Biography

RYLEEV Kondraty Fedorovich, Russian poet, Decembrist.

The son of a poor nobleman, his father had a small estate in the St. Petersburg province. Ryleev was educated in the 1st Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. He was released from the corps in January 1814 as an artillery officer and participated in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1814–15. There is a legend that in Paris, Ryleev visited the famous fortune teller, who predicted his death by hanging. After the war, he lived with his company in the Vilna, then Voronezh provinces. He retired in 1818 with the rank of second lieutenant. In 1819, out of passionate love, he married the daughter of a Voronezh landowner N.M. Tevyasheva and settled in St. Petersburg, where he entered service in the chamber of the criminal court. Like some other liberal-minded contemporaries, Ryleev tried to “ennoble” the civil service, which was unpopular among the nobility, and use it to perform humane acts and fight for justice. While serving in court, Ryleev did many good deeds, helping the disadvantaged and oppressed. In the spring of 1824, Ryleev became the head of affairs in the office of the Russian-American Company and settled in a government house on the Moika embankment. Literary activity The defining personality traits of Ryleev were his ardent patriotism, desire for the freedom of the fatherland and a romantically sublime understanding of citizenship. His political views bore a touch of romantic utopianism. According to a colleague, Ryleev was obsessed with “equality and free-thinking.” This was the main motive of his poetic work. Ryleev sang civic virtues, was alien to a purely aesthetic attitude towards poetry (“I am not a poet, I am a citizen”), his heroes are freedom fighters. From 1819, he began to collaborate in various literary magazines, and became famous in 1820 with the publication of the poem “To the Temporary Worker,” which clearly denounced A. A. Arakcheev. Author of the collection “Dumas” (original in form poetic narratives about the glorious events of Russian history; one of the thoughts, “Ermak”, became a folk song), the poems “Voinarovsky”, “Nalivaiko”. Ryleev was a member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature and the Society of Competitors in Education and Charity. In 1823−25, together with his friend, writer and Decembrist A. A. Bestuzhev, he published the successful literary almanac “Polar Star”, which published the works of A. S. Pushkin, P. A. Vyazemsky, A. A. Delvig and others. In the fall of 1823, Ryleev was accepted by I. I. Pushchin into the Northern Society, and quickly became one of its most active members. At the end of 1824 he entered the directory of the Northern Society and actually headed it. In his views, Ryleev gravitated more toward the idea of ​​a republic than a constitutional monarchy, but did not attach much importance to the Decembrists’ disputes on this matter. He believed that the question of the form of government in Russia should be decided not by a secret society, but by a Constituent Assembly elected by the people, and the main task of the secret society was to achieve its convening. Ryleev also came up with the idea of ​​a compromise solution to the issue of the fate of the royal family: with the support of naval officers, take it on a ship to “foreign lands.” Ryleev even tried to found the council of the Northern Society in Kronstadt, but failed. In February 1824, Ryleev was wounded in a duel with Prince K. Ya. Shakhovsky (the reason for the duel was the hurt honor of Ryleev’s sister). In September 1825, Ryleev was a second in the sensational duel of his cousin and member of the secret society K.P. Chernov with V.D. Novosiltsev, which ended in the death of both participants. The news of the death of Alexander I took members of the Northern Society by surprise, who, in order to avoid discussing the issue of regicide, decided to time the revolutionary uprising to coincide with the death of the monarch. Ryleev became one of the initiators and leaders of the preparations for the uprising on December 14, 1825 on Senate Square. During the interregnum, he was ill with a sore throat, and his house became the center of meetings of conspirators who allegedly came to visit the sick man. Ryleev, while inspiring his comrades, could not effectively participate in the uprising himself, since he was a civilian. On the morning of December 14, he came to Senate Square, then left it and spent most of the day traveling around the city, trying to find out the situation in different regiments and find help. He was arrested at his home in the evening of the same day. Sentenced to death and hanged on July 13, 1826. Ryleev had a daughter and a son who died in infancy.

Ryleev Kondraty Fedorovich (1795-1826) - Russian poet, Decembrist, public figure. Born on September 18 (29), 1795 in the village of Batovo, St. Petersburg province. The father was of a noble family with a small estate. In 1801-1814. young Kondraty studied in the First Cadet Corps of St. Petersburg and received the rank of artillery officer. He began writing literary works under the impression of the victory over Napoleon. In 1814-1815 participated in military campaigns abroad as part of the Russian army. In the post-war period he served in the Vilna and Voronezh provinces.

In 1818 he left the service as a second lieutenant. A year later he began to actively publish in various literary magazines. In 1820 he married the daughter of the landowner N. Tevyasheva. From 1821 he sat in the St. Petersburg Criminal Chamber, and after 3 years he headed the office of the Russian-American Company.

Founded in 1823 with A. Bestuzhev the almanac “Polar Star”, which was published regularly for 3 years. He was a member of the Masonic lodge of St. Petersburg. In the same year he entered the Northern Society of Decembrists, and in 1824 he headed it. He advocated republican rule, but was against bloody reprisals against the monarch, so he proposed royal family take to distant lands.

In 1824-1825 worked on the poetry censorship committee. He was one of the organizers of the Decembrist uprising on December 14 (26), 1825. But direct participation in revolutionary events I didn’t accept him on Senate Square because I was no longer a military man. He was arrested that very day at his home, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death.

Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev was born on September 18 (29), 1795 in the village of Batovo, Sofia district, St. Petersburg province.

Early childhood

Father - Fyodor Andreevich Ryleev.

Mother - Anastasia Matveevna, née Essen.

Life was not easy for the family, because... Fyodor Andreevich loved to live “in grand style” and squandered two estates. If Batovo had not been given over to Anastasia Matveevna’s relatives at a low price, things could have reached complete poverty.

Before Kondraty, four children died in the family and the parents, in order to preserve their son’s poor health, on the advice of the priest, named him after the first person they met on the day they went to baptize the boy. He turned out to be a poor retired soldier, Kondraty, whom his parents took with them to church as their godfather.

The father was a very harsh man both towards the serfs and towards his wife. The boy was afraid of his father and cried often.

To spare Kondrasha from domestic scenes, Anastasia Matveevna’s relatives helped place him in the cadet corps in St. Petersburg.

In the cadet corps

When the boy was not yet six years old, he was brought to St. Petersburg. In January 1801, he was enrolled in the “preparatory class” of the 1st Cadet Corps.

Life at the educational institution was very difficult. The older pupils often offended the younger ones, and in the evenings Kondraty often cried, burying his head in the pillow. In addition, it was always cold in the large, poorly heated bedrooms, and the students slept under thin blankets and in winter even the smallest were dressed in thin overcoats. The boy missed home and his mother, but held on.

Years passed, and Ryleev gradually got used to military life and drill. He did not study brilliantly, but he tried to study all the subjects important for the future officer thoroughly. And of course he had no equal in literature. Ryleev acquired many friends who respected him for his exceptional honesty and justice. He endured all punishments stoically and never cried under the rods. It happened that he accepted someone else’s guilt.

During his studies, Kondraty became addicted to reading. He read everything he could get in the library or from friends, and more than once asked his father for money for books. But he considered this stupidity and very rarely and hostilely responded to his son’s letters.

The War of 1812 raised a storm of patriotism in the corps. The younger students were very jealous of the graduates who went to the front. They, too, were eager to defend the fatherland, followed all the news from the active army, heatedly discussed the defeats and victories of the Russian army and were afraid that they would not have time to join the ranks of those who defend Russia with their breasts.

In 1813, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, who was able to deploy Napoleon’s “invincible” army away from Russia, died. Ryleev, like all cadets, was struck by the death of the great military leader and wrote his ode “Love for the Fatherland” on this occasion. By this time, his “literary notebook” already contained several works about the war.

In February 1814, Ryleev also waited for his graduation. He was assigned to the 1st cavalry company of the 1st reserve artillery brigade.

The young warrant officer-poet entered life with the dream of becoming a loyal citizen of his homeland and, if necessary, without hesitation, giving his life for it!

Foreign trips

Since the spring of 1814, Ryleev participated in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army. He visited Poland, Saxony, Bavaria, France and other countries, met many new people, saw a different life and different morals. Knowing the common people only from stories and books, Ryleev for the first time saw ordinary soldiers next to him. He knew that these were great heroes who had driven the enemy out of native land. Now the poet saw how hard these heroes live. Ryleev was horrified by the 25-year service life of ordinary soldiers and the ruthless attitude of many officers towards them. A strong feeling of pity for ordinary people and a desire to help arose in his soul. Ryleev began to dream of a case that he could organize to protect ordinary people. But I still had no idea how I could do it.

During the campaign, Ryleev learned about the death of his father, who last years worked as a manager on the rich estate of the princes Golitsyn. After the death of Ryleev Sr., they stated that he left them a lot of money and took the case to court. As a result of the court decision, Batovo was arrested, and Kondraty Fedorovich’s mother was left with virtually no means of support for the rest of her life.

Ryleev felt sorry for his mother, and no matter how hard it was, he never asked her for money.

In Voronezh province

After returning to Russia (in 1815), the company in which Ryleev served was sent to the Ostrogozhsky district of the Voronezh province. Here the poet remained for several years. In Ostrogozhsk he met many famous names of the district. Some of them were from Ukraine and, surrounded by the Russian people, preserved their original customs and habits.

In Ostrogozhsk, the poet read and thought a lot, and often saw the negative sides of the life of ordinary people. It was here that he fully formed his views and aspirations, developed best sides poetic talent.

During his visits to Podgornoye, Ryleev met the family of the local landowner M.A. Tevyashov. Soon he began to teach his daughters the Russian language and the eldest of them, Natasha, really liked the poet. At this time, he wrote numerous madrigals and dedications in her honor: “Natasha, Cupid and Me”, “Dream” and others.

