What is the attitude towards the Derzhavin personally. Gavrila Derzhavin - politician and conservative - Russian idea

Everyone knows Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin as a poet; there is a colossal literature about him. But they know and write about him, for obvious reasons, almost exclusively as a great Russian poet, to a much lesser extent - as a statesman. Meanwhile, Derzhavin was one of the first Russian conservatives, with all the advantages and disadvantages inherent in this direction.

The outer outline of Derzhavin's biography is fairly well known. His conservative position took shape during the reign of Alexander I. The views and political practice of the mature Derzhavin testify that he shared a number of the main components of the emerging conservatism (the need for strong autocratic power that limited the interests of the Westernizing and cosmopolitan-minded upper aristocracy, the rejection of liberal transformations, the defense of the class division of society and serfdom law, the fight against Westernism in the form of gallomania, the search for an original way of development of Russia in the field of culture, Russian nationalism, which manifested itself especially prominently in his attitude to the Polish and Jewish issues) and consistently pursued them in his state and social activities. Thus, he is one of the "fathers" - the founders of Russian conservatism, along with N.M. Karamzin, A.S. Shishkov, F.V. Rostopchin and S.N. Glinka. The biography of Derzhavin the conservative deserves monographic coverage, it is quite extensive, so it is worth dwelling only on the most important episodes of his political and intellectual biography, which vividly characterize him precisely as a representative of the “right camp” of his time.

One of the rather acute problems of the beginning of the reign of Alexander I was the Jewish question, which affected the interests of that part of the Jews who lived in the territories that were part of Russian Empire after the division of Poland. Derzhavin accepted the most Active participation in attempts to resolve it, and his position had a conservative-nationalist coloring. Even under Paul I in 1800, he was sent to Belarus in order, on the one hand, to take measures against hunger, and on the other, to study the Jewish question on the spot. As a result of the trip, Derzhavin drew up a note "The opinion of Senator Derzhavin on the aversion in Belarus of the lack of bread by curbing the mercenary crafts of the Jews, on their transformation, and so on." In it, Derzhavin portrayed the Jews as the main culprits in the plight of the peasantry and proposed to expel them from the villages and prohibit them from selling grain, distilling and renting landowners' estates. However, he noted that not only the Jews were to blame for the difficult economic situation of the peasants, but also the Polish landlords, who did not care enough about the well-being of their peasants. Derzhavin also gave a sharply negative assessment of Jewish culture and customs, the internal community organization of the Jewish community, and the system of Jewish religious education, which, in his opinion, fosters an extremely negative attitude towards Christianity. Derzhavin's main practical conclusion was to fully assimilate Russian Jewry.

The significance of Derzhavin's "Opinion" in the historical literature is assessed in different ways. For example, the Israeli researcher J. Klier calls this document "grand" and claims that it served as a source of "information, albeit inaccurate, for the reformers of subsequent generations" and "a catalyst for an important reform attempt under Alexander I" . It was Derzhavin who was the first high-ranking state official who formulated the "Jewish question" in Russia. This view of the Jews "dominated official attitude and public opinion throughout the nineteenth century." Klier clearly exaggerated both the role of "Opinion" in government policy and its influence on the formation of the anti-Semitic discourse of the later Black Hundreds. It should be noted that Derzhavin, first of all, proposed measures aimed at nothing less than changing the worldview, customs and traditions of the Jews, first of all, introducing them to Christian culture, giving a secular character to the Jewish education system. It should be emphasized that his assimilation project was based on the projects of "Jewish reform", previously put forward by J. Frank and N. Notkin, who broke with Judaism and converted to Christianity.

Derzhavin sharply negatively assessed such a liberal measure as the issuance of a law on free cultivators (1803), since he believed that from the liberation of the peasants from serfdom, “in the current state of public education, no state good will come of it, but, on the contrary, the harm that the mob will turn freedom into self-will and will cause many troubles. However, he did not defend serfdom as an inviolable principle, as much as he considered the question of the emancipation of the peasants untimely. In one version of his will, which was written by him already in retirement, Derzhavin expressed the desire that all his serfs and peasants, on the basis of the decree of 1803, be converted into free cultivators.

