Biography and episodes from the life of Pavel Bazhov. When Pavel Bazhov was born and died, memorable places and dates important events his life. Quotes from the writer, photos and videos.

Years of life of Pavel Bazhov:

born January 15, 1879, died December 3, 1950

Epitaph

“I drank the sun like people drink water,
Walking through the highlands
Towards the red sunrise,
Following the red sunset.

I reveled in the beauty of the earth,
Blessed her lot.
I fell in love more than once, I was killed
And he drank songs as he sang songs.

Let me leave the world one day
I did not quench his thirst,
But people thirst for this thirst,
As long as the Earth turns."
From Rasul Gamzatov’s poem “As long as the Earth turns”

Biography

One of the most famous storytellers Russian land, author of “Silver Hoof”, “Stone Flower” and “Mistress of the Copper Mountain”, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was born in the Urals, in the family of a simple worker. The young man had no intention of becoming a writer: he studied at theological seminaries, then worked as a teacher of the Russian language. The first thing that dramatically changed his fate was the revolutionary events, which Bazhov sympathized with with all his heart. The second is health problems, due to which Bazhov was removed from active work and sent back to the Urals.

Although it is unknown whether his return to his beloved homeland can be considered the reason for the discovery of Bazhov’s writing talent. After all, by that time Pavel Petrovich had already tried his hand at working in a newspaper, working on essays and collecting folklore. Obviously, the writer's talent just needed a little push.

Pavel Bazhov in 1911

After the publication of “The Malachite Box,” Bazhov gained fame overnight. More was said and written about him than he managed to write himself. The collection of Ural tales was translated into other languages ​​and published in London, Paris and New York. Pavel Petrovich was a modest person and he always said that his role in creating fairy tales is secondary, and the main place in them belongs to the people.

Pavel Petrovich lived a long, good life, and according to him in my own words happy life. 11 years after his death, a large stone monument was erected on the hill of the Ivanovo cemetery, where the writer was buried. And even before that, a monument in honor of the writer was erected in Yekaterinburg near the city pond. But the main memory of Bazhov still lives in the images he created, so close to the heart of the Russian people that they are remembered from childhood and for life.

Life line

January 15, 1879 Date of birth of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov.
1899 Graduated from Perm Theological Seminary.
1918 The beginning of underground work in the Semipalatinsk province and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
1920 Organization of the suppression of the Kozyr uprising in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Teacher training work. Leadership of the first district congress of Soviets.
1921 Transfer to Semipalatinsk, then return to Kamyshlov.
1923-1931 Work in the regional “Peasant Newspaper”.
1924 Publication of Bazhov’s first book of essays, “The Ural Were.”
1936 Publication of the first Ural tale Bazhov "Girl of Azovka".
1939 Publication of the first collection of Bazhov's tales " Malachite box».
1940 Appointment as head of the Sverdlovsk Writers' Organization.
1943 Receiving the Stalin Prize, second degree, for the book “The Malachite Box”.
December 3, 1950 Date of death of Pavel Bazhov.
December 10, 1950 Funeral of P. Bazhov in Sverdlovsk.

Memorable places

1. Sysert, where Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was born.
2. Perm, where P. Bazhov studied at the theological seminary.
3. Kamyshlov, where P. Bazhov worked as a Russian language teacher.
4. Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan), where P. Bazhov arrived in 1918.
5. Semipalatinsk (now Semey), where Bazhov worked in 1921.
6. Moscow, where Bazhov died.
7. Ivanovo cemetery in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where P. Bazhov is buried.

Episodes of life

Until 1917, P. Bazhov was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and then throughout his life he actively supported the Bolshevik movement, including working underground. True, he was expelled from the party twice, but both times he was rehabilitated.

Bazhov always refused when he was praised for his literary work, believing that he did not deserve compliments addressed to him. Sometimes his modesty reached such proportions that the writer subsequently had to prove that he had actually composed his “tales” and not simply written them down from other people’s words.

Documentary film “Soviet tale of Pavel Bazhov”

Testaments

“Work is a long-lasting thing. A man will die, but his work will remain.”

“It’s also not in vain that fairy tales were invented. Some are in obedience, others are in learning, and there are also those who have a flashlight in front.”

“I was and remain a supporter of labor in literature. Standing on this position, I affirm that after just a dozen years of work, everyone can produce a canvas that is amazing in its unexpectedness.”

“There is vitality in every task, it runs ahead of the skill and pulls the person along with it.”

Condolences

“Bazhov brought us, in the guise of a tale, the greatness of high simplicity, love for one region, glorification of labor, pride and honor of a working man, fidelity to duty. Chastity. Restlessness of quests and aspirations. Persistence. Zeitgeist…"
Evgeny Permyak, Russian and Soviet writer

"P. P. Bazhov was like an omniscient gnome who rose from the bowels of the earth to talk about the treasures of which he had long served as the keeper.”
Lev Kassil, writer

“The writer Bazhov had a late flowering. Obviously, because he took the concept very seriously real literature“, he placed the title of writer too highly and did not consider it applicable to himself. He considered A. S. Pushkin to be a model, a standard for writers working in the fairy tale genre.”
Anna Bazhova, daughter of the writer

Bazhov Pavel Petrovich was born in 1879, on January 27. This Russian writer died famous storyteller, prose writer, processor of legends, tales, and Ural tales in 1950, December 3.

Origin

Bazhov Pavel Petrovich, whose biography is presented in our article, was born in the Urals, near Yekaterinburg, in the family of Augusta Stefanovna and Pyotr Vasilyevich Bazhev (this surname was spelled that way back then). His father was a hereditary foreman at the Sysert plant.

The writer's surname comes from the word "bazhit", which means "to foretell", "to bewitch". Even Bazhov’s street boy nickname was Koldunkov. Later, when he began to publish, he also signed with this pseudonym.

Formation of the future writer's talent

Bazhev Petr Vasilyevich worked as a foreman at the Sysert plant, in the puddling and welding shop. The future writer's mother was a good lacemaker. This was a help for the family, especially when the husband was temporarily unemployed.

The future writer lived among the miners of the Urals. His childhood experiences turned out to be the most vivid and important for him.

Bazhov loved to listen to the stories of experienced people. Sysert old men - Korob Ivan Petrovich and Klyukva Alexey Efimovich were good storytellers. But the future writer, Khmelinin Vasily Alekseevich, a Polevsky miner, was superior to everyone whom the future writer knew.

Childhood and adolescence

The future writer spent this period of his life at the Polevsky plant and in the town of Sysert. His family moved often, as Pavel’s father worked first at one factory, then at another. This allowed young Bazhov to get to know well the life of the mountain district, which he subsequently reflected in his work.

