was especially important. But, like any game, the masquerade ended, the tired participants took off their masks and returned to their usual activities.

In theater chairs[ed. ]

In Russia, the theater in the sense that we understand it appeared quite late. A great lover of performances was the daughter of Peter I, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. She not only invited the Italian troupe, but also demanded that all courtiers attend the theater, and officials were obliged to attend all performances by subscription. In Catherine's time, the Russian public already willingly attended performances.

In the time of Pushkin, the theater was passionately loved. It became a kind of club, performances were attended daily. Young people were attracted by the magical world of the scenes, the beauty of ballet, the majestic beauty of tragedy. A special festive life unfolded around young actresses and theatrical school, full of eroticism and courageous adventurism.

No bouquets, no wreaths, no gifts were brought to the artists, only on the next day of the benefit from the sovereign they sent a gift to the house: the first artists - a diamond ring, the artists - earrings or a clasp (a necklace made of precious stones or a clasp for such a necklace). The fashion to bring bouquets and gifts was introduced by foreign dancers who appeared on the St. Petersburg stage.

Ballet flourished in Pushkin's time. Charles (Karl) Ludovic Didelot, "the high priest of choreography", was invited to the Russian stage at the end of the 18th century and dominated the theater at the end of the 1819s.

The theater shaped the audience. The tragic actress Ekaterina Semyonova created majestic images of heroines, and Istomina, with her delightful dance, made young hearts beat faster. Yu. I. Lotman wrote that only in the mirrors of art do we find the true face of a person of that era.

In the old house [ed. ]

The person lives in the house. The fashions of his time, the style of his life, his social affiliation - everything is reflected in the way he dresses, the way his house looks. For the middle of the 19th century, damask wallpapers are signs of the old time, and in the 1800s they were the most fashionable. During the time of Catherine, Chinese fashions from Europe penetrated into Russia, and “Chinese” rooms and pavilions began to appear in palaces.

Ordinary city or village houses were uniform. A low staircase was usually made in an annex, a whole half of which was further divided in two for two latrines - the master's and the lackey's. There was a table in the corner of the hall, on which a camisole or underwear was laid out, which was cut, sewn or mended; in the other corner, soles were hemmed under boots.

This was followed by a suite of three rooms: halls (aka dining room) with four windows, a living room with three and a sofa room with two windows. The bedroom, dressing room and girls' room looked into the courtyard, and the nursery was placed in the mezzanine. The office was next to the cafeteria.

The interior decoration was also almost the same everywhere. Thrift was visible in the preservation of furniture - upholstery, chintz or faded morocco, was protected by covers made of thick linen.

Petersburg houses were completely different. These were not even houses, but palaces, the richest people had them. Petty officials settled on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, renting rooms in small one-story houses somewhere on Okhta, in Kolomna or on Sands.

Noble nests[ed. ]

Most Russian writers were born and spent their childhood on estates. For us, the name of Lermontov is forever associated with the Tarkhans, Leo Tolstoy with Yasnaya Polyana, and Turgenev with Spassky-Lutovinov. The roots of this phenomenon must be sought in Russian history.

Peter I forced the nobles to serve by issuing a special decree about this. The well-born and those who wanted to make a career aspired to St. Petersburg, to the court. The estates turned out to be abandoned, only the elderly remained there. Peter III allowed the nobles to decide for themselves whether to serve or stay on the estates. Under Catherine, a non-serving nobleman aroused suspicion - it was opposition, an open challenge. Therefore, young people were recorded in the regiment - they had to serve at least a few years.

One of those who willingly retired was Andrey Timofeevich Bolotov, later a well-known gardening master, the author of remarkable memoirs.

The architecture of manor buildings remained the simplest for a long time. The windows of the hall and living room overlooked the garden. The garden and the park were indispensable components of the estate. If they were not there, if the estate did not cook jam and did not treat them with their own apples, this was perceived as a deviation from the norm. Wealthy families spent the summer in the countryside, and for the winter they went to the city - or to the province, or to the capitals.

Patriarchal life inevitably receded into the past. A.P. Chekhov felt sorry for the cherry orchards that were cut down in old estates ...

In the cabin [ed. ]

The salon began when, on the announced day, a certain group of people gathered without a special invitation to talk, exchange opinions, and play music. Neither cards, nor feasts, nor dances provided for such meetings. Traditionally, the salon was formed around a woman - she brought that atmosphere of intellectual coquetry and grace that created an indescribable atmosphere of the salon.

In Moscow, the house of Princess Volkonskaya was an elegant gathering place for all remarkable personalities. modern society. Here the representatives joined big light, dignitaries and beauties, youth and mature age, people of mental labor - professors, writers, journalists, poets, artists.

Musician, poetess, artist, Zinaida Volkonskaya was comprehensively gifted and well educated. She mastered the difficult art of the hostess of the salon - she knew how to organize a relaxed conversation, build an evening in such a way that it seemed to everyone that it was a complete improvisation. Here, serious music coexisted with the charades played out, poetry - with epigrams and jokes.

Each salon was distinguished by its selection of visitors, its "character". If they came to Princess Volkonskaya to enjoy music and poetry, and a society of literary friends gathered at Delvig's, then in the St. Petersburg houses of Elizaveta Mikhailovna Khitrovo and her daughter, Countess Ficquelmont, the wife of a diplomat, a high-society political salon was going to.

In the salon of N. M. Karamzin, from the very beginning, the French language was prohibited. With the death of Nikolai Mikhailovich in 1826, the Karamzin salon did not stop. The hostess of the salon, together with Ekaterina Andreevna, the writer's widow, was his daughter Sofya Nikolaevna. Anna Feodorovna Tyutcheva, daughter of the poet and maid of honor to the Empress, recalled that for twenty years or more, the salon of E. A. Karamzina was one of the most attractive places in St. public life, a true oasis of literary and intellectual interests among the brilliant and lush, but little spiritualized St. Petersburg light.

In the years 1839-1849, the salons increasingly turned into literary circles. They have become a sign of the new time, the time of thick magazines and democratic circles.

Epiphany frosts are cracking...[ed. ]

The remarkable Russian artist Dobuzhinsky recalled the Christmas tree in his home. They made many Christmas decorations with their father in advance: they gilded and silvered walnuts, cut out baskets for sweets from colored paper and glued multi-colored paper chains. Some bonbonnieres and decorations were kept for the next year. Ruddy apples, mint and Vyazma gingerbread were hung on threads. The Christmas tree itself was always up to the ceiling and filled the apartment with a coniferous smell for a long time.

The custom of decorating a Christmas tree came to us from antiquity. Gifts for each member of the family were placed under the Christmas tree, and during the Christmas dinner, a candle was supposed to burn. Both dinner and gifts - all this was supposed to provide the family with a prosperous year and a well-fed life.

With the advent of Christmas, fasting ended and the fun time of Christmas time began - dressing up, masquerades, Christmas fortune-telling. The time from Christmas to Epiphany was full of significant events. A week after Christmas, the New Year came - according to the old style. Peter I issued a decree in which it was ordered that the day after December 31, 7208 from the creation of the world, be considered January 1, 1700. All Muscovites were ordered to celebrate this event especially solemnly. Russia entered the new century together with Europe - the 18th century began.

Evening on the eve of the Epiphany - Christmas Eve. That evening the girls wondered about their fate. The feast of the Epiphany or Epiphany was celebrated in Russia very solemnly. Baptism ended the cycle of Christmas holidays. Maslenitsa finished them. A fun rite of farewell to winter was the burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa. Spring was coming - the forty days of Lent. Last days Holy Week was distinguished by Easter and Easter cakes.

