Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy - the silver prince. Prince Silver (novel) Tale Prince Silver

“Prince Silver. The Tale of the Times of Ivan the Terrible"- historical novel by A.K. Tolstoy about the times of the oprichnina. It was published in 1862 on the pages of the Russian Messenger (No. 8-10). The first separate edition with a “Preface” by the author appeared in 1863. One of the most widely read historical novels in Russian, which has gone through dozens of reprints. Draws a line under the early (Walterscott) period in the development of the Russian historical novel.

In modern publications it is considered as “the first attempt in Russian literature at an artistic study of the origins, essence, historical and moral consequences of absolute tyranny.”

Plot

The novel tells the story of a noble governor, Prince Serebryan, who, upon returning from the Livonian War, encountered a rampaging gang of guardsmen and realized that something was wrong in the Russian state. He meets blatant outrages at the court of Ivan the Terrible in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. Despite his deep disgust for the tsar's criminal circle, led by Malyuta Skuratov, the prince remains loyal to the sovereign.

The romantic line is connected with the betrothed of Prince Serebryany, Elena, with whom the leader of the guardsmen, Afanasy Vyazemsky, is in love. Wanting to put an end to his harassment, Elena married the elderly boyar Morozov. In oprichnina conditions, heads fly left and right. Both her husband and Elena’s pursuer die on the chopping block, she herself takes monastic vows, Prince Serebryany abandons the royal court and leaves for war, where he dies in battle with the Tatars.

Characters of the novel

Prince Nikita Romanovich Serebryany - Moscow voivode
Ivan IV the Terrible - the first Russian Tsar
Druzhina Andreevich Morozov - Moscow boyar
Elena Dmitrievna - wife of Druzhina Andreevich
Malyuta Skuratov - Duma boyar, one of the leaders of the oprichnina
Maxim Skuratov - fictional son of Malyuta Skuratov
Matvey Khomyak - Malyuta's stirrup
Fyodor Alekseevich Basmanov - oprichnina boyar
Alexey Danilovich Basmanov - oprichnina boyar
Pyotr Danilovich Basmanov - oprichnina boyar
Afanasy Ivanovich Vyazemsky - prince, oprichnina boyar, one of the organizers and head of the oprichniki
Vanyukha Ring - ataman of robbers
Korshun - old chieftain of robbers
Cotton is a robber
Mitka - a peasant hero whose bride was taken away by guardsmen
Mikheich - the striver and educator of Prince Serebryany
Melnik Davydych - sorcerer
Onufrievna - the elderly mother of Tsar Ivan
Basil the Blessed (can be guessed in the holy fool Vaska, who appears twice in the novel).

The fictional characters of the novel are given historical surnames. Karamzin has a mention of Prince Obolensky-Serebryan, “who did not get off his horse for twenty years, defeating the Tatars, Lithuania, and the Germans...”. Karamzin reports the following about boyar Mikhail Yakovlevich Morozov: “This husband passed unharmed through all the storms of the Moscow court; survived the vicissitudes of the rebellious rule of the boyars...”

Creation and publication

The image of the first tsar as a psychopathic killer was outlined by Tolstoy back in the 1840s. in the ballads “Vasily Shibanov” and “”; it was finally outlined in the 1858 poem "".

In the epigraph of the novel, Tolstoy included a quote from the 16th book of the Annals, which directly points to the main problem raised in this work: “ At nunc patientia servilis tantumque sanguinis domi perditum fatigant animum et moestitia restringunt, neque aliam defensionem ab iis, quibus ista noscentur, exegerim, quam ne oderim tam segniter pereuntes." (“And here slavish patience and such an amount of blood spilled at home tires the soul and compresses it with sadness. And I would not ask the readers in my justification for anything other than permission not to hate people who die so indifferently.”)

The historical source for Tolstoy’s work on the book was volume IX of “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin. Tolstoy not only used the plot outline of Karamzin’s “History...”, but also its individual episodes: Morozov’s story about the tsar’s departure to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda and the introduction of the oprichnina; description of Alexandrovskaya Sloboda; picture of a royal feast; execution; a story about the history of the conquest of Siberia, etc. When writing the novel, Tolstoy became familiar with “The Tales of Prince Kurbsky” (published by N. G. Ustryalov in 1833, 1842 and 1859).

The author collected everyday, ethnographic details and folklore materials from:

In the preface to the novel, Tolstoy notes:

“In relation to the horrors of that time, the author remained constantly below history. Out of respect for art and for the moral sense of the reader, he cast a shadow and showed them as far as possible. When reading the sources, the book more than once fell out of the author’s hands, and he threw down the pen in indignation, not so much from the thought that John IV could exist, but from the fact that there could be a society that looked at him without indignation. This heavy feeling constantly interfered with the objectivity necessary in an epic work and was part of the reason that the novel, begun more than ten years ago, was completed only this year.”
A.K. Tolstoy. Prince Silver.