After 2 years, he asks his mother for blessings for marriage. Anastasia Matveevna agrees, but on the condition that the son honestly tells the bride’s parents about his poverty. The Tevyashovs are not afraid of the groom’s poverty; they give their consent. In 1818, Ryleev retired, and in 1820, Kondraty and Natalya got married.

After the wedding, relatives and friends persuaded the poet to stay with his family in Ukraine and live happily and calmly. But he did not want to “kill” his youth in mediocre ways. His soul yearned for the capital.

Moving to St. Petersburg. Service in court

In the second half of 1820, Ryleev moved to St. Petersburg. It turns out to be very difficult to settle “from scratch,” but gradually the Ryleevs get used to their new life.

In October of the same year, there was an uprising of the Semenovsky regiment, when the soldiers, driven to despair, openly opposed the bullying of the new commander. As a result, the entire regiment was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, then ordinary soldiers were sent to hard labor or to Siberian garrisons, and officers were sent to the active army with a ban on resigning or receiving any awards.

Ryleev was struck by the cruelty of the suppression of the uprising and openly opposed the all-powerful Arakcheev - his ode “To the Temporary Worker” was published in the Nevsky Spectator magazine. This was the poet's first work under which he put his full name. Petersburg was numb, amazed at the insane courage of this “baby” who stood up against the all-powerful “giant”. Thanks to the ambition of Arakcheev, who did not want to openly admit that he was a tyrant, Ryleev remained free. But the magazine was closed and the all-powerful nobleman harbored a grudge. The success of the ode forced Ryleev to take a more serious look at his work and his ultimate goals. The poet understands for the first time that with his works he can also fight against autocracy.

Since January 1821, Ryleev was offered a seat as an assessor in the St. Petersburg Chamber of the Criminal Court. He doesn't refuse, because... understands that this work will help him protect ordinary people. During his service, Ryleev created for himself a well-deserved reputation as an honest and incorruptible judge.

In April of the same year, Kondraty Fedorovich became a member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. Its chairman was the hero of the war of 1812, Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka, who openly advocated for the equal rights of all people. Accordingly, Ryleev found in him a complete like-minded person. Members of the society were also the future Decembrist A. Odoevsky, Pushkin’s friends V. Kuchelbecker and A. Delvig, the writer A. Griboyedov and other outstanding personalities of that time. Ryleev developed excellent friendly relations with everyone who was part of the society.

The poet is increasingly thinking about how to raise and inspire young people to fight the autocracy? And it seems best to remind him of the heroic deeds of heroes of past centuries. This is how the idea of ​​Ryleev’s “Dumas” was born - poetic stories from Russian history, oriented towards the present.

In May 1821, Kondraty Fedorovich traveled to Podgornoye for some time, visiting Ostrogozhsk and Voronezh. Here he was visited by creative inspiration, and he wrote new original works: “Desert”, “On the Death of Young Polina”, “When from the Russian Sword”, etc. During the same period, he began the “Doom” cycle, for which he took material not only from historical works, but also from local folk art. Through chanting the heroic past of his native country, Ryleev hopes to “awaken” progressive youth in order to raise them to fight for a better future for the common people.

Most of the “Dumas” are still known, some have practically become folk songs (for example, “The Death of Ermak”).

Getting closer to tragedy

In the fall of 1823, Ryleev became a member of the Northern Society (Decembrists). He is happy to give all his strength and talent for the benefit of the cause that is most important to him. Often returning from meetings with Bestuzhev, they think a lot about what else can be done to renew Russia. This is how the idea of ​​publishing the almanac collection “Polar Star” was born, which would enjoy undoubted success until 1825. They will publish theirs here best works A.S. Pushkin, A. Delvig, P. Vyazemsky, V. Zhukovsky and many other outstanding writers and poets of that time. The best works of Ryleev himself - “Dumas” and the poem “Voinarovsky” - will appear on the pages of “Polar Star”.

In the spring of 1824, Ryleev joined the Russian-American Company as the head of the chancellery and settled in a large apartment on the Moika embankment, where a kind of “headquarters” of the Northern Society was organized. At the end of the year, Kondraty Fedorovich headed the organization. He began to strengthen it with new reliable and useful people, inspire them with your example. Now Ryleev no longer spoke about the possibilities of a constitutional monarchy, he preached the election of a new form of government - republican.

This year was marked by many difficult events for the poet: in February he fought a duel and was slightly wounded, in June his mother died, and in September his son, who had just turned one, died.

Fatal uprising

In September 1825, Ryleev participated in another duel, but as a second. Instead of trying to reconcile the participants, he intensified their conflict in every possible way. Perhaps it was because of this that the duel ended in the death of both participants.

The beginning of December brought an unexpected event for the participants of the Northern Society - Alexander I died. The Decembrists planned to time their performance to coincide with the death of the Tsar, but did not think that this would happen so soon.

Ryleev and the leaders of other Decembrist organizations urgently began to prepare a speech. It was scheduled for December 14, 1825. Trubetskoy, whom Ryleev completely trusted, was elected leader. And it was Trubetskoy who became the main traitor.

Kondraty Fedorovich himself, as a civilian, could only come to Senate Square and support the rebels. And he was there, and then spent most of the day rushing around the city, hoping to find help.

By evening, government troops were drawn to the square, which was four times more numerous than the rebels. Nicholas I gave the order to shoot “at the rebels.” The Decembrists fought to the last, not believing in the promised pardon. There was a huge crowd of people around the square who sympathized with the rebels and could join their ranks at the first call, but the Decembrists did not understand this and died alone. The uprising was suppressed. Those who survived were arrested and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress.

That same night they came for Ryleev. He was interrogated in the palace, then sent to the same place as all the conspirators.

Interrogations took place for several months. Ryleev took upon himself all possible “sins”, named only those Decembrists whose arrest he already knew for sure, tried in every possible way to shield his comrades, spoke of his irreconcilable hatred of the reigning family.

Thanks to this “truthfulness”, Kondraty Fedorovich was among the five main instigators of the uprising, whom it was decided to hang.

The sentence was carried out on July 13 (25), 1826 in the Peter and Paul Fortress. It is assumed that the state Decembrists were buried on Goloday Island, but their exact resting place is unknown.

Interesting facts about Ryleev:

When Ryleev was ill as a child, his mother fervently prayed to God for her son’s recovery. An angel appeared to her and said that it would be easier for the boy to die than to receive such a fate. When she did not agree, the angel let Kondratiy live, but showed his mother how her son would end his life.

The poet was among those 3 unfortunates under whom the rope broke during the hanging. They fell deep into the gallows, were pulled out and hanged a second time.

Nowadays, Goloday Island is called “Decembrist Island”.

Ryleev Kondraty Fedorovich (1795-1826), Decembrist poet.

Born on September 29, 1795 in the village of Batov, St. Petersburg province. He came from a poor noble family of a small landed nobleman, Fyodor Andreevich Ryleev, manager of the estate of Princess Golitsyna. Mother, Anastasia Matveevna, née Essen, protecting her son from his oppressive father, in 1801 sent him to study in the 1st Cadet Corps. He was released from the corps in January 1814 as an artillery officer and took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814. and in 1818 he retired with the rank of second lieutenant.

In 1819, Ryleev moved to St. Petersburg, where he became close to the enlightened circle of the capital and became a member of the Flaming Star Masonic lodge. In 1821 he entered the service of the criminal court and soon gained a reputation as an incorruptible man. In 1824 he moved to the office of the Russian-American Company.

In St. Petersburg, Ryleev began his literary activity by publishing his articles and poems in magazines. He became famous for his poem “To the Temporary Worker,” which denounced the all-powerful tsar’s favorite A. A. Arakcheev.

In 1821-1823 Ryleev created a cycle of historical songs “Dumas” (“Oleg the Prophet”, “Mstislav the Udaly”, “The Death of Ermak”, “Ivan Susanin”, etc.); in 1823-1825 published the literary almanac "Polar Star". He did not flatter himself about his talent, declaring: “I am not a poet, I am a citizen.” In 1823, Ryleev was accepted into the secret Northern Society, and was immediately classified as “convinced”; from the end of 1824 he was part of the directory of this organization and actually headed it.

In his views, he was a Republican; he proposed solving the question of the fate of the imperial family in a compromise - taking it abroad.

He combined participation in the conspiracy with the hectic life of the capital: in 1824, while defending the honor of his sister, he was wounded in a duel; in 1825, he participated in another duel as a second. On the eve of the uprising on December 14, 1825, the apartment of Ryleev, who was ill with angina, on the Moika became the headquarters of the rebels; on the day of the uprising, he went to Senate Square, but, being a civilian, could not influence its course. That same night, Ryleev was arrested and placed in the Alekseevsky ravelin, where he continued to write poetry, pricking letters with a needle on maple leaves.

Among the five most active conspirators, Ryleyev was sentenced to death; after an unsuccessful first attempt, he was hanged a second time on July 25, 1826 in St. Petersburg.

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"The life and work of K.F. Ryleev"

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1. Poets - Decembrists in Russian literature…………………..........2
2. K.F. Ryleev. Life and creativity:……………………………......4

2.1. brief information about the life path of the poet and Decembrist;

2.2. Ryleev's poems and their meaning;

2.3. social and literary significance of the thoughts of K.F. Ryleev;

2.4. the poems “Voinarovsky” and “Nalivaiko” are conductors of revolutionary ideas;

3. Creation of the almanac “Polar Star” and work in it..............35

4. K.F. Ryleev’s contribution to Russian literature………………….........40

5. The memory of Ryleev is alive…………………………………………………………........41

References……………………………………………………………...........42

1. Poets - Decembrists in Russian literature

During Patriotic War In 1812, facing the threat of foreign enslavement of Russia by France, all the forces of Russian society united.