The future writer had the opportunity to learn thanks to his abilities and chance. At first he attended a three-year men's zemstvo school, where a talented literature teacher worked who knew how to captivate children with literature. Pavel Petrovich Bazhov also loved to listen to him. The writer’s biography developed largely under the influence of this talented person.

Everyone assured the Bazhev family that it was necessary to continue the education of their gifted son, but poverty did not allow them to dream of a real school or gymnasium. As a result, the choice fell on Ekaterinburg religious school, since it had the lowest tuition fees and did not require purchasing a uniform. This institution was intended mainly for the children of nobles, and only the assistance of a family friend made it possible to place Pavel Petrovich in it.

At the age of 14, after graduating from college, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov entered the Perm Theological Seminary, where he studied various fields of knowledge for 6 years. Here he became acquainted with modern and classical literature.

Working as a teacher

In 1899 the training was completed. After that, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov worked as a teacher in an elementary school in an area populated by Old Believers. He began his career in a remote village near Nevyansk, after which he continued his activities in Kamyshlov and Yekaterinburg. The future writer taught Russian. He traveled a lot around the Urals, was interested in local history, folklore, ethnography, and journalism.

Pavel Bazhov for 15 years during school holidays traveled on foot every year native land, talked with workers, looked closely at the life around him, recorded stories, conversations, collected folklore, learned about the work of stone cutters, lapidaries, foundries, steelworkers, gunsmiths and other craftsmen of the Urals. This later helped him in his career as a journalist, and then in his writing, which Pavel Bazhov began later (his photo is presented below).

When, after some time, a vacancy opened up at the Yekaterinburg Theological School, Bazhov returned to his native walls of this institution as a teacher.

Family of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov

In 1907, the future writer began working at the diocesan school, where he taught Russian language lessons until 1914. Here he met his future wife, Valentina Ivanitskaya. She was a student at this educational institution at that time. In 1911, Valentina Ivanitskaya and Pavel Bazhov got married. They often went to the theater and read a lot. Seven children were born into the writer’s family.

During the outbreak of the First World War, two daughters were already growing up - the children of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov. Due to financial difficulties, the family was forced to move to Kamyshlov, where Valentina’s relatives lived. Pavel Bazhov began working at the Kamyshlovsky Theological School.

Creating tales

In 1918-1921, Bazhov took part in the Civil War in Siberia, the Urals, and Altai. In 1923-1929 he lived in Sverdlovsk, where he worked at the Peasant Newspaper. At this time, the writer created more than forty tales dedicated to factory Ural folklore. In 1930, work began at the book publishing house in Sverdlovsk. The writer was expelled from the party in 1937 (reinstated a year later). Having lost his job at the publishing house because of this incident, he decided to devote free time tales that, like Ural gems, “flickered” in his “Malachite Box”. In 1939, this most famous work of the author, which is a collection of fairy tales, was published. For the "Malachite Box" the writer was awarded State Prize USSR. Bazhov subsequently added new tales to this book.

Bazhov's writing path

This author's writing career began relatively late. His first book, “The Ural Were,” appeared in 1924. The most significant stories of Pavel Bazhov were published only in 1939. This is the above-mentioned collection of tales, as well as “The Green Filly” - an autobiographical story about his childhood years.

The “Malachite Box” later included new works: “Tales of the Germans” (year of writing - 1943), “Key-Stone”, created in 1942, “Tales of Gunsmiths”, as well as other creations of Bazhov. The author's later works can be called "tales" not only because of the formal features of the genre (the presence in the narrative of a fictional narrator who has individual characteristics speech), but also because they go back to the secret tales of the Urals - oral traditions of prospectors and miners, which are distinguished by a combination of fabulous and real-life elements.

Features of Bazhov's tales

The writer considered the creation of fairy tales to be the main work of his life. In addition, he edited almanacs and books, including those devoted to Ural local history.

Initially, the tales processed by Bazhov are folklore. He heard “Secret Tales” as a boy from Khmelinin. This man became the prototype of Slyshko’s grandfather, the narrator of the work “The Malachite Box.” Bazhov later had to officially declare that this was just a technique, and he did not simply record other people’s stories, but created his own based on them.

The term "skaz" later entered the folklore of the Soviet era to define the prose of workers. However, after some time it was established that this concept does not denote a new phenomenon in folklore: tales in fact turned out to be memories, legends, traditions, fairy tales, that is, genres that had existed for a long time.

Naming his works with this term, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, whose fairy tales were associated with the folklore tradition, took into account not only the tradition of this genre, which implies the obligatory presence of a storyteller, but also the existence of ancient oral traditions of the Ural miners. From these folklore works he adopted the main feature of his creations - the mixing of fairy-tale images in the narrative.

Fantastic heroes of fairy tales

The main theme of Bazhov's tales is the simple man, his skill, talent and work. Communication with the secret foundations of our life, with nature, is carried out with the help of powerful representatives of the mountain magical world. Perhaps the most striking among characters of this kind is the Mistress Copper Mountain, which Stepan met - the hero of "The Malachite Box". She helps Danila, a character in a tale called " Stone flower" - to reveal talent. And after he refuses to make a Stone Flower on his own, he becomes disappointed in it.

In addition to this character, the Great Snake, who is responsible for the gold, is interesting. His image was created by the writer based on the ancient superstitions of the Khanty and Mansi, as well as Ural legends, will welcome ore miners and miners.

Grandma Sinyushka, another heroine of Bazhov’s tales, is a character related to the famous Baba Yaga.

The connection between gold and fire is represented by the Jumping Fire Girl, who dances over a gold deposit.

So, we met such an original writer as Pavel Bazhov. The article presented only the main milestones of his biography and the most famous works. If you are interested in the personality and work of this author, you can continue to get acquainted with him by reading the memoirs of Pavel Petrovich’s daughter, Ariadna Pavlovna.

Soviet literary critic Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was very versatile personality. He was writing scientific works in the field of literary criticism, enriched the Russian language with a huge collection folklore creativity peoples from different corners USSR, collected by him personally. He was also involved in journalistic and political activities. Pavel Bazhov - interesting personality in the history of Russian folklore, so it will be useful for everyone to familiarize themselves with his biography and literary heritage.

Early life

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, whose biography is logically divided into several sections for ease of reading, was born on January 15 (27), 1879 in the small mining town of Sysert (Ural). His father was a simple worker at a metallurgical plant, and his mother was engaged in needlework. Pavel Petrovich's family moved often; his father worked first at one factory, then at another. Frequent trips to the metallurgical towns of the Urals made a huge impression on the future writer. Perhaps it was precisely because of childhood memories and impressions that the writer later began collecting folklore, loving it and trying to convey Ural tales to other corners of vast Russia. Later, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov recalled these moments of childhood with love. At the age of seven, the boy’s parents sent him to a three-year zemstvo school. The future writer loved to study and learn something new, so he graduated without difficulty primary school. What did Pavel Bazhov do next? His biography does not end there.