Back in 1850, Tolstoy read drafts of the novel to Gogol, who (P. Kulish recalls this) then introduced him to the folk song “Pantelei the Sovereign walks around the yard, Kuzmich walks along the wide ...”, which was included in the final text of the novel (Chapter 5) . In one of his letters to S. A. Miller (1856, December 13), Tolstoy complains about the colorlessness of the main character of the novel: “I often thought about the character that should be given to him, I thought about making him stupid and brave... Is it not possible I would like to make him very naive... that is, to make a very noble person who does not understand evil, but who does not see beyond his nose... and never sees the relationship between two things...” In order to immerse the reader in the time being described, Tolstoy carefully archaized commonly used words and phrases (“richness” instead of “wealth”, “to be sad” instead of “to be sad”, etc.).

Procession of Ivan the Terrible to Matins (illustration by V. Schwartz)

Tolstoy was in no hurry to publish his only novel due to fears of censorship and cuts. The ban on Lazhechnikov’s drama “The Oprichnik” has not yet been erased from memory on the grounds that the first Russian Tsar in it is presented as a tyrant. To avoid censorship difficulties, the main character was given the name of the ancestor of the Romanovs, the brother of the Tsar's first wife.

“If a strong authority can have an influence on censorship, then I will tell you that the empress listened to the reading twice Silver in the presence of the sovereign,” the author wrote to M. Katkov, who published the Russian Messenger. For reading in the Winter Palace in 1861, Count Tolstoy received from Empress Maria Alexandrovna a gold keychain in the form of a book, on one side of which the name “Maria” was minted in Slavic script, and on the other - the inscription “In memory Prince Silver" The pages of the book are made in the form of gold records with tiny photographs of listeners.

Perhaps, thanks to the intercession in the highest spheres, “Prince Silver” was published without cuts. Although the highbrow public blamed the count for writing “reading material for lackeys,” during Tolstoy’s lifetime the novel was translated into five European languages and reprinted three times in Russia. Already in 1863, the first (unsuccessful) attempt was made to transfer its events to the theatrical stage. Four operas were written based on the plot of the book (by F. B. Graverta, M. I. Markova, G. A. Kazachenko, P. N. Triodina) and “dozens of plays in verse and prose,” however, due to censorship opposition, theatrical productions were rare.

In 1862, the Empress expressed her wish that the publication of the novel be accompanied by illustrations. Prince Gagarin advised to give the order to the young artist Schwartz, who completed the illustrations with a pen. Photographs were taken from them, which served as the basis for chromolithographs. This was one of the first examples in Russia of the use of photography by book illustrators.

Issues

Since the early ballad “Vasily Shibanov,” A. K. Tolstoy has repeatedly turned to the dramatic events of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, or more precisely, to individual examples of “confrontation of direct, honest individuals to the general system of evil and violence.” As a result of reflecting on the events of that time, Tolstoy comes to the conclusion that the key to the bloody terror of the supreme power (which prepared the disaster of the Time of Troubles) was the endless patience of the victims of tsarist tyranny. “If there can be an apology for John, then it should be sought in the complicity of all of Russia,” wrote Tolstoy. He deliberately moves away from the blissful endings of the novels of his predecessor Zagoskin, showing the impossibility of lasting happiness in a system where the source of both troubles and joys is the whim of one person standing at the top of the social pyramid. His main character also comes to understand this: in the end, he rejects the prospect of family happiness that opens up before him and moves away from the court, from the royal capital.

Behind the bright adventure façade, the philosophy of history developed by Tolstoy, which has no precedent in Russian literature, completely eluded the first reviewers of the novel. Saltykov-Shchedrin immediately published a mocking parody review in Sovremennik (1863, No. 4), where “Prince Serebryany” is presented as a one-dimensional, loyal composition in the Byzantine tradition. The review is replete with the following passages: “ The whips in “Prince Serebryan”, having passed through the crucible of popular imagination, lose their tormenting character and appear to the mind of an impartial observer as just a simple and gentle pastime" A disdainful attitude towards A. Tolstoy's book also prevailed in Marxist literary criticism.

“The zealots of the public good considered the “tale of the times of Ivan the Terrible” to be literary archaic, ethically insignificant and politically harmful. An honest writer should condemn today's outrages, and not the fabulous king. It is a shame to distract society from important matters with tales of princely suffering, ruined love, loyalty to one’s word, pangs of conscience and other nonsense. Count A.K. Tolstoy was distracting. He wrote a book about how contempt for the individual inevitably turns into a falling away from God and outright brutality. About how self-sufficient power dooms everyone to a choice - oblivion of conscience and honor or death. About how humble patience strengthens evil. About how despotism fosters future crimes and prepares a national catastrophe.”

Polemics with Slavophiles

And one of you will gather the land,
But he himself will become khan over her!
And he will sit in his own mansion,
Like an idol in the middle of a temple,
And he will beat your back with his batog,
And you knock him and hit him with your forehead.
... You will adopt our custom,
For honor you will learn to lay down destruction,
And so, having swallowed the Tatar to his heart’s content,
You will call it Russia!

