Paintings depicting rural life. Russian life in the 19th century in living paintings by the forgotten artist Alexei Korzukhin, who is adored at Western auctions

Peasant:

1. Villager whose main occupation is tillage.

Besselendeevka consisted of only twenty-two souls of peasants. ( Turgenev. Chertop-hanov and Nedopyuskin.)

2. Representative of the lower taxable class in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Dictionary of the Russian language. Moscow. "Russian word". 1982.

* * *

The peasant of the 16th century was a free plowman who sat on foreign land under an agreement with the landowner; his freedom was expressed in the peasant exit or refusal, that is, in the right to leave one plot and move to another, from one landowner to another. Initially, this right was not restricted by law; but the very property of land relations imposed a mutual restriction both on this right of the peasant and on the arbitrariness of the landowner in relation to the peasant: the landowner, for example, could not drive the peasant off the land before harvesting, just as the peasant could not leave his plot without paying off the owner at the end of the harvest. From these natural relations of agriculture flowed the need for a uniform, statutory period for the peasant exit, when both parties could settle accounts with each other. The Sudebnik of Ivan III established one mandatory period- a week before St. George's Day in autumn (November 26) and the week following this day. However, in the Pskov land in the 16th century there was another legal period for the peasants to leave, namely the Filippovo conspiracy (November 14).

* * *

Their own and other observers, marveling at the greatness of the deeds of the reformer [Peter I], were amazed at the vast expanses of uncultivated fertile land, a lot of wastelands, cultivated somehow, by accident, not introduced into the normal national economic circulation. People who thought about the reasons for this neglect explained it, firstly, by the decline of the people from a long war, and then by the oppression of officials and nobles, who discouraged the common people from any desire to put their hands on something: the oppression of the spirit resulting from slavery, according to that Weber, however, has clouded every sense of the peasant to such an extent that he has ceased to understand his own benefit and thinks only about his daily meager subsistence.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Eksmo". 2000.

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Immediately after the death of Peter, before others, he spoke about distress peasants, the impatient Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky; then lively talk began in the Supreme Privy Council about the need to alleviate this situation. "Poor peasantry" has become a walking government expression.

In fact, it was not the peasants themselves who cared, but their shoots, who robbed the government of recruits and tax payers. They fled not only by individual households, but by entire villages; from some estates everyone fled without a trace; from 1719 to 1727

There were almost 200 thousand fugitives - the official figure, usually lagging behind reality.
The very area of flight expanded widely: before, the serfs ran from one landowner to another, and now they threw them to the Don, the Urals and to distant Siberian cities, to the Bashkirs, to the split, even abroad, to Poland and Moldavia. In the Supreme Privy Council under Catherine I, they reasoned that if things went like this, it would come to the point that there would be no taxes or recruits to be taken from anyone, and the indisputable truth was expressed in a note by Menshikov and other dignitaries that if it was impossible for the state to stand without an army , then you also need to take care of the peasants, because the soldier is connected with the peasant, as the soul is with the body, and if there is no peasant, then there will be no soldier.
To prevent escapes, the poll tax was reduced, and arrears were added up; fugitives were returned to their old places, at first simply, and then with corporal punishment. But even here the trouble is: the returned fugitives fled again with new comrades, who were persuaded by stories about a free life on the run, in the steppe or in Poland.
Small peasant riots, caused by the arbitrariness of the owners and their managers, joined the escapes. The reign of Elizabeth was full of local silent indignations of the peasants, especially the monasteries. Sent pacifying teams that beat the rebels or were beaten by them, depending on whose one she took. These were trial small outbreaks, which merged into the Pugachev fire in 20-30 years.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Eksmo". 2000.

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A. Smirnov.Vasilisa Kozhina - partisan, peasant woman of the Sychevsky district of the Smolensk province.1813.

A. Smirnov.Gerasim Kurin - leader of a peasant partisan detachment in 1812year.1813.

Adrian van Ostade.Peasant family.1647.

Peasant woman with cornflowers.

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov.Peasant girl with a sickle in the rye.

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi.The head of a peasant - a Ukrainian in a straw hat.1890-1895.

Valentin Alexandrovich Serov.Peasant courtyard in Finland.1902.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.Peasant in the field.1876.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.The return of the peasants from the funeral in the winter.Early 1880s.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.Peasant girl.1865.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.The arrival of a sorcerer at a peasant wedding.1875.

Wenceslas Hollar.Peasant wedding.1650.

Vladimir Makovsky.Peasant children.1890.

Evgraf Romanovich Reitern.A peasant woman from Willenshausen with a sleeping child in her arms.1843.

I. Laminitis.Russian peasants.Engraving after a drawing by E. Korneev.1812.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin.Peasant woman with cows.1873.

Ivan Petrovich Argunov.Portrait unknown peasant woman in Russian costume.1784.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two female figures(Embracing peasant women).1878.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Bearded peasant.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant courtyard.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two Ukrainian peasants.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant girl.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Ukrainian peasant.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Old peasant.1885.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Portrait of a peasant.1889.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant's head.

Konstantin Makovsky.Peasant lunch in field.

Mikhail Shibanov.Peasant lunch.1774.

Olga Kablukova.A hundred-year-old peasant woman from Tsarskoye Selo with her family.1815.

Militiaman in 1812 in a peasant's hut.Lubok picture.

Sergey Alexandrovich Lobovikov was born in 1870 in the village of Belaya, Glazovsky district, Vyatka province, in the family of a deacon. He graduated from a rural school, studied for two years at the Glazov Theological School. Orphaned at the age of 14. In 1885 he was given as a guardian to apprentice in the photography studio of Pyotr Grigoryevich Tikhonov in Vyatka. In 1892 he was taken to active military service (released in 1893 for health reasons). In 1893 not for a long time worked in the photography of K. Bulla in St. Petersburg. In 1894 he returned to Vyatka and opened his own photo workshop (in 1904 he bought a house on the corner of Moskovskaya and Tsarevskaya streets, where his photograph was placed for 30 years). Since 1899, he participated in exhibitions in Russia and abroad, repeatedly received top honors. In 1900 he made a trip to Europe, participated in the Paris World Exhibition (bronze medal).

In 1908 he was elected chairman of the Vyatka Photographic Society, and received a gold medal for his photographs at the International Exhibition in Kyiv. In 1909 he made a second trip abroad, participated in an exhibition in Dresden. In 1909-1912. - Chairman of the Vyatka art circle, did a great job of organizing an art and history museum in Vyatka (traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg to see artists and collectors, collected paintings). In 1909 he received the first prize at the competition of the Russian Photographic Society. In 1913-1914. - Vowel of the Vyatka City Duma. Since 1918 - as a member of the board of the Provincial sub-department for museums and the protection of monuments of art and antiquity. In 1918, many photo studios were nationalized, Lobovikova's teacher Tikhonov was arrested by the Cheka as a hostage and shot (at the age of 66). Lobovikov managed to avoid the nationalization of the workshop, in 1920 he received a safe-conduct from Lunacharsky. In 1921-26. Lobovikov participated in the assessment of seized church valuables, compiled a collection of 617 items of ancient utensils and asked to leave it in Vyatka (despite repeated petitions, the collection was taken to Moscow). In 1927 in Moscow took place personal exhibition Lobovikov in honor of the 40th anniversary of his photographic activity. In those same years, the work of old Russian photographers was criticized as "narrow aesthetic, divorced from Soviet reality." Since 1920, Lobovikov taught photography at the Vyatka Pedagogical Institute. In 1932, he donated his house and photo lab to the Pedagogical Institute. By decision of the institute's management, the laboratory was soon liquidated, and a student hostel was placed in the house (the photographer himself and his family had to huddle in a small part of the house). In 1934 he received an academic pension, moved to Leningrad, worked in the film and photo laboratory of the Academy of Sciences. He died in November 1941 in besieged Leningrad. In 1954, the photo archive of S.A. Lobovikov was donated by his heirs to the Kirov Art Museum. Lobovikov's house in Vyatka (Kirov) was demolished in the late 1950s.

