7 positive heroes of Russian literature, which over time began to be treated negatively: Ilya Muromets, Taras Bulba, etc

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

These characters in the books have long gone beyond the scope of their works and have become heroes in the broadest sense of the word. They fight against evil and the idea of the era of good, justice, nobility and honor is embedded in their image. Over time, these concepts acquire new visions and specifics, enemies acquire different characteristics, changing the rules of the game, and heroes become different. It is not surprising that the literary heroes of the past may look too flat and naive for their contemporaries, but it is likely that in the future a similar fate awaits the heroes of the present.

Ilya Muromets, who has been lying on the stove all his life

The epic hero, the peasant son, was the most popular character, and this, despite the fact that he was only the second in strength, and was inferior to the hero Svyatogor, but the image of Ilya Muromets is much more thought out. He is not just the strongest, he is the defender, the first superman in Russia. It is believed that Ilya Muromets had a prototype - Ilya Pechersky.

They were about the hero formed in the 12-14 centuries, taking into account the values of those times, and therefore Ilya fought with the main fears and problems of those years. The bogatyr lay on the stove for 33 years, but if in other fairy tales the fellows roll out of laziness, then Ilya did not get up due to illness. But the Kaliki-pedestrians miraculously healed him and put him on his feet. Immediately he began to actively join in helping not only his own parents in the household, but also in solving social problems. It’s not clear how it happened that 30 years of lying on the stove only helped to strengthen the muscles, making Ilya a real Russian hero. It so happened that on the way to Kiev he captured the Nightingale the Robber, who had spoiled the lives of those around him for many years. Ilya did it inadvertently, thereby demonstrating that he is not so simple.

Upon arrival in Kiev, Ilya Muromets joins the squad of Prince Vladimir and meets Svyatogor, who grants him a sword that contains special power. By the way, in this situation, Ilya Muromets does not respond to the attempts of Svyatogor's wife to draw attention to her, sacredly honoring someone else's marriage and new friendship, which again demonstrates high moral and volitional qualities. This was just the beginning of his exploits, because then he would win a victory near Chernigov, give him the opportunity to go directly from Chernigov to Kiev, save the good fellow from captivity, defeat Idolische, march on Constantinople, defeat the army of Kalin the Tsar.

At the same time, Ilya Muromets does not lead a closed life at all and allows himself to have fun like an ordinary person. It is casually mentioned that he is walking with a pub, and Sokolnik, his son, was completely born out of wedlock.

In cartoons and illustrations for fairy tales, he is portrayed as a real hero with broad shoulders and huge arms. Judging by the fact that his club weighs 90 pounds, which is almost one and a half thousand kilograms, Ilya is actually a real Apollo.

Considering that the hero is a fighter for a common good deed, he can be safely called a statesman, moreover, he is a princely warrior. But at the same time, he is also the protector of the orphan, but the disadvantaged. Moreover, he defeats the enemy only thanks to his heroic strength.

For contemporaries, the image of Ilya Muromets is perceived as something epic and unnecessarily sublime. And the fact that Ilya, getting up from the stove, immediately went to help everyone, just not his own parents, who nursed him for 30 years, did not bother anyone.

"You cannot praise yourself …" or The Life of Protopop Avvakum

Habakkuk is known not only for being the leader of the resistance to reforming the church and an ardent adherent of the Old Believers, but also for the fact that he not only fought for his own beliefs, but also wrote about it himself. He is considered the founder of autobiography as a genre in Russian literature in general. He lived in the 17th century and made a self-made hero out of himself.

Since childhood, Avvakum was different from his peers, firstly, he was extremely pious, but at the same time aggressive and stubborn. Later he moved to the capital and there he was developing church educational work and opposed the reforms of Patriarch Nikon. Since he fought with his characteristic fervor, he repeatedly got into various unpleasant situations, even sat in prison, was defrocked, then exiled. In exile, too, he did not appease and in every possible way annoyed everyone with his letters. As a result, he was locked up in a cut, urged to abandon his beliefs, without receiving his consent - they burned him.

One can only guess what Habakkuk looked like, because he did not leave any descriptions in his notes. Apparently he did not consider that the appearance of an ideological hero is as important as, for example, a heroic one. One can only guess that, quite possibly, he was as crazy in his eyes as his follower - noblewoman Morozova.

Despite the fact that the case of Avvakum nevertheless turned out to be unsuccessful, his figure acquired the image of confrontation for centuries, because for his faith and convictions he was ready to go to the end, not being afraid to resort to the most extreme measures. In the context of today, he looks like a religious fanatic and nothing more. Although for the 17th century he was very heroic and extremely brave.

I myself gave birth, I myself will destroy - the controversial story of Taras Bulba

Taras Bulba was listed as a hero for a very long time. Still, after all, it was through his lips that the phrase was said that is so suitable for the huge historical stratum of Russia - "There are no bonds more holy than comradeship." Taras himself was a representative of the old Cossacks, distinguished by a rude and direct disposition.

The Russian nobility at that time actively adopted Polish customs, gravitated towards luxury, servants, hosted dinner parties, and went hunting. Taras leaned towards a simple Cossack way of life and avoided new customs. For the same reason, he considered himself a fighter for traditions and Orthodoxy. He fought for the interests of the people, however, his military actions led to a disastrous result, but this did not diminish his heroism.

So, the Cossack ataman is fighting for the liberation of Ukraine from all sorts of oppressive classes. And one of the colorful moments is his attitude towards his own sons. For the sake of fighting for his idea and goal, he is ready to sacrifice his own children, a matter of honor for him is much more important than their life, and his own too.