The historiosophical views of A.K. Tolstoy are directly opposite to the constructions of the Slavophiles, who idealized the pre-Petrine past. It was while working on the novel that this ideology finally took shape and won the minds of many intellectuals, not excluding the author’s close friends. For Tolstoy, on the contrary, the entire Moscow period of Russian history, which followed the destruction

:For the princely family of the Serebryanys, see the Serebryany-Obolenskys

“Prince Silver. The Tale of the Times of Ivan the Terrible"- a historical novel by A.K. Tolstoy about the times of the oprichnina, which was published in 1863.

Plot

The novel tells the story of a noble governor, Prince Serebryan, who, upon returning from the Livonian War, encountered a rampaging gang of guardsmen and realized that something was wrong in the Russian state. He encounters further outrages at the court of Ivan the Terrible in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. Despite his deep disgust for the king’s criminal circle, led by Malyuta Skuratov, the prince remains loyal to the sovereign.

The romantic line is connected with the betrothed of Prince Serebryany, Elena, with whom the leader of the guardsmen, Afanasy Vyazemsky, is in love. Wanting to put an end to his harassment, Elena married the elderly boyar Morozov. In oprichnina conditions, heads fly left and right. Both Elena’s husband and pursuer die on the chopping block, she herself takes monastic vows, Prince Serebryany abandons the royal court and leaves to fight the Tatars.

Characters of the novel

Nikita Romanovich Serebryany - Russian voivode
Ivan IV the Terrible - Russian Tsar
Druzhina Andreevich Morozov - Russian boyar
Elena Dmitrievna - wife of Druzhina Andreevich
Malyuta Skuratov - executioner of Grozny
Maxim Skuratov - fictional son of Malyuta Skuratov
Matvey Khomyak - Malyuta's stirrup
Fedor Alekseevich Basmanov
Alexey Danilovich Basmanov
Boris Fedorovich Godunov
Afanasy Ivanovich Vyazemsky - Russian prince
Vanyukha Ring - ataman of robbers
Korshun - old chieftain of robbers
Cotton is a robber
Mitka - a peasant hero whose bride was taken away by guardsmen
Mikheich - the striver and educator of Prince Serebryany
Miller - sorcerer
St. Basil the Blessed (can be guessed in the holy fool Vaska, who appears twice in the novel)

Working on a book

A.K. Tolstoy’s interest in historical songs about the times of Ivan the Terrible gave rise to his desire to write a novel about that time, to show the horrors of tyranny and the silence of the people. This plan was realized after the death of Nicholas I, in the liberal environment of those years that immediately preceded the abolition of serfdom. When working on the book, Tolstoy used materials from “The History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin, as well as the monograph by A. V. Tereshchenko “The Life of the Russian People.” To avoid censorship difficulties, the main character was given the name of the ancestor of the Romanovs, the brother of the Tsar’s first wife.

beginning of the quotation On one side the name “Maria” is written in Slavic font, on the other - “In memory of Prince Silver.” Inside, on folding golden plates, there are miniature photographs.

listeners.end quote

Reviews from contemporaries

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin accepted the novel with enthusiasm:

Dear Count! You dipped your magical brush into the living water of fantasy and forced me, an old man, to be present at the “deeds of bygone days,” to use for you! However, in his review, Saltykov-Shchedrin not only praises the novel, but also caustically criticizes:

Analyzing the novel in detail, Saltykov-Shchedrin pays special attention to the description of the feast (in the th chapter) and compares it with the descriptions in Flaubert’s novel “Salammbô”, with which he generally sees many parallels:

Subsequently, the novel “Prince Silver” was included in the Russian literature study program for secondary schools.

Film adaptations

“Prince Serebryany and the captive Varvara” (Russian Empire, 1907)
"Prince Silver" (Russian Empire, 1911)
"Tsar Ivan the Terrible" (Russia, 1991)
“Thunderstorm over Russia” (Ukraine, 1992)

Bibliography

Koretsky B.I. Oprichnina and A.K. Tolstoy’s novel “Prince Silver”. - M.: Detgiz, 1959
Bulusheva E. I. Folklore genres in the artistic narration of A. K. Tolstoy’s novel “Prince Silver.” - Saratov, 1998
Fedorov A.V. Literary portrait of AK Tolstoy // To the 185th anniversary of the birth of AK Tolstoy. - Literature at school, 2002
Krasnikova M. N. Updating the folklore tradition and solving historical problems of our time in A. K. Tolstoy’s novel “Prince Silver.” -
Sazonova Z. N. A. K. Tolstoy’s novel “Prince Silver” in the context of time // Internal structure of a literary work: collection. scientific Art. / Vladimir State Pedagogical University. - Vladimir, 2001. - P. 26-34.
Akimova T. M. On the folklorism of Russian writers (collection of articles, compiled and edited by Yu. N. Borisov). – Saratov: Saratov University Publishing House, 2001. – 240 p.
Gavrishuk P. Interpretation of the era of Ivan the Terrible in the historical novel “Prince Silver” by A. K. Tolstoy // Classics and modernity. Collection of scientific works of young philologists; edited by T. V. Senkevich. - Brest, Brest State University named after A. S. Pushkin, 2011 - P.38-40
Zhestkova E. A. The epoch of Ivan The Terrible in the description N.M. Karamzin’s and A. K. Tolstoy’s works. // World of science, culture, education. No. 6 (31) 2011