From the diary of S.A. Lobovikova: "December 9, 1899. I pass by the house of L ... va. A pair of trotters is standing at the porch. A poor peasant in poor clothes stopped at the gate, all cold; he looked at the horses, turned away, went on his way and only sighed deeply" How many words and feelings were expressed in this “e-he-he-e-e-e”; so deeply these exclamations fall into the soul, it becomes ashamed in front of this poor man ... Let him wrap himself in a new fur coat yourself, and what do you care about the fact that others are chilly, that they do not have warm clothes ... Yes, our souls are callous, cold - only our fur coats are warm!

A. Koltsov

What are you sleeping, man?
After all, spring is in the yard;
After all, your neighbors
They have been working for a long time.
Get up, wake up, get up
Look at yourself:
What were you? and what became?
And what do you have?
On the threshing floor - not a sheaf;
In the bins - not a grain;
In the yard, on the grass -
At least roll a ball.
From brownie cages
Rubbish dared with a broom;
And horses for debt
Divorced by neighbors.
And under the bench is a chest
Overturned lies;
And, bending over, the hut,
Like an old woman, she stands.
Remember your time
How did it roll
Through fields and meadows
Golden river!
From the yard and the threshing floor
Along the big path
Through villages, cities,
For trading people!
And how are the doors to him
Dissolved everywhere
And in the honorable corner
It was your place!
And now under the window
You sit with need
And all day on the stove
You lie without waking up.
And in the fields as an orphan
The bread is worthless.
The wind whittles the grain!
The bird is pecking at him!
What are you sleeping, man?
After all, the summer has passed
After all, autumn is in the yard
He looks through the curtain.
Winter follows her
In a warm coat goes
The path is covered with snow
It crunches under the sleigh.
All the neighbors are on them
Bread is being brought, sold,
Collect the treasury
They drink mash with a ladle.

Lobovikov's favorite filming location was the village of Fileyskoye, which stood near the city on the banks of the Vyatka River.

Lullaby

The sun is setting
And the day gets dark
Fell from the mountain
There is a shadow in the village.
Only the church dome
illuminated by the sun,
And the church is open
And the call goes on.
Bell for Vespers
Christians are calling;
Tomorrow is Sunday -
Rest from work.
And heard in the field
The bells are calling
Peasant to the village
Already drove the cows.
And in the village church
Already full of people
And sparkle with lights
Lots of candles.
Candles labor
Burning brighter than the stars
And people pray
They create in simplicity.

Ivan Nikitin
Grandfather

Bald, with a white beard,
Grandpa is sitting.
Cup with bread and water
It stands in front of him.
White as a harrier, wrinkles on the forehead,
With a tired face.
He saw a lot of trouble
For your lifetime.
Everything is gone; power is gone,
Dulled look;
Death laid in the grave
Children and grandchildren.
With him in a smoky hut
The cat lives alone.
He is also old, and sleeps the whole day,
It won't jump off the stove.
The old man needs a little:
Bast shoes to weave and sell -
Here is satiety. His consolation -
Go to God's temple.
To the wall, near the threshold,
Will be there, groaning,
And glorifies God for sorrows,
God child.
He is glad to live, not averse to the grave -
To a dark corner.
Where did you get this power?
Poor guy?

CHAPTER 2. THE IMAGE OF THE PEASANTRY IN RUSSIAN ART OF THE 18TH CENTURY

2.1. The image of the peasantry in painting

In the 18th century, secular art came to the fore in Russian art in Russian art. Several stages can be distinguished in the development of Russian painting of the 18th century. The first stage - the first third of the 18th century, the painters then depicted mainly people of high-ranking ranks. At this time, the peasants are practically not portrayed. popular genre is a portrait, a landscape. The next two stages are the middle of the 18th century and the second half of the 18th century. These two stages are of interest to us, since they are marked by the further flourishing of Russian national painting, which developed along the path of realism, but our theme can be traced more in the second half of the 18th century, so we will talk about this half.

The 18th century is rich in Russian portrait painters, but among them there are those who are interested in the theme of the peasantry. These include Vishnyakova A.I. , Shibanova M. , Ermeneva I.A. , Argunova I.P. . Through the paintings of these artists, we can see the life, holidays and life in general of the peasants.

Vishnyakov Alexander Ivanovich - son famous portrait painter Vishnyakova I.Ya. , not much is known about him, he was a genre painter. His painting "Peasants' Revel" (Fig 5) late 1760s - early 1770s. - one of the earliest images of peasant meals. Here we see the grotesque, characteristic of the depiction of rough nature, characteristic of the Dutch and Flemish paintings masters of the 17th century, that is, here we see the imitation of the Russian artist of these masters, which does not reflect the originality of the Russian people and the community of peasants.

Another artist Mikhail Shibanov - Russian artist second half of XVIII century, a painter from serfs, since 1783 - a "free painter". He can be called the initiator of the peasant household genre in Russian art. His paintings are unique for their time in terms of the subject matter depicted - in the 18th century, almost no artist depicted peasants in the fine arts. First of all, we are talking about two canvases depicting scenes from the life of peasants “Peasant Lunch” (Fig. 6) and “The Celebration of the Wedding Contract”.

Figure 5

In 1774, Mikhail Shibanov painted the canvas "Peasant Lunch". This work was published during the Pugachev uprising. This topic was new for Russian society, and works devoted to the peasantry were even considered scandalous. And although what Shibanov depicted is far from what the real life of the peasantry was, he depicted them this way not because he wanted to embellish the life and life of the peasants, but because this could offend the aristocracy. It can be said that Shibanov was placed in a certain framework and could not fully see his vision. Despite the festivity of clothing, one can see the love of a mother for a child, the thoughtfulness of a grandfather, the crying of the Russian soul, here a true peasant life is shown.

Figure 6

Another picture of this theme is “The Celebration of the Wedding Contract” (Fig. 6). The title refers to what is depicted in the picture. It really is a celebration. Some women in decorated dresses, the guests are happy and happy for the bride and groom, who are in the center of the composition. These scenes by Shibanov are depicted masterfully. His courage is also striking that he was not afraid to raise such an acute problem.

Argunov Ivan Petrovich Russian portrait painter. Argunov was not busy with this topic, but we can single out one painting from him “Portrait of an unknown peasant woman in a Russian costume” (Fig. 7) - one of his famous works. The portrait reflects the interest in the theme of the peasantry that has appeared in Russian society. Argunov, himself a native of the serfs of Count Sheremetyev, tried to show beauty and dignity in portraits, regardless of class.

Figure 7

The image of a peasant woman in this work Argunov is conveyed with truthfulness, sincerity and respect. Since the author dressed the girl in festive outfit, many believe that it was an actress. From an ethnographic point of view, we see how accurately the costume of a peasant woman in the Moscow province is conveyed. Also, belonging to the peasant class is easy to determine in this girl by the lack of mannerisms and ingenuity. The soft features of the girl, a slight smile, a calm pose indicate modesty, openness, kindness of a girl from the people.

Ermenev Ivan Alekseevich Russian painter, also considered a serf, he became friends with the future Grand Duke, to whom he was attached to serve. Known for his series of eight watercolors "Beggars", as well as watercolors "Lunch (Peasant Lunch)". Most often, he depicted two full-length figures against the sky: a beggar old woman and a child, a beggar and a guide, or a lonely figure of a beggar, but the “Peasant Lunch” (Fig. 8) falls out of this series.

Figure 8

Many researchers believe that this picture reflects formidable force ordinary people with such a difficult fate and life. Ermenev's paintings, especially the paintings on the theme of the peasantry, have a tragic meaning, show hopelessness and gloom, which we can see even in the colors chosen for the picture.

2.2. The image of the peasantry in literature

18th century literature produced fertile ground for the development of the literature of the 19th century, therefore it cannot be said that the 18th century is forgotten. The writers of this time tried to solve the acute problems of their time. Of course, here many of them did not bypass the peasant question. As in painting, a number of authors who are interested in this problem can be distinguished, these include Bakhtin I. I., Lomonosov M. V., Radishcheva A. N., Fonvizina D. I., Karamzin N. M..