The people endured all the hardships of the war, showed the greatest courage on the battlefield and in the rear, but remained in serfdom.

This could not but worry the progressive-minded noble intelligentsia, who dreamed of the liberation of the peasants. The result of this was the emergence of secret revolutionary societies Decembrists, who paid serious attention to literature in their activities.

They saw the main task of art in serving the progressive ideas of the century, in the struggle against the autocratic orders reigning in the country, in the establishment of a national original literature.

Among the Decembrists there were talented writers, critics, publicists, playwrights and, of course, poets.

Decembrist poets: Bestuzhev A.A., Kuchelbecker V.K., Katenin P.A., Ryleev K.F., Glinka F.N., Raevsky V.F., Odoevsky A.I., believed that the soul is educated not so much alone with itself and not even in a narrow friendly, family, home or in the class circle familiar to it, but through historical and heroic examples.

Ryleev revealed his understanding of the tasks of “true poetry” in this way: “... let us make every effort to realize in our writings the ideals of high feelings, thoughts and eternal truths.” Therefore, the works of the Decembrists unfold a wide panorama of national history, the heroic past of different peoples. Although the Decembrists did not deny the self-education of the individual, they attached great importance public education.

In the literary works of the Decembrists, the theme of the poet - tyrant fighter, the poet - tribune, the herald of high truths and sacred civic duty appears. A close ally of the Decembrists, N.I. Gnedich, explained: “a pen in the hands of a writer can be /.../ a weapon more powerful, more effective than a sword in the hands of a warrior.”

Military glory, heroic deeds for the good of the Fatherland, denunciation of tyrants with poetic words, loyalty to public duty - these are the themes of Decembrist poetry.

It is not surprising that the Decembrist poets were primarily concerned with the themes of love of freedom, tyranny, and the public good:

Leave other singers some love!

Is it love to sing where blood splashes? –

Raevsky exclaimed, and Ryleev seemed to agree with him:

Love doesn't come to mind

Alas, my homeland is suffering,

The soul is in the excitement of heavy thoughts

Now he longs for freedom.

It should be noted that the Decembrists began to rework the characteristic genres of romantic poetry, based on their worldview. The elegiac message, the love elegy is invaded civil topics, widely includes social and political vocabulary, words and expressions of the “high” style. Traditional genres are filled with new content, poetic language is changing. At the same time, the Decembrists took into account the achievements of recognized authors, introducing a fresh stream into literature.

In the work of the Decembrist poets, different stylistic directions can be traced: neoclassical, associated with an appeal to antiquity (P.A. Katenin), civil, focused on the educational ideas of the 18th century (Raevsky, Odoevsky, Ryleev).

The revolutionary pathos of the poetry of the Decembrists, their views and all their activities significantly increased the social tone of Russian literature. Taking an active part in the creation of the Russian literary language, enriching poetry with new artistic means, developing new genera, types and themes of literature, improving Russian versification, the Decembrist poets made an invaluable contribution to the treasury of Russian poetry.

The fact that the Decembrist poets highly raised the ideological level of Russian poetry is their invaluable and unforgettable merit. They achieved a lot: they proclaimed and defended new humanistic values, questioned and revised the “rules” of classicism, destroyed the forced connection between genre and style, and achieved lexical and stylistic accuracy of the word. With all this they paved the way for free, sincere, direct expression of experiences and contributed to the creation of a literary language.

2. K.F. Ryleev. Life and art

One of the most, in my opinion, brightest representatives from the galaxy of Decembrist poets is Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev.

He was born on September 18, 1795 in the village of Batovo, St. Petersburg province, in the family of a retired lieutenant colonel.

In 1814 he graduated from the First Cadet Corps and was enlisted in the active army, which served in Germany, Switzerland, and France. Returning to Russia, he continued military service, and then retired.

From 1821 to 1824 he served as an assessor in the St. Petersburg Criminal Chamber, where he developed vigorous activity. It is known that he defended the peasants of Count Razumovsky, who responded to oppression with unrest. Simple people They said about the Court Chamber: “There is Ryleev there, he doesn’t let the innocent die!”

Then Kondraty Fedorovich took the post of ruler of the office in the Russian-American company. Here Ryleev launched patriotic activities: he fought against the destruction of Russian possessions in California and the closure of Fort Ross. For those smart and daring papers that Kondraty Fedorovich compiled, the directors of the company almost lost their jobs: Alexander the First was outraged that the “merchants” were teaching the government. The Tsar easily gave up distant Russian industries for plunder, allowing English and American entrepreneurs to operate freely there.

In 1823, Ryleev joined the secret Northern Society and soon became one of its leaders. In 1823 - 1825, Ryleev, together with Bestuzhev, published the almanac “Polar Star”. He also wrote several anti-government propaganda songs with him. He took an active part in preparing the speech on Senate Square; on December 14, 1825, Ryleev - as a simple soldier - joined the rebel ranks. For several hours they breathed the “air of freedom”... Circumstances were unfavorable for them. Nicholas I gained time and hit the rebels with cannons.

After the suppression of the uprising, Ryleev was arrested and imprisoned in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress. He was accused of “contemplating regicide”, composing and distributing “outrageous”, that is, revolutionary, poems that outraged the people against the tsar. While imprisoned for almost seven months, Kondraty Fedorovich wrote proud poems:

Prison is an honor to me, not a reproach,

I am in it for a righteous cause,

And should I be ashamed of these chains,

When do I wear them for the Fatherland?

The leaders of the revolutionary uprising were sentenced to death. Ryleev's dying letter to his wife and little daughter is written in a calm, courageous tone. Eyewitnesses said that even at the time of execution, Ryleev and his comrades behaved with great dignity. “Put your hand on my heart,” he said, “and see if it beats stronger.” The heart beat evenly. This is how the “great citizen” and poet Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev died courageously for the freedom of the Motherland.

He lived a short life: on the day of his death, July 13, 1826, he was 31 years old. But this life forever entered the history of the Fatherland, the struggle for the people - for their freedom and well-being.

A short but fruitful life, filled with struggle, work and literary creativity.

Ryleev began writing early; he left his descendants a great creative legacy, which can be divided into three groups:

• Lyric poems;
• Lyric-epic “Dumas”;
• Poems, tragedy, etc.

The first group includes the poems "To the Temporary Worker", "To Kosovsky", "A.P. Ermolov", "Civil Courage", "Citizen", "On the Death of Byron", "Stanzas", "V.N. Stolypina" , “Bestuzhev”, “To N.I. Gnedich”, “Apology to N.M.T - howl” and a number of others. These poems contain Ryleev’s personal life and poetic program, his path.

He writes to Kosovsky that he refuses the advice of a friend in his regiment to indulge in an epicurean life, to “kill with lazy sleep” his “young years,” to devote himself to a quiet provincial life, “serene” and “kindred love.” Ryleev says that in St. Petersburg he wants to devote himself to the fight for freedom

In his message to Stolypina, he abandons another, then fashionable, theme in poetry - the theme of love, intimacy:

Love doesn't come to mind:

Alas! My homeland is suffering

The soul is in the excitement of heavy thoughts

Now he longs for freedom.

In his letters to Bestuzhev, Ryleev proclaims himself a poet-citizen and develops his literary program, full of love for the “public good”:

Accept the fruits of my labors.

The fruits of carefree leisure;

I know, friend, you will accept them

With all the thoughtfulness of a friend.

Like Apollo's strict son,

You won't see art in them:

But you will find living feelings;

I am not a Poet, but a Citizen.

In another message to a friend and ally, an ardent confession sounds, almost repeating the previous one in spirit:

My soul will remain until the grave

High thoughts, seething courage;

My friend! No wonder the young man burns

Love for the public good!

The author addresses Ermolov on behalf of an entire generation, from all the Decembrists: they knew about Ermolov’s oppositional sentiments and that he was not welcome at court; the Decembrists even counted on Ermolov’s help during the uprising.

Among the closest examples of valor of pan-European significance, Byron was chosen, to whose death in Greece among the rebellious people Ryleev dedicated a special poem filled with frank sadness, regret for the loss of a great poet and man and the belief that the people will never forget this genius:

He figured out everything under the sun;

Indifferent to the persecution of fate,

He was only obedient to the genius,

He did not recognize other authorities.

In the poetic “Apology to N.M.T - howl” Ryleev assures:

It was not the lyre that was given to me as my inheritance by the gloomy Cronus,

And a sharp sword to be terrible to the enemy!

Love themes are alien to him. In days when the “fatherland is suffering,” only military anxieties can give consolation to the fighter-poet.

In his “Message to N.I. Gnedich,” Ryleev says that his always destiny is “the fight against a crowd of enemies and against prejudices and annoying envy,” and in “The Path to Happiness,” the author makes it clear that a true poet contemptuously rejects lies and chooses deprivation in the name of truth. Filled with dignity and honor, ready for any torment, he proudly says:

No no! I will not give up for the blessings of this life,

Neither my virtue nor my conscience!

In the poem “Stanzas” (1824-25) it is clear that Ryleev well understands and acutely experiences the contradictions of the Decembrist movement, primarily the contradiction between the struggle for public freedom and the passivity of the majority in society:

Everywhere the meetings are bleak!

You are looking, vain, for people,

And you meet cold corpses,

Or senseless children.

He became famous as an author of freedom-loving poems in 1820, when he spoke out against the all-powerful Arakcheev in the satire “To the Temporary Worker.” People hated Arakcheev and gave him the nicknames “Ogorcheev” and “Snake Gorynych.” Decembrist N. Bestuzhev testified: “The slightest murmur arose and disappeared forever in the deserts of Siberia and the stinking crypts of fortresses.”