Education

After graduating from the zemstvo school, Pavel Bazhov expressed a desire to continue studying, but due to the impossibility of entering the gymnasium, the future writer had to enter a theological school. At first, Pavel Bazhov studied at the Yekaterinburg Theological School, but later decided to continue his studies at the Perm Theological Seminary. In 1899, P. P. Bazhov graduated from theological seminary, and he was offered to continue his studies in order to study for the priesthood. But Bazhov’s dream was not to become a priest; he wanted to go to university. Due to a lack of money, Bazhov decided to work part-time as a school teacher of the Russian language. Few people know how to pursue their dreams as passionately as Bazhov. The biography of this writer proves that he was a strong and purposeful person. Later, Bazhov was invited to work at the Ekaterinburg Theological School. The writer’s dream of entering Tomsk State University was never realized due to his low social status.

Social activities

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, whose biography reveals all aspects of the writer’s life, was not only an excellent literary critic and publicist, he also actively participated in public life countries. The writer was a participant October Revolution, which occurred in 1917. Taking the side of the revolutionaries, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov pursued the goal of ridding the population of social inequality. Bazhov P.P. valued freedom, his biography confirms this.

During the Civil War in Russia, the writer expresses a desire to join the Red Army. In the army, he not only served as a secretary, but was also one of the editors of the military newspaper "Okopnaya Pravda". Unfortunately, during the battle for Perm, the writer was captured, but was able to successfully escape from enemy captivity. A few months after the development of the disease, it was decided to demobilize Bazhov. “For Calculation”, “Formation on the Move” - all these are books written by Bazhov about history Russian revolution and the Civil War.

Personal life

Was Pavel Petrovich Bazhov in love? The biography also reveals this moment in the writer’s life. After Pavel Petrovich Bazhov got a job as a Russian language teacher at a theological school, he also worked at the same time at the Yekaterinburg diocesan school for girls. It was there that he met his first and only love for life. The writer became interested in a final-grade student, V. Ivanitskaya. After completing her studies, the decision was made to get married.

Children

Soon after his marriage, the writer gave birth to two lovely girls. A little later at married couple another child was born, and during the difficult times of the First World War, the writer and his wife moved to her parents, to a small town called Kamyshlov. There his wife gave Bazhov the fourth and last child- son Alexey.

Last years of life

How did you spend your last days Bazhov? The biography says that in 1949 the writer celebrated his seventieth birthday. On this solemn day gathered huge amount to the people. There were not only close friends and relatives of the writer, but also completely strangers, who highly valued the literary work of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov. The writer's anniversary took place in Sverdlovsk State Philharmonic. Bazhov was extremely surprised and touched by the respect people had for his work. He was sincerely happy and accepted congratulations and gifts from everyone who came to congratulate him on this solemn day. But unfortunately, the next year the writer passed away. Bazhov died on December 3, 1950 in Moscow. He was buried in Sverdlovsk. His grave is located on the top of a mountain, which offers a beautiful view of the Ural nature: forests, rivers, mountains - everything that the writer loved and appreciated during his lifetime.

Bazhov as a folklorist

The writer began his activity as a collector of folklore while still a teacher at the Ekaterinburg Theological School. Pavel Bazhov, whose biography is interesting to all fans of oral folk art, every summer he went to his homeland, the Urals, in order to record folk tales and songs, describe the rituals of ordinary Ural workers. He also loved to take photographs local residents in national ritual costumes. The biography of Pavel Bazhov is also very useful for children, because they should be imbued with the traditions and legends of their people, as the great folklorist once did.

No one was interested before folk art ordinary Russian people, so Bazhov made a breakthrough in Soviet folklore. He recorded and systematized a huge number of tales, small fairy tales about the life of workers that existed among miners in the middle XVIII century. The folklorist was interested in the life of ordinary people: stonemasons, gunsmiths, ore miners.

Later, Bazhov began to be interested not only in the folklore of the Ural residents, but also in folk tales from other parts of Russia. It is impossible to overestimate the role of this great man in the formation of Russian folklore, because he tried to understand the soul of a simple worker, convey the imagery that is vividly represented in folklore, and convey folk tales to the present day.

List of the most significant works

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was remembered by his compatriots not only as a folklorist and collector folk tales, he was also a wonderful writer who could create miracles with the power of words. Wonderful stories wrote Bazhov. A biography for children who love fairy tales will also be interesting. Below is a list of the most significant works, from the pen of this wonderful writer:

• "The Green Filly" (1939) - the book is autobiographical in nature. The writer tells the reader about his youth, childhood impressions that were carried by the author throughout his life.
• “The Peeling of Days” - the book is a kind of diary of the writer’s life. It contains Bazhov’s thoughts about the events taking place in his life and letters sent to him by close friends. It’s good that Bazhov kept a diary, whose biography can be gleaned from this book.
• “The Ural Were” (1924) is a book in which the writer tried to characterize the folklore of ordinary workers of the Urals. These are Bazhov's first essays on folklore.
• “Formation on the Move” (1937) - in this book the writer tried to reveal the nature of the October Revolution and the Civil War in Russia. This work has a scandalous past, because it was because of it that it was decided to expel Pavel Petrovich from the party.
• "The Malachite Box" (1939) - the most famous book Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, which brought him national recognition. The beauty and diversity of Ural legends and folk beliefs are fully shown here.

Some folk tales

Bazhov, whose biography is described in the article, collected a huge number of tales:

• "Vasin's Mountain";
• "Living Light";
• "Golden Dykes"
• "Key of the Earth";
• "Cat ears";
• "Malachite Box";

• "Fragile twig";
• "Broad shoulder";
• "Mining Master";
• "Stone Flower";
• "Golden Hair";
• "Wrong Heron";
• "Silver Hoof".

A great man was Pavel Bazhov, short biography which will be very useful for those interested in folklore.

A short biography of Bazhov for grade 4 is presented in this article.

Pavel Bazhov short biography

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov- writer, folklorist, publicist, journalist. He gained fame as the author of Ural tales.

Born on January 27, 1879 near Yekaterinburg in the Urals in the family of a mining foreman, he was only child in the family. My childhood years were spent among Ural craftsmen.

He received his primary education at the Ekaterinburg Theological School, and in 1899 he graduated with honors from the Perm Theological Seminary.
Started his work history as a teacher primary classes, then worked as a Russian language teacher in Yekaterinburg. For about 15 years he edited a local newspaper, was engaged in journalism, wrote feuilletons, stories, essays, and notes for magazines. He collected folklore and was interested in the history of the Urals.