In the work Prince Silver, one of the central images of the novel is the image of Tsar Ivan. Let's look at a brief retelling of Chapter 8 of Prince Silver, which describes the feast of the royal court, and make a plan for our future. After this, you will be able to easily talk about the royal entourage and King John 4 himself, whom Tolstoy portrays as formidable, vindictive and suspicious.

Chapter 8 begins with a description of the arrangement of tables located in a huge chamber. Three rows of tables for the king, his son and his entourage silently awaited the future participants in the feast. And so everyone began to gather. First came the courtiers, the guardsmen, who did not start the feast, waiting for the royal persons. Then the steward came, after which the trumpets sounded, announcing the approach of Ivan the Terrible.

Serebryany found himself at the table of the boyars, who were not part of the oprichnina, but were invited to the feast. He was located not far from the royal table and was able to examine the king’s surroundings in detail. Among them was John Ioannovich, a prince who, in his cunning, even surpassed his priest. Boris Godunov is a man who is close to the Tsar, but is not the Tsar’s accomplice. Here we meet the royal executioner Malyuta, Fyodor Basmanov, his father Alexei, and the church saint Archimandrite Levkiy.

Miniature of John's revenge

Then Silver became interested in the tall man, who was already draining his fourth glass in a row. The neighbor said that he was one of the former nobles and joined the guardsmen, having greatly changed his character. It was Prince Vyazemsky, to whom Grozny forgave everything and who got away with everything. Silver still wanted to ask something, but then a servant brought him a dish from the royal table. The prince thanked the ruler with a bow. And then you can write a miniature called the king’s revenge. The vindictiveness and cruelty of Ivan the Terrible could be seen even at the feast.

So, opposite Nikita, one of the nobles was sitting, who angered the tsar, and Fyodor Basmanov approached him with a cup of wine from the sovereign. He accepted the cup, bowed, drank and immediately fell dead. They carried him out with the words that he got drunk and fell asleep. Nikita Serebryany had not previously believed in the cruelty of the Tsar, but after this incident he became convinced of the correctness of this statement. Silver thought that the same fate awaited him, but the feast continued as if nothing had happened. They also brought the prince a cup from the king. The prince drank the wine, but nothing happened. Serebryany concluded that the sovereign either did not yet know about the oprichnina’s offense or had generously forgiven him.

Royal entourage

The feast continued for four hours, and new dishes were brought in and brought in. The king himself ate little. He joked and kept the conversation going. The prince drank a lot, ate little and often made fun of Malyuta. He endured everything, but these hostile relations were noticeable to the king. The author immediately gives a detailed description of Malyuta, whose cruelty knew no bounds when it came to execution.

The Tsarevich calls Vyazemsky a red maiden, that he is in love with someone else’s wife, the same one replied that he would challenge him to the square to fight if he were not the Tsar’s son. The tsar did not punish Vyazemsky for such insolence, but told a fairy tale about Popovich, the princess and Tugarin Zmievich. The fairy tale sank into the prince’s soul, his eyes lit up with passion. And then the tsar suggested that Vyazemsky go to Morozov. Silver did not hear this conversation, but only saw Vyazemsky’s joyful face.

So the feast has come to an end. Everyone began to approach the king to say goodbye, like the oprichnik, who was not at the feast, told Malyuta something. As it turns out, a riot is being prepared. The people who were called upon to monitor the implementation of the royal decree were killed or mutilated by Moscow people. This was reported by the stirrup Hamster, who was called into the hall. This concludes Chapter 8 of Prince Silver in abbreviation.

Plan

1. Description of the hall. The guardsmen gather for a feast.
2. Terrible at the feast. His description.
3. From the conversation between Serebryany and his neighbor at the table, we learn about the king’s close associates. Their description.
4. The king favors the dish to Silver.
5. Ivan the Terrible sent his subject wine with poison.
6. Wine for Silver.
7. The feast continues.
8. The Tsarevich makes fun of Malyuta and Vyazemsky.
9. A Tale Told by a Tsar
10. News of the riot.

A.K. Tolstoy: Prince Silver, Chapter 8 Plan

What rating will you give?