“To the temporary worker” is an angry accusatory speech by a speaker - a patriot, a champion of freedom. The satire was published in December 1820 in the Nevsky Spectator magazine. “It is impossible to imagine the amazement, horror, even, one might say, numbness,” wrote Nikolai Bestuzhev, “how amazed the residents of the capital were at these unheard sounds of truth and reproach, at this struggle of a baby with a giant. Everyone thought that punishment would strike, destroy both the daring poet and those who listened to him... Ryleev loudly and publicly summoned the Temporary Man to the court of truth... named his deeds, determined their value and boldly consigned his posterity to the curse.”

The satire has the subtitle “Imitation of the Persian satire “To Rubelius”. Persia here, like the “Latin” flavor of the poems, is a disguise; Persia does not have such satire. Persius is present in these verses as a sign that enhances the accusatory pathos of the poem.

An arrogant temporary worker, and vile and insidious,

The monarch is a cunning flatterer and an ungrateful friend,

Furious tyrant of his native country,

A villain elevated to an important rank through slyness!

Ryleev cannot openly name the tyrant, in this case Arakcheev, but he recognized himself and made a request to the Minister of Education about the censor and the author. Hanging over Kondraty Fedorovich serious threat, but he was helped by Alexander Turgenev, brother of the Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev, who came up with such a letter on behalf of the minister to the temporary worker, which contained a request to indicate which lines of satire the count took personally. Arakcheev fell silent, the threat had passed.

Next to the image of a temporary worker in the poem, the image of a Poet, a Citizen, a proud independent person appears. The poem clearly demonstrates Ryleev’s civic position - to evaluate a statesman not by the rank he holds, but by the benefit he brought to the Fatherland, by what he did for the people:

When I have no straight valor,

What good is my rank and my honors?

Not rank, not family - only dignity is respectable;

Sejanus! And the kings themselves are despicable without them...

Satire made a huge moral impact on society, that is, it achieved its main goal. This was the first blow dealt by Ryleev to autocracy. Many do not see the moral consequences of his satire, but it taught that one can speak the truth without fear, one can judge the actions of power and challenge powerful of the world this to the people's judgment.

The poem “Will I be at a fateful time...” was created in 1824. In Decembrist circles it was called “Citizen”. The poem, like the satire “To the Temporary Worker,” is written in the form of an excited oratorical speech and filled with high civic pathos:

Will I be there at the fateful time

Disgrace a citizen

And imitate you, pampered tribe

Reborn Slavs?

No, I am not capable of being in the arms of voluptuousness,

To drag out your youth in shameful idleness

And languish with a boiling soul

Under the heavy yoke of autocracy.

The poet considers the struggle “for the oppressed freedom of man” to be “the destiny of the century,” which he calls on every true citizen to fulfill. The generalized image of the poet-fighter in the poem is contrasted with those young men who did not understand their duty and left the fight. They will repent when the rebellious people “catch them in the arms of idle bliss.” Peace, lethargy are states rejected by Ryleev, for him almost unnatural, which is revealed by the paradoxical combination of words: “to drag out one’s youth.” On the contrary, everything lofty and beautiful for the poet is associated with movement: “boiling soul”, “stormy rebellion”. Ryleev's opposition of himself to society reaches the point of tragedy because he enters a wider circle - the people - and the poet's gaze turns from the present to the future, gives rise to hope for a fair course of future events, and saves him from disappointment. The sentiments of progressive circles of Russian society were truthfully and deeply reflected in “Citizen”. This poem is Ryleev’s poetic manifesto, the pinnacle work of Decembrist lyricism.

A completely independent cycle in Ryleev’s work is represented by his “Dumas”.

The theme of the historical destinies of the Fatherland, its ancient glory, is actively developed by the Decembrist poets: Ryleev, Katenin, Kuchelbecker, Odoevsky, Glinka, Bestuzhev. Domestic history became the favorite science of advanced youth of the 20s. Inspired by high civic feelings, these youth looked in the past for lessons for real models necessary for the coming reorganization of Russia.

The civic purpose of the historical subjects of the poetry and prose of the Decembrists was especially clearly reflected in Ryleev’s “Dumas”, where, according to the review of Alexander Bestuzhev, one can see “an ardent desire to instill in others the same love for their land, for everything folk, to attach attention to the deeds of antiquity, to show that Russia is also rich in role models.”

The first edition of the preface to “Dumas” was found in the archive. In it, Ryleev openly proclaims the educational and propaganda direction of his cycle. He has no doubt that “national interest is equally inherent in all social forces that create national history.” Ryleev does not distinguish between historical acts and political motives that are characteristic of historical heroes. He develops the idea that only “despotism is afraid of enlightenment, because it knows that its best support is ignorance.”

Reflecting on the present, dreaming about the future, Ryleev turned to the historical past of the Russian people. He was attracted by the patriotic images of his ancestors, heroic events that always lived in the memory of the people and constituted their pride. The historical range of thoughts is very wide - from the 10th to the beginning of the 19th century, from the exploits of Oleg the Prophet to the death of Derzhavin. This is how a kind of Russian history in verse was created - a series of paintings restoring the heroic deeds of past centuries.

The genre of Ryleev's Duma combined elements of a solemn ode and a historical story. Here is a story about a feat, and a certain preaching of some civic principles and virtues in the odic style. The lyric-epic genre of duma made it possible to do this.

The main components are correctly guessed: the plot and the situation - historical and local, the hero in the situation, the hero's speech - a story about a feat and patriotic edification, a conclusion, a testament to descendants. The Dumas, full of genuine drama, were a great achievement in depicting historical figures, living people, and on a large historical scale.

Each thought of Ryleev is dedicated to a historical figure and is entitled with his name: “Rogneda”, “Boris Godunov”, “Mstislav Udaloy”, “Dmitry Donskoy”, “Ivan Susanin”, “Death of Ermak”, “Derzhavin”, “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” " and others. The poet praises the courage shown in the struggle for national independence and independence of the Motherland, for the liberation of the people from foreign rule. The Dumas aroused interest in strong, brave people who accomplished feats in the name of the Motherland and the people, aroused feelings of pride and sympathy, and could not leave the reader indifferent.

These works are written in a solemn style, maintained in a stately, slow rhythm, and are distinguished by high civil pathos. At the same time, they are characterized by the dramatic development of events.

At the same time, history is considered by Ryleev as a direct illustration of the problems of our time. The person is depicted not in his specificity, but universally; the speech of the characters is not individualized and is often indistinguishable from the author’s speech. This did not bother Ryleev, because the main thing for him in poetry was the expression of a strong and deep passion associated with the liberation of the people, with the prosperity of the Fatherland.

Ryleev has three groups of thoughts. The first is a historically heroic reworking of chronicle tales, an instructive past in the most general patriotic sense. These are the thoughts “Oleg the Prophetic”, “Svyatoslav”, “Boyan”, “Mstislav the Udaloy”, “Olga at Igor’s Grave” (although it is somewhat complicated by the teaching characteristic of the Decembrists), “Rogneda”.

“Rogneda” is a poetic story that the author included in the collection “Dumas,” published in Moscow in 1825. The Duma is dedicated to Alexandra Andreevna Veikova (1795 – 1829), the niece of V.A. Zhukovsky, one of the most educated women of that time. It should be noted that the plot for the Duma was taken from the first volume of “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin. This is a story about a young woman, the daughter of the Varangian Rogvold, the wife of Prince Vladimir, the mother of Izyaslav. Dire trials befell her, but did not break the spirit and will of Rogneda, who tried to avenge herself and her family:

The sword is already raised! Suddenly there was thunder!

The illuminated tower shook -

And the prince, in a deep sleep,

He rose up, awakened with a bang -

And he sees Rogneda in front of him...

Her eyes are burning with fire...

Raised sword and menacing look

The criminal is exposed...

But there is not a drop of remorse or fear for her life in the proud woman who decided to despise her marital duty:

"Love! to whom?.. to you, destroyer?..

I forgot whose blood flows inside me!

Have you forgotten who killed your parent?

The cruel prince decides to execute his obstinate wife, but Izyaslav’s angry speech makes him think about what’s right decision taken, Vladimir’s soul rushes:

Speech freezes on the lips,

My breathing is stifled, my heart is beating;

It trembles in his bones

And fierce cold and fire pours!

A battle of passions rages in the soul:

And mercy and vengeance...

But suddenly, with tears from my eyes -

From the heart burst out: forgiveness!

The Duma “Mstislav Udaloy” was written in 1822. The plot is also borrowed from “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin. It is interesting to note that young Pushkin was going to write on this topic. The thought is dedicated to F.V. Bulgarin, a writer and journalist who, before the uprising on Senate Square, maintained close friendly ties with the Decembrists. After the uprising, Bulgarin became a police informer, a militant reactionary. This is a story about the confrontation between Kosoga Rededi and Prince Mstislav. Rededya, the mighty giant, almost won, but Mstislav’s ardent promise: “Holy Virgin, I will build a temple for you!” adds strength to the prince and helps him survive:

And wondrous power instantly

Plunged into the prince... he rebelled,

Torn by an angry storm,

And the new Goliath has fallen!

True faith in one's own strength, the desire to protect the Motherland from a hated enemy always leads to victory.

After the release of the thought “Oleg the Prophetic,” which tells the story of his courage and how he nailed a shield to the gates of Constantinople, Pushkin wrote to Ryleev: “All of them (the thoughts) are weak in invention and presentation. They all have the same cut: they are made up of commonplaces... a description of the scene of action, the speech of the characters and - moral teaching. There is nothing national or Russian in them except names.”

Despite this assessment, K.F. Ryleev continued to work, putting his thoughts and feelings into the mouths of the heroes.