In the Masonic lodge[ed. ]

The Brotherhood of Freemasons, where Pierre Bezukhov, one of the main characters of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, was offered to join, is a Masonic order. The Freemasons were a worldwide secret brotherhood whose goal was to lead mankind to the attainment of heaven on earth, the kingdom of Astrea. This goal could not be achieved through revolutions, there was only one way - the voluntary self-improvement of each person. The rite of admission to membership in the Masonic lodge is described in detail and accurately by Tolstoy.

Not trusting their ideas to paper, Masons widely used symbols - secret signs, rings, carpets. Freemasonry of the 18th-19th centuries is a very complex phenomenon. Many books have been written about him, but even the greatest experts in Freemasonry admitted that it was impossible to know him.

For a man of Pushkin's time Freemasonry is not just a game. Freemasons argued that Freemasonry is the education of adults. No wonder Pushkin joined the Chisinau Masonic Lodge. Almost all Decembrists were Freemasons. Thus, Freemasonry is a significant fact of the culture of Pushkin's time.

bookstores [ed. ]

At the beginning of the 19th century, most bookstores were open, they were attached to the Apraksin market in St. Petersburg, near the walls of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow. Catherine II allowed the establishment of private, so-called free printing houses - unanimity was destroyed, the book market in Russia expanded.

Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov, who arrived in Moscow, rented the printing house of Moscow University. In two years, from a run-down institution with outdated machines, he made it the best in Russia. An educated man with good taste, Novikov published educational literature, translated novels, dictionaries, and historical writings. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin began his writing career in the Novikov Printing Company (as a translator).

There were no public libraries in Russia during Pushkin's time. Novikov, it seems, was the first to establish a library for reading in Moscow.

Pushkin knew well the Petersburg bookseller and publisher Ilya Ivanovich Glazunov. The poet visited his shop in Gostiny Dvor almost every day. Glazunov opened his library for reading in 1824.

In Pushkin's time, book sellers ceased to be just merchants and merchants - they became intermediaries between the writer and the public, distributors of enlightenment. In the 1830s, the book seller and publisher Alexander Filippovich Smirdin rose in St. Petersburg. Smirdin's shop on Nevsky Prospekt has become a real writers' club.

Alas! friends! the years fly by
And with them after one another
Windy fashions flicker
A varied series...
A. S. Pushkin

Now in the museum of A.S. Pushkin on Prechistenka is a very beautiful exhibition "Fashion of the Pushkin era." I want to sincerely thank everyone who took part in the organization of this wonderful project! And, in particular, one of the costume restorers, a talented, wonderful person - Larisa Metzker lameta

The exhibition "Fashion of the Pushkin era" covers the most diverse areas of Russian life and culture in the first third of the 19th century. Its purpose is to show how the concept of "fashion" was reflected in the objects and phenomena of everyday life - material, moral and social. following the greats historical events that worried Europe and Russia in early nineteenth century, the aesthetic tastes of society also changed. The fashion for architecture and the interior of buildings, for literature and art, for the manner of behavior in society and, of course, for costumes and hairstyles changed. After all, the suit reflected the occupation, belonging to a certain class, the level of material well-being and the range of interests of its owner. Thus, fashion was not only a fad of dandies, but also a sign of a person's social affiliation, a sign of his political predilections and ideas prevailing in society.

The exposition is devoted to the daily routine of a secular person, whose life reflected the general desire for the ritualization of everyday life for the noble culture. During the day, a person was forced to change clothes several times, as the rules of good manners required a certain type of clothing for different etiquette situations. A frock coat, quite appropriate for a morning walk, was unacceptable for dinner or evening visits, and a secular lady could not appear in a turban or beret in the first half of the day - they were intended for a ball or theater. It is no coincidence that one of Pushkin's contemporaries referred "the art of dressing well" to the "number of fine arts", comparing it with the gift of being "a great musician or a great painter, and perhaps even a great person."

Sorry robe! an idle comrade of bliss,
Leisure friend, witness of secret thoughts!
With you I knew the monotonous world,
But quiet world where light shine and noise
It didn't occur to me in oblivion.
P.A. Vyazemsky

Men's attire for the first half of the day was a dressing gown and a dressing gown. The morning toilet for women consisted in dresses of a special cut. For metropolitan fashionistas, these were expensive Parisian toilets, for provincial young ladies - simple home dresses. In the morning dress, they went out for breakfast, saw family or close friends. It was supposed to change clothes for dinner, especially if guests were expected.

In their works, Russian writers of the 19th century often focused readers' attention on the morning dresses of their heroes. The hero of Pushkin's story "The Young Lady-Peasant Woman" Alexei Berestov, arriving at the Muromskys' house early in the morning, finds Lisa reading his letter, in a "white morning dress". The heroine of L. N. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" Natasha Rostova meets Prince Andrei, who came to visit them, in a "home blue dress", Tatyana Larina's mother, having married, "finally renewed her dressing gown and cap on cotton wool." A dressing gown, or a dressing gown - loose clothes without buttons, usually belted with a twisted cord - could be worn by both men and women. It was especially popular in the 1830s. In one of the issues of the magazine "Molva" for 1832 it was reported: "For men, the fashion for dressing gowns has become so established that patterns and fabrics have been invented for them. Shawls are most suitable for this."

However, the most attention of Russian writers was given to the dressing gown, which served from the 18th to the middle of the 19th century as a “ceremonial negligee”. In the poem Dead Souls"N.V. Gogol ironically noted that the chairman of the chamber "received his guests in a dressing gown, somewhat oily." In "Eugene Onegin" the dressing gown accompanies the philistine and soulless life of Tatyana Larina's parents and is considered as one of the options for Lensky's fate:

He would have changed a lot.
I would part with the muses, get married,
In the village, happy and horned.
I'd wear a quilted robe...

More than any other home wear, the bathrobe depended on fashion. "Sewn in the form of a long frock coat with velvet lapels", the dressing gown of the hero of the story V.A. Sollogub "Pharmacist" "testified to the dapper habits" of his master. The hero of "Egyptian Nights" Charsky, who always "observed the latest fashion" in his clothes, went around the house "in a crested brocade skullcap" and "a golden Chinese robe girded with a Turkish shawl."

At the same time, P.A. Vyazemsky and N.M. Languages ​​glorified the dressing gown as "clothes of idleness and laziness", opposing the officer's uniform or "living room livery". It was in V.A. Tropinin portrayed A.S. Pushkin, A.I. Ivanov - N.V. Gogol, V.G. Perov - A.N. Ostrovsky, I.E. Repin - M.P. Mussorgsky. Thus, both in Russian poetry and in Russian painting, the dressing gown became a symbol of the freedom of a creative person.

One of the secular duties were visits. Like other etiquette situations, the custom of receiving visits was subject to fashion. During the time of Catherine II, it was considered fashionable to receive guests while dressing, but at the beginning of the 19th century, only elderly ladies adhered to this custom. In addition to visits, the purpose of which was to pay respect, there were congratulatory, thanksgiving, farewell visits and, finally, visits to express participation ... Congratulatory visits were made on New Year's Eve, Easter, on name day. After receiving an invitation to a ball or dinner, one should certainly pay a visit of thanks. The newlyweds made wedding visits in the first two weeks after the wedding, if they did not immediately go on a honeymoon trip. Participation visits were necessary when visiting a sick person or offering condolences after a funeral.

The accuracy of observing the rules of the visit unmistakably indicated that a person belonged to a secular society. In many houses there were days when they received visitors. It was customary to make morning visits between breakfast and lunch. If the doorman refused to accept the visitor without explaining the reasons, this meant that he was denied the house altogether.

