Leo Tolstoy - "meaningless dreams", "three lies". The voice is calling by name
L.N. Tolstoy
NON-MEANING DREAMS
On January 17 this year, 1895, Russian representatives of the nobility and zemstvos of all 70-something provinces and regions of Russia gathered in St. Petersburg to congratulate the new, young Russian emperor, who had taken the place of his deceased father.
A few months before the departure of representatives in all the provinces of Russia, for several months intensive preparations for this congratulation went on: emergency meetings were held, they proposed, elected, intrigued; they came up with the form of loyal addresses, argued, invented gifts for offerings, argued again, collected money, ordered, elected the lucky ones who were supposed to go and have the good fortune to personally hand over addresses and gifts; and, finally, people sometimes traveled several thousand miles from all parts of Russia with gifts, new uniforms, prepared speeches and joyful expectations to see the king, queen and talk to them.
And so everyone arrived, gathered, reported, appeared to the ministers to one and the other, underwent all the ordeals through which they were led, finally waited for the solemn day and came to the palace with their gifts. Various couriers, chamberlains, furiers, masters of ceremonies, lackeys, adjutants, etc. seized them, led them, saw them off, installed them, and, finally, a solemn moment came, and all these hundreds, for the most part old, family, gray-haired, revered in their midst people froze in anticipation.
And then the door opened, a small, young man in a uniform came in and began to talk, looking into the cap, which he held in front of him and in which he had written the speech he wanted to say. The speech was as follows.
“I am glad to see representatives of all classes who have come together to declare loyal feelings. I believe in the sincerity of these feelings, inherent in every Russian from time immemorial. But I know that in recent times in some zemstvo assemblies the voices of people carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvos in matters of internal administration were heard. Everyone knows the way that I, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, will guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable late parent guarded it. that he wants to do everything in his own way and does not want no one not only to guide him, but not even to give advice, probably feeling in the depths of his soul that this thought is also bad and that the form in which it is expressed is indecent , he became confused and, to hide his embarrassment, began to shout in a shrill, embittered voice.
What was it? Why insult all these good-natured people?
And it happened that in several provinces: Tver, mainly Tver, Tula, Ufa, and some other Zemstvo in their addresses, full of all sorts of senseless lies and flattery, hinted in the darkest and vague words that it would be good for the Zemstvo to be the one what it should be in its meaning and for what it was established, i.e. to have the right to bring to the attention of the king about their needs. To these hints of old, intelligent, experienced people who wanted to make it possible for the tsar to manage the state in some reasonable way, because without knowing how people live, what they need, it is impossible to control people, to these words the young tsar, not understanding anything either in management or in life, replied that these were meaningless dreams.
When the speech ended, there was silence. But the courtiers interrupted him with cheers, and almost everyone present also cheered.
After that, all the representatives went to the cathedral and a thanksgiving service was served there. Some of those here say they didn't cheer and go to the cathedral; but if there were any, they were few, and those who did not shout "hurray" and did not go to the cathedral did not declare this publicly; so it is not unfair to say that all or the vast majority of the representatives joyfully greeted the tsar’s abusive speech and went to the cathedral to serve a prayer of thanksgiving because the tsar honored them with their congratulations and gifts to call stupid boys.
4 months passed, and neither the tsar found it necessary to recant his words, nor the society expressed its condemnation of his act (except for one anonymous letter). And as if everyone decided that it should be so. And the deputations continue to travel and be mean, and the tsar also takes their meanness for granted. Not only did everything return to its former position, everything entered into a situation much worse than before. The thoughtless, daring, boyish act of the young king became a fait accompli; society, all Russian society swallowed the insult, and the offender has the right to think (if he doesn’t think, then he feels) that society is worth it, that this is how it should be treated, and now he can try even the highest measure of insolence and insult and humiliation of society.