The Duma “Olga at Igor’s Grave” shows the prince as a dishonest person who tried to collect double tribute from the Drevlyans and paid for it with his life. The reader cannot sympathize with Igor, despite his terrible death, because he is wrong, he is a villain, an oppressor of the people. Meanwhile, the author tries to evoke sympathy for the prince by drawing sad figures of his wife Olga and son Svyatoslav who came to Igor’s grave. Olga avenged her husband. At the same time, Ryleev, through the mouth of Olga, gives some teaching that is useful for all rulers to know:

Here, Svyatoslav! What does it lead to?

Injustice of power;

Both the prince and the people are unhappy

Where is passion on the throne?

The second group of thoughts are patriotic, telling about fighters for national independence, about heroes who helped unite Russian lands: “Dmitry Donskoy”, “Bogdan Khmelnitsky”, “The Death of Ermak” and especially “Ivan Susanin”. Ryleev manages to put many strong poems into the mouths of the heroes, full of passionate calls to fight “for freedom, truth and law.” The narratives here are beautiful: the battles, the displays of bravery, the perseverance, all of it fits the story and all of it is expressed poetically.

In the Duma “Dmitry Donskoy” the scenes of the Battle of Kulikovo are amazingly beautifully written. The main character exclaims, addressing the army before the battle:

Let's fly and return to the people

The key to the bliss of foreign countries:

Holy freedom of the forefathers

And the ancient rights of citizens.

He stands up for the “holy freedom of the forefathers” in order to return to the Russians the “ancient rights of citizens” trampled upon by the Tatars.

Duma “Ivan Susanin” was also written in 1822. It is interesting and unusual that main character the works are not a prince, not a king or a nobleman, but a simple peasant - a patriot who led his enemies into the forest wilds and destroyed them, dying himself. Before his death, he throws courageous words into the faces of his enemies:

Kill! Torment! - my grave is here!

But know and strive: I saved Mikhail!

You thought you found a traitor in me:

They are not and will not be on Russian soil!

The national universality of Susanin's feat conceals the shortcomings of Ryleev's civic worldview. Therefore, everything that Susanin says is reliable, both from the point of view of history and from the point of view of poetry. The peasant is not forced to utter those lofty “civil” words that are not characteristic of him and do not exceed the plausibility of the image. He cares about the salvation of the king - father and does not look further. But it was the salvation of Tsar Mikhail Romanov that symbolized the national salvation of Russia, a blow to the “adversaries” who came to Russian soil:

The snow is pure, the purest blood is stained,

She saved Mikhail for Russia!

Indeed, Susanin sacrificed his life for his Motherland, for the Tsar.

The Duma was highly appreciated by A.S. Pushkin, the composer M.I. Glinka, inspired by Ryleev’s Duma, wrote the opera “A Life for the Tsar”.

It was courage, love for the homeland and the young Tsar, and readiness for self-sacrifice that made Ivan Susanin a national hero, and Ryleev perpetuated his memory in his Duma.

The storm roared, the rain made noise;

Lightning flew in the darkness;

The thunder roared incessantly,

And the winds raged in the wilds...

This is how the thought “The Death of Ermak” begins, the text of which was soon set to music and spread throughout the country as a free song. The song is still sung to this day, which confirms the opinion that it enjoyed nationwide fame.

The Duma tells the story of the Cossack leader Ermak Timofeevich, who conquered Siberia, brought this richest region as a gift to the Tsar and Russia, but died on a dark rainy night on August 5, 1584 at the hands of the treacherous Khan Kuchum in the stormy waters of the Irtysh. But his image, his deeds live in the people’s memory, and this is a considerable merit of Ryleev, who sang him in his Duma. Like a number of other thoughts, this one also has a dedication, in this case to P.P. Mukhanov, a friend of Ryleev, a member of the “Union of Welfare”.

The third and most important group are political thoughts, in which there are themes of the struggle of “citizenship against autocracy”, glorifying exploits in the name of freedom for the rights of “citizens”. They are full of satire and denunciation. These are the “Volynsky”, “Derzhavin” thoughts, and the unfinished “Vadim” thought.

In the Derzhavin Duma, Ryleev showed his ideal of a poet, for whom the public good is above the personal. This is not entirely true. Derzhavin not only attacked the nobles, but he himself, the singer Felitsa, greatly appreciated the royal favors, but Ryleev interpreted his hero in civil-patriotic terms. He acts as a citizen, a defender of “the people’s goods, persecuted everywhere by defense.” By successfully introducing quotes from Derzhavin into his work, Ryleev makes the poet a hero - a citizen. Derzhavin “does not know low fear,” “he looks at death with contempt,” and his creative task is to kindle “valor in young hearts with righteous verse.”

There are still a number of thoughts left, such as “Boris Godunov”, “Mikhail Tverskoy”, “Dmitry the Pretender”, which contain motifs from all three groups, or cannot be directly attributed to any of them. Boris Godunov and Dmitry the Pretender confess their sins and themselves try to explain the people’s dislike for them and the reasons for their own inevitable death, therefore they should not be classified either as heroes of history or as heroes - defenders of the Fatherland.

Intensive work on thoughts absorbed Ryleev. In 1822 alone, 13 thoughts appeared in print, and some of them were reprinted 2–3 times. The publication of Ryleev's thoughts in magazines and the publication of the book attracted the attention of the literary community and received an almost unanimous favorable assessment. Contemporaries noted “the nationality and noble feelings contained in Ryleev’s thoughts, his simple and natural story,” “pure, easy language, edifying truths” and other advantages of these works.

And yet it should be noted that K.F. Ryleev sang few heroes from the people. This is a feature of civil romanticism, when the hero can be Ermak, Susanin, but not Razin or Pugachev. For Ryleev, as a noble revolutionary, the people were one of the driving forces of history, but not the main one.

Ryleev took a new step in his development with the poem “Voinarovsky”

When this poem was created in 1824, everyone noticed how Ryleev’s work was changing. The author no longer identifies himself with the hero, does not put his thoughts into his mouth, which was clearly evident in his thoughts. The poet and the hero look at the world differently, at the events taking place in it, and give them different assessments. The historical plot here, as in the thoughts, is used by Ryleev in order to carry out civic ideas (this, however, is a super task - Ryleev, as a true poet, was primarily concerned about the poetry of the work). He strives, in contrast to thoughts, to draw an integral human character. We see Voinarovsky in battle with steppe nomads, and on the Poltava battlefield, and in exile, and in Siberia. The author created an image that captivated his contemporaries - it was so in tune with the era of the pre-December years. Moreover, it turned out to be prophetic: through the figure of Voinarovsky, the Decembrist exiled to Siberia is clearly visible. And next to him is his wife, who came here voluntarily (who “knew how to be a citizen and a wife”) - this is Trubetskoy or Volkonskaya in 1826... The whole story is told by the hero at different stages of his fate, with his different attitude towards what happened , with deep introspection. The versatility of Voinarovsky’s image is Ryleev’s great achievement.

A.V. Nikitenko recalls that he listened to “Voinarovsky” together with Baratynsky. Ryleev made an indelible impression on him: “I didn’t know another person,” he wrote, “who would have such an attractive force as Ryleev... As soon as a smile lit up his face, and you yourself looked deeper into his amazing eyes, in order to surrender irrevocably with all your heart to him. In moments of strong excitement or poetic excitement, these eyes burned and seemed to sparkle. It became creepy: there was so much concentrated strength and fire in them.”

To this we must add that “Voinarovsky” was the only poem at that time that legally propagandized revolutionary – Decembrist – ideas. Soon after the publication of excerpts in the almanac “Polar Star”, the poem in its entirety in its first version began to be distributed in lists.

However, “Voinarovsky” is a typical romantic poem, with all its inherent advantages and disadvantages.

Words about the duty of a citizen, about a holy homeland, about the fight against the enemies of freedom, sounding sincerely from other heroes of Ryleev, in the mouth of Voinarovsky, Mazepa’s nephew and associate, are a complete stretch. It is difficult to accept Mazepa’s statement:

And Peter and I - we are both right,

Like him and I live for glory

For the benefit of my homeland.

Voinarovsky had doubts about Mazepa:

We loved our fatherland in it.

I don't know if he wanted

Save the people of Ukraine from troubles...

Voinarovsky knew for sure, if the truth were fully revealed to him, how he should have acted:

I would be the first to defeat him,

If only he had become an enemy of freedom.

It would be a truly great poem if this process of spiritual growth in Voinarovsky was completed, if he overcame illusions and took the side of Peter. If the deepest drama of a person’s transition from one belief to another were taught, the image would receive a capacious ambiguity.

A.S. Pushkin highly appreciated the poem: “Ryleev’s “Voinarovsky” is incomparably better than all his “Dumas”, its style has matured and becomes truly narrative, which we almost don’t have yet.”

A. Bestuzhev also responded laudably: “Ryleev published his “Dumas” and a new poem “Voinarovsky”; modesty blocks my lips from praising, in this last, high feelings and striking pictures of Ukrainian and Siberian nature.”

Such assessments prompted Ryleev to create another poem, “Nalivaiko,” which told the story of the struggle of the Ukrainian Cossacks with lordly Poland at the end of the 16th century. The poem was not finished, but even from the surviving fragments it is clear that a lot of space is devoted to depicting pictures of people’s life, to the participation of ordinary people in the national liberation movement.

Pavel Nalivaiko is a true son of the freedom-loving Cossacks, one of those who

...age-old insults

To forgive the tyrants of the homeland

And the shame of leaving grudges

Without fair vengeance

I can't...