The business suit was of great importance. The Moscow Telegraph magazine regularly reported on new business suits for men and women. A business suit for morning visits had to be elegant, smart, but not formal. This could be perceived in society as an embarrassment and become a topic of general ridicule. The men arrived in frock coats with waistcoats, the women in fashionable attires specially designed for morning visits. After an evening visit, one could go to a theater or a club, so the business suit differed little from evening attire. If a man paid a visit to the head of the service, he had to be dressed in a uniform. However, the hero of "Anna Karenina", Steve Oblonsky, going on a visit to the boss, found it necessary to put on a frock coat, since they were social acquaintances. According to the memoirs of a contemporary, A.P. Yermolov, who arrived in Moscow, could not "testify his respect" to the Grand Duke "having nothing but a tailcoat and a frock coat." The Grand Duke ordered to tell him "that he would see him with pleasure and in a tailcoat" .

Entered: and a cork in the ceiling,
The fault of the comet spurted current;
In front of him is a bloody roast-beef,
And truffles, the luxury of youth,
French cuisine best color,
And Strasbourg's imperishable pie
Between live Limburg cheese
And golden pineapple.
A.S. Pushkin

In the 19th century, you could dine at home, in a club or restaurant. The magnificence of the dinner parties of the Russian nobility amazed contemporaries. A French traveler who visited Russia at the end of the 18th century noted with some surprise: “It was customary to celebrate the birthdays and name days of every familiar person, and it would be impolite not to come with congratulations on such a day. On these days no one was invited, but everyone was received. .. One can imagine what it cost the Russian bars to observe this custom; they had to constantly arrange feasts. The custom of accepting everyone who wanted to "dine" was preserved at the beginning of the 19th century. In noble families, as a rule, thirty-five - forty people gathered at the table, and on big holidays - hundreds of three guests. However, time made its own adjustments. They sat down to dine no longer at noon, but about four o'clock in the afternoon. The custom of wearing dishes "according to ranks" was a thing of the past. And, of course, the fashion for decorating the dining room and table setting changed. Only fruit bowls and flowers have stood the test of time.

Secular etiquette required a certain costume for the guests. One of Pushkin's contemporaries, describing a dinner at the Moscow Governor-General D.V. Golitsyn, remarked: "Only the British are allowed to be such pigs; we were all dressed up in the parade, although not in uniform, but this eccentric appeared in a frock coat ...".

However, in St. Petersburg and Moscow, young people preferred a club or a restaurant to home-cooked meals. There were few good restaurants, each visited by a certain, stable circle of people. To appear in this or that fashionable restaurant (at Talon or later Dumas) meant to appear at the assembly point of single youth - "lions" and "dandies". In 1834, in one of his letters to Natalia Nikolaevna, Pushkin reported: "... I appeared to Dumas, where my appearance produced general joy ...", and a few days later: "I dine with Dumas at 2 o'clock, so as not to meet with a bachelor gang."

Of course, the dictates of fashion also extended to gastronomy. In the novel "Eugene Onegin" Pushkin mentions many fashionable novelties of the menu of the late 1810s and early 1820s. Among them - a dish of English cuisine "roast-beef bloodied" and "Strasbourg pie" - goose liver pate, brought in canned form. Pineapple, a dessert traditional for Pushkin's time, known in Russia since the middle of the 18th century, was no longer perceived as a curiosity, but still remained one of the favorite treats. Residents of both capitals, accustomed to having dinner at home, had only to send for a pineapple to a neighboring shop, and "secular lions" and "dandies" could order it in expensive restaurants in St. Petersburg or Moscow. "Comet wine" was also in great fashion - champagne of the 1811 harvest, which owes its name to the bright comet, which could be seen from the spring of 1811 to the beginning of the winter of 1812. Three war years made it difficult for him to reach Russia, but after the defeat of Napoleon, French wine merchants hurried to deliver him to the victorious country. For many years, "comet wine" did not lose its popularity, and in literary works it was sung so often that it turned into one of the poetic clichés.

Will I portray in a true picture
secluded office,
Where is the mod pupil exemplary
Dressed, undressed and dressed again?
A.S. Pushkin

The study - a room for solitary studies - belonged to the owner of the house and played an important representative role in the public life of its owner. More than any other room, it gave an idea of ​​the character, level of education, position in the world and the needs of its owner. The office of the count from the story of A.S. Pushkin's "Shot" struck with luxury: "near the walls there were bookcases with books, and above each was a bronze bust; above the marble fireplace there was a wide mirror; the floor was upholstered with green cloth and covered with carpets." "Light blue French wallpaper" that covered the walls of Pechorin's office in M.Yu. Lermontov "Princess of Lithuania", "glossy oak doors with fashionable handles and oak window frames showed a decent person in the owner." Office interior: furniture and objects of arts and crafts, books and paintings, busts of French encyclopedists or "Lord Byron's portrait" not only reflected the interests of man, but also demonstrated the fashion trends of the time.In accordance with the tastes of the era, the office of Charsky, the hero of Pushkin's story "Egyptian Nights", was full of "paintings, marble statues, bronzes, expensive toys arranged on Gothic shelves." Onegin's office was decorated with everything , which was invented by mankind "for luxury, for fashionable bliss": "amber on the pipes of Tsaregrad", "porcelain and bronze on the table", and - a fashionable novelty of the beginning of the 19th century - "perfume in faceted crystal". Pushkin's Moscow acquaintance A.L. Bulgakov described his office as follows: "My office is now almost arranged - five large tables ... In the corner there is a sofa, in front of it there is a round table, on which there are books and newspapers, opposite it cap (precious for me) with pipes. All tubes are in order.

They worked and rested in the office, received the manager and discussed the conditions of the duel with the seconds of their opponent. After a dinner party, the men, as a rule, went to the master's office to "smoke pipes", and gradually the office turned into a hall for men's receptions. Pipes with long stems exported from Turkey, as well as respectable men's accessories for them, were a necessary accessory for the front office. In Russia, they came into fashion in the first third of the 19th century in connection with the all-European passion for the East, with the work of Byron, who glorified oriental exoticism in the poem "Gyaur".

Each type of reception implied certain topics of conversation, regulated by secular rules. There were conversations in the office that were out of place at a ball or in a drawing room. Their diversity reflected the entire male world: the range of personal interests and political views, issues of family life and housekeeping, career and honor.

The theater is already full; lodges shine;
Parterre and chairs - everything is in full swing;
In heaven they splash impatiently,
And, having risen, the curtain rustles.
A. S. Pushkin

In Pushkin's time, the theater was the subject of general enthusiasm. Usually the performance began at six and ended at nine o'clock in the evening, so that the young man had time, having been in the theater, to go to a ball, a masquerade or a club.

The theatrical space consisted of boxes, stalls and a district. The lodges were visited by the family public and, as a rule, were subscribed for the entire season. The parterre included 10-15 rows of seats and the parterre itself, where the performance was watched standing up. Seats in armchairs were expensive and, as a rule, they were occupied by noble and wealthy spectators. The ground tickets were much cheaper. Rayek - the uppermost tier of the balcony - was intended for the democratic public, which, according to a contemporary, "without taking off their top dress, poured into the galleries." This is explained by the fact that at that time there was no wardrobe in the theater, and the outerwear was guarded by lackeys.

For the rest of the visitors, secular etiquette made strict demands on the costume. Women could appear in the theater only in boxes - in evening dresses, in berets, in currents, in turbans, which were not removed either at the theater or at the ball. Men wore a uniform or tailcoat. There were also violations of etiquette in order to shock the public. “Ahead of the stalls, in the very middle, leaning back against the ramp, stood Dolokhov with a huge shock of curly hair combed up, in a Persian costume. He stood in the very sight of the theater, knowing that he was drawing the attention of the entire hall to himself, as freely as as if he was standing in his room. Near him, crowded, stood the most brilliant youth of Moscow, and he apparently excelled among them, "Leo Tolstoy wrote in the novel War and Peace.