The episode of January 17th was one of those moments when two sides, entering into a struggle among themselves, try on each other, and a new relationship is established between them. A strong working man meets a weak boy, a barchuk, at the door. Everyone has the same right to go first, but then an impudent boy, a barchuk, pushes an incoming worker into his chest and shouts insolently: "Get out of the way, such rubbish!"
This moment is decisive: will the worker calmly take the boy’s hand, walk ahead of him and quietly say: “It’s not good to do this, dear, I’m older than you, and don’t do it ahead of you.” Or he will submit, give way and take off his hat and apologize.
After the outbreak of the First World War, Alexandra Fedorovna was trained as a nurse to help the wounded in hospitals. Her friend maid of honor Anna Vyrubova said:
political freedoms. The tsar received numerous appeals from zemstvo assemblies with wishes for reforms.
January 17, 1895 NicholasIImade one of the first political speeches. Interest in this event was enormous: what would the young sovereign say to the public? In the Anichkov Palace, he received a deputation of the nobility, leaders of zemstvos and cities. Each gesture of the new king was watched with intense interest. He put the text of his speech in a lambskin hat, which he held on his knees. Later, it was maliciously told that from time to time he lowered his eyes to her, "like a student who has learned his lesson poorly."
The sovereign was really afraid of going astray and worried, although outwardly he tried not to show it. He uttered the famous words: “I know that recently in some zemstvo meetings the voices of people carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvo in. affairs of internal management. Let everyone know that, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, I will guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable late parent guarded it. Overcoming embarrassment, Nikolai uttered the last phrase very loudly, almost shouted out.
One of the elderly members of the noble deputation, out of surprise, dropped a large golden dish of bread and salt from his hands, which fell to the floor with a crash. The king tried to lift the dish, which only increased the general confusion. The empress, who still did not know Russian well, became alarmed and asked the lady-in-waiting in French: “What happened? Why is he screaming?" She also answered in French: "He explains to them that they are idiots ...". This whole scene was in the center of public attention for a long time, gradually acquiring various picturesque details.
The emperor's words about "meaningless dreams" made a huge impression.
As a result, this phrase almost forever determined the attitude of the intelligentsia towards him. However, NicholasIIfully responded to her "reciprocity." He believed that the autocrat should serve the whole society, and not "follow the tastes of the intelligentsia." S. Witte recalled that he often had to speak in reports on various
M. Rundiltsov. "Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna".
10
P. Pyasetsky. "Panorama of Moscow during the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II ».
waters: "Such public opinion". To this NicholasIIsometimes he answered in his hearts: "But what do I care about public opinion." “The sovereign quite rightly believed,” S. Witte explained, “that public opinion is the opinion of“ intellectuals ”, and as for his opinion about intellectuals, once at the table someone uttered the word“ intellectual ”, to which the sovereign remarked: “How disgusting this word is to me,” adding, probably sarcastically, that the Academy of Sciences should be ordered to delete this word from the Russian dictionary.
On May 14, 1896, a solemn ceremony of the coronation of Nicholas took place in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. And four days later, during festivities, there was a famous disaster on the Khodynka field near Moscow, known in history under the name "Khodynka". There they were supposed to distribute royal gifts to the people - enameled mugs with the image of a double-headed eagle, as well as gingerbread and other treats ... At dawn, a 500,000-strong crowd moved for gifts. At the same time, in an incredible crush, hundreds of people fell into ditches dug in the field. The fallen were involuntarily trampled down by the mass of people, as a result, 1389 people died. Approximately the same number of people were seriously injured.
"Senseless Dreams"
Among the liberal public, the change of sovereigns, as often happened, gave rise to hopes for the expansion of civil and political freedoms. The tsar received numerous appeals from zemstvo assemblies with wishes for reforms.
January 17, 1895 Nicholas II made one of the first political speeches. Interest in this event was enormous: what would the young sovereign say to the public? In the Anichkov Palace, he received a deputation of the nobility, leaders of zemstvos and cities. Each gesture of the new king was watched with intense interest. He put the text of his speech in a lambskin hat, which he held on his knees. Later, it was maliciously told that from time to time he lowered his eyes to her, "like a student who has learned a lesson poorly."