Tolstoy Prince Silver, Chapter 31: Why did the king decide to turn to God's court? Tolstoy Prince Serebryany, chapter 14: Convey the meaning of the dispute between Boris Godunov and Prince Serebryany Tolstoy, Analysis of the work Prisoner of the Caucasus, Plan

Beginning the narrative, the author announces that his main goal is to show the general character of the era, its morals, concepts, beliefs, and therefore he allowed deviations from history in detail - and concludes that his most important feeling was indignation: not so much against John as at a society that is not indignant at him.

In the summer of 1565, the young boyar Prince Nikita Romanovich Serebryany, returning from Lithuania, where he spent five years trying to sign a peace for many years and was not successful in doing so due to the evasiveness of Lithuanian diplomats and his own straightforwardness, drives up to the village of Medvedevka and finds festive fun there . Suddenly the guardsmen come, cut down the men, catch the girls and burn the village. The prince takes them for robbers, ties them up and flogs them, despite the threats of their leader, Matvey Khomyak. Having ordered his soldiers to take the robbers to the governor, he sets off further with the eager Mikheich, two prisoners he captured from the guardsmen undertake to accompany him. In the forest, turning out to be robbers, they protect the prince and Mikheich from their own comrades, take them to the miller for the night, and, one calling himself Vanyukha Ring, the other Kite, they leave. Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky comes to the mill and, considering the Melnikovs' guests to be asleep, curses his unrequited love, demands love herbs, threatening the miller, forces him to find out if he has a lucky rival, and, having received an overly definite answer, leaves in despair. His sweetheart Elena Dmitrievna, the daughter of the devious Pleshcheev-Ochin, having been orphaned in order to avoid Vyazemsky’s harassment, found salvation in marriage to the old boyar Druzhina Adreevich Morozov, although she had no disposition towards him, loving Serebryany and even giving him his word - but Serebryany was in Lithuania. John, patronizing Vyazemsky, angry with Morozov, dishonors him, offering to sit below Godunov at the feast, and, having received a refusal, declares him disgraced. Meanwhile, in Moscow, the returning Serebryany sees many guardsmen, impudent, drunken and robbers, stubbornly calling themselves “the king’s servants.” The blessed Vasya he meets calls him brother, also a holy fool, and predicts bad things for the boyar Morozov. The prince goes to him, his old friend and his parents’ friend. He sees Elena in the garden wearing a married kokoshnik. Morozov talks about the oprichnina, denunciations, executions and the tsar’s move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, where, according to Morozov, Serebryany is going to certain death. But, not wanting to hide from his king, the prince leaves, having spoken with Elena in the garden and suffering mentally.

Observing pictures of terrible changes along the way, the prince arrives in Sloboda, where among the luxurious chambers and churches he sees scaffoldings and gallows. While Serebryany is waiting in the courtyard for permission to enter, young Fyodor Basmanov poisons him, for fun, with a bear. The unarmed prince is saved by Maxim Skuratov, the son of Malyuta. During the feast, the invited prince wonders whether the tsar knows about Medvedevka, how he will show his anger, and wonders at John’s terrible surroundings. The king rewards one of the prince's neighbors with a cup of wine, and he dies, poisoned. The prince is also favored, and he fearlessly drinks good, fortunately, wine. In the middle of a luxurious feast, the Tsar tells Vyazemsky a fairy tale, in the allegories of which he sees his love story and guesses the Tsar’s permission to take Elena away. The battered Khomyak appears, tells the story of the incident in Medvedevka and points to Serebryany, who is being dragged to execution, but Maxim Skuratov stands up for him, and the returned prince, having told about the atrocities of the Khomyak in the village, is forgiven - until the next, however, guilt and swears not to hide from the Tsar in in case of his anger, and meekly await punishment. At night, Maxim Skuratov, having explained himself to his father and not finding understanding, flees secretly, and the tsar, frightened by the stories of his mother Onufrevna about the hellish heat and the thunderstorm that began, is visited by images of those killed by him. Having raised the guardsmen with the gospel, dressed in a monastic cassock, he serves matins. Tsarevich John, who took his worst traits from his father, constantly mocks Malyuta to provoke his vengeance: Malyuta presents him to the tsar as a conspirator, and he orders, having kidnapped the prince while hunting, to kill him and throw him as a diversion in the forest near Poganaya Luzha. The gang of robbers that gathers there at this time, among whom Ring and Korshun, receives reinforcements: a guy from near Moscow and a second, Mitka, a clumsy fool with truly heroic strength, from near Kolomna. The ring tells about his acquaintance, the Volga robber Ermak Timofeevich. The watchmen report the approach of the guardsmen. Prince Serebryany in Sloboda talks with Godunov, not being able to understand the subtleties of his behavior: how can he, seeing the tsar’s mistakes, not tell him about it? Mikheich comes running, having seen the prince captured by Malyuta and Khomyak, and Serebryany gives chase.