For the St. Petersburg dandy of the first third of the 19th century, the theater was not only an artistic spectacle, but also a place of social meetings, love affairs and backstage hobbies. In this regard, the rules of good manners extended not only to the costume, but also to the demeanor of the theatergoer. It was customary to enter the hall at the last minute before the start of the performance, exchanging bows and greetings. So, for example, Onegin, being late for the beginning of the performance, "walks between the chairs on the legs." And one more detail of the dandy's behavior is to look at the auditorium in a lorgnette. Onegin "Double lorgnette slantingly directs / At the lodges of unfamiliar ladies."

The whole of Russia is reflected in the English Club as in a chambre obscure.
P.A. Vyazemsky

Clubs first appeared in the UK. In Russia, they came into fashion under Catherine II. In St. Petersburg in 1770-1795, seven clubs were founded, among which the English club was considered the most prestigious. Soon the English club appeared in Moscow. Having ascended the throne, Paul I banned English clubs, as well as other public meetings. With the accession of Alexander I, they were again allowed. Election as a member of the club was associated with many rigors and restrictions. Firstly, only men were admitted to the English Club. Secondly, the name of a new member was announced in advance, and if unseemly deeds were known behind him, the question of his election was immediately removed. If the candidate was not rejected, then the members of the club voted for his acceptance - each of his choice put a white or black ball.

The fame that the English Club acquired in society from the beginning of the 19th century led to the fact that it became not only a fashionable institution, but also influenced the public opinion of the capital. The main activities of the club members were conversations, games and reading newspapers. However, conversations about politics - although they were conducted in the club - were forbidden by the charter.

The newspaper room, which received Russian and foreign periodicals, was an indispensable attribute of the club. Fresh newspapers and magazines were laid out on a special table, they could be freely taken and read. Editions of past years were deposited in the library, from where they could be taken home by signing in a special book. A special attendant supervised the observance of order in the newspaper room. But, as a rule, it was not crowded. According to the memoirs of a contemporary, once P.A. Vyazemsky "as usual traveled around all the balls and all the evening meetings in Moscow and finally turned into a club to read newspapers.<...>The waiter began to pace around him and cough. At first he paid no attention to this, but finally, as he began to noticeably express his impatience, he asked: "What is the matter with you?" "Very late, Your Excellency." “But you see that I am not alone, and they are still playing cards over there.” - "But those, Your Excellency, are doing the job."

Cards - "one of the immutable and inevitable elements of Russian life" - were bred in the English Club immediately after its establishment. For a long time, both commercial and gambling flourished in it - despite the fact that the latter were formally banned in Russia in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. Unlike commercial games, characteristic of respectable people, gambling was in the nature of an "all-encompassing fashion." In addition, at one time there was even a "fashion to play." Repeated attempts were made to eradicate gambling, which could ruin the respectable members of the club, and, in the end, they were crowned with success.

On the occasion of significant events dinners were arranged in the club. One of these dinners was described by L.N. Tolstoy in the novel "War and Peace". In addition, there were daily club lunches and dinners. They were expensive, but there was always a select society here, and for unmarried people, the club replaced homeliness.

And all the Kuznetsk bridge, and the eternal French,
From there, fashion to us, and authors, and muses:
Destroyers of pockets and hearts!
When the Creator delivers us
From their hats! bonnets! and studs! and pins!
And bookstores and biscuit shops! ..
A.S. Griboyedov

In Pushkin's time, the main shopping street in Moscow - a sanctuary of luxury and fashion - was Kuznetsky Most. After the decree of Catherine II on privileges for foreign merchants in the Kuznetsky Most area, the French began to open their fashion and haberdashery stores. In 1812, this is what saved the street from a fire: the Napoleonic guards protected their compatriots from fire and ruin. After the invaders were expelled from Moscow, French inscriptions were banned, and English, Italian and German ones were added to the French shops. The shops on Kuznetsky Most were fashionable and expensive. One of the guidebooks of that time reported: "From early morning until late at night, you see a lot of carriages here, and a rare<.>of them will go without wrapping themselves in purchases. And for what price? Everything is exorbitant; but for our fashionistas this is nothing: the word "bought at Kuznetsky Most" gives each thing a special charm. " Over time, many fashionable shops turned the street into a place for festivities and meetings of aristocrats.

In St. Petersburg, fashion stores were concentrated on Nevsky Prospekt. A columnist for the Severnaya Pchela newspaper noted the similarities and differences between the two capitals: “Kuznetsky Most is in full splendor: an abyss of shops of all kinds, fashionable shops; here you can spend an abyss of money in one day. There are no magnificent shops, which are not uncommon in St. Petersburg; the room is cramped, the rooms are dark and low, but the goods are grouped elegantly and are sold as expensively as in St. Petersburg. In the latter, the Kuznetsky bridge does not lag behind Nevsky Prospekt." However, according to the observation of foreigners, St. Petersburg stores were inferior to European ones. To an English traveler who visited Russia in 1829, they seemed "not as conspicuous as those in London," and the choice of goods in them was not so rich. Nevertheless, in St. Petersburg, trade offered the richest selection of products, including in terms of quality and price.

To be continued...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE
LITERATURE OF THE PUSHKIN PERIOD

With the birth of "Ruslan and Lyudmila", the younger generation recognized Pushkin as their poet, admiring the freedom of creativity, which he seemed to oppose to the artificial methods of poetry theorists. Having paid tribute to the imitation of the "ruler of thoughts" of his time, Byron, Pushkin in further works presents samples of Russian original creativity not only in form, but also in the artistically truthful depiction of Russian nature, ideas, feelings, moods of Russian society.
In his "Boris Godunov" we have an inimitable example of historical drama. "Poltava" serves as an example of a historical national poem. No matter how the story was developed before Pushkin, however, this type of poetry for the first time received its modern meaning in Pushkin's story The Captain's Daughter. But the first Russian novel, Eugene Onegin, is of particular importance for the characterization of Pushkin's contemporary society. In it, for the first time, in the person of Onegin, a type of "superfluous person" appeared, which also has a further genealogy in subsequent Russian literature; in it, for the first time, a Russian woman in the ideal image of Tatyana received an artistic embodiment. Having set the title of a poet to hitherto unattainable heights, Pushkin at the same time had a tendency to look at poetry as "art for art's sake." The epic, calm contemplation of the outside world was put by him as the basis of poetic creativity.
The passionate and impulsive nature of Lermontov, not inferior to Pushkin in the power of poetic talent, could not be satisfied with such tasks of creativity. Being the successor of Pushkin, Lermontov introduced more consciousness into poetry, more critical attitude towards reality. The social motives of Lermontov's poetry, stemming from the author's personal dissatisfaction with Russian life, reflected Byron's disappointment more deeply than we see in Pushkin's works.
While Pushkin's "superfluous man", Onegin, mopes in inactivity, unaware of the latter, Lermontov's Pechorin already fully understands and expresses the reasons for his unsuitability. The works of Pushkin and Lermontov laid the foundation for a new real school. Already during Pushkin's lifetime, many writers joined it, capturing the people's life more and more deeply and, all the more, expanding the meaning and meaning of literature, bringing it to the height of an important social force. While Griboyedov, Pushkin and Lermontov in poetry reflected the mood of a significant minority of society - the Russian intelligentsia, Koltsov and Gogol put forward in their works those classes of Russian society that until now have either been completely ignored by fiction, or served as a secondary accessory in it. The common people, the provincial bureaucracy, the provincial nobility - this is the material on which the artistic work of Koltsov and Gogol operates. Not individual "heroes" who stand above the crowd, but the crowd itself - that is the goal towards which the eyes of writers are now directed.
The songs of Koltsov, himself from among the people, reflected all the heavy thoughts of the latter, all his poverty, ignorance, along with passionate impulses for goodness, truth, the light of knowledge. The meek, despondent nature of the Russian peasant, all imbued with religious piety, stands alive before us in Koltsov's "thoughts".
Gogol exposed "to the eyes of the people" the gloomy side of Russian life, embodying it in the immortal types of "The Government Inspector" and "Dead Souls". The vices of the Russian administration - bribery, ignorance, arbitrariness - the historically established shortcomings of the provincial nobility have never been ridiculed with such force and truth as in these famous works. An outstanding feature of Russian literature - the satirical direction reached its climax in the works of Gogol. Already in the very first works of Gogol ("Evenings on a Farm", "Old World Landowners", "Taras Bulba"), full of poetic, calm contemplation of Ukrainian folk life, breaks through that feature of Gogol's poetic genius, which in his subsequent works is the main color - this is "humor".
With development fiction critical thought also grew. Criticism had to understand the deep ideas, which were embodied in "Eugene Onegin", "Poltava", "Boris Godunov", "Inspector", "Dead Souls" and others. Marlinsky (Bestuzhev) and N. Polevoy laid the foundation for romantic criticism. Lacking a broad scientific basis, however, they could not, in a sufficiently definite form, outline the new foundations of criticism. What was needed was a general philosophical point of view, on the basis of which it would be possible to determine the laws and tasks of art. Several young people, being the successors of the scientific, social and political thought of Alexander's times, carried away by the philosophy of Schelling, formed a circle whose task was to develop a philosophical worldview and apply it to the forms of Russian life. The outstanding figures of the circle were V. Odoevsky, I. Kireevsky, Shevyrev, Nadezhdin. Based on the position of Schelling's philosophy that each nationality is the bearer of a certain idea, the circle raised the question of the people's idea, which Russia should work out. Nadezhdin, who laid the foundation for criticism based on philosophical generalizations, not finding an ideological content in all romantic literature, including Pushkin, put forward Gogol as a true representative real school. Nadezhdin's views on Russian literature were perceived