The sovereign was really afraid of going astray and worried, although outwardly he tried not to show it. He uttered the famous words: “I know that recently the voices of people who have been carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvo in the affairs of internal government have been heard in some Zemstvo meetings. autocracy as firmly and steadfastly as my unforgettable late parent guarded it. Overcoming embarrassment, Nikolai uttered the last phrase very loudly, almost shouted out.
One of the elderly members of the noble deputation, out of surprise, dropped a large golden dish of bread and salt from his hands, which fell to the floor with a crash. The king tried to lift the dish, which only increased the general confusion. The empress, who still did not know Russian well, became alarmed and asked the lady-in-waiting in French: "What happened? Why is he screaming?" She also answered in French: "He explains to them that they are idiots ...". This whole scene was in the center of public attention for a long time, gradually acquiring various picturesque details. The emperor's words about "meaningless dreams" made a huge impression.
As a result, this phrase almost forever determined the attitude of the intelligentsia towards him. However, Nicholas II fully responded to her "reciprocity". He believed that the autocrat should serve the whole of society, and not "be led by the intelligentsia." S. Witte recalled that he often had to say in reports on various occasions: "This is public opinion." To this, Nicholas II sometimes answered in his hearts: "But what do I care about public opinion." “The sovereign quite rightly considered,” Witte explained, “that public opinion is the opinion of“ intellectuals ”, and as for his opinion about intellectuals, once at the table someone uttered the word “intellectual”, to which the sovereign remarked:“ How I hate this word," adding, probably sarcastically, that the Academy of Sciences should be ordered to delete this word from the Russian dictionary."
Test "Russia at the turn of theXIX-XX centuries»
Option I part A
1. The international conference in The Hague, convened at the suggestion of Russia, took place in
1) 1896; 2) 1899; 3) 1900; 4) 1903
2. Which of the named statesmen was a supporter of economic and political reform Russian Empire?
1) S.Yu. Witte; 2) V.K. Plehve; 3) P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky;
4) A.I. Putilov.
3. Which of the above characterizes the reforms of P.A. Stolypin?
1) restriction of landownership; 2) development of a project to strengthen communal land use; 3) abolition of estates; 4) destruction of the community
4. Which of the following refers to the results of the first Russian revolution?
1) the emergence of a multi-party system; 2) formation constitutional monarchy;
3) liquidation of the estate system; 4) the introduction of workers' control over production.
5. Which event happened on January 27, 1904?
1) undermining the flagship "Petropavlovsk"; 2) the landing of Japanese troops on the Liaodong Peninsula;
3) heroic battle "Varangian" and "Korean"; 4) the conclusion of the Portsmouth peace treaty.
6. The demands for the overthrow of the autocracy, the socialization of the land, the establishment of "democracy" and the federal state were contained in the program of the party
1) Bolsheviks; 2) Mensheviks; 3) cadets; 4) Socialist-Revolutionaries.
7. The words "You need great upheavals - we need great Russia!" belong
1) V.I. Lenin; 2) P.A. Stolypin; 3) S.Yu. Witte; 4) P.N. Milyukov.
8. Most economically powerful class Russian society at the beginningXX century
1) working class; 2) the bourgeoisie; 3) intelligentsia; 4) nobility.
9. Commander of the Russian Land Army in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
1) A.N. Kuropatkin; 2) Z.P. Rozhdestvensky; 3) R.I. Kondratenko; 4) S.O. Makarov.
10. The global economic crisis erupted in
1) 1895; 2) 1897; 3) 1900; 4) 1905
11. Manifesto "On the improvement of the state order" was published
1) January 9, 1905; 2) October 17, 1905; 3) December 11, 1906; 4) June 3, 1907
12. Read an extract from the document and determine which party's position is reflected in it.
“In the agrarian program, the shifting of the center of gravity to the Soviets of Labor Deputies. Confiscation of all landed estates. Nationalization of all lands in the country, disposal of land by local Soviets of Laborers and Peasants' Deputies. Separation of Soviets of Deputies from the poorest peasants. Creation of exemplary farms from each large estate under the control of labor deputies and at public expense.
