Продукт природы

by Nikolai Leskov

Принудительное переселение крепостных крестьян в дореформенное время продемонстрировало отношение к ним со стороны помещиков не как к людям, а всего лишь как к "продукту природы". Острая нравственная и социальная проблематика рассказа Лескова не потеряла своей актуальности и по сей день.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1897

About the author

also:
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).

Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.

Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.

Reviews

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Николай рассказывал про крестьян, чьё массовое переселение происходило до реформ Александра II. Бедственность положения складывалась от нежелания людей принимать новые условия существования. Ведь было ясно – не стоит тревожить человеческие души, привыкшие к устоявшемуся. Особенно души глубоко верующих людей, истинно считавших царя наместником Бога на Земле, а помещиков – поставленных над ними надзирателями, должных направлять дела и помыслы в угодную Богу сторону. Однако, когда сами крестьяне смотрели на происходящее именно так, им сочувствующие предпочитали искать причину для укора самих себя за допустимость противных человеческой природе поступков. К оным стоит отнести и Лескова.

(c) Trounin

[Grigory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Несмотря на то, что это всего лишь рассказ, после него, кажется, написать о жизни крепостных в России уже нечего.