Pushkin is a name-symbol in Russian culture; there is no name more famous and more mysterious. The seeming simplicity of his work comes to us already in childhood with his fairy tales. Pushkin accompanies every person from childhood to old age. Any person at any age can find lines in Pushkin that correspond precisely to his individual state of mind. From childish mischief to senile sophistication - only the scale of "Pushkin's world" allows us to compare it with the "titans of the Renaissance."

The psychological feeling of the special "lordship" of Pushkin and the entire "Pushkin" era is almost impossible to shake, although the world of his heroes is unfavorable, sometimes terrible. Why do we repeat according to V.F. Odoevsky " the sun of Russian poetry»; for A.A. Grigoriev - " our all"; for F.I. Tyutchev " Russia's first love»; for A.A. Block - " funny name»?

Pushkin's Mystery. Already at the end of his life path, in reflections "Selected places from correspondence with friends" N.V. Gogol wrote that " Pushkin is an extraordinary phenomenon and, perhaps, the only manifestation of the Russian spirit: this is the Russian man in his development, in which he, perhaps, will appear in two hundred years*.

Disputes about Pushkin as a phenomenon of history and culture began immediately after his death. On January 31, 1837, the editor and journalist A. A. Kraevsky dared to publish a short obituary written by V.F. Odoevsky. The news of the death of the poet began with piercing words: The sun of our poetry has set! Pushkin died... ”The chairman of the censorship committee, Prince M.A. Dondukov-Korsakov, severely reprimanded this publication. In sincere indignation, he asked: What is this black frame around the news of the death of a non-bureaucratic person ... why such an honor? .. Was Pushkin a commander, military leader, minister, statesman?*

In 1846, the most influential critic of those years, V.G. Belinsky completed his cycle of eleven articles devoted to Pushkin. He first called him a "classic" of Russian literature, that is, its indisputable and unchanging foundation. The national culture of modern times for the first time realized Pushkin as a history that had already taken place, as a kind of "antiquity" of its own. V.G. Belinsky did the most to establish Pushkin as a national poet, but he was also the first to present Pushkin's work as entirely belonging to the past, having lost its social topicality.

The pragmatic generation of the 60s and 70s. The 19th century, seized with a thirst for socially useful activity, completely pushed Pushkin's poetry into a bygone era. The most authoritative critic, the idol of the youth of that time, D.I. Pisarev, in the article "Realists" (1865) generally refused to analyze Pushkin's works, would mean attaching too much importance to the question of Pushkin, which he can no longer have...»

And in 1880, the first monument to Pushkin in Russia was opened in Moscow. In the course of public events, an acute awareness of the continuity of Russian culture, a sense of national pride came. At the opening of the monument to Pushkin F.M. Dostoevsky said: Pushkin is a prophecy and an indication... Pushkin... took some great secret with him into the coffin. And now we are solving this mystery without him*.

The mystery of the well-known Pushkin's work lies in its uniqueness and "loneliness" in Russian culture. Not a single Russian writer, either before or after Pushkin, was like him. The colorful and diverse cultural world of the 18th century. appeared as a whole only in the work of Pushkin. But this wholeness ended on him. The "solar" genius of Russian literature was replaced by the gloomy Lermontov, the caustic Gogol, the suffering Dostoevsky. In 1912, the philosopher V.V. Rozanov wrote about the uniqueness of the poet in Russian culture as a different type of Russian spirit: “ Pushkin - our lost paradise. He - Russian literature itself, what she could be...*

From the point of view of the history of national self-consciousness, the situation is strange: not a single Russian writer, not a single thinker can be called the heir of Pushkin's spirit and Pushkin's understanding of life. And at the same time, we clearly feel: it was with Pushkin that the great Russian culture of modern times began. This consciousness lies in the depths of the national spirit.

Before us is the mystery of Pushkin's harmony, amazing integrity: his simultaneous "inscription" in the Russian culture of his time and his universal and all-time belonging. Not only historical time determined the type of his genius, but he himself determined an entire era of Russian culture. With Pushkin, independent Russian literature began as a form of artistic creativity. Moreover, all spheres of culture of the beginning of the 19th century: architecture, music, painting - amazingly coincide with Pushkin's poetry in terms of spiritual, mental and creative characteristics, forming a single style of culture.

Golden Age" of Russian culture at the beginning of the 19th century. has a distinct "Pushkin" style. This allows us to conditionally designate the type of culture of this time as the "Pushkin era", meaning its similarity with the Renaissance examples of European culture.

The combination of the concepts of "Empire and Freedom" in the self-consciousness of the culture of Pushkin's time. Highlighting the idea of ​​freedom of a creative person - feature culture of the European Renaissance. Achievements of the 18th century allowed the idea of ​​a free creative person to be born in Russia. But the understanding of Freedom in the enlightened Russian consciousness had its own characteristics.

The European Age of Enlightenment ended with a romantic impulse to human feelings above all raising the dignity of the individual. The fate of the young "Werther" Goethe, the noble "Robbers" by Schiller and the adventure novels of W. Scott were read by all literate Europe, including the Russian "reading public". The philosophical basis of the literature of romanticism was the sublime perception of the world, the assertion of the wealth and freedom of the individual. New values ​​became the moral basis: a free “noble” person, love, nature.

In a European educated nobility Russia also romanticized the lofty concept of individual freedom. But this romantic worldview had a decisive difference from the European one. The romanticization of the world and man in Russia was the self-awareness of a nation conscious of its strength, aspiring to the future. The apogee of imperial self-consciousness came at the beginning of the 19th century. People of this generation said about themselves: “We children of the twelfth year *. And Napoleon's victors deservedly added the title of "Saviors of the Fatherland" to the ideal of serving Russia.