Bazhov’s writing career began at the age of 57 with the creation special genre- a Ural tale that made the author famous. The first tale “Dear Little Name” appeared in 1936. Bazhov combined his works into a collection of tales from the old Urals - “The Malachite Box”.
The Malachite Box contains a lot mythological characters, for example: Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Great Snake, Danila the Master, Grandma Sinyushka, Ognevushka the Jumper and others.

In 1943, thanks to this book, he received the Stalin Prize. And in 1944 he was awarded the Order of Lenin for his fruitful work.

1879 in the family of working mining foreman Pyotr Bazhev (original surname). As a child he lived in Sysert and Polevsky. Among the best students, he graduated from a factory school, then from the Yekaterinburg Theological School, where he studied from 10 to 14 years old, then in 1899 he graduated from the Perm Theological Seminary. He worked as a teacher of the Russian language in theological schools of Yekaterinburg and Kamyshlov, during the summer holidays he traveled around the Urals, collecting folklore. He married his student, Valentina Alexandrovna (nee Ivanitskaya), and the family had four children.

Until 1917 he was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. During the Civil War, at the end of April - beginning of May 1918, he arrived in the Semipalatinsk province, and in June 1918 - in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Organized the underground, developed resistance tactics in the event of the fall of Soviet power in the region and district. After the coup in Ust-Kamenogorsk, staged on June 10, 1918 underground organization“Shield and Throne” with the support of the Cossacks, Bazhov hid until the end of the year in his insurance office, temporarily ceasing his activities. In the summer and autumn of 1918, he tried to establish operational contacts with the remaining Bolsheviks, but only in January 1919, after receiving information about the deplorable situation of the Zyryanov underground fighters, he resumed his activities in coordinating the underground. Bazhov’s attitude towards the preparation of the uprising in the Ust-Kamenogorsk prison (June 30, 1919) was twofold, since he doubted the connection between the partisan formations of the “Red Mountain Eagles” as part of the People’s Insurgent Army of Altai, working on instructions from red Moscow. After holding a gathering of commanders of the Red Partisan detachments in November 1919 in the village of Vasilyevka, he united them into one force. After the establishment of Soviet power in Ust-Kamenogorsk (December 15, 1919) and the entry into the city of the rebel peasant army of Kozyr and companies from the united detachment of the Red Mountain Eagles, Bazhov, emerging from underground, began to organize a new Council of Deputies. For some time, dual power remained: the new Ust-Kamenogorsk Soviet of Deputies met in the People's House, and the headquarters of Kozyr's army was in the former department of the 3rd department of the Siberian Cossack Army. Bazhov transmitted information to Semipalatinsk. In the second half of January 1920, three regiments of regular Red Army forces were sent to Ust-Kamenogorsk. Kozyrev’s army dispersed virtually without a fight, and he himself fled. It was Bazhov, then acting under the pseudonym Baheev (Bakhmekhev), who organized the suppression of the preparations for the uprising led by Kozyr.

In the newly formed Revolutionary Committee, Bazhov took the post of head of the public education department, and also headed the trade union bureau. Along the way, he became an editor, and essentially an organizer, publisher and manager of a local newspaper. At the same time, he was charged with the duty of “maintaining general supervision over the work of the department of public education.” He created teacher courses, organized schools to eliminate illiteracy, and took part in the restoration of the Ridder mine. In July 1920, 87 teachers trained with his participation were sent to the Kazakh volosts. On August 10, 1920, under the leadership of Bazhov and N.G. Kalashnikov, the First District Congress of Soviets was held in the city. In the fall of 1920, Bazhov headed the food detachment as a specially authorized district food committee for food appropriation. In the fall of 1921, he moved to Semipalatinsk, where he headed the provincial bureau of trade unions.

At the end of 1921, Bazhov, as a result of serious illness and at the request of the Kamyshlovsky executive committee he returned to the Urals, to Kamyshlov (the main reason was denunciations in the Provincial Cheka of Semipalatinsk about his inaction during the period of Kolchak’s power), where he continued his journalistic and literary activity, wrote books on the history of the Urals, collected folklore records. The first book of essays, “The Ural Were,” was published in 1924. In 1923-1931 he worked in the regional “Peasant Newspaper”.

In 1936, the first of the Ural tales, “The Maiden of Azovka,” was published in the magazine, and in 1939, the first edition of the Ural tales, “The Malachite Box,” was published. This book was repeatedly updated with new tales during the author’s lifetime.

In 1918, P. P. Bazhov joined the RCP (b). In the 1930s, he was expelled from the party twice (in 1933 and 1937), but both times he was reinstated a year later.

Awards and prizes

• Order of Lenin (02/03/1944)
• Stalin Prize of the second degree () - for the book of Ural fairy tales “Malachite Box”

Tales

Archetypal images

Mythological characters in fairy tales are divided into anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. The personifications of natural forces are very figurative:

• Mistress of the Copper Mountain- keeper of precious rocks and stones, sometimes appears before people in the form beautiful woman, and sometimes in the form of a lizard in a crown. Its origin most likely stems from the “spirit of the area”. There is also a hypothesis that this is an image of the goddess Venus, refracted by the popular consciousness, with whose sign Polevsky copper was branded for several decades in the 18th century.
• Great Snake- responsible for the gold (“he is the complete owner of all the gold here”). His figure was created by Bazhov based on the superstitions of the ancient Khanty, Mansi and Bashkirs, Ural legends and signs of miners and ore miners. Wed. mythological serpent. Numerous daughters of Poloz - Zmeyovka or Medyanitsa - also appear. One of them - Golden Hair - is depicted in the tale of the same name.
• Grandma Sinyushka- a character related to Baba Yaga, the personification of swamp gas, which in the Urals was called “little blue”. “Rise Sinyushka from his place, and a full well of gold and expensive stones will open.” In front of the “proud and daring”, Grandma Sinyushka “turns into a red girl”: this is exactly how Ilya, the hero of the tale “Sinyushkin’s Well,” sees her.
• Jumping Firefly, a “small girl” dancing over a gold deposit (the connection between fire and gold) is a character based on the image of the Golden Baba, the deity of the Vogulichs (Mansi).
• Silver hoof- a magical “goat” who has a silver hoof on one leg, where he stamps on this hoof, a precious stone will appear.
• Blue snake- a magical little snake, the personification of native gold: “When it runs like this, a golden stream falls to the right of it, and a very black one to the left... Surely the riding gold will end up where the golden stream passed.”
• Earth cat- a character in the tale “Cat’s Ears”, personification of sulfur dioxide: according to the author, “the image of the Earth Cat arose in miners’ tales, again in connection with natural phenomena. A sulfur light appears where sulfur dioxide gas is released. It... has a wide base and therefore resembles an ear.”