1) Socialist-Revolutionaries; 2) Mensheviks; 3) Bolsheviks; 4) cadets.
Part B
13. By what principle is a series formed? "Produgol", "Prodamet", "Nobel-Mazut", "Prodvagon"
14. Who owns the words? “Recently… the voices of people were heard who were carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvos in the affairs of government… I will protect the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable parent…”
15. Match
1. Committee of Ministers
A. supreme legislative body
2. Senate
B. the highest body of executive power
3. State Duma
B. estate-representative legislature
4. Synod
D. the highest judicial body
16. Form logical pairs:
1.P.Milyukov 2.A.Guchkov 3.V.Ulyanov (Lenin)4.V.Chernov 5.L.Martov
A. Socialist-Revolutionary Party B. RSDLP (b) C. Cadets Party D. "Union of October 17"
17. Find the extra : The consequences of the adoption of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905 include: A. the establishment of the State Duma B. the beginning of the introduction of the foundations of the constitutional order
B. granting new privileges to the nobility
D. legalization of political parties
Test "Russia at the turn of theXIX-XX centuries»
OptionPart II A
1. What year does the reign of Emperor Nicholas begin?II?
1) 1894; 2) 1897; 3) 1900; 4) 1902
2. Minister of the Interior since 1904, liberal, author of the project "On measures to improve the state order"
1) M.T. Loris-Melikov; 2) P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky 3) P.N. Milyukov; 4) S.Yu. Witte.
3. The plot of land allocated to the peasant upon leaving the community, with the preservation of his yard in the village, was called
1) farm; 2) cut; 3) artel; 4) cut.
4. Which of the following was one of the causes of the revolution of 1905?
1) peasant land shortage; 2) preservation of the estate system;
3) the dissatisfaction of the peasants with the communal order; 4) attempts by the state to accelerate the destruction of the community.
5. Battle in the Tsushima Strait during Russo-Japanese War happened
1) September 15-30, 1904; 2) February 22-25, 1905; 3) May 14-15, 1905; 4) July 27, 1904
6. The demand for the preparation and implementation of the proletarian revolution, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat for the construction of a socialist society, was contained in the program
1) RSDLP; 2) the parties of the Cadets; 3) neo-populists; 4) Black Hundreds.
7. Agrarian reform P.A. Stolypin provided
1) liquidation of landownership; 2) socialization of the land;
3) creation of private peasant farms; 4) nationalization of the land.
8. The most numerous estate of the Russian Empire
1) tradesmen; 2) Cossacks; 3) the peasantry; 4) commoners.
9. At the initiative of the head of the Moscow security department S.V. Zubatov were created
1) parochial schools; 2) legal workers' organizations;
3) underground political organizations; 4) security departments in the police.
10. The industrial revolution in Russia was completed by
1) 70th years. 19th century; 2) 90th years. 19th century; 3) 1900; 4) 1910
11. Changes to the Basic Laws of the Russian Empire concerning the legal status of the State Duma and the State Council were made in
1) 1905; 2) 1906; 3) 1907; 4) 1910
12. Which of the following requirements were characteristic of the liberal parties that took shape in Russia in 1905?
1) the introduction of democratic freedoms, the principle of separation of powers and the solution of the land issue through the partial alienation of landowners' lands;
2) the preservation of the "communal" existence and the foundations of the autocratic system, the solution of the labor issue by creating a system of social insurance;
3) the proclamation of democratic freedoms, the destruction of the autocratic system, the abolition of redemption payments, the nationalization of land;
4) the proclamation of democratic freedoms, the elimination of the autocracy and the socialization of the land.