The victory over Napoleon, which established Russia as the leader of Europe, reinforced this jubilant sense of victorious imperialism. Two contradictory concepts "Empire" and "Freedom" were united in the mind of the Russian nobleman by the moral concept "Honor", that is, they were fixed on the unconsciously moral, on the everyday, and not on the legal level. The ideal of free service to the good of the Fatherland became the basis of the attitude in the culture of that time. Pushkin wrote: "Bre- me - unforgettable! How strongly the Russian heart beat at the word "Fatherland"!" In its humanistic orientation, this impulse is very close to the Renaissance feeling of a renewing, young world, an active, victorious personality.

But, having proved its power in the fight against Napoleon, the Russian autocracy turned out to be powerless to change to better life their subjects. For the educated nobility, this caused bitterness, disappointment and a desire to “push” the authorities, “prompt” the enlightened sovereign. A rare era in Russia could boast of so many projects for the reorganization of society. At school, they are introduced to the projects of P.I. Pestel, N.M. Muraviev. Were there other plans? of young friends” of Alexander I, reform projects by M.M. Speransky, N.S. Mordvinova, A.A. Arakcheeva, E.F. Kankrin, “constitution” N.N. Novosiltsev. A.S. himself Pushkin submitted notes to the government with projects for improving education and organizing the book business. Poet P.A. Vyazemsky participated in the drafting of the Polish Constitution of 1818. The active part of the educated nobility was ready to serve the good of the fatherland not only in the military, but also in the peaceful field. But the state power, the emperor's bureaucratic entourage were not going to give up their monopoly on transformative activities. The result of this mutual misunderstanding was the emergence of Decembristism. The unspoken “noble” agreement between the enlightened nobility and the authorities, which we noted as a feature of the Russian Enlightenment of the 18th century, was violated by the events of 1825. After the collapse of Decembrism, the disintegration of the culture of the “Pushkin” type gradually began.

Pushkin united in himself the imperial and human principles. The main poles of his work: Empire - Freedom. The empire also attracted him aesthetically as the overcoming of chaos (» Bronze Horseman”), and morally as a counterbalance? rebellion, senseless and merciless" ("The Captain's Daughter"). As soon as Pushkin's eyes were closed, the gap between Empire and Freedom in the Russian mind was irrevocable. For a whole hundred years after Pushkin, the supporters of the Empire persecuted and persecuted Freedom, and the supporters of Freedom destroyed the Empire by all means.

The role of literature in understanding Pushkin. In the center of the culture of the Renaissance type, there is always a person; therefore, the ideological basis of such a culture is humanism, that is, the idea of ​​the self-worth of the individual. The spiritual world of the young generation of nobles at the beginning of the 19th century. formed under the significant influence of literature.

The development of humanistic ideals goes through the life and work of Pushkin, who determined the whole era of the formation of national identity.

Pushkin wrote his "Boris Godunov" at the age of twenty-five. Having become acquainted with Russian history with the help of Karamzin, he chose this one out of all the variety of its plots: the murder of a prince boy; the usurpation of power that has stepped over blood; the silence of the people - and what happens after that. What did he understand when, in the autumn of 1825, having finished his “Boris*”, he shouted to himself: “ Ayda Pushkin, ah yes son of a bitch * And why, almost two hundred years later, are we still inside this plot? Indeed, in fact, the collisions of "Boris Godunov" are an eternal theme of Russian history and fate.

The uniqueness of Pushkin's creativity for Russian culture lies in the fact that his life, death, creativity are a single organic "cultural text", they are inseparable. He was neither a teacher nor a judge of life. There is no "topic of the day" in his work. He sometimes laughed deadly, but caustically, satirically - never. The consciousness of the "educational" and educative role of literature in Pushkin is completely absent. Creativity, literature was perceived by him as life, as breath, and not as a civic duty and hard work. Philosopher V.V. Rozanov cites N.V. Gogol, his characteristic dialogue with the poet's servant:

Arrived around noon to Pushkin's house:

• - What, master at home?
• - Still sleeping.
• - Seems like he's been writing all night?
• - No, he played cards...
• Gogol would write*- comments V.V. Rozanov. He concludes: " Pushkin - it is peace, clarity and balance. Pushkin - this is some strange eternity...*, it does not become obsolete, just as love, hate, spring and autumn do not become obsolete.

Pushkin's steps as a poet and thinker are swift, he overtakes the self-consciousness of the noble society and the nation as a whole. In 1823-1824, being in the prime of his creative powers, Pushkin began to write his "novel in verse" - "Eugene Onegin *. A year later, the infinitely wise "Boris Godunov" appeared. A very young man manifested the experienced wisdom of the ages: * Do not change the course of affairs. Habit - soul of the powers*. By the end of his life, A. Pushkin “went out of fashion” (keeping a “solid fourth place” among the reading public) precisely because by that time he had overtaken everyone, all Russian literature, having reached other philosophical foundations of culture, a new aesthetics. Literature in the person of Pushkin acquired a new purpose in public life.

With all the great influence of A.S. Pushkin to contemporary culture, he never resorted to direct moralism and edification. In his work, actual social problems, typical images, so characteristic of the "black and white" Russian literature of the subsequent time, are invisible. He is not "special" in anything. Who is the positive character in The Captain's Daughter? Grinev? Pugachev? Neither one nor the other. At the same time, both of them can become actors in a whole “bouquet” of life stories. The whole difficult character of the “barchuk” P. Grinev is expressed in one plot twist: he did not betray Pugachev, but he refused to kiss the hand of the “peasant king”. And there is only one villain in the story: Shvabrin. And his main villainy is betrayal. Betrayal, meanness of the soul - with this sign of the collapse of the personality, he differs from the other main characters of the story: Grinev and Pugachev. This small and seemingly ordinary story contains all the wisdom of life. It is no coincidence that A.T. Tvardovsky, editor of the popular in the 60-70s. 20th century magazine " New world”, once, in the heat of a discussion, he said that there are no smart and stupid people, but there are simply those who read The Captain’s Daughter and those who are unfamiliar with her.

Pushkin's work has always been called "freedom-loving". Let's try to figure out what kind of freedom the poet "glorified". How does he feel his place in his world lyrical hero? How does the poet himself understand his role? Pushkin's textbook love of freedom is not revolutionary rebelliousness, but the position of a person who recognizes himself as a self-sufficient world. His love of freedom is not of political origin, but of cultural origin: from the love of life, from the consciousness of one's individuality, from the Renaissance creative force. The active personality of the Renaissance itself determines its own boundaries and rules.

You are the king: live alone,

Walk the free path,

Where does the free mind take you?

The origin of Pushkin's love of freedom is a joyful attitude to being, a love of life, an organic consciousness of human dignity, the dignity of thought, talent and mind. Known for his hatred of all kinds of restrictions on the "conditions of the world", dislike for the humiliating him of the chamber junker uniform. Pushkin's love of freedom is akin to the Decembrist one in terms of human dignity and creative freedom. This common attitude made them close in spirit. Pushkin's love for freedom has nothing to do with the political idea of ​​rights "under the law" and in general with any ideology. The “ideology” he created is the formula for the life of a free person. With extraordinary clarity, it was embodied in his poems. In the last summer of his life, in 1836, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote a brilliant poem "From Pindemonti". Realizing that no censorship would let this poem go to print, he presented it as a "translation from Italian." In fact, here his own understanding of freedom is in full swing. As it turned out, these verses became the spiritual testament of the poet.

Other, better, rights are dear to me,

Another, better, I need freedom.

Depend on the king, depend on the people -

Don't we all care? God is with them. Do not give a Report to anyone, only serve and please yourself; for power, for livery Do not bend either conscience, or thoughts, or neck;

...Here is happiness! That's right...