He kills the Poles, the headman of Chigirin. And this is perceived as a signal for an uprising. It is headed by Nalivaiko. Before the campaign, he visits the Pechersk Lavra and confesses. The chapter “Nalivaika’s Confession” is one of the most powerful and interesting in the poem. No, this is not a request for absolution - this is a passionate call to fight the oppressors of the homeland. For “Confession of Nalivaika” the censor received a reprimand from Alexander the First through the Minister of Education A.S. Shishkov. If the Polar Star almanac had not sold out so quickly, the Confession would have been cut from copies.

A.I. Herzen, in the article “Russian Conspiracy of 1825,” retelling the final lines of “Nalivaika’s Confession” and highlighting the theme of “great self-sacrifice” in them, writes: “And this is all Ryleev,” somewhat identifying the poet with the lyrical hero.

How many questions does Ryleev raise in this historical poem that concern his friends? Nalivaika’s friend Colonel Loboda doubts the success of the uprising:

Often thoughts torment the heart,

Will blood not be shed in vain?

The main character, Hetman Nalivaiko, is close to the people, ready to give his life for the freedom of Ukraine from the Polish yoke, but he foresees a tragic outcome and, through the mouth of his hero, Ryleev answers those Decembrist friends who might have been troubled by the same question:

I know: destruction awaits

The one who rises first

To the oppression of the people -

Fate has already doomed me.

But where, tell me, when was it

Freedom redeemed without sacrifice?

I will die for my native land,

I feel it, I know it.

Yes, the fighters ahead may die, but those who follow them will win! It seems that the author himself speaks through Nalivaiko’s mouth, since later in a conversation with N.A. Bestuzhev. Ryleev said: “Believe me, every day he convinces me of the necessity of my actions, of the future destruction with which we must buy our first attempt for the freedom of Russia.”

The submission of the people, their fear of the “slave chains” saddens the hero of the poem. But Nalivaiko (like the author of the poem) believes that the struggle for freedom will raise the revolutionary spirit of the people:

The peoples will take their rights;

Love for the homeland is immortal,

The voice of holy freedom will be heard,

And the slave will wake up to life again.

It seemed strange to many that such a revolutionary work could get into print. Ordinary members of Northern society, who, according to the rules of secrecy, could not know about its strength and numbers, concluded from this case that among them there were important officials who had the power to silence censorship...

In 1826, during the investigation, Shteingel expressed sincere bewilderment in one of his letters: “It is incomprehensible how, at the very time when the strictest censorship was carefully attached to words that meant nothing... articles like “Volynsky” and “Nalivaika’s Confession” were missed.

An anonymous note regarding the draft censorship regulations of 1826 has been preserved in the archives of the Third Department of the Imperial Cabinet. Here is one of the comments of this unknown person, undoubtedly loyal to the throne: “In paragraph 151 it is said: “It is not allowed to pass for publication passages that have a double meaning, if one of them is contrary to censorship rules.” This gives rise to endless debate... To justify this new paragraph, it cites that censorship, on the basis of previous rules, allowed outrageous works to pass through: Confession of Nalivaika, Voinarovsky, etc. It is not true. These works are by no means ambiguous: they clearly preach rebellion, rebellion against legitimate authority, present rebels, robbers, etc. in a commendable manner, and were allowed to be published due to the unforgivable stupidity of the censor, who read them and did not understand the obvious malice in them.”

In Ryleev’s thoughts there was one huge historical truth, which determined their exceptional success and significance. The author emphasized that history is made not by kings, but by other people, famous men, whose memory the people keep in their hearts. A true historical figure can only be a tyrant fighter, a progressive figure, a patriot, a favorite of the people. Ryleev’s friend and colleague A.A. Bestuzhev gave the following assessment of his work: “Ryleev, the writer of historical thoughts or hymns, broke a new path in Russian poetry, choosing the goal of inspiring the valor of his fellow citizens with the exploits of his ancestors. The duty of modesty forces me to remain silent about the merits of his works.” Kondraty Fedorovich did not turn to the past to admire the antiquity. “Dumas” provoked reflection not so much on the past, but on the present destinies of the homeland. Although the images of freedom lovers Vadim, Volynsky, Kurbsky were little consistent with their historical prototypes, they served to promote the fight against tyranny and autocracy.

The propaganda masterpiece of K.F. Ryleev - several songs composed in collaboration with A.A. Bestuzhev and, possibly, other, unidentified authors: “You say, speak ...”, “Oh, I feel sick ...”, “It’s like in heaven two rainbows..."; “Oh, where are those islands...”, “Our Tsar is a Russian German...”, “I was playing tricks...” and others. Judging by the testimony of E.P. Obolensky: “No one was particularly involved in composing these songs... but each verse had its own author, and in general they were the fruits of cheerful leisure hours of our poets and writers, members and non-members of the Society, during meetings with each other.” However, most of these songs were not composed as a joke, but consciously and purposefully, for mass agitation, which is confirmed by the testimony of the Decembrists themselves: “At first we had the intention of disbanding them among the people, but then we changed our minds. We feared the people's revolution most of all; for it cannot but be bloody and long-lasting; and such songs could bring it closer.”

These songs, created on the spot, impromptu, are one of the most striking and effective works in the history of revolutionary poetry.

N.A. Bestuzhev in his memoirs “Memories of Ryleev” wrote: “The intentions with which the songs were written and the influence they had on a short time, are too significant. Although the government tried by all means to exterminate these songs wherever they could find them, they were made in the spirit of the common people, they were too close to his condition to be able to force them out of the memory of the common people, who saw in them a true image of their real situation and the opportunity improvements in the future. The slavery of the people, the severity of oppression, and the miserable life of a soldier were depicted in simple but true colors.

The songs were written to well-known motives, and this contributed to their popularity and ease of learning. In the process of long-term existence among contemporaries and subsequent generations (until the 1880s), involuntarily, and often intentionally, their text changed and adapted to a variety of episodes and facts of the social revolutionary struggle. Songs were sometimes combined or, conversely, split up and recorded in this form and passed from hand to hand for decades. This took place immediately after their addition. “...passing from hand to hand, a lot was added to them, and each one turned it over in its own way,” A.A. Bestuzhev showed on May 10, 1826.

The uniqueness of the songs is that they are close in composition to folk songs. They convey the thoughts and feelings of the people enslaved by royal tyranny, nobles and officials. The people are looking for the truth and do not find it, but even in extremes they believe in their own strength:

And what was taken away by force?

We will help you by force...

Isn’t this sedition, the beginnings of popular anger, an uprising, finally?!

Song "Oh, I'm sick of..."- one of the propaganda songs written by the Decembrists. During the investigation on February 6, 1826, M.I. Muravyov-Apostol allegedly named Ryleev as the author. On April 24, 1826, Ryleev admitted that he was the only author of the song, but Bestuzhev on May 10 indicated that it was written by him together with Ryleev. The rhythmic and intonation pattern of the opening lines of the song is borrowed from the romance by Yu. A. Neledinsky-Meletsky “Oh! I feel sick on the wrong side...” (1791), sung to the tune of the Ukrainian song “My Maiden...” and since 1796 included in all songbooks and popular prints. This source allowed the authors to “rehash” folk song with particular ease to popularize revolutionary ideas, as the investigators formulated: “... for the desired effect on the minds of the people.” This is probably why the performance of the Neledinsky-Meletsky romance was prohibited in 1825.

The song was a deliberate link in the propaganda work of the Decembrists, therefore, probably, some motives of the widespread folk revolutionary song “The Voice of One Crying in Military Settlements...” were used in the song. There are a number of historical materials and comparisons here that convincingly indicate the close connection of the song with the political situation in Russia in the first half of the 1820s, in particular with the handwritten proclamation planted in the barracks of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment after the unrest of 1820. The song is spoken on behalf of the serf, but often also on behalf of the people:

And high up to God,

It's a long way from the king.

Yes, we ourselves

After all, with a mustache,

So shake your head.

The song taught us how to “wind up”, how to take away by force what the masters had taken by force. She directly says that “God is high, the Tsar is far away,” so we must rely only on ourselves.

Song “As the blacksmith walked”written on behalf of the Russian peasants themselves - reminiscent of a folklore triple tale with the severity of the content increasing from episode to episode. The blacksmith carries three knives from the forge for reprisals: the first - over the boyars and nobles, the second - over the priests and saints, and, finally, the third - over the king. It is known that in Decembrist circles the issue of killing the Tsar and destroying the entire royal family was discussed. The song pushed the soldiers' consciousness in this direction:

This is the first knife -

For villains - nobles.

Glory!

And the other knife -

To the priests, to the saints.

Glory!

And making a prayer -

The third knife is on the king.

Glory!

Who will take it out?

It will come true.

Glory!

Who will it come true

It won't pass.

Glory!

It is interesting that the song accurately names the two main pillars of autocracy: the nobles and the church.

Song “Our Tsar, Russian German...”also the fruit of the joint creativity of Ryleev and Bestuzhev, possibly with the participation of some other persons. It is performed to the melody of the very popular comic duet “Yak having arrived zholnir...” - from P. N. Semenov’s vaudeville opera “Luck from Failure, or Adventure in a Jewish Tavern” (1818). The testimony of N.D. Kiselyov has been preserved that Pushkin sang this song. The song has been distributed on numerous lists with a wide variety of variations, essentially a complete reworking of the song. In 1867, as can be seen from one denunciation, the song was in circulation among political exiles of Poles in Narym with the following lines:

Collects taxes

People are fleecing

Oh yes king...

He doesn't know it himself

What commands

Oh yes king...

What does the king do? According to the words of the song, he “is in the arena every day,” “loves training,” “he gives out awards for parades,” “blue ribbons for compliments.” The lack of zeal for the good of Russia, he compensates with cruelty, greed, and narcissism: “He presses his elbows, tidies up in his claws,” “Schools are all barracks, judges are all gendarmes,” “He is a coward of the laws, he is a coward of the Masons,” “And for the truth— sends the queen straight to Kamchatka.”