Ivan Ivanovich Bakhtin - public figure and a writer, his work was dominated by satirical themes. The most daring theme in Bakhtin's work was the peasant question. In the work "Satire on the cruelty of some nobles to their subjects" the author showed the real features of the peasant life of the 18th century. In the tale "The Master and the Peasant Woman", the writer also showed sympathy for the peasants, like some others.

Fonvizin Denis Ivanovich is a Russian writer who also raised the theme of the peasantry in his work. First of all, we can trace this in his work "Undergrowth". In this work, Fonvizin, seeing the root of all evil in serfdom, ridicules the noble system and noble education. Moreover, this can be seen already by the surnames and names of the main characters, all these surnames tell us about the inner qualities of these people. Fonvizin in many works speaks of the nobility and ridicules their life.

Another writer who was interested in the peasant question was Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. In his work, we see the development of literature and an in-depth look at the relationship between the landowner and the peasant. These trends can be seen in Poor Lisa". With the conventionality of the figure of Liza, this is still an image of the individual experiences of a peasant girl, her personal dramatic fate, in terms of the author’s emphasized sympathy and sympathy for her, which in itself was a new and, of course, a progressive literary fact. All this can be traced in an excerpt from the work "Poor Lisa":

“One Liza, who remained after her father of fifteen years, - one Liza, not sparing her tender youth, not sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night - weaved canvases, knitted stockings, picked flowers in the spring, and took berries in the summer - and sold them in Moscow. A sensitive, kind old woman, seeing her daughter’s indefatigability, often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, called her divine mercy, nurse, the joy of her old age and prayed to God to reward her for everything she does for her mother. ”We see the image of a hardworking, modest girl and how the author relates to her. Karamzin in his works tried to reflect not only the attitude towards the peasantry and draw real image peasantry, but also to show his attitude to the relationship between peasants and landowners, the author himself believed that relations should go in a different direction, and real relations are relics of the past.

Despite the fact that the above-mentioned authors were interested, spoke and considered the image of the peasantry and its place in Russian reality, but most of all, Radishchev Alexander Nikolaevich made a contribution to the study of this problem. This author was arrested for his views and exiled to Siberia. The image of the peasantry Radishchev reflected in the works "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", "Liberty".

One of the most significant phenomena of Russian literature of the eighteenth century is the work of A. N. Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow." It is written in the travel genre popular at the time. The main characters are the traveler and the Russian people. The traveler on his way met representatives of all classes and the picture that the traveler paints is unsightly, he speaks of the fall of Russian society. moral baseness and dirt are characteristic of all strata of society, but the peasants, as the most socially unprotected people, have the worst of it: "the peasant in law is dead." Indeed, the arbitrariness of the landlords goes beyond all moral limits, and ordinary people have to endure it. For example, in the chapter "Lyubani" the author meets a peasant plowing on Sunday - a holy day of rest for the Orthodox:

“- You, of course, are a schismatic, what do you plow on Sundays?

No, sir, I am baptized with a straight cross, - he said ... - in a week, sir, six days, and we go to corvee six times a week ...

How do you manage to get bread if you only have a free holiday?

Not only holidays, and our night. Do not be lazy, our brother, he will not die of hunger.

The traveler threatens the feudal lords with this. In addition, the author says that the traveler sees not only the patience and hard life of the oppressed peasantry, but also the dormant strength of the people, which can wake up at any moment. For this work, the writer was exiled.

CHAPTER 3. THE IMAGE OF THE PEASANTRY IN RUSSIAN ART OF THE 19TH CENTURY

3.1. The image of the peasantry painting

The second chapter already spoke about the relevance of the topic of the peasantry in the 18th century and that many representatives of art began to raise this topic in their work, but still the topic was not the main one and not widespread. In the 19th century Russian art acquired folk sound, in painting we see this in the transition from romanticism to realism. In Russian painting, the national accent in creativity was valued, which tells us that in this period the image of the peasantry can be traced in the most vivid form. The theme of the peasantry can be traced not only in a more complex form, i.e. the authors of the works cover the problems in the acute form that actually existed in Russian society without censorship, but the number of authors writing about the peasant issue has become many times larger, in addition this theme has become new for Russian artists. All this is connected with the events that took place in connection with the reform of Russia and, first of all, this concerns the reform that canceled serfdom. Russian painters who were interested in this topic - A. G. Venetsianov, V. A. Tropinin, P. A. Fedotov - they are also artists of the first half of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, this theme was reflected in the work of the Wanderers G.G. Myasoedova, I. E. Repina, V. M. Maksimova, S. A. Korovin, etc. .

The 19th century can be conditionally divided into 2 parts. The first part of the 19th century is represented in the works of such artists as Venetsianov A.G., Tropinin V.A., Fedotov P.A. - here the peasant world is reflected before the abolition of serfdom, and the second part of the 19th century is presented mainly in the work of the Wanderers - here we see the peasant world after the abolition of serfdom. At the beginning of the 19th century, the theme of the peasantry and folk life was new. Venetsianov Alexei Gavrilovich master of genre scenes from peasant life, he not only made a huge contribution to culture with the help of his paintings, but also brought up many peasants, giving them education and a path to another life. Despite Venetsianov's talent for painting portraits, he still most famous brought not portraits, but writing peasant images. Although Venetsianov was not the first to depict peasants, he was the first to depict them in poetic form. The artist painted peasant children, peasant girls and, of course, the life of the peasant people. We see a number of paintings called “peasant woman” by the painter, which depict peasant girls engaged in one activity or another, on their faces we see fatigue and a sad gaze into the distance, their hands indicate a heavy daily work girls, but at the same time speaks of their diligence and modesty; in addition, of course, it is impossible not to single out some of his most famous paintings in this topic "Reapers" (Fig. 9) and "Barn". The artist was inspired to paint the painting “Reapers” by peasants who admired nature and a butterfly that sat on the hand of a peasant woman. This picture is one of those that reflects the significance of the image of the Russian peasantry. The theme of the harvest in the work of Venetsianov can be traced throughout his artistic activity, as for this picture, we see a peasant woman and her son admiring nature, that is, butterflies crouching on the peasant woman's hand. Also, looking at the picture with the naked eye, we see that all the action takes place during the harvest, their clothes are yellowed from hard work and dust, and their hands are black from the work just done. No matter how strange the picture "Reapers" still did not bring such success as the work "Barn", which was completed for a huge amount of money. Here the theme of the harvest is again traced, but in the painting “Barn” we already see a composition that depicts many peasants either resting or preparing for hard work. The author emphasizes the importance of peasant labor and its difficult orientation.

Figure 9

Fedotov Pavel Andreevich made no less contribution to the transfer of the image of the Russian peasantry. Fedotov laid the foundations of critical realism in the everyday genre, which was the main thing for him in his work. But if Venetsianov showed the peasantry itself, then Fedotov showed the upper strata of society, showing their meaninglessness of existence, the emptiness they have inside. The artist, with the help of satire, shows the insignificance of some, and the significance of others. The work of Venetsianov and Fedotov was continued by the Wanderers, who were the color of the second half of the 19th century. Despite the fact that speaking about the beginning of realism and the transfer of the image of the Russian peasantry, we are talking about the names of Venetsianov and Fedotov, we must not forget to mention Tropinin. Tropinin Vasily Andreevich is a master of romantic and realistic portraits. He painted people of different classes, trying not to convey their belonging to a certain class, but to show a specific person typical of a given society. In Tropinin’s work, we are interested in such works as “Lacemaker” (Fig. 10), “Golden Embroiderer”, where we see a heavy manual work peasant women. These pictures were well received by critics and audiences alike. The painting "Lacemaker" has become a real gem of Russian art. This picture, like "Golden Sewing", shows us a very sweet girl and unlike a serf peasant woman. The author of these works wanted to convey to the viewer the image of hard peasant work, and Tropinin shows that hard work, happiness and dignity do not go against the grain. All this is demonstrated by the artist in his painting “The Lacemaker”. In the first half of the 19th century, the theme of the peasantry is new, but nevertheless the theme is much more pronounced in the second half of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, “Wanderers” can be distinguished in painting, almost each of them contributed to the formation of the image of the peasantry. Myasoedov Grigory Grigorievich - the most bright representative Russian realism. The main topic addressed by Myasoedov is peasant life. The evolution of Myasoedov's creativity is visible in his works. One of the paintings reflecting the theme of the peasantry is “Zemstvo is having lunch” (Fig. 11). The picture was painted during the years of the abolition of serfdom. The peasants are next to the Zemstvo, apparently they were on some business, but they are forced to sit on the threshold. In the window you can see a servant who washed all the dishes, apparently the peasants decided that the ranks had a good lunch and their problem would not be of interest. The picture is visible new reality, which shows Russian society without embellishment.