List of tales

1. Diamond match
2. Amethyst Case
3. Bogatyreva glove
4. Vasina Mountain
5. Veselukhin spoons
6. Blue snake
7. Mining master
8. Distant peeper
9. Two lizards
10. Demidov kaftans
11. Dear little name
12. Dear Earth Revolution
13. Ermakov swans
14. Zhabreev walker
15. Iron tires
16. Zhivinka in action
17. Living light
18. Snake trail
19. Golden hair
20. Goldenflower mountain
21. Golden dykes
22. Ivanko Krylatko
23. Stone flower
24. Earth Key
25. Root secrecy
26. cat ears
27. Circular lantern
28. Malachite box
29. Markov stone
30. Copper share
31. Mistress of Copper Mountain
32. In the same place
33. Inscription on the stone
34. Wrong heron
35. Jumping Firefly
36. Eagle feather
37. Clerk's soles
38. About the Great Snake
39. About divers
40. About the main thief
41. Rudyany Pass
42. Silver hoof
43. Sinyushkin well
44. Sun stone
45. Succulent pebbles
46. A gift from the old mountains
47. Cockroach soap
48. Melting mirror
49. Herbal Western
50. Heavy twist
51. At the old mine
52. fragile twig
53. Crystal varnish
54. Cast iron grandmother
55. Silk slide
56. Broad shoulder

Historical authenticity of fairy tale characters

When writing tales, Bazhov was guided by certain guidelines, in a number of cases deviating from historical facts. The Soviet researcher R.R. Gelgardt established that P.P. Bazhov studied historical documents when writing tales, but if in historical research there was a disagreement on some issue, the writer “rejected everything that was not in favor of Russia, the Urals, not in the interests common people". Examples of such interpretations:

• Erofey Markov - resident of the Ural village of Shartash (tale “Golden Dykes”);
• Ermak - a native of the Urals (the tale “Ermakov’s Swans”);
• The production of asbestos yarn and the asbestos deposit near Nevyansk was discovered by a serf girl (the tale “Silk Hill”).

The influence of tales on Ural folklore

The tales themselves are not folklore material. Researcher V.V. Blazhes noted that Bazhov collected folklore as a writer, without writing down what a folklorist scientist should write down and without carrying out certification (although Bazhov knew about certification). Bazhov's tales and activities had a significant impact on Ural folklore, determining the direction of its development for decades - the collection of “working folklore”. Bazhov himself contributed a lot to this, who often visited teachers and students of the Ural State University (Ural State University), instructing them in collecting workers’ folklore, initiated folklore expeditions to cities and towns to collect “workers’ folklore”, gave methodological advice on recording it and called populated areas where it must be collected. At the same time, a significant part of the folklore of the population of the Urals was discarded, primarily peasant folklore. This phenomenon can be judged by the fact that the collector of folklore I. Ya. Styazhkin was told by the university folklorist Kukshanov that “all elements of religious content and crude vernacular are completely unacceptable.” As a result, from the collection of folklore materials by I. Ya. Styazhkin (1219 pages), transferred in 1949-1957 to USU specialists, only a few proverbs and sayings were published, historical songs, the fairy tale “Tsar Peter and the Sailor” and the song “Comrade fighter, become a singer.”

Brief bibliography

• Works in 3 volumes. M., Goslitizdat, 1952
• Works in 3 volumes. M., Pravda, 1976.
• Works in 3 volumes. M., Pravda, 1986.
• Selected works in 2 volumes. M., Fiction, 1964.
• “The Ural Were” Sverdlovsk, 1924 - book of essays
• “Towards calculation” Sverdlovsk, 1926
• “Five stages of collectivization” Sverdlovsk, 1930
• "Fighters of the first draft." Sverdlovsk, 1934
• “Formation on the Move” Sverdlovsk, 1936 - the book for which Bazhov was expelled from the membership of the CPSU (b)
• “The Green Filly” Sverdlovsk, 1940 - autobiographical story
• “Malachite Box” Sverdlovsk, 1939 - collection of tales
• “Key-stone” Sverdlovsk, 1943 - collection of tales
• “Tales of the Germans” Sverdlovsk, 1943 - collection
• "Ermakov's Swans". Molotov, 1944
• “Zhivinka in Action” Molotov, 1944
• “Blue Snake” Sverdlovsk, 1945
• "Bogatyrev's mitten." M., Pravda, 1946
• "Bogatyrev's mitten." Sverdlovsk, 1946
• “Eagle Feather” Sverdlovsk, 1946
• “Russian Masters” M.-L., Detgiz, 1946
• "Stone Flower" Chelyabinsk, 1948
• “Far - Close” Sverdlovsk, 1949
• “Far - Close” M., Pravda, 1949 - memoirs
• "For Soviet truth." Sverdlovsk, 1926
• "Across Between"
• “Detaching days” - diary entries, letters

Other information

Bazhov - maternal grandfather politician Yegor Gaidar, who, in turn, is the grandson of Arkady Gaidar.

American science fiction writer Mercedes Lackey included the Mistress (Queen) of Copper Mountain in her book Fortune's Fool(2007). There the Mistress is a powerful spirit/witch underground kingdom, but with a somewhat reckless character.

Perpetuation of memory

P. P. Bazhov died in Moscow on December 3, 1950. The funeral took place in Sverdlovsk at the Ivanovo cemetery on December 10, 1950. The writer’s grave is located on a hill, on the central alley of the cemetery. In 1961, a granite monument was erected on the grave. The authors of the monument are sculptor A.F. Stepanova and architect M.L. Mints. The writer is depicted sitting on a stone in a calm, relaxed pose, his hands on his knees, and a smoking pipe in his right hand. The height of the monument is 5 meters. At its foot, on a stone slab, is carved the inscription “Bazhov Pavel Petrovich. 1879-1950". The monument is surrounded by a flower garden.

Images from the tales of P. P. Bazhov - the Stone Flower and the Mistress of the Copper Mountain (in the form of a crowned lizard) - are depicted on the coat of arms of the city of Polevskoy, with the surroundings of which many tales are associated.

A Perm motor ship (VolgaWolga company) was named in honor of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov.

Productions

Movies

• The Mystery of the Green Forest (1960)
• Sinyushkin Well, short (1978)
• The Golden Snake (2007), director Vladimir Makeranets
• The motifs of the fairy tales “The Mistress of the Copper Mountain” and “The Malachite Box” underlie the plot of the fairy tale film “The Book of Masters” by Vadim Sokolovsky.