Next, an old song is woven into the narrative, interpreting the same event. Having caught up with Malyuta, Serebryany slaps him in the face and enters into battle with the guardsmen, and robbers come to his aid. The guardsmen were beaten, the prince was safe, but Malyuta and Khomyak fled. Soon Vyazemsky comes to Morozov with his guardsmen, supposedly to announce that his disgrace has been lifted, but in reality to take Elena away. Silver, who was invited for such joy, also comes. Morozov, who heard his wife’s love speeches in the garden, but did not see his interlocutor, believes that it is Vyazemsky or Serebryany, and starts a “kissing ceremony,” believing that Elena’s embarrassment will give her away. Silver penetrates his plan, but is not free to avoid the ritual. Kissing Silver, Elena faints. In the evening, in Elena’s bedchamber, Morozov reproaches her for betrayal, but Vyazemsky breaks in with his henchmen and takes her away, however, severely wounded by Serebryany. In the forest, weakened from his wounds, Vyazemsky loses consciousness, and a maddened horse brings Elena to the miller, and he, guessing who she is, hides her, guided not so much by his heart as by calculation. Soon the guardsmen bring the bloodied Vyazemsky, the miller charms him with blood, but, having frightened the guardsmen with all sorts of devilry, he turns them away from spending the night. The next day Mikheich arrives, looking for Vanyukha’s ring to be sewn up for the prince, who was thrown into prison by the guardsmen. The Miller shows the way to the Ring, promising Mikheich a certain firebird upon his return. After listening to Mikheich, Ring with Uncle Korshun and Mitka set off for Sloboda.

Malyuta and Godunov come to Serebryany’s prison for interrogation. Malyuta, insinuating and affectionate, amused by the prince’s disgust, wants to return the slap in the face, but Godunov holds him back. The Tsar, trying to distract himself from thoughts about Serebryany, goes hunting. There his gyrfalcon Adragan, who at first distinguished himself, falls into a rage, destroys the falcons themselves and flies away; Trishka is equipped to search with appropriate threats. On the road, the king meets blind songwriters and, anticipating the fun and boredom of the former storytellers, orders them to appear in their chambers. This is the Ring with the Kite. On the way to Sloboda, Korshun tells the story of his crime, which has deprived him of sleep for twenty years, and foreshadows his imminent death. In the evening, Onufrevna warns the king that the new storytellers are suspicious, and, having placed guards at the doors, he calls them. Ring, often interrupted by John, starts new songs and fairy tales and, having begun the story about the Dove Book, notices that the king has fallen asleep. There are prison keys at the head of the room. However, the supposedly sleeping king calls for the guards, who, having grabbed the Kite, let the Ring go. He, running away, stumbles upon Mitka, who opened the prison without any keys. The prince, whose execution is scheduled for the morning, refuses to run, remembering his oath to the king. He is taken away forcibly.

About this time, Maxim Skuratov, wandering, comes to the monastery, asks to confess, accuses himself of dislike for the sovereign, disrespect for his father, and receives forgiveness. Soon he leaves, intending to repel the raids of the Tatars, and meets Tryphon with the captured Adragan. He asks him to bow to his mother and not tell anyone about their meeting. In the forest, Maxim is captured by robbers. A good half of them rebels, dissatisfied with the loss of Korshun and the acquisition of Serebryanny, and demands a trip to Sloboda for robbery - the prince is incited to do this. The prince frees Maxim, takes command of the villagers and convinces them to go not to Sloboda, but to the Tatars. The captive Tatar leads them to the camp. With the cunning invention of the Ring, they manage to crush the enemy at first, but the forces are too unequal, and only the appearance of Fyodor Basmanov with a motley army saves Serebryany’s life. Maxim, with whom they fraternized, dies.

At the feast in Basmanov's tent, Serebryany reveals all the duplicity of Fyodor, a brave warrior, a crafty slanderer, an arrogant and low Tsar's henchman. After the defeat of the Tatars, the bandit gang is divided in two: part goes into the forests, part, together with Serebryany, goes to Sloboda for royal forgiveness, and Ring with Mitka, through the same Sloboda, to the Volga, to Ermak. In Sloboda, the jealous Basmanov slanderes Vyazemsky and accuses him of witchcraft. Morozov appears, complaining about Vyazemsky. At the confrontation, he declares that Morozov himself attacked him, and Elena left of her own free will. The Tsar, wishing Morozov to die, assigns them “God’s judgment”: to fight in Sloboda with the condition that the defeated one will be executed. Vyazemsky, fearing that God will give victory to old Morozov, goes to the miller to speak with a saber and, remaining unnoticed, finds Basmanov there, who has come to buy tirlich grass in order to enter into the royal favor. Having spoken with the saber, the miller casts a spell in order to find out, at Vyazemsky’s request, his fate, and sees pictures of terrible executions and his impending death. The day of the duel arrives. Among the crowd are Ring and Mitka. Having ridden against Morozov, Vyazemsky falls from his horse, his previous wounds open, and he tears off Melnikov’s amulet, which should ensure victory over Morozov. He nominates Matvey Khomyak instead. Morozov refuses to fight the hireling and looks for a replacement. Mitka is called, recognizing Khomyak as the bride kidnapper. He refuses the saber and kills the Hamster with the shaft given to him for fun.