Figure 10

In addition, in the picture we see a new technique of the author, expressing the theme, he is a critic who shows the truth of Russian society, and the author leaves some understatement, a question in his works, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions. The main focus in this picture is on the peasants: their facial features are well drawn, which shows us inner world peasants who had a hard time getting used to the new free life and did not become happier from the reforms adopted towards the peasant question. Their facial expressions are unhappy and tired from hard work, which calls the viewer to the sympathy and pity of poor peasant husbands.

Figure 11

Unlike the previous painting “Mowers”, written even before “Zemstvo is having lunch”, shows us the lyricism of the image of the peasantry and speaks of their unity and good nature.

Another well-known itinerant artist, Maksimov Vasily Maksimovich, devoted all his work to the development of the theme of the peasantry. One of his main works, the work "The Witch Doctor on rustic wedding"Shows the true look of the Russian village, here the author is trying to reveal the charm of folk images, peasant life, but the author reflected not only the life of the peasant, but also described the image of the Russian peasantry, in such paintings as "Sick Husband", " family section" and etc.

Contributed to the development of this theme and such an artist as Arkhipov Abram Efimovich. Not much is known about Arkhipov, but much has been said about his work. The main theme of Arkhipov's work is peasant. He painted many paintings about peasant life, such as “The Drunkard”, “Washerwomen” (Fig. 12), “Northern Village”, “On the Volga”, etc. can be attributed to them. All paintings show the true life of the peasants after the abolition of serfdom.

Figure 12

Each painting by Arkhipov shows a scene of peasant life. For example, "Washerwomen" canvas shows us exhausting, hard work. In this picture, we can trace the detail of the image, as well as social motives. Social motives can be traced in the image of fatigue from hard work and the hopelessness of their position as women, as well as spiritual longing, which is caused by a sense of hopelessness.

In considering this point, one should not forget such artists as Perov and Repin. Repin Ilya Efimovich - outstanding artist, the theme of the peasantry was not the main one for him, but his first painting on this topic became world famous. “Barge haulers on the Volga” (Fig. 13) is exactly the picture that we know from school, it emphasizes many literary works. Each of the haulers in the picture is individual, but they all show the oppression of the poor. The picture calls for mercy towards ordinary people. Repin showed his sentence with this work modern society and showed the oppression of the disenfranchised.

Figure 13

Like Repin, Perov wrote peasant stories, but unlike him, he paid attention to this topic. great value. He painted many canvases on the theme of peasant oppression and the difficult fate of the peasants. Vasily Perov, like Repin, painted a picture similar to "Barge haulers on the Volga", the picture "Troika". The meaning is similar, but in the second work, Perov does not talk about barge haulers, but about ordinary children who pull a barrel of water. Perov's painting tells us about the need of peasants and peasant children and their difficult path, the author emphasizes the latter, showing how cold it is, the water freezes on the street, so we can imagine how cold it is for children to carry such a burden.

Figure 14

The authors depicting the images of the Russian peasantry express national character Russian people. Artists in their canvases depict the real life of Russian society in the 19th century, but speaking of the Russian peasantry in art, one should not forget about the writers who tried to reach out to Russian society, raising the topical issue of enslavement.

A. Smirnov.
"Gerasim Kurin - Leader of a Peasant Partisan Detachment in 1812".
1813.

Peasant:

1. A villager whose main occupation is tillage.
Besselendeevka consisted of only twenty-two souls of peasants. ( Turgenev. Chertop-hanov and Nedopyuskin.)
2. Representative of the lower taxable class in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Dictionary of the Russian language. Moscow. "Russian word". 1982

Adrian van Ostade.
"Peasant family".
1647.

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov.
"Peasant girl with a sickle in the rye."

The peasant of the 16th century was a free plowman who sat on foreign land under an agreement with the landowner; his freedom was expressed in peasant outlet or failure, i.e., the right to leave one area and move to another, from one landowner to another. Initially, this right was not restricted by law; but the very property of land relations imposed a mutual restriction both on this right of the peasant and on the arbitrariness of the landowner in relation to the peasant: the landowner, for example, could not drive the peasant off the land before harvesting, just as the peasant could not leave his plot without paying off the owner at the end of the harvest. From these natural relations of agriculture flowed the need for a uniform, statutory period for the peasant exit, when both parties could settle accounts with each other. The Sudebnik of Ivan III established one mandatory period for this - a week before St. George's autumn day (November 26) and the week following this day. However, in the Pskov land in the 16th century there was another legal period for the peasants to leave, namely the Filippovo conspiracy (November 14).

V. Klyuchevsky. "Russian history". Moscow. "Eksmo". year 2000..

Valentin Alexandrovich Serov.
"Peasant Yard in Finland".
1902.

Their own and other observers, marveling at the greatness of the deeds of the reformer [Peter I], were amazed at the vast expanses of uncultivated fertile land, the multitude of wastelands, cultivated somehow, randomly, not introduced into the normal national economic circulation. People who thought about the reasons for this neglect explained it, firstly, by the decline of the people from a long war, and then by the oppression of officials and nobles, who discouraged the common people from any desire to put their hands on something: the oppression of the spirit resulting from slavery, according to that Weber, however, has clouded every sense of the peasant to such an extent that he has ceased to understand his own benefit and thinks only about his daily meager subsistence.

V. Klyuchevsky. "Russian History" Moscow. "Eksmo". year 2000.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.
Return of peasants from funerals in winter.
Early 1880s.

Immediately after Peter's death, the impatient Procurator General Yaguzhinsky was the first to speak about the plight of the peasants; then lively talk began in the Supreme Privy Council about the need to alleviate this situation. "Poor peasantry" has become a walking government expression.

The very area of flight expanded widely: before, the serfs ran from one landowner to another, and now they threw them to the Don, the Urals and to distant Siberian cities, to the Bashkirs, to the split, even abroad, to Poland and Moldavia. In the Supreme Privy Council under Catherine I, they reasoned that if things went like this, it would come to the point that there would be no taxes or recruits to be taken from anyone, and the indisputable truth was expressed in a note by Menshikov and other dignitaries that if it was impossible for the state to stand without an army , then you also need to take care of the peasants, because the soldier is connected with the peasant, as the soul is with the body, and if there is no peasant, then there will be no soldier.

To prevent escapes, the poll tax was reduced, and arrears were added up; fugitives were returned to their old places, at first simply, and then with corporal punishment. But even here the trouble is: the returned fugitives fled again with new comrades, who were persuaded by stories about a free life on the run, in the steppe or in Poland.

Small peasant riots, caused by the arbitrariness of the owners and their managers, joined the escapes. The reign of Elizabeth was full of local silent indignations of the peasants, especially the monasteries. Sent pacifying teams that beat the rebels or were beaten by them, depending on who they took. These were trial small outbreaks, which merged into the Pugachev fire in 20-30 years.

V. Klyuchevsky. "Russian history". Moscow. "Eksmo". year 2000.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.
"Peasant Girl"
1865.

PEASANTRY IN RUSSIA. Peasants are small rural producers who run individual households with the help of their families and are united in communities. At 18 - beg. 20th century the peasantry was the main population of Russia.

The term "peasant" first appeared in the 14th century. and came from the word "Christian" (in contrast to non-Christians from the Golden Horde, the enslavers of the Russian land).