And here is the testament of a free man, we add. The theme of personal independence was especially dear to Pushkin. How to live among people, how to live in society, how to defend your rightness, your personality?

The fact of the appearance in Russia of Pushkin, a personality commensurate with Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Dante, is a sign of the Renaissance. In the European Renaissance, personalities of a universal, encyclopedic type always appeared.

National and universal in "Pushkin's" culture. One of the tragic results of the Russian Enlightenment was that one nation had two different cultures. One is traditional, mostly peasant. The other is bookish, educational, European. The difference between them was enormous; the two cultures even spoke different languages because the nobility preferred to speak French.

Pushkin managed for a moment to overcome the duality of Russian culture, to find the secret of combining its opposite principles. The synthesis of deeply national and truly European content in his work occurs extremely naturally. His fairy tales were read both in noble living rooms and in peasant huts. With the works of Pushkin, Russian self-consciousness entered the vast world of the new European culture. Pushkin is deeply national and that is why he is universal.

As you know, Pushkin never left Russia. Only by the power of his genius could he accurately guess the impudent love of life of the gypsy tribe in the songs of Zemfira, the naive Spanish pride in the Stone Guest *. Mary's song in A Feast in the Time of Plague* is written in the immaculate style of medieval England. And his scenes from Faust * carry something diabolical - the mysticism of the era of the German Reformation - even in the non-Slavic rhythm of the verse: "I everyone yawns and lives - and the coffin, yawning, is waiting for all of us. Yawn and you...* By the way, Pushkin sent his “Scenes from Faust” to Goethe and received in return a gift from the great old man - his pen.

But for all the Europeanness of Pushkin, in Russia there was no poet more Russian. In his work, two principles: universality and Russianness - merged in the most natural way. A striking example of such a natural linguistic and cultural fusion is found in the mature Pushkin in Eugene Onegin*. Tatiana, Prussian soul*, Nonetheless she spoke with difficulty in her native language*. In accordance with the norm of those times, she wrote her famous letter to Onegin in French. In Russian, the secular style of love writing was simply absent. But the author himself seems to “translate* this French letter of his heroine into Russian. For a poet, this is one language environment. And a paradoxical result: it was Pushkin, and no one else, who created the real Russian language: in fact, the Russian literature of modern times began with him.

At the same time, the whole element of the Russian folk language was subject to him. When translating Eugene Onegin in exile, Vladimir Nabokov, a Russian writer abroad, was forced to create a whole theory of translation specifically for Pushkin with countless versions and notes to almost every line.

His famous "Tales" are a fact of deeply folk poetry, and not an imitation of folk dialect. Only a high and real talent can correctly guess the soul of the people, their intonation, humor, mentality. Listen to the music of artless lines, the charm of which is in genuine, not stylized folk:

Three maidens by the window

Were spinning late at night...

The deep inner connection of world and national origins is also a generic feature of the culture of the Renaissance type. The bright, life-affirming genius of Pushkin remained the “golden* age in the history of the Russian spirit. The Renaissance character of Pushkin's poetry is the key to the inevitable appeal to Pushkin's work, when national self-consciousness and the nation make another cultural effort to harmonize life. The modern poet D. Samoilov expressed this in the words:

While Pushkin lasts in Russia

Blizzards do not blow out the candle.

Literature and society in the era of Pushkin. The world outlook "Empire and Freedom", formed by the beginning of the 19th century. among the young educated nobility, is most fully expressed in the romantic literature of this time. The emerging Russian literature was the first to discover the combination of the ideas of the Empire and the free individual - even in one person. N.M. Karamzin was the author of both "Letters of a Russian Traveler" and "History of the Russian State", "" Poor Lisa"and the Manifesto of Nicholas I. Also V.A. Zhukovsky was the author of Ondine and romantic ballads.

In this rapid movement from Derzhavin to Zhukovsky, from Karamzin to Griboedov and then to Pushkin, literature was formed in Russia as a special sphere of culture. She took on the role of a collector and exponent of the national spirit, moreover, she formulated it. "Literature*, According to Pushkin, was the fruit of a newly formed society”, and on the other hand, she herself created a certain type of social life. Talking about the life and customs of the educated nobility of the early 19th century, researchers and authors of memoirs often define it with the words “light”, “higher society”, “the best houses”. Pushkin also came to a more specific definition - "enlightened nobility". What was this connection of enlightenment with the customs and structure of life of "secular society"?

At the time of Peter's "assemblies" certain rules of social behavior of the nobles were supported by the power of state coercion. A century later, "the unspoken" rules of the world "came into effect: the culture of balls, duels, fashion, visits, receptions. By an incorrect gesture, unsuccessful clothes, a cheeky word, the noble society unmistakably recognized the “strangers”. After a lively conversation with the senators, N.M. Karamzin in a letter to A.S. Pushkin notes that they are, of course, smart people, but it is clear from their manners that none of them belongs to "good society." Once, Pushkin himself did not get to the ball, because he did not put on the prescribed chamber junker uniform.

A thrown glove, a dropped handkerchief, a sharply closed fan - everything acquired its own "language". Remember “putting on a wide bolivar, Onegin goes to the boulevard"? The character of the hero immediately became clear to Pushkin's contemporary. After all, a "normal" secular rake, dressed "like a London dandy", could not decorate his head with a "bolívar". This wide-brimmed South American hat, named after one of the leaders of the national liberation movement, unequivocally declared the demonstrative freethinking of its owner in St. Petersburg.

"Pushkin's" generation of an educated society " Starts liberalized until 1812". Spiritual independence, pride of thought and feeling were in extraordinary fashion. The youth rebelled in every way: from the extravagance of fashionable costumes, the forbidden content of books read to violent friendly feasts and duels.

The nobles increasingly refused public service, preferring "social life". By the 1840s more than a third of the nobility of the capital had not served anywhere. At the same time, the value of good taste, manners, general education, knowledge modern languages (*Latin is out of fashion now"). The main sciences were "the ability to live in the light"and, in the words of Pushkin," the science of tender passion". "Taste", "style", "fashion", "honor" - these concepts in the life of the nobility of the early XIX century. replaced state regulation of private life.

Literature has also become a new social regulator. The tone of literary works has changed in the most striking way. Previously, it was instructive, instructive, conducted as if on behalf of the teacher-state. Now literary texts shone with the familiar ease of friendly conversation. Remember "Eugene Onegin": here you seem to have entered a friendly living room, where you are met by friends and unfamiliar friends. And you yourself have long been known and loved here. Look, this is addressed directly to you:

Friends of Lyudmila and Ruslan!

With the hero of my novel,

Without preamble, at this very hour

Let me introduce you.

Onegin, my good friend...

The "novel in letters" is becoming very popular. Intimacy, personal, sincere content of literary works was emphasized in every possible way. Solemn odes and lofty ballads after Pushkin faded into the shadows. Secular society raised to the genres of literature its inherent forms of communication: letters, conversations, epigrams, aphorisms, anecdotes, poems in a girl's album. On the same basis of "friendly affection" the first literary associations are formed: "Friendly Literary Society", "Arzamas", "Green Lamp", "Lyubomudry".

The secular salon acquired a new content - literary communication. Beginning and experienced writers, "patrons of the muses", the first critics, lovers of art and poetry met here. Pushkin met Belinsky in a secular drawing room. Holding a salon was extremely prestigious, it was a sign of belonging to the "high society". In St. Petersburg, the meetings at the Olenins, Smirnova-Rosset, Khitrovo, Rostopchina, Odoevsky and Sollogub were famous. In Moscow - in the houses of Volkonskaya, Elagina, Aksakov, and this list is not complete. The rules of conduct in the salons were uniform and well known to everyone. Slavophil A.I. Koshelev, as a curious fact, noted that the house of E.A. Karamzina "was the only one in Petersburg, where they did not play cards and where they spoke Russian*.