Song “Oh, where are those islands...” (1822 or 1823) – live picture meetings of a secret society at which royal dignitaries and police agents are ridiculed. Judging by the names and hints contained in the text, this song could not be addressed to the broad masses; it was obviously aimed at a narrow circle of the St. Petersburg intelligentsia, who knew the people mentioned in the song and could properly assess the severity of judgments about them.

Where is Bulgarin Thaddeus

Not afraid of claws

Tants.

Where Magnitsky is silent,

And Mordvinov screams

At ease.

Where Grech doesn’t think,

That he will be flogged

Hurt.

Where is Speransky priest

Sucks like bedbugs

Varom.

Where is Izmailov - an eccentric

Goes to every pub

For free.

Who are the people whom the Decembrists mention in the song?

Bulgarin F.V. (1789-1859) – journalist, was close to the Decembrists for some time, but later became an informant.

Tanta - E.I. Videman, the aunt of Bulgarin’s wife, who had a difficult character.

Magnitsky M.L. (1788-1855) - member of the Main Board of Schools, who carried out the destruction of Kazan University in 1819 and the following years.

Mordvinov N.S. (1754-1845) - admiral, member of the State Council, had a reputation as an incorruptible person.

Grech N.I. (1787-1867) - journalist, writer and philologist, head of schools for mutual training of guard soldiers (Lancaster schools), was suspected of participating in the drafting of a revolutionary appeal to the guard soldiers in connection with the uprising of the Semenovsky regiment, rumored to have been flogged in the Third Section.

Speransky M.M. (1722-1839) - a prominent statesman, member of the State Council and acting chairman of the Law Drafting Commission.

Izmailov A.E. (1799-1831) - translator, prose writer, poet-fabulist, considered a drinker.

In addition, Ryleev and Bestuzhev wrote several sub-songs.

Podblyudnye songs are a genre of folk poetry used during folk fortune-telling. The Decembrists parodically used this genre for the purposes of political propaganda.

The cycle of subbowl songs in its structure and content is addressed to the common people. There are good reasons to believe that it was written on the direct instructions of the Northern Society. The author of the cycle of underwater songs, apparently, is mainly A.A. Bestuzhev, but Ryleev’s participation is very likely.

“Glory to God in heaven, and to freedom on this earth!”written to the tune of a folk song, which was later quoted by A.A. Bestuzhev in the story “Terrible Fortune Telling”, published in 1831, but in the adaptation of Ryleev and Bestuzhev it sounded completely different:

So that the truth does not change,

Her first friends will not grow old,

Their sabers and daggers will not rust,

Their good horses cannot be pampered.

Glory to God in heaven, and glory to freedom on this earth!

Yes, and it will be given to the Orthodox. Glory!

Song “As a man comes from Novgorod”written to the tune of a folk song recorded by A.A. Bestuzhev, but contains a direct threat:

He is neither a rogue nor a thief, he has an ax behind him;

And whoever he comes to, he will rip off his head.

Song “Along the Fontanka River”", first published in the collection "Decembrists and Their Time" in 1951, raises a direct, open revolutionary uprising. Her fiery, scorching lines seem to concentrate the power of great popular anger, incinerating everything in its path. The song denounces military drill, calls for battle against the main driller - the “tyrant scoundrel”:

Don't they have hands?

To get rid of torment?

Aren't there bayonets?

On princelings - brats?

Is there no lead

To a tyrant - a scoundrel?

The Semenovsky regiment, which rebelled in 1820 against the Arakcheev regime, is set by Bestuzhev as an example to the soldiers of the St. Petersburg guard. The murder of the king is depicted here as a heroic and holy feat.

Song "I've been playing around..."full of hope for freedom:

I played around.

There is no need, friends,

It's out of joy.

I am freedom's daughter

Off the thrones

Emperors.

A cry for freedom

I'll loosen my tongue

The senators.

The last lines contain the intention of the Decembrists, after the victory of the uprising, to force the Senate to issue an appeal “To the Russian people.”

“It’s like there are two rainbows in the sky”sings of two joys of the Russian people:

Truth in court and freedom everywhere, -

And they will be given to the Russians.

The songwriters managed not only to skillfully imitate the tune of a folk song, but also to merge this folk poetry with revolutionary content. The songs are full of specific historical realities, covered in a broad national breath, imbued with common sense, slyness and mockery of the king and his masters.

The propaganda and satirical songs of Ryleev and Bestuzhev became in many ways an example and model for the subsequent development of the revolutionary song tradition, embodied by A.I. Polezhaev (“Ah, ahti, oh, hurray”), V.I. Sokolovsky (“Russian Emperor for Eternity departed"), N.P. Ogarev ("Reflections of a Russian non-commissioned officer before the campaign"), V.S. Kurochkin ("For a long time the landowners strangled us") and others.

3. Creation of the almanac “Polar Star” and work in it

Bestuzhev and Ryleev began one of their largest Decembrist undertakings - the publication of the almanac "Polar Star" - even before joining the Northern Society - in 1822. They met and became friends at meetings of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.

It is not known which of them was the first to come up with the idea of ​​publishing an almanac (Decembrist Evgeniy Obolensky noted in his memoirs that it was Ryleev), but already in April–May 1822 they sent a number of letters to the best Russian writers. Ryleev wrote to Vyazemsky: “Undertaking with A.A. Bestuzhev to publish a Russian almanac for 1823, we decided to compile it from the works of our first-class poets and writers.”

Poems and prose were received from Glinka, Kornilovich, Zhukovsky, Davydov, Gnedich, Voeikov, Somov, Senkovsky, Grech, Krylov, Pushkin, Delvig, Izmailov and other authors; Bestuzhev and Ryleev also provided a number of their works.

“To acquaint the public... with native literature” (Bestuzhev) - this is the goal of the publication. There was also another goal, important, but, of course, not the main one: to solve the problem of literary royalties, to set an example, for the first time in the almanac-magazine business by rewarding all authors for their work, and not some of their choice, as had happened before. However, Bestuzhev and Ryleev fully achieved this goal only in 1825, on the third issue of Polar Star, having gotten rid of the bookseller Slenin, who was in charge of the commercial side of the publication, who, while paying the compilers, did not, according to tradition, reward the authors with anything. When Ryleev wrote to Vyazemsky about “Polar Star” that “this publication is the first phenomenon of its kind,” he did not mean, of course, the financial side of the matter.

On November 30, 1822, the censor A. Birukov, with whom the publishers had a battle over many poems (as one memoirist recalled, Ryleev and Bestuzhev even had to “purchase”), signed the almanac manuscript for publication. It was published in Grech's printing house and in December it arrived at Slenin's bookstore.

Ryleev and Bestuzhev kept coming into the shop. Elegant small (16th of a sheet) volumes of the almanac quickly passed from the shelves into the hands of buyers. A week later there was not a single copy left. The success was complete. Only “The History of the State of the Russian Karamzin was sold - not long before - just as quickly.

“The talk about the “Polar Star” does not cease,” noted Bestuzhev. Soon responses to it appeared in magazines. The almanac excited not only the literary world, but also the entire reading society. There was a lot of praise, but there were also attacks.

In the fall of 1823, Bestuzhev was on a business trip, Ryleev was working on “The Polar Star” alone. He negotiated with the censor and corresponded with the authors. Censor Birukov cut out entire sections from the works of Pushkin and Vyazemsky.

Bestuzhev, thanks to his reviews, and Ryleev, thanks to the thoughts and excerpts from the poem published in Polar Star, acted not only as compilers and publishers, but also as authors who determined the main, progressive ideas of this classic for Pushkin's time publications

If the circulation of the first issue of the almanac was 600 copies, then the second was 1500, and this was a large circulation for that time. But it also sold out quickly, in just three weeks.

In 1824, the peasant Agap Ivanovich (surname unknown) came to Ryleev as a messenger on almanac matters. Years later his stories were written down. “At Ryleev’s,” he recalled, “many of his acquaintances gathered at night; They mostly sat in the back rooms, and the front rooms, as a precaution, were not even lit. They spoke mostly French, and if Russian conversation started, Kondraty Fedorovich sent me out of the room.” This was the gathering of “Ryleev’s branch” - a determined part of Northern society. Kakhovsky, Yakubovich, Pushchin, Batenkov, Bulatov, Shteingel and others went to Ryleev, who, although not distinguished by eloquence, knew how to convince and inspire with sincere and quiet speech.

“The liberation of the fatherland or martyrdom for freedom as an example for future generations was his every minute thought; this selflessness was not the inspiration of one minute... but constantly grew along with love for the fatherland, which finally turned into passion - into a high, enthusiastic feeling,” wrote Nikolai Bestuzhev. All the Decembrists remembered Ryleev as an extraordinary person. Alexander Poggio called him a “great citizen” in his notes.

The third issue of the almanac was published later than the publishers expected: only on March 21, 1825 (instead of December 1824). At this time they had too much trouble with the Northern Society, which, thanks to Ryleev, was growing rapidly - new members appeared in all regiments of the guard and in the navy, and many of them called themselves “Ryleev’s soldiers.”

The third issue of the almanac was given to them with great stress. In 1825, they inevitably began to think about stopping the publication. Already in a letter to Pushkin dated March 25, Ryleev talks about “Zvezdochka,” conceived as the fourth and final issue of the almanac.

In January, Ryleev and Bestuzhev published an “Announcement about the publication of the Polar Star for 1825” in the magazine “Son of the Fatherland,” where they reported an unforeseen delay. Finally the almanac came out. The following reviews appeared in the periodical press: “The current “Polar Star” is undoubtedly better than previous years: the poetic part of it has never been so rich in the merits of the plays”; “Never before has the poetic part of the “Polar Star” been so rich not in number, but in dignity”; “Let us rejoice that in “The Polar Star” even the most severe critic will give full justice to the prose department”... In the almanac they found “a desire for nationality”, that the poetry and prose in it “tell us about our homeland.”