By the time of the Great Reforms of the 60-70s. 19th century landlord (serf) peasants accounted for 37% of the population of Russia - 23 million people. In Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine they were from 50 to 70% of the rest of the population. In the northern and southern (steppe) provinces, the number of serfs ranged from 2 to 12% of the population. There were practically no serfs in the Arkhangelsk province and in Siberia.

Serfs did not have civil and property rights.

The landlord peasants were divided into corvée (who worked on the manor's field) and quitrents (who paid the landowner a cash quitrent). On the eve of the Great Reforms, 71% were in the corvée, and 29% of the landlord peasants were in quitrent. In the central industrial provinces, the landlord form prevailed. It was more profitable for the landlords to let the peasants go to rent, rather than keep them on corvée. In these areas, up to 67% of the peasants were on quitrent, and in some provinces with developed seasonal industries, for example, in Kostroma and Yaroslavl, up to 80-90% of the peasants. The quitrent system and the development of crafts gave some peasants the opportunity to acquire significant capital. The wealthy serfs sought, first of all, to redeem themselves and their families for freedom, since they were often several times richer than their master. From the serfs came such merchant dynasties like the Morozovs and Konovalovs. On the contrary, in the agricultural regions, the Central Black Earth, the Middle Volga and Ukraine, where agricultural conditions were more favorable, corvee prevailed (up to 80-90% of the peasants). The corvée also prevailed in Lithuania and Belarus, where the economy of the landlords was oriented towards the European market.

A kind of corvée in the 18th-1st floor. 19th centuries it was a month. The serfs, deprived of land allotments, worked out corvée for 6 days a week, for which they received in kind a monthly food ration and clothing. A peasant who was transferred for a month sometimes kept his household - a yard, agricultural implements and livestock, for the maintenance of which he also received a month. But most of the time he lived manor's yard and cultivated the landowner's field with the master's inventory. The month could not be widely distributed, since it required additional costs from the landowner for the maintenance of the peasant, whose almost slave labor was distinguished by low productivity.

The monastic peasants were also in a serf position. In 1764, approx. 2 million peasants and handed them over to the College of Economy. These peasants (they were called economic) received part of the monastic lands as allotments, corvee was replaced by a cash quitrent in favor of the treasury. But the monasteries until 1917 retained large land holdings.

Close in position to the landlords were the peasants who belonged to the grand ducal, and later the royal family, or "palace". They were called "palace". In 1797, the Department of appanages was approved to manage the palace peasants, royal estates and palaces, and the peasants began to be called appanages. By this time, there were 463 thousand male souls and the number was constantly increasing. They were bought from the landlords, some of the state peasants were transferred to the inheritance. To the beginning 1860s appanage peasants were already approx. 2 million

However, not all the peasantry were enslaved. All R. 19th century OK. 19 million people, i.e., a little less than the number of landlord peasants, were state or state peasants belonging to the state (treasury). It was a legally free, but dependent on the state category of peasants. They received a land allotment for use, for which they carried duties in the form of a cash quitrent. Although the state peasants were personally free, they were limited in the right to transfer to other estates. They were forbidden to move to other regions of the country, engage in farming, contracts, wholesale trade, and open industrial establishments. Until 1861, they did not have the right to acquire land as property, acquire real estate in their name, start factories and plants, did not have the right to go to work without the permission of the specific authorities, could not defend their interests in court.

The legal position of the state peasants took shape in the beginning. 18th century in connection with the military and financial reforms of Peter I. The very name “state peasants” first appeared in the decrees of Peter the Great in 1724. Previously, they were called “black-eared peasants” (the term arose in the 14th century from the words “black plow”, that is, taxable, heavy plow). From the beginning 18th century the number of state peasants increased. This category included various groups of the rural population of both the original Russian territories and the peasants of the lands that had recently become part of Russian state: Baltic States, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia. Economic peasants were also included in the composition of the state peasants, since in 1786 the College of Economy was abolished, as well as peasants taken from the Polish gentry after the uprising of 1830-1831; residents of "out of town" cities that have lost the status of the city in connection with their abolition as administrative centers. The composition of the state peasants also included "ladles" - the peasants of the northern regions, who did not have land and rented it for the sake of half the harvest; the peoples of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia, subject to natural tribute (yasak) and, in addition to it, monetary and some natural duties. The state peasants were the tsarans in Moldova (from the Moldavian word "tsar" - land, i.e. farmers). They lived on the lands of the landowners and monasteries, paid them a tenth of the income from the allotment and worked out the corvée for 12 days a year on each farm. In 1837, the Ministry of State Property was established to manage the state peasants. Its head P. D. Kiselev, a supporter of the abolition of serfdom, held in 1837-1841. reform of the state village.

The abolition of serfdom in 1861, the implementation of agrarian reforms in the specific in 1863 and in the state villages in 1866 equalized the legal status various categories peasantry. Former landowners and appanage peasants received the same rights as state peasants, it was established unified management in the village. Zemstvo and judicial reforms introduced the peasants into the local government and the court. However, in post-reform period differences between the peasants still continued to persist: the quality of the allotment land, the amount of payments, the conditions for the redemption of allotments, the nature of land ownership, etc., were different. and wealthy minority.

School Encyclopedia. Moscow, "OLMA-PRESS Education". 2003

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.
"The arrival of a sorcerer at a peasant wedding."
1875.

But why in ancient Russian literature Is there an expression "resurrect the fire"? Kindle - understandable, but resurrect? KRES - KRESALO, knocking out fire from a stone! Then the CROSS is the kindling of life, and by the way, the tillers were called CROSS, that is, kindling life on earth!

And then the PEASANT is by no means from the word "Christian".

Sergei Alekseev. Treasures of Valkyrie. 6-Truth and fiction.

Wenceslas Hollar.
"Peasant Wedding"
1650.

- Russia is a very cold country with poor soils, so these people live here, and not others. In Europe, the agricultural period is ten months, and in Russia it is five,” Milov said sadly. - The difference is twice. In Europe, they do not work in the field only in December and January. In November, for example, winter wheat can be sown; English agronomists knew about this back in the 18th century. In February, carry out other work. So, if you calculate, it turns out that the Russian peasant has 100 days for arable work, in addition to threshing grain. And 30 days are spent on haymaking. What happens? And the fact that he tears his veins and is barely controlled. The head of a family of four (one-tax peasant) manages to physically plow two and a half acres. And in Europe - 2 times more.

The fact that in Russia the tillage period lasts 7 months was written in state documents as early as the 18th century. They understood the problem... The average harvest with those tools was three. That is, three grains grew from one grain. Out of 12 poods - 36. Minus one grain out of three for seeds, it turns out 24 poods - a net tax from the tithe. From two and a half acres - 60 pounds. This is for a family of 4. And a family of 4, given that women and children eat less, is equal to 2.8 adults. Given that the annual consumption rate is 24 pounds per person. That is, you need almost 70 pounds. And there are only 60. And from them you still need to subtract a part for feeding livestock - oats for a horse, bedding for a cow. And instead of 24 prescribed by the biological norm, the Russian consumed 12-15-16 pounds. 1500 kcal per day instead of 3000 required by the body.

Here is an average Russia for you - a country where there was always a shortage of bread. Where life was always at the limit of possibility. Eternal struggle, the eternal fear of hunger. And at the same time, terrible work for wear and tear with the involvement of women, children, the elderly ... Is it possible to expand the arable land? You can, if you work somehow, at random. That's how they worked. If in England they plow 4-6 times, bringing the land to "downiness", then in Russia there is still bad tillage. Although the technique has changed - in Europe the tractor "and in Russia the tractor" - but the ratio of arable time remains the same and the result is the same: in Europe you won’t find such a small lump on arable land, but in Russia such cobblestones are lying on the field. Yes, compared to the 18th century, labor productivity in the countryside increased 40-50 times. But nature has remained unchanged! Therefore, the cost of Russian agricultural products will always be more expensive than Western ones for the same climatic reasons.