In early October 1803, Alexander I published a rescript in which, under the pretext of violations in the conduct of affairs in the office of the Minister of Justice, Derzhavin was relieved of his post as Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, while remaining a member of the Senate and the State Council. During a personal meeting with Alexander I, when asked by Derzhavin about the reasons for disgrace, the emperor said: “You serve too zealously,” after which the flaming Derzhavin refused to be present in the Council and the Senate and asked him to be completely dismissed from service. October 7, 1803 was followed by a personal decree on his dismissal, which put an end to Derzhavin's career as statesman.

Derzhavin considered the machinations of his enemies to be the main reason for his resignation. First of all, he considered as such the "young friends" of the emperor (Unspoken Committee), whom he called nothing more than a "Jacobin gang", saturated with the "French and Polish constitutional spirit."

After his resignation, Derzhavin concentrated on literary and social activities, and he did an exceptionally lot for the formation of the Russian conservative "party". The peak of his activity in the conservative camp came in 1807-1812. It was a time when "failures in foreign policy(Austerlitz, Tilsit) caused a huge surge of patriotic sentiment. Russia turned to the search for national landmarks capable of consolidating society around the throne. Their core was seen in the past - from antiquity to Catherine's time. In these public quests, one of the main intellectual forces was Russian Academy, in which A.S. Shishkov and G.R. Derzhavin. On their initiative, some members of the Academy formed a literary association of Russian conservatives, its core was the so-called "archaic" writers. So there was a "Conversation of lovers of the Russian word." "Conversation" set as its main goal the fight against gallomania - the then dominant form of Russian Westernism, an unprecedented hobby French and culture, and on the eve great war with Napoleon.

The prehistory of the "Conversations" began in January 1807, when Shishkov proposed to Derzhavin to organize weekly literary evenings. They began to take place from February of the same year, on Saturdays, alternately at the apartments of G.R. Derzhavin, A.S. Shishkova, I.S. Zakharov and A.S. Khvostov. Derzhavin, along with Shishkov, was the second most important initiator of the creation of "Conversations". At the meetings of "Conversations" they read their works in addition to Derzhavin, I.A. Krylov, N.I. Gnedich, S.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov and others, and the conversations were not only about literature, but also about current politics. Friendly meetings gradually took organizational forms. The idea to finally transform the readings into public ones and formalize them legally arose in 1810.

The first ceremonial meeting of "Conversations" and the first readings followed on March 14, 1811 in Derzhavin's house, who redecorated a separate hall for meetings and donated books for the "Conversations" library for 3,000 rubles. A.S. Shishkov ensured that Emperor Alexander I himself was invited to the first meeting (although he never appeared). By the first meeting of the "Conversations" composer D.S. Bortnyansky, who was close to Empress Maria Feodorovna, at Derzhavin's suggestion, wrote a congratulatory cantata Orpheus Meeting the Sun, which was performed according to the planned program by singers from the court chapel. There is an opinion that the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna patronized the Shishkov-Derzhavin circle and shared their conservative beliefs. Members of this literary group visited her palace in Pavlovsk and read their works.

In the notes of A.S. Sturdza describes in detail the everyday details of the Conversations meetings: “The medium-sized hall, furnished with beautiful yellow marble columns, seemed even more elegant with the brilliance of luxurious lighting. For listeners, rows of well-designed seats rose in ledges around the hall. In the middle of the temple of the Muses was placed a huge oblong table, covered with a green thin cloth. The members of the Conversation were sitting near the table under the chairmanship of Derzhavin, at whose beckon an entertaining reading aloud, and often exemplary, began and alternated.

The organization of society was carefully thought out. "Conversation" initially consisted of 24 full members and of collaborating members, "who, in their decrepit places, become full members." To maintain order in the readings, it was divided into four categories. A.S. Shishkov, G.R. Derzhavin, A.S. Khvostov and I.S. Zakharov. In addition to the chairman, each category had five more full members. Trustees were appointed over the chairmen at the head of each category: P.V. Zavadovsky, N.S. Mordvinov, A.K. Razumovsky and I.I. Dmitriev (the first is a former, and the rest are current ministers). Among the full members of the "Conversation" belonged I.A. Krylov, S.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, A.N. Olenin, D.I. Khvostov, A.F. Labzin, A.A. Shakhovskaya and others. Among the 33 honorary members were Commander-in-Chief S.K. Vyazmitinov, F.V. Rostopchin, P.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, A.N. Golitsyn, M.M. Speransky, V.A. Ozerov, M.L. Magnitsky, S.S. Uvarov, V.V. Kapnist, N.M. Karamzin, A.I. Musin-Pushkin, St. Petersburg Metropolitan Ambrose (Podobedov), Bishop of Vologda Evgeny Bolkhovitinov. Emperor Alexander I never appeared at the meetings of the society, despite persistent invitations.