Cartoons

• Sinyushkin Well, re-layings (1973)
• Mistress of Copper Mountain, puppet (1975)
• Malachite Box, puppet (1976)
• Stone Flower, puppet (1977)
• "Silver Hoof", hand-drawn (1977)
• “Present”, puppet (1978)
• "Mountain Master", hand-drawn (1978)
• "Jumping Firefly", hand-drawn (1979)
• "Golden Hair", puppet (1979)
• "Grass West", hand-drawn (1982)

Filmstrips

• "Jumping Fire Girl" (1956)
• "Malachite Box" (1972)

Performances

• ballet by S. S. Prokofiev “The Tale of the Stone Flower” (production 1954)
• ballet “The Stone Flower” by A. G. Friedlender (staged 1944)
• play “Tales” / Stone Flower (State Academic Maly Theater of the USSR. 1987)
• opera by K. V. Molchanov “The Stone Flower” (production 1950)
• symphonic poem by A. Muravlev “Azov Mountain”
• orchestral suite by G. Fried
• opera-tale “The Malachite Box” by D. A. Batin (production 2012. Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after P. I. Tchaikovsky)

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Bazhov, Pavel Petrovich

“I don’t understand,” Andrey answered. – Les femmes comme il faut, [Decent women] is another matter; but les femmes Kuragin, les femmes et le vin, [Kuragin’s women, women and wine,] I don’t understand!
Pierre lived with Prince Vasily Kuragin and took part in the wild life of his son Anatole, the same one who was going to be married to Prince Andrei’s sister for correction.
“You know what,” said Pierre, as if an unexpectedly happy thought had come to him, “seriously, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” With this life I can neither decide nor think about anything. My head hurts, I have no money. Today he called me, I won’t go.
- Give me your word of honor that you won’t travel?
- Honestly!

It was already two o'clock in the morning when Pierre left his friend. It was a June night, a St. Petersburg night, a gloomless night. Pierre got into the cab with the intention of going home. But the closer he got, the more he felt it was impossible to fall asleep that night, which seemed more like evening or morning. It was visible in the distance through the empty streets. Dear Pierre remembered that that evening the usual gambling society was supposed to gather at Anatole Kuragin's place, after which there would usually be a drinking party, ending with one of Pierre's favorite amusements.
“It would be nice to go to Kuragin,” he thought.
But immediately he remembered given to the prince Andrei, on my word of honor, should not visit Kuragin. But immediately, as happens with people called spineless, he so passionately wanted to once again experience this dissolute life so familiar to him that he decided to go. And immediately the thought occurred to him that this word meant nothing, because even before Prince Andrei, he also gave Prince Anatoly the word to be with him; finally, he thought that all these honest words were such conditional things that had no certain meaning, especially if you realize that maybe tomorrow either he will die or something so extraordinary will happen to him that there will be no more honest or dishonorable things. This kind of reasoning, destroying all his decisions and assumptions, often came to Pierre. He went to Kuragin.
Arriving at the porch big house at the horse guards barracks where Anatole lived, he climbed onto the illuminated porch, onto the stairs, and entered the open door. There was no one in the hall; there were empty bottles, raincoats, and galoshes lying around; there was a smell of wine, and distant talking and shouting could be heard.
The game and dinner were already over, but the guests had not yet left. Pierre took off his cloak and entered the first room, where the remains of dinner were standing and one footman, thinking that no one was seeing him, was secretly finishing off unfinished glasses. From the third room you could hear fuss, laughter, screams of familiar voices and the roar of a bear.
About eight young people crowded anxiously around open window. The three were busy with a young bear, which one was dragging on a chain, frightening the other with it.
- I'll give Stevens a hundred! - one shouted.
- Be careful not to support! - shouted another.
- I am for Dolokhov! - shouted the third. - Take them apart, Kuragin.
- Well, leave Mishka, there’s a bet here.
“One spirit, otherwise it’s lost,” shouted the fourth.
- Yakov, give me a bottle, Yakov! - shouted the owner himself, a tall handsome man standing in the middle of the crowd wearing only a thin shirt open at the middle of his chest. - Stop, gentlemen. Here he is Petrusha, dear friend,” he turned to Pierre.
Another voice of a short man with clear blue eyes, which was especially striking among all these drunken voices with its sober expression, shouted from the window: “Come here - settle the bet!” It was Dolokhov, a Semyonov officer, a famous gambler and brigand who lived with Anatole. Pierre smiled, looking around him cheerfully.
- I don’t understand anything. What's the matter?
- Wait, he's not drunk. Give me the bottle,” said Anatole and, taking a glass from the table, approached Pierre.
- First of all, drink.
Pierre began drinking glass after glass, looking from under his brows at the drunken guests who were again crowded at the window, and listening to their conversation. Anatole poured him wine and told him that Dolokhov was betting with the Englishman Stevens, a sailor who was here, that he, Dolokhov, would drink a bottle of rum while sitting on the third floor window with his legs hanging out.
- Well, drink it all! - said Anatole, handing the last glass to Pierre, - otherwise I won’t let you in!
“No, I don’t want to,” Pierre said, pushing Anatole away and went to the window.
Dolokhov held the Englishman’s hand and clearly, distinctly spelled out the terms of the bet, addressing mainly Anatole and Pierre.
Dolokhov was a man of average height, with curly hair and light blue eyes. He was about twenty-five years old. He did not wear a mustache, like all infantry officers, and his mouth, the most striking feature of his face, was completely visible. The lines of this mouth were remarkably finely curved. In the middle, the upper lip energetically dropped onto the strong lower lip like a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles constantly formed in the corners, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent look, it created such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face. Dolokhov was a poor man, without any connections. And despite the fact that Anatole lived in tens of thousands, Dolokhov lived with him and managed to position himself in such a way that Anatole and everyone who knew them respected Dolokhov more than Anatole. Dolokhov played all the games and almost always won. No matter how much he drank, he never lost his clarity of mind. Both Kuragin and Dolokhov at that time were celebrities in the world of rakes and revelers in St. Petersburg.