In salons and friendly circles in the first two decades of the 19th century. vibrant cultural life. When we turn to the biography of A.S. Pushkin, it is impossible to ignore the "friendly circle" that was around him. Here A.S. Pushkin is almost a happy exception in comparison with the majority of Russian writers of the 19th century. He has always, all his life, been surrounded by friends. There was not a shadow of literary rivalry or jealousy in him. Around him was a whole constellation of poets who made up the appearance of "Pushkin" literature, the character of "Pushkin's" time: Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Vyazemsky, Baratynsky, Gnedich and others.

It was the time of "Arzamas", "Conversations", love poetic "friendship". Pushkin sincerely rejoices at the successes of his friends, openly expresses admiration for the poetry of Vyazemsky, closely follows the successes of the younger generation. It became a textbook fact that Pushkin presented the young Gogol with the plot of The Inspector General and Dead Souls, listened favorably to the reading of the first works of the young writer.

Pushkin's poetic sympathies and dislikes are least of all connected with some kind of literary struggle, the assertion of his primacy. The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" opened new era Russian literature, and Pushkin immediately became the leader of the literary community. The transfer of the “poetic crown” did not take place through bitter rivalry and intrigue, but in a chivalrous way. After "Ruslan and Lyudmila" Zhukovsky gives Pushkin his portrait with an unforgettable inscription: " To the winning student from the defeated teacher».

The listed features of the cultural life of Pushkin's time determined the extraordinary variety of forms, styles, plots and genres that distinguished the literature of the first decades of the 19th century. But the gradually growing gap between enlightened ideals and the reality of social change contributed to the transformation of literature from a personal hobby into a professional occupation.

Commercially profitable book publishing projects also existed in Pushkin's time. The gradual transition of “literature” into the category of professions is associated with the name of the bookseller and publisher A.F. Smirdin. The man, who had only three years of study with a Moscow deacon, became known in the literary circles of the 1830s. their business enthusiasm. He first began to publish "Library for Reading" - a thick journal-book, which became the most popular publication of that time. The publication successfully combined the genre of "calendars" with all the variety of information and entertainment and the genre of a serious literary and social magazine with the latest in literature. It was impossible to think of a better reading for the family of a provincial landowner who aspired to be "in

Literary associations and popular periodicals in the 1800s-1830s.

Literary associations	Magazines and newspapers
"Free Society	Vestnik Evropy (ed. N.M. Karamzin, V.A. Zhukovsky).
lovers of literature
sciences and arts.	"Russian Bulletin" (ed. S.N. Glinka). 1808-1820
	"Son of the Fatherland" (ed. N.I. Grech). 1812-1829 "Domestic Notes" (ed. P.P. Svinin).
"Society of lovers
Russian literature".	"Well-intentioned" (ed. A.E. Izmailov). 1818-1820
1811-1920s	"Competitor of education and charity" (ed. A. D. Borovkov). 1818-1825
"A Conversation of Lovers	"Nevsky Spectator" (ed. M.A. Yakovlev and others). 1820-1821
Russian word.	Almanac "Polar Star"
	(ed. A.A. Bestuzhev and K.F. Ryleev). 1823-1825 "Mnemosyne" (ed. V.F. Odoevsky, V.K. Kuchelbecker).
"Arzamas".
	Gas. "Northern bee" (ed. F.V. Bulgarin, N.I. Grech). 1824-1864
"Green lamp".	"Moscow Telegraph" (ed. N.A. Polevoy). 1824-1834
	"Northern Flowers" (ed. A.A. Delvig). 1825-1831 "Moscow Bulletin" (ed. M. P. Pogodin). 1826-1830
"Society loves	"Telescope" (ed. N.I. Nadezhdin). 1831-1836
wise." 1823-1825	"Moscow Observer" (ed. M.P. Pogodin). 1835-1839 "Contemporary" (ed. The first four issues of A.S. Pushkin). 1836-1866

keep abreast of cultural and political developments in his estate. Journal A.F. Smirdin involved in the * reading public * provincial reader.

A.F. Smirdin was the first to publish a series of cheap editions for the democratic reader. He was the first to start paying his authors. Remember the lines of A.S. Pushkin from? Conversation of the poet with the bookseller *: *Inspiration is not for sale, but you can sell the manuscript*. A new word has appeared in literary conversations - "circulations *", that is, the number of issued copies of a book or magazine. V.G. Belinsky even called the 1830s. * Smirdin * period in Russian literature. Although in the 1840s publisher A.F. Smirdin went bankrupt, the beginning of the transformation of literary studies into professional work was laid.

In general, the literature of Pushkin's time shaped the humanistic Renaissance ideals. The human personality in all its spiritual wealth has become the dominant feature of the new consciousness of culture. After the defeat of the Decembrist movement, the entire social atmosphere of Pushkin's time quickly began to wane. The society has changed, and the style of culture has changed. Pay attention to the list of literary societies and periodicals. The vast majority of them operated until 1825, and then their number dropped sharply.

Balls and theaters of the Pushkin era. The end of the 10s and the beginning of the 20s of the 19th century was a time of unprecedented, passionate passion for the theater. To be a young man "with a noble soul" meant to be a theatergoer! Talking about plays, actors, behind-the-scenes intrigues, about the past and future of the theater took as much time as arguing about politics ... And then they talked a lot about politics. People again wanted to plunge into the whirlpool of peaceful life: with its masquerades, balls, carnivals, new theatrical performances. Petersburgers were very fond of the theatre.

Engelgard's house on Nevsky Prospekt was the recognized center of public amusements in autumn and winter in St. Petersburg. Here, in a magnificent hall that could accommodate up to three thousand people, public masquerades, balls, and musical evenings were held. Concerts were given every Saturday. “They played Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven - in a word, serious German music,” recalls one of Engelhard's guests. Pushkin always visited them. »

Even more than concerts, the Engelhard Hall was famous for BALLS and MASQUERADES. In the evenings, a myriad of crews of all kinds flocked to the brightly lit entrance, lining up along Nevsky Prospekt. The balls usually started at 8-9 pm. The balls were reviews of the most expensive, bizarre and luxurious outfits. Future dates were arranged at the balls, balls were the bride of future brides (For the first time they were taken to the ball at the age of 16, and it was a huge event, both for the youngest person and for her parents) The most important thing for the balls was the ability not to stand out from the crowd. Society did not forgive anyone for this, just as it did not forgive A. Pushkin in his time.

Etiquette. We know the secular manners and etiquette of the Pushkin era mainly from the works of the classics of Russian literature of the 19th century and from their artistic adaptations. The aristocratic society condemned the widespread fashion for luxurious gifts that "outside" men made to their beloved ladies (Even the most innocent gift given to a lady by an "outside" man (not related to her) could cast a shadow on her reputation.) Refinement, emphasized politeness , polished gracefulness of gestures - the nuances of secular etiquette.

The generosity of the Russian nobles, their desire and ability to make gifts amazed many foreign travelers. The Russian emperors were not distinguished by stinginess either, in whose palaces entire rooms were set aside for gifts both to foreign guests and to their subjects. If subordinates could give gifts to superiors only in exceptional cases, then every nobleman could present a gift to the king and members of the royal family.

The tailcoat was the basis of the men's suit. They were plain, but patterned fabrics were allowed. The tailcoat collar was trimmed with velvet of a different color. A white shirt with a high tight collar was worn under the tailcoat. The men cut their hair short. Curled them and let go of sideburns. Fashion

Women's dresses still have a high waist. If at the beginning of the century they wore mostly white dresses, then by the 20s colored, but plain dresses appeared.