This kind of “pluralistic” composition of the “Conversation”, which consisted of persons belonging to various political and literary groups and trends, who previously often were in hostile relations with each other, suggests that one of the undeclared goals of the “Conversation” was to unite former ideological opponents in an atmosphere of a sharp increase in the threat from Napoleonic France.

Literary activity of "Conversations" in the XIX-XX centuries. often rated very low. Today, the most authoritative researcher of the activities of the Conversations, M. G. Altshuller, characterized its main composition in a completely different way: “We have before us an association that had first-class literary forces. At the head of "Conversations" were such great personalities and talented writers as Shishkov and Derzhavin. An important role in it was played by I.A. Krylov. Among its members we see such talented writers as Shakhovskoy, Shikhmatov, Kapnist, Gorchakov, Grech, Bunina, Gnedich (who did not formally belong to Beseda), etc. The association included prominent scientists and public figures: Mordvinov, Olenin, Bolkhovitinov, Vostokov and others. Almost the entire metropolitan intelligentsia often attended the meetings of the Conversations. She enjoyed demonstrative support Orthodox Church; thus, in January 1812, all the members of the Holy Synod visited Beseda. During the war the meetings were interrupted, but continued after the war. Meetings of "Conversations" gathered up to several hundred people.

It was thanks to his work in Beseda that Derzhavin's like-minded and friend Shishkov received Patriotic War 1812 post of Secretary of the Council of State. After the war, when Alexander I took a course towards the creation of a common Christian state and ecumenism in confessional politics, the significance of the conservative-nationalist "Conversations" was bound to decrease sharply. In 1816, following the death of G.R. Derzhavin, who died on July 9, 1816 in the village of Zvanka, Novgorod province, "Conversation" ceased to exist.

Khvostov D.I. Notes on Literature / Publ. A.V. Zapadova // Literary archive. Issue 1. M.; L., 1938.

Altshuller M.G. Conversation of lovers of the Russian word. At the origins of Russian Slavophilism. M., 2007. C.57-58.

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Great Russian poet late XVIII century, one of the titans of the mighty Russian word, who played a huge role in the liberation of Russian literature from the outdated norms of classicism, as well as in the formation of elements of the future realistic style. The place of the poet in Russian literature was very accurately determined by V. G. Belinsky: “A new period of Russian poetry begins with Derzhavin, and just as Lomonosov was her first name, so Derzhavin was the second. In the person of Derzhavin, Russian poetry has taken a great step forward.

The historical merit of the poet is his introduction into poetry of the “ordinary poetic word”. For Derzhavin, the framework of the three styles established by Lomonosov became narrow. He removed them and, according to A. V. Zapadov, “thereby ... introduced colloquial Russian into poetry and energetically contributed to the strengthening of the national-democratic foundations of our literary language.”

Derzhavin's civil odes are addressed to persons endowed with great political power: monarchs, nobles. In them, the poet rises not only to laudatory, but also accusatory pathos. In the ode “Felitsa”, Derzhavin the Enlightener sees in the monarch a person to whom society has entrusted the care of the welfare of citizens, therefore the right to be a monarch imposes numerous duties on the ruler in relation to the people. Derzhavin's innovation in this ode is not only in the interpretation of the image of an enlightened monarch, but also in the bold combination of laudatory and accusatory principles - ode and satire. This connection is a phenomenon of enlightenment literature, because the enlighteners understood the life of society as a constant struggle between truth and error.

The analyzed work of G. R. Derzhavin was inspired by the author by Ekaterina herself. The Empress wrote The Tale of Tsarevich Chlor, dedicated to the future heir, the ideas of which Derzhavin develops in his ode.

"Felitsa" - wearing innovative. Derzhavin's innovation lies in the fact that he did not use elements of ancient mythology; in addition, the appearance of the author's "I" in the ode was poetic courage; the image of the monarchine is interpreted in a new way: instead of the solemnly heavy image of the “earth goddess”, the poet skillfully portrayed Catherine both as a ruler and as a private person. Derzhavin tries to reveal inner world the heroines of the ode, her temper, habits, emphasize such features as democracy, simplicity, modesty, friendliness to subjects, combined with an outstanding mind and talent as a statesman; the laudatory ode turns out to be at the same time a sharp satire: the “virtuous” image of Felitsa is opposed to the image of the vicious Murza. This leads to an unprecedented genre originality in Russian literature before Derzhavin: an ode-satire. Derzhavin's courage lies in the fact that, within the framework of a solemn ode, he brought together the pathetic and the comic.