Have you seen the movie "The President"? Do you remember the heartbreaking scene there, when the women lift the cow on the ropes so that, exhausted, it does not fall? This is a typical picture for Russia. By spring, the cows and horses were barely standing. It would seem - huge expanses, fields, copses, meadows. And the peasant has a shortage of hay. Why? Because when the grass is full of vitamins, it can only be harvested and harvested - the peasant does not have time for this. Haymaking according to the old style began on June 29 - with Peter and Paul - and lasted until the end of July. And from August (and sometimes from July 20!) it was already necessary to hurry to reap the ripened rye.

Therefore, despite the fact that during the haymaking period, the entire village, young and old, went out to mow and the peasants simply lived in camps in the fields, with the then mowing technique, the peasant still did not mow enough hay in 30 days. And the stall period in Russia is from 180 to 212 days - 7 months. Peasant single yard (4 souls) had two cows, one or two horses for plowing, two sheep, one pig and 5-8 chickens. Goats were rarely seen. From county to county, the number could change, for example, in the Rzhevsky county of the Tver province, a peasant had 3 sheep, and in the neighboring Krasnokholmsky 3–4 pigs. But, in general, in conventional terms, this is equivalent to six heads of cattle. For them, it was necessary to prepare hay according to the norms of the 18th century, about 620 pounds. And a peasant with his family, at best, could mow 300. And it has always been like this.

What is the way out? Cattle were given straw, which is low in calories and completely devoid of vitamins. But there was not enough straw! Pigs and cows were fed with horse manure, sprinkled with bran. The chronic starvation of peasant cattle was an eternal headache for the chairmen of collective farms and Russian landowners. By spring, the cattle literally fell, they hung it up. And there was not enough manure from such cattle, not to mention milk; in some provinces, cows were kept not for milk, which they practically did not give, but solely because of manure. Which was also not enough for obvious reasons. Manure accumulated over the years!

Russian cattle was of extremely poor quality. And all the attempts of landowners and enlightened people from the government to import good breeds from Europe into Russia ended in the same way - Western breeds quickly degenerated and became almost indistinguishable from thin Russian cattle.

By all laws, with a three-field crop rotation, the land must be fertilized every three years. And in real practice, the peasants fertilized the land about once every 9 years. There was even a saying: good land manure remembers 9 years. And there were places in Russia - even at the beginning of the 20th century - where the land was fertilized every 12, 15, 18 years. And in the Vyatka province, for example, once every 20 years! What kind of yield are we talking about?…

But if you suddenly thought: “But our peasants rested for 7 months a year! They lay on the stove in the winter, ”they were deeply mistaken. In the winter, there was also a lot of work. Here is an example. Due to permanent poverty, the Russian peasant, unlike the European one, did not walk in boots. In order to put the whole family - 4 people - in boots, the peasant had to sell three-quarters of his grain. It's unrealistic. Boots were simply not available. Russia walked in bast shoes. In a year, a peasant bore from 50 to 60 pairs of bast shoes. Multiply for the whole family. They made bast shoes, of course, in winter, there was no time in summer. Further... The peasant could not buy fabric on the market. More precisely, he could, but as some kind of rare luxurious gift - and then only for his wife, daughter, he never bought. And you have to get dressed. Therefore, women spun and wove in winter. Plus, the preparation of belts, harness, saddles ... Logging for firewood ... By the way, before late XVIII centuries in Russia there were not even saws, and the forest was felled with axes. Moreover, since the stoves were imperfect, and there were no ceilings in the huts at all (ceilings as additional heat insulators began to appear only in the second half of the 18th century), just a lot of firewood was required - about 20 cubic meters.

- In the summer, the Russian peasant got up at three or four in the morning and went to barnyard- set the feed, remove the manure - and then worked in the field until lunch. After dinner there was an hour and a half hour sleep. The men went to bed at eleven o'clock. The women were a little later, as they were doing needlework. In winter, the regime was almost the same, with the only exception that they went to bed an hour earlier - at ten.

…Well, tell me, is it possible to live like this?…

The life of the Russian peasant did not differ much from the life of the primitive Neolithic savage. Unless for the worse ... What was a Russian hut, for example? A low one-room structure covered with thatch. About the lack of a ceiling has already been said. The floor was often earthen. The front door is rarely higher than a meter, and sometimes there were doors and half a meter! Until the 19th century, a typical Russian hut was heated in black. There were no windows in this strange building. The smoke came out through the so-called portage windows the size of half a log. For a long time, the peasants had no idea about bed linen and even mattresses and featherbeds, they slept on sackcloth and straw. In one "room" 8-10 people slept side by side on benches and beds. Cattle were also located here - chickens, pigs, calves ... The imagination of foreign travelers was struck by the heads, legs, and arms hanging from the shelves. “Every minute it seemed to me that they would fall to the floor,” wrote Cox, a researcher of Russian life.

The peasants stoked the stove in the morning. By three or four in the afternoon it became very hot, and the whole evening there was a wild heat. Sometimes in the middle of the night, fleeing from the unbearable stuffiness, the men jumped out into the cold with their chests wide open, sweaty and steamed - to cool down. Hence, by the way, numerous diseases, colds with fatal. But in the morning the hut got so cold that the beards of the sleeping people froze to the floor. And since the hut was heated to black, a long black fringe of soot hung everywhere.

And the smell! In an unventilated room (they kept warm) such miasmas bloomed that unprepared people felt dizzy. Remember, Pushkin pinches his nose at Kharms when Russian men pass by? “This is nothing, sir…”

In fact, the country was divided into two human "subspecies" - a cultural, European-educated aristocracy, eating from porcelain and discussing the poems of Ovid, and an absolutely gray, downtrodden, half-animal, superstitious mass, living like a bestial at the limit of possibilities and far, far beyond poverty. It is clear that these "subspecies" not only did not understand, but also could not understand each other: there is an abyss between them. Sometimes they even spoke different languages- some in Russian, others in French. Two countries in one... Eloi and Morlocks.

When Peter I began his reforms, there were 6% of the non-peasant population in Russia. Only six! Because the starving peasantry large quantity It was simply impossible to feed dependents in the local climate. And from these six percent, monasticism, the nobility, the army, bureaucracy, science were formed ... A surprisingly inefficient country!

The standard of living of the elite was not just striking, but catastrophically different from the standard of living of 94% of the population. While the black peasants ate cake and quinoa, in the spring they gathered gout - the first hatched grass with such small flowers ... at the same time, the Russian nobility ate watermelons, plums, lemons, oranges and even pineapples all year round. For growing tropical fruits in glass greenhouses, complex systems underground heating of the soil. At the same time, glass for greenhouses was expensive, and it was necessary for greenhouses - it was unmeasured.

From the point of view of an ordinary Russian, the bureaucracy and city authorities are not only few in number and inaccessible. It is incomprehensible, as if he lives on another planet. The authorities - they are, as it were, not people, they are celestials. You can scold them - just as you can sometimes blaspheme, but if a celestial suddenly condescends to you personally ... Father!

I can't get out of my memory one episode filmed with a hidden camera back in the Yeltsin era. An imposing man with a cell phone in his hand approaches a simple, ingenuous Russian on the street. And he says that he is a representative of the president, and asks: how do you, a simple Russian, feel about our popularly elected? Rusich, of course, begins to splash with saliva, waving his arms, swearing very much. He has a bad life! It seems that if he sees the president now, he will break. After carefully listening to a passerby, a person dials a number on a cell phone and hands him the phone:

– Now you will speak with Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. Give him your hopes.

“Hello, Russian,” the receiver answers in the ear of a simple, unsophisticated citizen in an inimitable presidential voice.

And a miracle happens. When asked by the President how he lives, the Russian suddenly answers:

- Yes, it's okay, Boris Nikolaevich!

Stupefying daily work, which, however, does not bring any significant fruits and does not promise prospects; black hopeless life; life on the verge of constant hunger; absolute dependence on weather conditions could not but affect the formation of the Russian psychotype.

No matter how much you work, everything is still in the hands of God; Work, don't work - almost nothing depends on you. Hence, in Russians, this eternal dependence on "decisions from above." Hence the superstitiousness reaching to obscurantism and the eternal calculation at random. And to this day, the main gods after Christ for the Russian remain the Great Lord Avos and his brother Nebos.