Having called Vyazemsky, the tsar shows him the amulet and accuses him of witchcraft against himself. In prison, Vyazemsky says that he saw her with the sorcerer Basmanov, who was plotting the death of Ioannou. Not waiting for the evil Basmanov, opening the amulet on his chest, the Tsar throws him into prison. Morozov, invited to the royal table, John again offers a place after Godunov, and after listening to his rebuke, he favors Morozov with a jester's caftan. The caftan is put on by force, and the boyar, as a jester, tells the tsar everything that he thinks about him, and warns how much damage to the state, in his opinion, John’s reign will turn out to be. The day of execution arrives, terrible weapons appear on Red Square and people gather. Morozov, Vyazemsky, Basmanov, the father whom he pointed out during torture, the miller, Korshun and many others were executed. The holy fool Vasya, who appeared among the crowd, reads to execute him too and incurs the royal wrath. The people do not allow the blessed one to be killed.

After the executions, Prince Serebryany comes to Sloboda with a detachment of villagers and first comes to Godunov. He, partly timid of his relations with the royal opalnik, but noting that after the execution the king was softening up, announces the voluntary return of the prince and brings him. The prince says that he was taken from prison against his will, talks about the battle with the Tatars and asks for mercy for the villagers, reprimanding them for the right to serve wherever they choose, but not in the oprichnina, among the “kromeshniks.” He himself also refuses to fit into the oprichnina, the tsar appoints him as a governor of a guard regiment, into which he assigns his own robbers, and loses interest in him. The prince sends Mikheich to the monastery, where Elena has retired, in order to keep her from taking monastic vows, informing her of his imminent arrival. While the prince and the villagers swear allegiance to the tsar, Mikheich gallops to the monastery where he delivered Elena from the miller. Thinking about future happiness, Serebryany follows, but when they meet, Mikheich reports that Elena has cut her hair. The prince goes to the monastery to say goodbye, and Elena, who has become sister Evdokia, explains that there is Morozov’s blood between them and they could not be happy. Having said goodbye, Serebryany and his detachment set off to carry out patrol, and only the consciousness of the duty being performed and an unclouded conscience preserves for him some kind of light in life.

Years pass, and many of Morozov’s prophecies come true, John suffers defeats on his borders, and only in the east does his possessions expand through the efforts of the squad of Ermak and Ivan the Ring. Having received gifts and a letter from the Stroganov merchants, they reach the Ob. Ermakov's embassy arrives to John. Ivan, who brought him, turns out to be a Ring, and through his companion Mitka, the Tsar recognizes him and grants him forgiveness. As if wanting to please Ring, the king calls on his former comrade, Serebryany. But the governors answer that he died seventeen years ago. At the feast of Godunov, who has come into great power, Ring tells many wonderful things about conquered Siberia, returning with a saddened heart to the deceased prince, drinks in his memory. Concluding the story, the author calls for Tsar John to be forgiven for his atrocities, for he is not the only one responsible for them, and notes that people like Morozov and Serebryany also often appeared and were able to stand in goodness amid the evil that surrounded them and walk the straight path.

Retold

Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Prince Silver

At nunc patientia servilis tantumque sanguinis domi perditum fatigant animum et moestitia restringunt, neque aliam defensionem ab iis, quibus ista noscentur, exegerium, quam ne oderim tam segniter pereuntes.

Preface

The story presented here is intended not so much to describe any events, but rather to depict the general character of an entire era and reproduce the concepts, beliefs, morals and degree of education of Russian society in the second half of the 16th century.

While remaining true to history in its general outlines, the author allowed himself some digressions in details that are not of historical importance. So, by the way, the execution of Vyazemsky and both Basmanovs, which actually happened in 1570, was placed, for the sake of conciseness of the story, in 1565. This deliberate anachronism is unlikely to attract severe censure, if we take into account that the countless executions that followed the overthrow of Sylvester and Adashev, although they serve a lot to the personal characteristics of John, but have no influence on the general course of events.

In relation to the horrors of that time, the author remained constantly below history. Out of respect for art and the moral sense of the reader, he cast a shadow over them and showed them, if possible, in the distance. Nevertheless, he admits that when reading the sources, the book more than once fell out of his hands and he threw down the pen in indignation, not so much from the thought that John IV could exist, but from the fact that there could be such a society that looked at him without indignation. This heavy feeling constantly interfered with the objectivity necessary in an epic work and was part of the reason that the novel, begun more than ten years ago, was completed only this year. The last circumstance will perhaps serve as some excuse for those irregularities in syllable that will probably not escape the reader.

In conclusion, the author considers it worthwhile to say that the more freely he treated minor historical incidents, the more strictly he tried to maintain truth and accuracy in the description of characters and everything related to folk life and archeology.