Part B
13 . An event happened earlier than others
1 .accession of Nicholas 2 2.Bloody Sunday 3.expedition of G.Sedov to North Pole 4.Opening of the Moscow Art Theater
14. On what basis is the series formed? Political lack of rights of citizens, lack of land and landlessness of peasants, exploitation of workers, national oppression.
15. Name the document “1. Every householder who owns land on a communal right may demand that the land be strengthened in his personal ownership, demand a plot, if possible, in one place”
16. Who is extra in a row: Chairmen of the State Duma: S. Muromtsev, F. Golovin, S. Witte, A. Guchkov, M. Rodzianko.
17. Who owns the words?
1.S.Yu.Witte
2.V.K.Pleve
A. "All revolutions come from the fact that governments ... remain deaf to the needs of the people"
B. "Russia has its own separate story and social order
V. “The same thing is happening in Russia now that happened in its time in the West: it is moving to the capitalist system”
G. “I owe everything to the autocracy and love it, but with my mind I understand that we need a constitution”
E. To keep the revolution, we need a small victorious war "
Answers:
Option I
part B
1.2
2.1
3.4
4.1
5.3
6.4
7.2
8.2
9.1
10.2
11. 2
12. 3
13.-monopoly
14. Nicholas 2
15. 1-B 2-A 3-C 4-D
16.1-B 2-D 3-B 4-A
17.B
Option II
part B
1.2
2.2
3.1
4.3
5.1
6.3
7.3
8.2
9.2
10.2
11.1
12.1
13.-1
14- causes of the revolution
15- decree on the destruction of the community
16- Witte
17-1-А,В,Г
2-B,D.
On January 17 this year, 1895, Russian representatives of the nobility and zemstvos of all 70-something provinces and regions of Russia gathered in St. Petersburg to congratulate the new, young Russian emperor, who had taken the place of his deceased father.
A few months before the departure of representatives in all the provinces of Russia, for several months intensive preparations for this congratulation went on: emergency meetings were held, they proposed, elected, intrigued; they came up with the form of loyal addresses, argued, invented gifts for offerings, argued again, collected money, ordered, chose the lucky ones who were supposed to go and have the happiness to personally deliver addresses and gifts; and finally, people sometimes traveled several thousand miles from all over Russia with gifts, new uniforms, prepared speeches and joyful expectations to see the king, queen and talk to them.
And so everyone arrived, gathered, reported, appeared to the ministers to both, underwent all the ordeals through which they were led, finally waited for the solemn day and came to the palace with their gifts. Various couriers, chamberlains, furiers, masters of ceremonies, lackeys, adjutants, etc. captured them, led them, saw them off, set them up, and, finally, a solemn moment came, and all these hundreds, mostly old, family, gray-haired, revered in their midst, people froze in anticipation.
And then the door opened, a small, young man in a uniform came in and began to talk, looking into the cap, which he held in front of him and in which he had written the speech he wanted to say. The speech was as follows.
“I am glad to see representatives of all classes who have come together to declare loyal feelings. I believe in the sincerity of these feelings, inherent in every Russian from time immemorial. But I know that recently in some zemstvo meetings the voices of people carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvos in matters of internal administration have been heard. Let everyone know that, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, I will guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable late father guarded it.
When the young king reached the point in his speech in which he wanted to express the idea that he wanted to do everything his own way and did not want anyone to not only guide him, but even give advice, probably feeling in the depths soul, that this thought is bad and that the form in which it is expressed is indecent, he became confused and, in order to hide his embarrassment, began to shout in a shrill, embittered voice.
What was it? Why insult all these good-natured people?
And it happened that in several provinces: Tver, mainly Tver, Tula, Ufa, and some other Zemstvo in their addresses, full of all sorts of senseless lies and flattery, hinted in the darkest and vague words that it would be good for the Zemstvo to be the one what it should be in its meaning and for what it was established, that is, in order to have the right to bring to the attention of the king about his needs. To these hints of old, intelligent, experienced people who wanted to make it possible for the tsar to manage the state in some reasonable way, because, without knowing how people live, what they need, it is impossible to control people - to these words, the young tsar, not understanding anything either in management or in life, replied that these were meaningless dreams.