All life time Russian man, except for sleep, from childhood went to a simple physical survival. Pregnant women hunchback in the field to the last and give birth there. It is not for nothing that in Russian the words “suffering” and “suffering” have the same root… own life. Which is still not he, but God disposes.

Hence the attitude towards children is completely consumerist. Children are things to help with the housework. Hence the appeal to his beloved children: “Killing you is not enough!”

My friend Lesha Torgashev, who had flown in from Chicago, who had lived in America for three years and had lost his habit a little, was shocked out of habit when he heard a Russian mother shouting at our airport to her three-year-old daughter, who had soiled her dress: “I will stab you!” He was struck not only by the situation itself, but also by the detail worked out in the mother’s imagination of depriving a child of life - “I will kill”.

We have children not for the sake of the children themselves, but "so that there is someone to give a glass of water in old age." "Children are our wealth" - the most terrible, the most consumerist slogan invented by Soviet power as if pulled out of peasant Russia XVIII century. Then children were really considered wealth, because from the age of 7 they could be harnessed to work. Until the age of 15, the boy carried half a tax, and from the age of 16 - already a full tax, that is, he worked like a man. Teenagers are wealth. Small children are a burden, extra mouths. They died like flies, and no one really felt sorry for them - women still give birth! From the eternal lack of food and the saying: "God forbid cattle with offspring, and children - with seaside."

Europe was afraid of the Russian bayonet strike. Because the Russian soldier-peasant did not appreciate his life. His life was an incarnation of hell, compared with which death is no worse option. “In the world and death is red,” is another Russian proverb.

"Peace" in Rus' was called the peasant community.

There is an opinion that the Stalinist collective farms took root only because they were absolutely in the spirit of the people. And in line with the old life. Yes, yes, I'm talking about this fucking community. All Russian peasant psychology is the psychology of collectivism. On the one hand, this is good: everyone should help each other. But the other side of community is intolerance towards "upstarts" - people who stand out for something (mind, wealth, appearance) ...

Without this collectivist psychology, which hinders the development of capitalist relations (the essence of which lies in the greater atomization, individualization of society), the Russian peasantry simply could not survive. Well, a lone farmer could not exist in conditions of arable time trouble, when "the day feeds the year." You've been ill for ten or twenty days, haven't plowed, and your family is doomed to starvation. The house burned down, the horse died... Who will help? Community. And when the land finally became impoverished and ceased to bear fruit, the peasants all over the world did "clearing" - they brought the forest under arable land, and then divided the plots according to the number of workers. So without communal "help" the peasantry as a class in Russia simply could not exist.

Community is terrible, traumatic national mentality education. Which in people's heads overcame the agrarian era and rolled into the industrial one. Maybe, who remembers, under the Bolsheviks, even such children's poems were: “My dad brought a real saw from work! ...” Why from work, and not from the store? Why "brought" and not "stole"? Yes, all because of the same. Everything around is folk, everything around is mine! No respect for private property. Communal socialist concentration camp ...

The instructions of the middle of the 18th century on the management of the landlord economy noted: “Laziness, deceit, lies and theft are supposed to be hereditary in them (peasants. - A.N.). They deceive their master with feigned illnesses, old age, poverty, false sighing, and laziness in work. They steal what is prepared by common labors; they don’t want to tidy up, clean, smear, wash, dry, repair what is given for savings ... Those assigned to the authorities, in spending money and bread, do not know the measures. They do not like the remnants of the future time very much and, as if on purpose, they try to lead to ruin. And over those who are assigned to something, so that they can be corrected correctly and in due time, they do not look. In cheating - for friendship and honors - they are silent and cover. And on the simple-hearted and good people attack, push and chase. They do not remember the mercy shown to them in rewarding them with bread, money, clothing, livestock, freedom, and instead of gratitude and merit, they enter into rudeness, malice and cunning.

Unpretentiousness and long-suffering, minimizing the level of needs (“if only there was no war”), neglect of others and at the same time extreme dependence on them, willingness to help and black envy, emotional openness and cordiality, which can instantly turn into hatred - this is just an incomplete list qualities of a Russian person inherited from our unfortunate ancestors. And in the post-industrial 21st century, in the information civilization, Russia, with a fairly significant part of its fellow citizens, enters not even with an industrial, but sometimes with a purely peasant, patriarchal consciousness.

Alexander Nikonov. "The history of the frostbitten in the context of global warming".

Vincent Van Gogh.
"Morning. Peasants going to work.
1890.
Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky
Peasant children.
1890.

Of course, Alexander II did a good deed by freeing the peasants (at that time it was simply impossible not to do this). But then…

IN European Russia 76 million acres of land belonged to 30,000 landlords, and 73 million acres belonged to 10,000,000 peasant households. Such is the proportion. The fact is that the peasants were liberated with almost no land, and for the fact that they got everything, they were forced to make the so-called "convex payments", canceled only in 1907, after famous events. There is an interesting government document, the so-called "Proceedings of the tax commission." It follows from it that in the form of taxes and taxes, the peasant contributed more than ninety-two per cent of his income a year! And in the Novgorod province - all one hundred. Moreover, this applied only to the former "state" peasants. According to the same document, the former landowning peasants in some provinces were forced to pay more than two hundred percent of their income as a tax! In other words, apart from a few lucky ones, the peasants were constantly in debt, as if in silk. Here are excerpts from the instructions of the peasants to their deputies in the State Duma in 1906-1907.

The village of Stopino, Vladimir province: “The bitter experience of life convinced us that the government, which had oppressed the people for centuries, the government that saw and wanted to see us as obedient paying cattle, could not do anything for us. The government, consisting of nobles and officials, who did not know the needs of the people, cannot lead the exhausted homeland onto the path of order and law.

Moscow province: “The whole earth has been redeemed by us with sweat and blood for several centuries. It was processed in the era of serfdom and for the work they received beatings and exile, and thus enriched the landowners. If you now sue them for 5 kopecks. per day per person for all the time of serfdom, then they will not have enough to pay off all the lands and forests and all their property with the people. In addition, for forty years we have been paying a fabulous rent for land from 20 to 60 rubles. for a tithe a summer, thanks to the false law of the 61st year, according to which we received freedom with a small plot of land, a half-starved people, and colossal wealth formed among the parasitic landowners.

Arzamas district: “The landowners have completely turned us around: wherever you turn, all of them are everywhere - land and forest, and we have nowhere to drive out the cattle; a cow entered the landowner's land - a fine, accidentally drove his way - a fine, you go to him to rent land - he strives to take it as expensive as possible, but if you don’t take it - sit completely without bread; cut down a rod from his forest - to the court, and they will rip off three times more expensive, and you will also serve time.

Luga district of the Petersburg province: “We were endowed with three tithes per capita upon release. The population has grown to such an extent that at present there are no more than half a dozen. The population is positively in poverty, and it is in poverty solely because there is no land; there is no it not only for arable land, but even for the buildings necessary for the economy.

Nizhny Novgorod province: “We recognize that the unbearable burden of dues and taxes is a heavy burden on us, and there is no strength and opportunity to fully and timely fulfill them. The proximity of any deadline for payments and duties rests like a stone on our hearts, and the fear of the authorities for inaccurate payments makes us sell the last, or go into bondage.

The Bolsheviks have absolutely nothing to do with it - like any other "politicians". This is the true, undistorted voice of the peasantry. What kind of Bolsheviks are needed here ?!

Alexander Bushkov. "Red Monarch".

"The sovereign speaks with the nobility about the work ahead of them to free the peasants from serfdom."

Lithography.

"Meeting of the State Council during the preparation of the Peasant Reform".
(The reign of Emperor Alexander II.)
Lithography.

I. Laminitis.
"Russian peasants".
Engraving after a drawing by E. Korneev.
1812.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.
"Peasant Yard".
1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.
"Peasant Girl"
1880.

Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky.
"Peasant lunch in the field."