If he managed to clearly resurrect the physiognomy of the era he outlined, he will not regret his work and will consider himself to have achieved his desired goal.

1862

Oprichniki

Years from the creation of the world, seven thousand seventy-three, or, according to current reckoning, 1565, on a hot summer day, June 23, the young boyar Prince Nikita Romanovich Serebryany rode up on horseback to the village of Medvedevka, about thirty miles from Moscow.

A crowd of warriors and slaves rode behind him.

The prince spent five whole years in Lithuania. He was sent by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich to King Zhigimont to sign peace for many years after the then war. But this time the royal choice was unsuccessful. True, Nikita Romanovich stubbornly defended the benefits of his land and, it would seem, one could not wish for a better mediator, but Serebryany was not born for negotiations. Rejecting the subtleties of embassy science, he wanted to conduct the matter honestly and, to the extreme chagrin of the clerks accompanying him, did not allow them any twists. The royal advisers, already ready to make concessions, soon took advantage of the prince’s innocence, learned from him our weaknesses and increased their demands. Then he could not stand it: in the middle of a full Diet, he hit the table with his fist and tore up the final document prepared for signing. “You and your king are creepers and watchers! I speak to you in good conscience; and you keep trying to get around me with cunning! It’s not a good idea to fix things like that!” This ardent act destroyed in an instant the success of the previous negotiations, and Silver would not have escaped disgrace if, fortunately for him, the order had not arrived on the same day from Moscow not to make peace, but to resume the war. Serebryany left Vilno with joy, exchanged his velvet clothes for shiny bakhterki and let’s beat the Lithuanians wherever God sent. He showed his service in military affairs better than in the Duma, and there was great praise for him from the Russian and Lithuanian people.

The prince's appearance matched his character. The distinguishing features of his more pleasant than handsome face were simplicity and frankness. In his dark gray eyes, shaded by black eyelashes, the observer would have read an extraordinary, unconscious and seemingly involuntary determination that did not allow him to think for a moment at the moment of action. Uneven, tousled eyebrows and a slanting fold between them indicated some disorder and inconsistency in thoughts. But the softly and definitely curved mouth expressed honest, unshakable firmness, and the smile - an unpretentious, almost childish good nature, so that others, perhaps, would have considered him narrow-minded, if the nobility breathing in every feature of him did not guarantee that he would always will comprehend with his heart what he may not be able to explain to himself with his mind. The general impression was in his favor and gave rise to the conviction that one could safely trust him in all cases requiring determination and self-sacrifice, but that it was not his business to think about his actions and that considerations were not given to him.

Silver was about twenty-five years old. He was of average height, broad at the shoulders, thin at the waist. His thick brown hair was lighter than his tanned face and contrasted with dark eyebrows and black eyelashes. A short beard, slightly darker than his hair, slightly shaded his lips and chin.

It was now fun for the prince and his heart was light to return to his homeland. The day was bright, sunny, one of those days when all of nature breathes something festive, the flowers seem brighter, the sky is bluer, the air ripples in the distance with transparent streams, and a person feels so at ease, as if his soul itself had passed into nature, and trembles on every leaf, and sways on every blade of grass.

It was a bright June day, but to the prince, after his five-year stay in Lithuania, it seemed even brighter. The fields and forests smelled like Russia.

Without flattery or falsehood, Nikita Romanovich treated young John. He firmly held his kiss on the cross, and nothing would have shaken his strong standing for the sovereign. Although his heart and thought had long been asking to return to his homeland, if now the order came to him to return to Lithuania, without seeing either Moscow or his relatives, he would, without a murmur, turn his horse and rush into new battles with the same fervor. However, he was not the only one who thought so. All Russian people loved John with all the earth. It seemed that with his righteous reign a new golden age had come in Rus', and the monks, re-reading the chronicles, did not find in them a sovereign equal to John.

Before reaching the village, the prince and his people heard cheerful songs, and when they arrived at the outskirts, they saw that there was a holiday in the village. At both ends of the street, boys and girls formed a round dance, and both round dances carried along a birch tree decorated with colorful rags. The boys and girls had green wreaths on their heads. The round dances were sometimes sung by both together, sometimes taking turns, talking to one another and exchanging comic insults. The girls' laughter rang loudly between songs, and the boys' colored shirts flashed merrily in the crowd. Flocks of pigeons flew from roof to roof. Everything was moving and seething; The Orthodox people were having fun.

At the outskirts, the old stirrup prince caught up with him.

- Ehwa! - he said cheerfully, - see how they, father, their little aunt, celebrate Agrafen’s Bathing Suit! Shouldn't we rest here? The horses are tired, and if we eat, it will be more fun for us to ride. If you have a full belly, father, you know it, even hit it with a butt!

- Yes, I have tea, it’s not far from Moscow! - said the prince, obviously not wanting to stop.