When the speech ended, there was silence. But the courtiers interrupted him with shouts of "hurrah", and almost all those present shouted "hurrah" too.
After that, all the representatives went to the cathedral and a thanksgiving service was served there. Some of those who have been here say they didn't cheer and go to the cathedral; but if there were any, they were few, and those who did not shout "hurray" and did not go to the cathedral did not publicly declare this; so it is not unfair to say that all or the vast majority of the representatives joyfully greeted the tsar’s abusive speech and went to the cathedral to serve a prayer of thanksgiving because the tsar honored them with their congratulations and gifts to call stupid boys.
4 months passed, and neither the tsar found it necessary to recant his words, nor the society expressed its condemnation of his act (except for one anonymous letter). And as if everyone decided that it should be so. And the deputations continue to travel and be mean, and the tsar also takes their meanness for granted. Not only did everything return to its former position, everything entered into a situation much worse than before. The thoughtless, daring, boyish act of the young king became a fait accompli; society, the whole of Russian society, has swallowed the insult, and the offender has the right to think (if he does not think, then he feels) that society is worth it, that this is how it should be treated, and now he can try even the highest measure of insolence and insult and humiliation of society.
The episode of January 17th was one of those moments when two sides entering into a struggle between themselves try on each other and a new relationship is established between them.
A strong working man meets a weak boy, a barchuk, at the door. Everyone has the same right to go first, but then an impudent boy, a barchuk, pushes an incoming worker into his chest and shouts insolently: “Get out of the way, such rubbish!”
This moment is decisive: will the worker calmly take the boy’s hand away, walk in front of him and quietly say: “It’s not good to do this, dear, I’m older than you, and don’t do it ahead of you.” Or he will submit, give way and take off his hat and apologize.
The further relations of these people and their moral state of mind depend on this moment. In the first case, the boy will come to his senses, become smarter and kinder, and the worker freer and more courageous; in the second case, the impudent boy will become even more impudent and the worker even more submissive.
The same collision took place between Russian society and the tsar, and thanks to his thoughtlessness, the young tsar made a move that turned out to be very beneficial for him and disadvantageous for Russian society. Russian society swallowed the insult, and the clash was resolved in favor of the tsar. Now he must become even bolder and will be absolutely right if he despise Russian society even more; Russian society, having taken this step, will inevitably take further steps in the same direction and become even more submissive and base. And so it did. 4 months have passed, and not only has there been no protest, but everyone is preparing with great zeal for the reception of the tsar in Moscow, for the coronation and new gifts of icons and all sorts of nonsense, and in the newspapers they praised the courage of the tsar, who defended the shrine of the Russian people - autocracy. There was even a writer who reproaches the tsar for responding too softly to the unheard-of audacity of people who dared to hint that in order to control people, one must know how they live and what they need; and what had to be said: not “meaningless dreams”, but it was necessary to burst out like thunder against those who dared to encroach on the autocracy - the shrine of the Russian people.
In foreign newspapers (Times, Daily News, etc.) there were articles stating that for any other people, except for the Russian, such a speech by the sovereign would be offensive, but we, the British, cannot judge this from our own point of view : Russians love it and they need it.
4 months passed, and in the well-known, so-called higher circles of Russian society, the opinion was established that the young tsar did excellently, as he should have done. “Well done Nicky,” his countless cousins say about him, “well done Nicky, that’s how they should be.”
And the course of life and management went on not only in the old way, but worse than in the old way: the same senseless cruel persecution of Jews, sectarians; the same links without trial; the same taking of children from their parents; the same gallows, hard labor, executions; the same censorship, absurd to the point of comicality, forbidding everything that the censor or his superiors want; the same stupidity and corruption of the people.