The new character of the work required a special language: "a funny Russian style," as Derzhavin defines it. The novelty of the language of the ode lies in the following features: breaking the linguistic hierarchy of classicism; a mixture of high and low in the language of the poet, the use of light, playfully colloquial speech, directly opposite to the deliberately elevated style of Lomonosov.

The ode "Felitsa" depicts the queen on a completely new, undivine scale. In the image of Derzhavin, the queen appears before the reader as follows:

Without imitating your Murzas, You often walk on foot, And the simplest food Happens at your table; Not cherishing your peace, You read, write before the deposit...

In this stanza, the queen is described as a respectable, hardworking person, which differs in this from her lazy, carefree subjects, who often indulge in gluttony, who love pleasure at the expense of useful activity.

You alone are only decent. Princess! create light from darkness; Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously, Strengthen their integrity with the Union.

The ode is permeated with admiration for the queen, to whom Derzhavin initially developed a special relationship.

Place of birth G.R. Derzhavin has not yet been precisely established. It is known that he came from small estate nobles and at one time carried guard duty as a simple soldier. Having been admitted to high society, where people of his origin rarely got, he claimed that he allegedly descended from a noble ancestor - the Tatar Murza Bagrim.

In an autobiographical note, already in his declining years, G.R. Derzhavin noted: “Former Secretary of State under Empress Catherine the Second, Senator and President of the Collegium of Commerce, then under Emperor Paul a member of the Supreme Council and State Treasurer, and under Emperor Alexander Minister of Justice, Acting Privy Councilor and holder of various orders...” However, in this note, he is silent about the fact that he was a governor and a participant in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising, that he was often sent to check the malicious activities of high-ranking officials in various parts of Russia, and he checked scrupulously, for which he caused discontent not only checked, but also the empress. Being close enough to the court, he did not amass for himself, like others, any wealth, but he earned an honest name and the right to speak with the reigning persons exclusively in Derzhavin-style: with the highest respect and at the same time with extreme independence.

He especially idolized Catherine II. In the ode Felitsa, Derzhavin created a portrait of such an empress that Russia could be proud of. Catherine was flattered by this, but she probably did not set the goal of achieving perfection, considering herself perfection without that. Here is how the poet and life researcher G.R. Derzhavina Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich: “... He sang Catherine better than she was: he kept hoping that the original would want to resemble a portrait.<...>He went to this for the sake of love, for the sake of the ideal living in his soul, and finally - for the sake of pride and stubbornness, so as not to show himself defeated, and his faith - ridiculous. But they demanded from him a complete, rude, courtly lie: so that he invariably saw one thing - and yet sang another. So that he sang the goddess, not taking his eyes off the empress, who day after day on purpose, stubbornly shows him that she is not a goddess and does not want to be a goddess - except in his poems.

Not receiving a good resignation, he gradually came to the conclusion that he was not averse to getting it, angering Catherine ...

Suvorov is one of the most frequent characters among Russian military leaders. And the most revered by Derzhavin. In the poet’s poems, he is firmly merged with the Russian warriors (the poem “On the capture of Ishmael”), he is independent and proud (the poem “On Suvorov’s stay in the Tauride Palace”), he is a “brave hero” (the poem “Snigir”), an epitaph is about him "On the Death of Suvorov". But perhaps the most striking, lofty words are found by Derzhavin to recreate the image of Suvorov in the poem "To Victory in Italy":

Brought up in fires, in ices,
Leader of the storms of the midnight people,
The ninth shaft in the sea waves,
A star that has passed the path of the world,
Which is the trace of the fire of the line,
Pavlov's sword, the shield of the kings of Europe,
Prince of Glory! - Behold, Suvorov, you!

On October 24, 1794, Suvorov took Warsaw. Derzhavin wrote a quatrain on this occasion, which he then expanded into an ode that was hyperbolic to the extreme.<...>Catherine looked through the manuscript, did not understand anything, but, believing that everything was as it should be and tending to her glory, she ordered the ode to be printed, so that she could then sell it in favor of some widows. When her entourage explained that Derzhavin's poems were pure "Jacobinism", all the 3,000 printed copies were "locked in the office", so that the author did not receive a single one. Catherine was unhappy. Derzhavin knew the circumstances of the case and could easily justify himself, but he did not justify himself: Catherine's annoyance, even if unfounded, was part of his calculations.