Kristina Evgenievna Gashko.
“A. Pushkin’s visit to the village of Zakharovo. Meeting with Zakharovsky peasants.
2011.

Mikhail Shibanov.
"Peasant Lunch"
1774.

"The militia of 1812 in a peasant's hut".
Lubok picture.

"Liberated peasants bring bread and salt to Alexander II".
1861.
From the book: “School Encyclopedia. History of Russia 18-19 centuries. Moscow, "OLMA-PRESS Education". 2003

"Peasant Dance"
1567-1568.

"Peasant Wedding"
About 1568.
Museum of Art, Ghent.

"Peasant Wedding"
1568.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

"Heads of Peasants".

"Peasant Revolt of the 1860s"
1951.

"Peasant family".
1843.

Peasant family before dinner.
1824.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

"Peasant Girl"
1840s

"Peasant Girl"
1840s
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

"Peasants and Ice Skating Runners".

How is the work of the Russian artist with the sonorous surname Venetsianov most often defined? Paintings depicting genre scenes from peasant life are called the beginning of the domestic genre in painting, a phenomenon that would eventually flourish in the era of the Wanderers.

But the magnitude of Venetsianov's artistic talent, the scale of his human personality had a huge impact on the development of Russian visual arts not only within the same genre. This becomes especially noticeable when looking closely at his canvases.

"Portrait of a mother" (1802)

Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov was born in 1780 into a Moscow merchant family with ancestors from Greece. In Russia, they received the nickname Veneziano, later converted into a Russian surname. When Alexei became interested in drawing, his studies did not seem like something serious parents. Maybe that's why he didn't get a regular art education. It is believed that he received the first knowledge about the technique of painting from the "uncle" - the educator, and main source artistic education that Venetsianov received - paintings by old masters in museums and the creations of modern painters in salons and galleries.

The main genre in Russian painting of that time was the portrait, and therefore the first painting experience of Venetsianov known to us belongs to this genre. mother - Anna Lukinichna, nee Kalashnikova.

It is noticeable how the twenty-two-year-old youth still lacks painting skills, how difficult it is for him to convey volume, air and light. But something else is also visible - his ability to convey different textures of fabric, sufficient confidence in the drawing. And most importantly, he managed to convey the feelings of his model: some embarrassment and tension of the mother from her unusual role and his tender attitude towards her.

"Self-portrait" (1811)

After 1802, Venetsianov moved to St. Petersburg, where he tried to make a name for himself and start earning a living through painting. Soon he was forced to enter the service of a minor official in the postal office. A happy chance allowed him to meet the famous portrait painter V. L. Borovikovsky (1757-1825), who highly appreciated the paintings of Venetsianov and became his mentor both in the profession and in life. Perhaps due to his influence, Venetsianov petitions the Academy of Arts for the official title of painter. According to the charter of the Academy, the applicant had to submit his work. To this end, Venetsianov paints a self-portrait.

In this picture, the high level of technical skill of the artist is already visible. This is an accurate and truthful work of a true realist, devoid of romantic touch and embellishment. The psychological depth of the image created by the artist was also highly appreciated. Here and attentive focus on work, and a clearly felt sense of self-esteem.

Venetsianov was defined by the Council of the Academy of Arts as "appointed" - one of the formal qualification levels of the artist, which made it possible to obtain the title of academician after completing a task assigned by the Council. Venetsianov becomes an academician after writing a given portrait of K. I. Golovachevsky.

"Barn" (1821)

Soon after receiving the title of academician of painting, Venetsianov unexpectedly leaves the capital and service and settles in his estate Safonkovo in the Tver province. Here he creates his most significant works, dedicated to the poeticization of peasant life.

Before starting work on the painting “The Barn”, the artist ordered his serfs to dismantle the front wall in a large barn where grain was stored. He set himself the task of conveying depth, similar to those that struck him in the paintings of the French painter Francois Granet. In addition to the image of a room receding into the distance, amazing for that time, the carefully verified composition of frozen in different poses figures of peasants and animals. They are full of ancient significance and amazing poetry.

The painting was highly appreciated by Emperor Alexander I, who bought it from the artist, and also presented the author with a diamond ring. This slightly eased his financial situation.

“On the arable land. Spring" (1820s)

Many paintings by Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov are full of secrets and mysteries that are still beyond the control of professionals and art lovers. Such is a small canvas (65 x 51 cm) with an almost Botticelli title and a poetic sound commensurate with greatest masterpieces Renaissance. It is believed that this picture is part of a cycle dedicated to the seasons.

The scene of peasant labor appears as an action full of sacred, cosmic meaning. The figure of a young woman who went to hard work, wearing her best clothes, a child on the edge of the field, making the plot look like an icon of the Virgin, the mirror figure of another peasant woman leaving in the depths - everything is full of mysteries. The landscape is filled with significance and great simplicity, against which these ordinary and at the same time majestic events take place. Alexei Venetsianov, whose paintings are difficult to attribute to certain genre, is considered one of the founders of the Russian poetic landscape.

"Reapers" (1820s)

But the main genre for Venetsianov remains the portrait, and the main task he solves is the expression of genuine interest and respect for those he portrays. High pictorial skill, combined with laconicism and sophistication of the composition, enhances the impression that Venetsianov has on the viewer. the contents of which can fit into a few phrases, amaze with depth and versatility, even if their heroes are simple peasants.

On the hand of the reaper, who stopped for a moment to rest, two butterflies sat down. A boy looks at them over his shoulder, mesmerized by their beauty. The artist painted almost a snag - it seems that now the light wings will flutter and disappear in the summer heat. The main characters are just as real - their faces, hands, clothes. The feelings expressed by the young woman and the child also seem real, and most importantly, one can feel how Venetsianov admires them.

"Morning of the landowner" (1823)

The role of Venetsianov as the founder of genre diversity in Russian painting is undeniable. One of the first he tried to draw attention to the special beauty of Russian nature, paving the way for future brilliant landscape painters - Levitan, Shishkin, Kuindzhi, Savrasov. In the portrait, he showed completely unusual main characters - people from the people. But the poeticization of the everyday genre was a particularly innovative phenomenon.

It is believed that the master made his wife, Marfa Afanasievna, and her serf girls the heroines of his painting. This explains the warm feeling that permeates this canvas. There is no confrontation between the hostess and her forced servants - it is more like a family scene in which the girls have their own dignity and calm beauty. The environment plays an equally important role in the picture: the lovingly painted filling of the interior and - what is especially striking - the soft, but all-filling light.

"Zakharka" (1825)

Peasant children are frequent characters in portraits and genre paintings written by Venetsianov. Paintings "Sleeping Shepherd", "Here are those father's dinner”, “Shepherd with a horn” depict children not as incorporeal cherubs from icons and classical paintings - they are full-fledged heroes with their own character, experiencing strong emotions that are part of the harmony of our world. Such is Zakharka - main character With names and descriptions similar works the artist becomes clear his vocation as a teacher, which left its mark on Russian painting.

He thought about the fate of talented children born as serfs when he saw a yard boy trying to draw something with chalk on a blackboard. Soon the “Venetsianov school” was born from this. In addition to teaching skills, he gave shelter to peasant children, fed and watered them, tried to redeem many of them to freedom. Among the students of Venetsianov - brilliant Gregory Forty and about 70 artists, many of whom graduated from the capital's Academy of Arts. The activities of the school proceeded in the face of opposition from official academicians, who did not honor Venetsianov with the title of teacher of painting.

“In the harvest. Summer" (182?)

His life cannot be called carefree, it has always been filled with work and trouble. Its end was also tragic and unexpected - Alexei Gavrilovich died in 1847, when the horses harnessed to his wagon suddenly got scared and carried away, and he, trying to stop them, fell onto the road.

Man on earth, the harmony of his relationship with nature, with the whole world around him is the main theme of the artist Venetsianov, the main essence and value of his heritage, for which his name is revered by connoisseurs and lovers of Russian painting. The picture depicting a reaper against the backdrop of a recognizable Russian landscape, which at the same time has cosmic significance, is one of the pinnacles of the great Russian painter's work.