The state of affairs is this: there is a huge state with a population of over 100 million people, and this state is controlled by one person. And this person is appointed randomly, not only from the best and most experienced people, the most experienced and able to govern, but the one who was previously born from the person who previously ruled the state is appointed. And since the one who previously ruled the state was also appointed randomly by birthright, just like his predecessor, and only the ancestor of them all was the ruler, because he achieved power either by election or by outstanding talents; or, as happened for the most part, by the fact that he did not stop at any deceit and atrocity, it turns out that it is not a person who is capable of this who becomes the ruler of a 100 million people, but the grandson and descendant of that person who, by outstanding abilities or atrocities or both together, as most often happened, he reached power - even if this descendant did not have the slightest ability to manage, but would be the most stupid and trashy person. This situation, if you look at it directly, seems really a meaningless dream.
Not a single sensible person will sit in a carriage if he does not know that the coachman knows how to drive, and on the train railway if the driver does not know how to drive, but only the son of a coachman or driver, who once, according to some, knew how to drive; and still not going to sea on a steamboat with a captain whose right to steer the ship consists only in the fact that he is the great-nephew of the man who once steered the ship. Not a single reasonable person would entrust himself and his family into the hands of such coachmen, machinists, captains, and we all live in a state that is governed, and unlimitedly, by such sons and great-nephews, not only not good rulers, but in practice have shown their inability to management of people. This position is really completely meaningless and can only be justified by the fact that there was a time when people believed that these rulers are some kind of special, supernatural, or anointed beings chosen by God, who cannot be disobeyed. But in our time - when no one believes in the supernatural calling of these people to power, no one believes in the sanctity of anointing and heredity, when history has already shown people how these anointed ones were overthrown, driven out, executed - this position has no justification. , moreover, that if we assume that the supreme power is necessary, then the heredity of such power saves the state from intrigues, turmoil, even civil strife, which are inevitable with a different kind of election of the supreme ruler, and that turmoil and intrigue will cost the people more expensive and harder than inability, the depravity and cruelty of rulers by inheritance, if their inability is made up for by the participation of representatives of the people, and their depravity and cruelty will be kept within the limits set by their power.
And to the desires of these very - inseparable from the heredity of power - participation in the affairs of the government and limiting power (although these desires were hidden under a thick layer of the coarsest flattery), the young tsar answered these desires with determination and insolence: “ I don't want it, I won't let it. I myself." The episode of January 17 is reminiscent of what often happens to children. The child begins to do some unbearable thing for him. The elders want to help him, to do for him what he is unable to do, but the child is capricious, shouts in a shrill voice: “I myself, myself,” and begins to do; and then, if no one helps him, then very soon the child comes to his senses, because either he burns himself, or falls into the water, or breaks his nose and begins to cry. And such a provision of the child to do for himself what he wants to do is, if not dangerous, then instructive for him. But the trouble is that with such a child there are always flattering nannies, servants who move the child's hands and do for him what he wants to do himself, and he rejoices, imagining what he did himself - and he himself does not learn, and often harms others.