Derzhavin constantly tried to fight embezzlement and bribery. Still quite young. Derzhavin wrote to the Kazan Governor Brant on June 4, 1774: “... Bribes must be eradicated. To speak about the eradication of this infection, therefore, I will put myself for my due, that the difference of the opus most of all, in my thoughts, contributes to the evil that torments our fatherland.

Having been appointed president of the Kommern-kollegin, Derzhavin conducted the collegium in such a way that he soon discovered abuses. Catherine did not like such people and ordered to tell Derzhavin that from now on he would only be listed in his position, “without interfering in anything” ...

What was not allowed to the official found a place in creativity. Poems were born that did not add to Derzhavin's love among the flatterers, not about Russia, but only about themselves, the courtiers who were baking.

Derzhavin was a staunch supporter of the monarchy. But an enlightened monarchy, supporting education and caring for the state's good and good. He thought that with the help of poetry he could positively influence the monarchs. He told them the truth, thinking that it would be heard, and seemed strange to many. But without such "strange" poets and servants of the sovereign, our history and literature would have become much poorer.

Questions and tasks

1. Tell about public service Derzhavin. Why couldn't she be successful for him?
2. How do you imagine the personality of G.R. Derzhavin?
3. What, in your opinion, were strengths beliefs and character of Derzhavin? In what life situations did they manifest themselves most clearly?
4. What is your personal attitude towards Derzhavin?

Writing

The reputation of a poet develops during his lifetime. A real understanding of his poetry and its place in literary development determined and determined by history. A vivid illustration of this pattern is the work of Derzhavin.

Glory came to Derzhavin suddenly in 1783, when in the first issue of the magazine "Interlocutor of lovers Russian word"His ode" Felitsa "was printed. The Empress liked the poem addressed to Catherine II, the author was awarded a golden snuffbox and 500 gold pieces.

This happened at the time of the growing crisis of classicism, when the ode became obsolete. The rules of normative poetics obligated to follow models (in Russia, in fact, to imitate the odes of Lomonosov).

Derzhavin, on the other hand, acted as a daring destroyer of the aesthetic system of classicism, a bold innovator who opened new paths for Russian poetry.

What did Derzhavin do? "You have chosen the path untrodden and new." And along this path, his originality manifested itself: while maintaining a lofty theme - singing the “virtues” of the Empress, he abandoned rhetoric and expressed his personal attitude towards Catherine II and her entourage in a simple syllable: “You knew how to exalt yourself among us with simplicity.”

His early odes, especially the famous "Felitsa," also contain an inflated solemn praise of the queen for the high virtue of her reign. Of the 26 ten lines of "Felitsa" (a lyrical meditation in 260 verses"), 19 express such extended and largely monotonous praises.

But the author of this ode began to create at a time when the supra-personality of civil thinking, characteristic of “orthodox” classicism, was already beginning to be lost, when a differentiation of the personal principle, excited by the beginning crisis of the old class society and its power, was already emerging in it. This led to significant shifts in the sphere of artistic “worldview”, to overcoming its civil-moralistic abstractness and, in particular, to a significant increase in subject representation in the genre of civil ode. Derzhavin acted here as an innovative poet - he amazed his contemporaries by introducing motifs of a humorous depiction of private life into this "high" and solemn genre.

In “Felitsa”, after 4 stanzas of the introduction and the first praises of the strict life of the queen, in contrast to them, 7 stanzas follow, containing a slightly mocking image of the free and carefree life of the lyrical subject herself, one of the queen’s close associates, and in hints - and her nobles. In these stanzas, objective depiction arises when reproducing individual moments of the free life of nobles; it clearly prevails over meditativeness. But it is still subject to the general ironic intonation of the description. And even syntactically, as many as five stanzas of such a description are interconnected by anaphoric repetitions of the union “or” (“Or am I rich at a feast, / Where a holiday is given for me, / Where a table shines with silver and gold, / Where thousands of different dishes ... " , “Or in the middle of a beautiful grove, // In the gazebo, where the fountain is noisy ...”, etc.). And then, developing the same contrast, the poet again turns to long, forced and solemn doxologies to the queen and leads them in an abstract meditative way.