He cannot even imagine that his sons can have an opinion different from his and will not become his followers. He kills the son of Andriy with his own hands precisely because he does not agree with his beliefs, and in the rear of the enemy, where his son Ostap was captured, he makes his way not at all to save him, but in order to find out if his son has betrayed him. …

Taras Bulba looks not just like a Cossack chieftain, but really frightening. The story says that it weighs 20 pounds, and this is more than 300 in terms of kilograms. To this, to put it mildly, massiveness, thick eyebrows, mustaches and forelocks are attached.

Today Taras Bulba would be ranked not only as an abuser, but also as a tyrant and a murderer of his own children. It is unlikely that contemporaries can justify such actions by any ideological sentiments.

Stepan Kalashnikov as a fighter for the honor of his beloved

The silk merchant, Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov, was married, and his wife was a beauty. Actually because of her everything happened. The oprichnik Kiribeyevich falls in love with her, but his deeds cannot be called romantic in any way, he is trying to get Alena Dmitrievna's attention by force.

Kalashnikov challenges the guardsman to a kind of fist duel. And kills him immediately, with the first blow. Apparently, the oprichnik was a so-so military campaigner, suitable only for pinching and frightening women in the doorways, but he could not even do anything against the merchant's blow. However, the tsar could not keep silent about the murder of his subordinate, and Kalashnikov did not disclose the reasons for their fight (what a nobility!) As a result, the merchant was executed, and the widow and children were surrounded by tsarist care.

By the way, given the details described by Mikhail Yuryevich, it is quite possible to assume that Kalashnikov's heroic act also contains some kind of ethnic strife. "Basurmansky son" is used to describe an oppositionist merchant, and Stepan goes to battle with a cross on his chest. For Lermontov, who participated in the Caucasian military conflicts, this topic was extremely close.

From the point of view of his contemporaries, Kalashnikov, interceding for the honor of his wife, left her without further protection, and the children without a father. Was it worth it and in general, where is the law and justice in this situation?

Thank you, Danko. And then what to do?

The old woman Izergil either invented this story herself, or retold the ancient legend, but it was in the mouth of this Bessarabian grandmother that Maxim Gorky put the story about Danko. At that time there lived a proud and beautiful people, and their habitat was surrounded on three sides by a forest, and on the fourth - by a steppe. And then another tribe decided that they also liked this place, there was a conflict and the defeated went into the forest.

However, the rescued began to wither and die in that forest, because they could not either come to terms with the fact of exile and defeat, or longed for their homeland. There were even thoughts of going to surrender to the winners, but Danko, a brave and very handsome young man, stopped the collaborators, not allowing the representatives of his tribe to humiliate themselves before the invaders.

Any schoolchild knows what happened next, because it is simply impossible not to remember this out of the ordinary event. So, having pulled out his own heart from his chest, which for some reason was shining (apparently from love for his neighbors and a desire to help them), he led his people out of the forest. They managed to safely leave their temporary shelter, then Danko dies, and his heart is trampled under someone's shoes.

And here many questions arise. What did the people do next, who, in fact, did not wander through the forest, but hid in it from the conquerors, because the forest was not their main problem. Even taking into account all the allegory of the situation. And in general, if Danko knew the way from the forest, then why didn't he go during the day, when it was light? There are many questions for Danko, and his strange sacrifice is not at all understandable to his contemporaries.

Not proud Vasily Terkin

An ordinary private infantryman, who became the personification of the struggle against fascism and the fortitude of the Russian people, was invented by Tvardovsky even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, during the Finnish campaign. Terkin was one of the heroes of his humorous feuilletons. Therefore, by the time the war began, Terkin already existed and even had some awards and combat experience. Two years later, Tvardovsky wanted to dismiss Terkin, believing that he had already outlived his usefulness, but that was not the case. Readers began to write letters to the editorial office and demand the return of their hero "to the front" and to the pages of the newspaper.

So Terkin went to fight again, got a shell shock, got out of the encirclement, participated in the liberation of villages and new heights, even participated in the capture of Berlin - how else? Many people liked the simple-minded and open-minded Russian guy; he was allowed a lot, even within the framework of the censorship of those times.

Tvardovsky described his appearance as very simple, even unprepossessing, and even turned to female readers, asking them to love his hero as he is.

The image of Terkin was extremely popular not only in the rear, but also at the front, apparently Tvardovsky nevertheless managed to convey as accurately as possible not only the image of a soldier, but also some elements of everyday life at the front, which hooked even experienced servicemen.

For his contemporaries, Terkin is not that ridiculous or the motives of his actions are not clear, he even retains a certain heroism. Rather, by today's standards, he is too ingenuous in his thoughts and motives.

Erast Fandorin and his state concerns

Fandorin had a noble origin and even some kind of inheritance. But he safely let it down, playing cards, went to work and even went to the war. Considering that he went through the First World War, the Russian-Japanese and the Civil War, he had an idea of Russia, which could have been if it were not for cowardice and sometimes lack of common sense and those in power and a constant desire to cash in on everyone else.

He fights for the rule of law and justice. In his dreams, Russia is a country not only of a high level of civilization and order, but also of justice and legality. Not to say that he was lucky both in achieving his great goals and in the little things. He constantly suffers defeats in his daily work to catch criminals, they sometimes manage to pay off, then die, but in Fandorin itself, there is invariably living hope for a better and great future.

By the way, Fandorin is described as a young man who could not destroy the blush on his cheeks, and therefore always looked agitated and slightly embarrassed. However, given his preoccupation with great and somewhat utopian ideas, it is likely that this is exactly what Fandorin was. At least for modern readers, his image is more funny than heroic. As a teenager who is sure that his life will certainly turn out differently and that he can not only build his own life, but also change the world.

History, like literature, has a great influence on the patriotic education of the younger generation. The Soviet government has always used this and tried to rewrite history in its own way. The last Russian Tsar Nicholas II especially got, about which historians know the most facts. Moreover, they are contradictory.