What was published in the third issue of the almanac? Excerpts from “Gypsies”, “The Robber Brothers” and “Message to Alekseev” by Pushkin, seven poems by Baratynsky, two by Vyazemsky, three by Glinka, one by Griboedov, one by Kozlov, two by V.L. Pushkin, three by Yazykov, two fables by Krylov, an excerpt from the 19th song of the Iliad translated by Gnedich. Poems by Grigoriev, Tumansky, Khomyakov, Pletnev, Ivanchin-Pisarev, Zaitsevsky. Ryleev placed three excerpts from the poem “Nalivaiko” and “Stanzas”. In the prose department there are travel notes by N. Bestuzhev “Gibraltar”, a historical essay by Kornilovitch, “oriental stories” (fairy tales) by Senkovsky, works by Glinka and Bulgarin, as well as a literary review “A look at Russian literature during 1824 and at the beginning of 1825” by A Bestuzhev.

After the uprising, the almanac of Bestuzhev and Ryleev became one of the seditious books. So, for reading “The Polar Star,” Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich sent the Bestuzhevs’ younger brother, Peter, as a soldier to the Caucasus. The prince was especially angry that the almanac was revealed during the “Confession of Nalivaika.”

It was believed that Ryleev and Bestuzhev began preparing the fourth - small final - almanac by the end of 1825. At the beginning of December 1825, “Zvezdochka” was handed over to the printing house of the General Staff.

By December 14th, eighty pages had been printed. After the arrest of Bestuzhev and Ryleev, printing stopped - the finished sheets remained in warehouses and were burned in 1861. By luck, two copies of the printed part of the almanac and the censored manuscript survived.

The printed sheets contain A. Bestuzhev’s story “Blood for Blood”, O. Somov’s story “Gaydamak”, an excerpt from the third chapter of “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin, poems by Kozlov, Oznobishin, Khomyakov, Tumansky, Yazykov. The censored manuscript contained poems by Baratynsky, V. Pushkin, Nechaev, Glinka, Obodovsky, Vyazemsky and other authors that had not yet been included in the typesetting. Ryleev did not have time to give anything of his own to “Zvezdochka,” and it was precisely because of this that its civil, freedom-loving attitude was, as it were, muted. But it still exists - it is felt in Somov’s excellent story “Gaydamak”, which tells about the legendary Ukrainian robber Garkush, in Tumansky’s “Greek Ode”, where the rebel Greeks say: “And our waters will become blood, Until we redeem freedom...”

In 1960 full text all editions of “The Polar Star” (with the addition of “Star”) by Bestuzhev and Ryleev were republished by the USSR Academy of Sciences in the “Literary Monuments” series - this finally confirmed the enormous literary and artistic significance of the Decembrist almanac in the history of Russian literature.

4. K.F. Ryleev’s contribution to Russian literature

The historical feat of the Decembrists consisted, first of all, in the fact that they rebelled against tsarism and serfdom, and decided to take up arms in their hands, even without firm hopes of success. Ready without hesitation to give their lives for the freedom of their homeland, they considered it a glorious destiny to die in the moment of the first battle, but to serve as an example for posterity. In other words, this thought of Ryleev was expressed on the eve of the uprising by Alexander Bestuzhev: “Pages will be written about us in history.”

All of Ryleev’s thoughts are about making literature a platform from which one can talk about topical issues political issues He put into practice, teaching young people true patriotism in all the ways known to him: with an ardent word, a sharp sword, a courageous heart and love for the people, for the Motherland, for loved ones and friends.

Ryleev hoped that his descendants would understand him and appreciate that he “inflamed jealousy in young hearts for the public good.” And the descendants understood this. Herzen and Ogarev placed portraits of five executed Decembrists on the cover of the magazine, which was called the same as the almanac of Bestuzhev and Ryleev: “Polar Star”. The magazine was published in a free Russian printing house in London. Ogarev dedicated poems to Ryleev. The civic pathos of Ryleev’s poetry inspired M.Yu. Lermontov, N.A. Nekrasova.

5. The memory of Ryleev is alive

Such political poems as “Vision”, “Civil Courage”, “Will I be in the fateful time...”, poems “Voinarovsky”, “Nalivaiko”, thoughts, propaganda songs, bring Ryleev to first place in the literary movement of 10-20- s of the 19th century.

What another Decembrist poet, Alexander Odoevsky, prophesied in his poems also came true: “From a spark a flame will ignite...”. The Decembrist cause has not been forgotten. Their names are remembered by their descendants. And among these names, one of the most famous is the name of the poet-citizen K.F. Ryleev.

Bibliography

1. Collection “Native Poets” “Children’s Literature”, Moscow, 1958

1. Article by N.I. Yakushin “The Soul in the Treasured Lyre.” Collection “Russian poetry of the first half of the 19th century” “Veche”, Moscow, 2002.
2. Article by S.S. Volk “Faithful Sons of the Fatherland.” Collection “Their union with liberty is eternal...”, Sovremennik, Moscow, 1983.
3. “Literary and critical developments of the Decembrists”, Moscow, 1978.
4. Article by A.A. Bestuzhev “A look at Russian literature during 1824 and early 1825.” Collection “Polar Star”, “Soviet Russia”, Moscow, 1982.
5. “Works in 2 volumes by Bestuzhev-Marlinsky A.A.”
6. “Memoirs of the Bestuzhev-Marlinskys”, Moscow, 1951
7. “Essays on Decembrist literature” Bazanov V.G., Moscow, 1953.
8. Article by V. Afanasyev “Star of Freedom”. Collection “Polar Star”, “Soviet Russia”, Moscow, 1982.
9. I.A. Fogelson “Literature teaches”, “Enlightenment”, Moscow, 1990.
10. Article by V.I. Korovin “Russian poetry from Derzhavin to Tyutchev.” Collection “Russian poets of the 19th century”, “Enlightenment”, Moscow, 1991.

Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev born on September 18, 1795 into a poor noble family. His father, the business manager of the prince. Golitsyn, was a stern and despotic man. Ryleev’s mother, Anastasia Mikhailovna Essen, sent the child to the first cadet corps to save the boy from cruel treatment. Interest in poetry awoke in Ryleev quite early. Perhaps his first poetic experience was the humorous (“iro-comic”) poem “Kulakiyada,” which described the death and campaigns of the corps cook Kulakov and presented in a humorous manner the housekeeper Bobrov, who left a unique mark on the history of the corps. In 1814, Ryleev was promoted to officer in the horse artillery and went into the active army. In the spring of 1817, he returned to Russia, retired, and entered the civil service. After marrying N.M. Tevyasheva moves to St. Petersburg, joins the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature and the Flaming Star Masonic Lodge. In 1821, Ryleev was elected from the nobility as an assessor of the criminal chamber and gained some popularity as an incorruptible champion of justice. Since 1824, Ryleev (on the recommendation of N.S. Mordvinov) has been the head of the office of the Russian-American company and is one of its shareholders.

1820s - the time of active literary activity of K.F. Ryleeva. From the very moment of his arrival in the northern capital, he began to publish in Nevsky Spectator and Blagonamerenny. Since 1823, together with A. Bestuzhev, he has been publishing the almanac “Polar Star”. The publishers planned “Zvezdochka” (an almanac of a smaller volume) for 1826, but it was published only in 1870 (in “Russian Antiquity”). In 1824-1825 he publishes “Dumas” (historical paintings in verse), the poems “Voinarovsky” and “Nalivaiko”. But already Ryleev’s first printed work, “To the Temporary Worker” (1820), made his name widely known.

At the beginning of 1823, Ryleev joined the Northern Society, and a year later he became its de facto head.

The headquarters for preparing the uprising was located in his apartment. On the eve of December 14, there was a meeting of future participants in the uprising at Ryleev’s house. “How wonderful Ryleev was that evening,” recalled Mikhail Bestuzhev. - He was not good-looking, he spoke simply, but not smoothly, but when he came to his favorite topic - love for his homeland, his face became animated, his pitch-black eyes lit up with an unearthly light, his speech flowed smoothly, like fiery lava, and Then, sometimes, you wouldn’t get tired of admiring him.”

After the failure of the uprising, expecting imminent arrest, Ryleev destroyed all documents related to the activities of the secret society. He gave part of the literary archive to F.V. Bulgarin. Manuscripts of poems, sketches of poems and tragedies, personal correspondence - all these documents ended up in the investigative commission, and then this entire “Ryleev archive”, under unclear circumstances, ended up in the Saratov province; and only in late XIX V. it was partially published.

Ryleev was sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress with the following instructions from Nicholas I: “...Put him in the Alekseevsky ravelin, but without tying his hands, without any communication with others, give him paper for writing, and whatever he writes to me with his own hand, bring me daily " The months spent in the fortress are a tragic and difficult period in the poet’s life. He was oppressed by a constant feeling of guilt before the comrades whom he led to death, and he admitted that he was “the main culprit of the incident on December 14.” In the list of criminals, Ryleyev is placed second: “he intended to commit regicide... to deprive him of freedom and exterminate the royal family... he strengthened the activities of the Northern society, managing it, prepared methods for rebellion... he himself composed and distributed outrageous songs and poems, inciting rebellion of lower ranks... during the rebellion he himself went to the square..."

On July 13, 1826, 5 Decembrists were executed by hanging. But Ryleev, Kakhovsky and Muravyov had to survive the execution twice - the ropes could not withstand the weight of the shackles placed on the Decembrists. An unprecedented thing in history - they were hanged a second time, although the one who fell from the noose was worthy of forgiveness.