A bottle of rum was brought; the frame that did not allow anyone to sit on the outer slope of the window was broken out by two footmen, apparently in a hurry and timid from the advice and shouts of the surrounding gentlemen.
Anatole walked up to the window with his victorious look. He wanted to break something. He pushed the lackeys away and pulled the frame, but the frame did not give up. He broke the glass.
“Well, how are you, strong man,” he turned to Pierre.
Pierre took hold of the crossbars, pulled, and with a crash the oak frame turned out.
“Get out, otherwise they’ll think I’m holding on,” said Dolokhov.
“The Englishman is bragging... huh?... good?...” said Anatole.
“Okay,” said Pierre, looking at Dolokhov, who, taking a bottle of rum in his hands, approached the window, from which one could see the light of the sky and the morning and evening dawn merging on it.
Dolokhov, with a bottle of rum in his hand, jumped up onto the window. "Listen!"
he shouted, standing on the windowsill and turning into the room. Everyone fell silent.
- I bet (he spoke French so that an Englishman could understand him, and did not speak this language very well). I bet you fifty imperials, would you like a hundred? - he added, turning to the Englishman.
“No, fifty,” said the Englishman.
- Okay, for fifty imperials - that I will drink the entire bottle of rum without taking it from my mouth, I will drink it while sitting outside the window, right here (he bent down and showed the sloping ledge of the wall outside the window) and without holding on to anything... So? ...
“Very good,” said the Englishman.
Anatole turned to the Englishman and, taking him by the button of his tailcoat and looking down at him (the Englishman was short), began repeating to him the terms of the bet in English.
- Wait! - Dolokhov shouted, banging the bottle on the window to attract attention. - Wait, Kuragin; listen. If anyone does the same, then I pay one hundred imperials. Do you understand?
The Englishman nodded his head, making it impossible to understand whether he intended to accept this new bet or not. Anatole did not let go of the Englishman and, despite the fact that he nodded, letting him know that he understood everything, Anatole translated Dolokhov’s words to him in English. A young thin boy, a life hussar, who had lost that evening, climbed onto the window, leaned out and looked down.
“Uh!... uh!... uh!...” he said, looking out the window at the stone sidewalk.
- Attention! - Dolokhov shouted and pulled the officer from the window, who, entangled in his spurs, awkwardly jumped into the room.
Having placed the bottle on the windowsill so that it would be convenient to get it, Dolokhov carefully and quietly climbed out the window. Dropping his legs and leaning both hands on the edges of the window, he measured himself, sat down, lowered his hands, moved to the right, to the left and took out a bottle. Anatole brought two candles and put them on the windowsill, although it was already quite light. Dolokhov's back in a white shirt and his curly head were illuminated from both sides. Everyone crowded around the window. The Englishman stood in front. Pierre smiled and said nothing. One of those present, older than the others, with a frightened and angry face, suddenly moved forward and wanted to grab Dolokhov by the shirt.
- Gentlemen, this is nonsense; he will be killed to death,” said this more prudent man.
Anatole stopped him:
“Don’t touch it, you’ll scare him and he’ll kill himself.” Eh?... What then?... Eh?...
Dolokhov turned around, straightening himself and again spreading his arms.
“If anyone bothers me again,” he said, rarely letting the words slip through his clenched and thin lips, - I’ll bring him down here now. Well!…
Having said “well”!, he turned again, let go of his hands, took the bottle and brought it to his mouth, threw his head back and threw his free hand up for leverage. One of the footmen, who began to pick up the glass, stopped in a bent position, not taking his eyes off the window and Dolokhov’s back. Anatole stood straight, eyes open. The Englishman, his lips thrust forward, looked from the side. The one who stopped him ran to the corner of the room and lay down on the sofa facing the wall. Pierre covered his face, and a weak smile, forgotten, remained on his face, although it now expressed horror and fear. Everyone was silent. Pierre took his hands away from his eyes: Dolokhov was still sitting in the same position, only his head was bent back, so that the curly hair of the back of his head touched the collar of his shirt, and the hand with the bottle rose higher and higher, shuddering and making an effort. The bottle was apparently emptied and at the same time rose, bending its head. “What’s taking so long?” thought Pierre. It seemed to him that more than half an hour had passed. Suddenly Dolokhov made a movement back with his back, and his hand trembled nervously; this shudder was enough to move the entire body sitting on the sloping slope. He shifted all over, and his hand and head trembled even more, making an effort. One hand rose to grab the window sill, but dropped again. Pierre closed his eyes again and told himself that he would never open them. Suddenly he felt that everything around him was moving. He looked: Dolokhov was standing on the windowsill, his face was pale and cheerful.
- Empty!
He threw the bottle to the Englishman, who deftly caught it. Dolokhov jumped from the window. He smelled strongly of rum.
- Great! Well done! So bet! Damn you completely! - they shouted from different sides.
The Englishman took out his wallet and counted out the money. Dolokhov frowned and was silent. Pierre jumped onto the window.
Gentlemen! Who wants to bet with me? “I’ll do the same,” he suddenly shouted. “And there’s no need for a bet, that’s what.” They told me to give him a bottle. I'll do it... tell me to give it.
- Let it go, let it go! – said Dolokhov, smiling.
- What you? are you crazy? Who will let you in? “Your head is spinning even on the stairs,” they spoke from different sides.
- I'll drink it, give me a bottle of rum! - Pierre shouted, hitting the table with a decisive and drunken gesture, and climbed out the window.
They grabbed him by the arms; but he was so strong that he pushed the one who approached him far away.
“No, you can’t persuade him like that for anything,” said Anatole, “wait, I’ll deceive him.” Look, I bet you, but tomorrow, and now we're all going to hell.
“We’re going,” Pierre shouted, “we’re going!... And we’re taking Mishka with us...
And he grabbed the bear, and, hugging and lifting it, began to spin around the room with it.