The same happens with rulers. If they really ruled by themselves, then their rule would not last long, they would immediately do such obvious stupid things that they would destroy others and themselves, and their kingdom would immediately end [would], which would be very useful for everyone. But the trouble is that, just as capricious children have nannies who do for them what they imagine themselves doing, so kings always have such nannies - ministers, bosses, who value their places and power, and know that they use them. only as long as the king is considered unlimited. It is believed and assumed that the king rules the affairs of the state; but after all, this is only considered and assumed: one king cannot manage the affairs of the state, because these affairs are too complicated, he can only do whatever he pleases in relation to those affairs that reach him, and can appoint to himself assistants those who whom he pleases; and he cannot manage affairs because it is absolutely impossible for one person. They really rule: ministers, members of various councils, directors and all kinds of bosses. People get into these ministers and chiefs not by merit, but by intrigues, intrigues, mostly female, by connections, kinship, obsequiousness and chance. Flatterers and liars who write articles about the shrine of autocracy, that this form (the most ancient form, which was among all peoples) is a special sacred property of the Russian people and that the tsar should rule the people indefinitely, but, unfortunately, none of them explains how the autocracy should act, how exactly the tsar himself, alone his people, should rule. In the old days, when the Slavophils preached autocracy, they preached it inseparably from the Zemsky Sobor, and then, no matter how naive were the dreams of the Slavophils (who had done a lot of evil), it was clear how the autocratic tsar was supposed to rule, who learned from the councils the needs and will of the people . But how can a king govern now without councils? Like a kokan khan? Yes, this is impossible, because in the Kokan Khanate all cases could be considered in one morning, and in Russia in our time, in order to govern the state, ten thousand daily decisions are needed. Who supplies these solutions? Officials. Who are these officials? These are people who, in order to achieve their personal goals, crawl into power and are guided only by the fact that they receive more money. Recently, these people in Russia have fallen to such a degree in moral and intellectual significance that if they do not directly steal, as those who were exposed and driven away did, they do not even know how to pretend that they are pursuing some kind of common state interests. , they only try to receive their salaries, apartment, travel as long as possible. So what governs the state is not an autocratic power - some special, sacred person, wise, incorruptible, revered by the people - but in reality a pack of greedy, sly, immoral officials who are attached to a young boy who does not understand anything and cannot drink a drink , who was told that he could perfectly manage himself alone. And he boldly rejects any participation in the management of representatives of the people and says: "No, I myself."
So it turns out that we are not only ruled by the will of the people, not only by an autocratic tsar, who stands above all intrigues and personal desires, as real Slavophiles want to present the tsar to us, but we are ruled by several dozen of the most immoral, cunning, self-serving people, not only having for themselves neither, as before, noble birth, nor even education and intelligence, as various Durnovos, Krivosheins, Delyanovs, etc., testify to this, but are controlled by those who are gifted with those abilities of mediocrity and baseness, in which only, as it is true defined Beaumarchais, one can reach the highest places of power: Médiocre et rampant, et on parvient à tout. It is possible to obey and obey one person, put in a special position by his birth, but it is insulting and humiliating to obey and obey people, our peers, who, before our eyes, have crawled out on various meanness and filth. top places and seized power. It was possible, reluctantly, to obey Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Third, but to obey and fulfill the will of Malyuta Skuratov and the German corporals, favorites Peter III- it's a shame.
In matters that violate the will of God - in matters contrary to this will, I cannot obey and obey anyone; but in matters that do not violate the will of God, I am ready to obey and obey the king, whatever he may be. He did not take his own place. He was put in this place by the laws of the country, drawn up or approved by our ancestors. But why would I submit to people who are known to be vile or stupid, or both together, who for 30 years of meanness have crept into power and are prescribing laws and a course of action for me? They tell me that, by the highest command, I am ordered [not] to publish such and such works, not to gather for prayer, not to teach my children, as I consider good, but according to such and such principles and books that Mr. Pobedonostsev determines; I am told that, by the highest command, I must pay taxes for the construction of armadillos, I must give my children or my estate to this and that, or I myself stop living where I want, and live in the place assigned to me. All this could still be endured, if it were exactly the command of the king; but I know that the highest command here is only words, that this is not done by the tsar who nominally rules us, but is done by Mr. Pobedonostsev, Richter, Muravyov, etc., whom I have known the past for a long time, and so I know that I don't want to have anything to do with them. And these are the people I must obey and give them everything that I have dear in life. But even this could be endured if it were only a question of one's own humiliation. But, unfortunately, this is not the only thing. It is impossible to reign and govern the people without corrupting, fooling the people and not corrupting and fooling them the more, the more imperfect the form of government, the less the rulers express the will of the people. And since our government is the most senseless and far from expressing the will of the people, our government requires the greatest effort of activity to stupefy and corrupt the people. And this stupefaction and corruption of the people, taking place on such an enormous scale in Russia, should not be endured by people who see the means of this stupefaction and corruption and its consequences.
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