Prince Vasily fulfilled the promise made at the evening at Anna Pavlovna's to Princess Drubetskaya, who asked him for her only son Boris. He was reported to the sovereign, and, unlike others, he was transferred to the Semenovsky Guard Regiment as an ensign. But Boris was never appointed as an adjutant or under Kutuzov, despite all the efforts and machinations of Anna Mikhailovna. Soon after Anna Pavlovna's evening, Anna Mikhailovna returned to Moscow, straight to her rich relatives Rostov, with whom she stayed in Moscow and with whom her beloved Borenka, who had just been promoted to the army and was immediately transferred to guards ensigns, had been raised and lived for years since childhood. The Guard had already left St. Petersburg on August 10, and the son, who remained in Moscow for uniforms, was supposed to catch up with her on the road to Radzivilov.
The Rostovs had a birthday girl, Natalya, a mother and a younger daughter. In the morning, without ceasing, the trains drove up and drove off, bringing congratulators to the big city, all of Moscow famous house Countess Rostova on Povarskaya. Countess with a beautiful eldest daughter and the guests, who never ceased replacing one another, sat in the living room.
The Countess was a woman with an oriental type of thin face, about forty-five years old, apparently exhausted by children, of whom she had twelve. The slowness of her movements and speech, resulting from weakness of strength, gave her a significant appearance that inspired respect. Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya, as home person, sat right there, helping in the matter of receiving and engaging in conversation with guests. The youth were in the back rooms, not finding it necessary to participate in receiving visits. The Count met and saw off the guests, inviting everyone to dinner.
“I am very, very grateful to you, ma chere or mon cher [my dear or my dear] (ma chere or mon cher he said to everyone without exception, without the slightest shade, both above and below him) for himself and for the dear birthday girls . Look, come and have lunch. You will offend me, mon cher. I sincerely ask you on behalf of the whole family, ma chere.” He spoke these words with the same expression on his full, cheerful, clean-shaven face and with an equally strong handshake and repeated short bows to everyone, without exception or change. Having seen off one guest, the count returned to whoever was still in the living room; having pulled up his chairs and with the air of a man who loves and knows how to live, with his legs gallantly spread and his hands on his knees, he swayed significantly, offered guesses about the weather, consulted about health, sometimes in Russian, sometimes in very bad, but self-confident French, and again, with the air of a tired but firm man in the performance of his duties, he went to see him off, straightening his rare gray hair on a bald head, and again called for dinner. Sometimes, returning from the hallway, he walked through the flower and waiter's room into a large marble hall, where a table for eighty couverts was being set, and, looking at the waiters wearing silver and porcelain, arranging tables and unrolling damask tablecloths, he called Dmitry Vasilyevich, a nobleman, to him. who was taking care of all his affairs, and said: “Well, well, Mitenka, make sure everything is fine. “Well, well,” he said, looking around with pleasure at the huge spread-out table. – The main thing is serving. This and that...” And he left, sighing complacently, back into the living room.
- Marya Lvovna Karagina with her daughter! - the huge countess's footman reported in a bass voice as he entered the living room door.
The Countess thought and sniffed from a golden snuffbox with a portrait of her husband.
“These visits tormented me,” she said. - Well, I’ll take her last one. Very prim. “Beg,” she said to the footman in a sad voice, as if she was saying: “Well, finish it off!”
A tall, plump, proudly looking lady with a round-faced, smiling daughter, rustling their dresses, entered the living room.
“Chere comtesse, il y a si longtemps... elle a ete alitee la pauvre enfant... au bal des Razoumowsky... et la comtesse Apraksine... j"ai ete si heureuse..." [Dear Countess, how long ago... she should have been in bed, poor child... at the Razumovskys' ball... and Countess Apraksina... was so happy...] lively voices were heard women's voices, interrupting one another and merging with the noise of dresses and the moving of chairs. That conversation began, which is started just enough so that at the first pause you can stand up, rustle with your dresses, and say: “Je suis bien charmee; la sante de maman... et la comtesse Apraksine" [I am in admiration; mother’s health... and Countess Apraksina] and, again rustling with dresses, go into the hallway, put on a fur coat or cloak and leave. The conversation turned to the main city news of that time - about the illness of the famous rich and handsome man of Catherine's time, old Count Bezukhy, and about his illegitimate son Pierre, who behaved so indecently at an evening with Anna Pavlovna Scherer.
“I really feel sorry for the poor count,” said the guest, “his health is already bad, and now this grief from his son will kill him!”
- What's happened? - asked the countess, as if not knowing what the guest was talking about, although she had already heard the reason for Count Bezukhy’s grief fifteen times.
- This is the current upbringing! “Even abroad,” said the guest, “this young man was left to his own devices, and now in St. Petersburg, they say, he did such horrors that he was expelled from there with the police.
- Tell! - said the countess.
“He chose his acquaintances poorly,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened. - The son of Prince Vasily, he and Dolokhov alone, they say, God knows what they were doing. And both were hurt. Dolokhov was demoted to the ranks of soldiers, and Bezukhy’s son was exiled to Moscow. Anatoly Kuragin - his father somehow hushed him up. But they did deport me from St. Petersburg.
- What the hell did they do? – asked the Countess.
“These are perfect robbers, especially Dolokhov,” said the guest. - He is the son of Marya Ivanovna Dolokhova, such a respectable lady, so what? You can imagine: the three of them found a bear somewhere, put it in a carriage and took it to the actresses. The police came running to calm them down. They caught the policeman and tied him back to back to the bear and let the bear into the Moika; the bear is swimming, and the policeman is on him.
“The policeman’s figure is good, ma chere,” shouted the count, dying of laughter.
- Oh, what a horror! What's there to laugh about, Count?
But the ladies couldn’t help but laugh themselves.
“They saved this unfortunate man by force,” the guest continued. “And it’s the son of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov who is playing so cleverly!” – she added. “They said he was so well-mannered and smart.” This is where all my upbringing abroad has led me. I hope that no one will accept him here, despite his wealth. They wanted to introduce him to me. I resolutely refused: I have daughters.
- Why do you say that this young man is so rich? - asked the countess, bending down from the girls, who immediately pretended not to listen. - After all, he only has illegitimate children. It seems... Pierre is also illegal.
The guest waved her hand.
“He has twenty illegal ones, I think.”
Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened in the conversation, apparently wanting to show off her connections and her knowledge of all social circumstances.
“That’s the thing,” she said significantly and also in a half-whisper. – The reputation of Count Kirill Vladimirovich is known... He lost count of his children, but this Pierre was beloved.
“How good the old man was,” said the countess, “even last year!” More beautiful than a man I haven't seen it.
“Now he’s changed a lot,” said Anna Mikhailovna. “So I wanted to say,” she continued, “through his wife, Prince Vasily is the direct heir to the entire estate, but his father loved Pierre very much, was involved in his upbringing and wrote to the sovereign... so no one knows if he dies (he is so bad that they are waiting for it) every minute, and Lorrain arrived from St. Petersburg), who will get this huge fortune, Pierre or Prince Vasily. Forty thousand souls and millions. I know this very well, because Prince Vasily himself told me this. And Kirill Vladimirovich is my second cousin on my mother’s side. “He baptized Borya,” she added, as if not attributing any significance to this circumstance.
– Prince Vasily arrived in Moscow yesterday. He’s going for an inspection, they told me,” the guest said.
“Yes, but, entre nous, [between us],” said the princess, “this is an excuse, he actually came to Count Kirill Vladimirovich, having learned that he was so bad.”
“However, ma chere, this is a nice thing,” said the count and, noticing that the eldest guest was not listening to him, he turned to the young ladies. – The policeman had a good figure, I imagine.
And he, imagining how the policeman waved his hands, laughed again with a sonorous and deep laugh that shook his entire being. full body how people who always ate well and especially drank laugh. “So, please, come and have dinner with us,” he said.

There was silence. The Countess looked at the guest, smiling pleasantly, however, without hiding the fact that she would not be at all upset now if the guest got up and left. The guest's daughter was already straightening her dress, looking questioningly at her mother, when suddenly from the next room several men and women were heard running towards the door. female legs, the crash of a chair being caught and knocked over, and a thirteen-year-old girl ran into the room, wrapping her short muslin skirt around something, and stopped in the middle of the room. It was obvious that she accidentally, with an uncalculated run, ran so far. At the same moment a student with a crimson collar, a guards officer, a fifteen-year-old girl and a fat, ruddy boy in a children's jacket appeared at the door.
The count jumped up and, swaying, spread his arms wide around the running girl.