Why Chekhov went to Sakhalin?

Every schoolboy knows why Chekhov went to Sakhalin in 1890, most of whose inhabitants were religious – to save people. Classics should be.

But here to contemporaries and researchers, the causes of such a long-term travel Anton Pavlovich were not so clear.

Brother, Mikhail Chekhov, said that "Anton Pavlovich gathered at the Far East somehow suddenly, unexpectedly, so the first time was difficult to understand, he seriously talks about it or jokes". Considering that he recently refused a pleasant trip, "Because cough in the car", the jokes of these relatives did not have fun.

Publicist Mikhail Menshikov recalled: "Everyone was surprised. Where? Why? Young Belletrist, beloved by the audience, whose talent is created "For inspirations, for the sounds of sweet and prayers", – And suddenly goes to the cautious!"

Anton Chekhov (in the center) reads the "Seagull" group of actors and directors of Mkat

Chekhov’s publisher Alexei Suvorin considered the ridewalk of the venture and tried to dissuade himself from her: "Sakhalin is not needed and not interested in anyone". Chekhov answered passionately: "… You write that Sakhalin is not needed and not interested in anyone. Not further than 25-30 years ago, our our people exploring Sakhalin, made amazing feats. And we do not need it, we … just sit in the four walls and complain that God has created a bad man ".

You know what the wet boots mean? These are boots from jelly. All the way I was hungry like a dog. Even dreamed of buckwheat

Fees began. "I have such a feeling as if I am going to war, although I don’t see any dangers in front, except for a toothache that will certainly be on the road". Were purchased, officer waterproof leather coat, big boots, revolver and Finnish knife "for cutting sausages and tigers hunting". And Anton Pavlovich, after having passed everything that could find, on history, ethnography and a prison, headed by straight to hell, as he then calls Sakhalin.

Way to hell

The road from Moscow took 81 days and was difficult. One trip across the whole Siberia is worth. In a letter A. N. Plescheyev he writes: "All Siberian, I experienced, I share for three eras:

1) from Tyumen to Tomsk 1500 miles, afraid of the refrigeration and night. Winds and desperate. War with river spills. I changed the crew on a root and walked as a Venicean on a gondola;

2) from Tomsk to Krasnoyarsk 500 versts, non-flazen dirt; My wagon and I shipped in dirt like flies in thick jam;

3) from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk 1566 miles, heat, smoke forest fires and dust; Dust in the mouth, in the nose, in the pockets ".

New knowledge is purchased: "You know what the wet felt boots mean? These are boots from a jelly ". Simple feelings come to the change of intellectual reflection: "All the way I was hungry like a dog. Even dreamed of buckwheat. For the whole hours dreamed of ". No wonder that, overcoming these exotic, unusual obstacles, Czechs Gord: "I have a mood, as if I could stand the exam".

When the ninth hour was thrown anchor, Sakhalin Taiga was burning on the shore in five places. A terrible picture, roughly tailored from dwarf, silhouettes of mountains, smoke, flame and fiery sparks

But besides the difficulties of physical there were other. As any person who has fallen alone in an unfamiliar, seemingly hostile world, Chekhov was scary. "The officer who accompanied the soldiers, having learned why I am going to Sakhalin, was very surprised and began to assure me that I had no right to approach the cortex and colony … Of course, I knew that he was wrong, but still from the words of his words I became terribly me and I was afraid that I am in Sakhalin, perhaps, I will meet exactly the same look ".

Arrest attacks on the steamer

The island met Nelskovo: "When an anchor threw an anchor in the ninth hour, Sakhalin Taiga burned on the shore in five places. A terrible picture, roughly tailored from dwarf, silhouettes of mountains, smoke, flames and fiery sparks, seemed fantastic. The monstrous fires are burning on the left, above them – the mountains, because of the mountains rises high to the sky, the crimson glow from distant fires. And everything in smoke, like in hell ".

Boring, your gradient!

Now it was to plunge into the daily life of this hell, get used to his weekdays. Here’s "… Candalous Camora. linking chains, drag heavy wheelbarrow with sand. Cobble with sweaty red faces and guns on shoulders. . kandal ringing is heard continuously. A robe in a bathrobe with a tambourous ace walks from the courtyard into the yard and sells a blueberry berry ".

You go past any building, here are the core with axes, saws and hammers. Well, you think, swollen and fucks! Or, it happened, early in the morning, after four hours, you wake up from some kind of row, you look – to bed on tiptoe, a little breathe, the caterior. What? Why? "Clear boots, your highlags"

But most of the religion go through the streets freely and occur at every step. Thieves, murderers, rapists, fraudsters work kuchera, guard, chefs, cooks – no one is confused. The local ladies are completely calmly leave their children on nyanyan-Katzhanok. It is more difficult to have a fresh person: "You go past any building, here the core with axes, saws and hammers. Well, you think, swollen and fucks! Or, it happened, early in the morning, after four hours, you wake up from some kind of row, you look – to bed on tiptoe, a little breathe, the caterior. What? Why? "Clear boots, your grades"".

Life lentimet is not fear, not longing – boredom. Having learned about the intention of Chekhov to be on Sakhalin for several months, the head of the island Vladimir Kononovich warns: ". live here hard and boring. Hence all running. and core, and settlers, and officials ".

Just like all the local life, boring and volatile holidays. "On the streets, illuminated with plates and Bengal fire, until late evening we walked by crowds of soldiers, settlers and core. Prison was open. River Out, always wretched, dirty, with flashes, and now decorated on both sides with multi-colored lamps and Bengal lights. Funny like Kukharkin daughter for which. Delicious ladies dress. Even from the gun shot, and the gun ripped. And yet, despite this fun, it was boring on the streets. Neither songs, no harmonics, not a single drunk; People wandered like shadows, and silent like shadows ".

"There is not a single religious who would not talk to me"

Program yourself Anton Pavlovich outlined tight. I came up with a form that made it possible to kill three hares at once: see the picture of the island’s life as a whole, to chat almost with everyone, and at the same time getting valuable statistics – the population census. At such a type of contacts of the visiting writer with religion, the authorities gave good. At the pre-printed form, except full name, age, place of birth, there were questions about the year of arrival, occupation, literacy, family condition, diseases. Sometimes the answers to even the most simple questions gave food for thought and conclusions.

Transportation of brick carriage

"It happens that the Orthodox our peasant to the question, as his name, is not joking: "Charles". This is a tramp who has changed on the way with some German. As for the names, for some strange chance on Sakhalin a lot of Bogdanov and Belfared. At the most common name Ivan, and the surname is non-red "

Bogdanov – the god of the data – often made illegitimate (approx. Avt.). Read more about the origin of a variety of surnames – in our article "Your surname?".

"From what year on Sakhalin? Rare Sakhalinets answered this question immediately, without tension. The year of arrival at Sakhalin is a year of terrible misfortune, and meanwhile they do not know or not remember. It was especially important for me to get faithful answers from those who came here in the sixties and seventies … how many survived those that came here 20-25 years ago. "

"I got up every day at 5 o’clock in the morning … I went around all the settlements, went to all the huts and spoke with each … I already recorded about ten thousand people … In other words, there is not a single religious or settler on Sakhalin, who would not talk to me ".

Zakovka in shacks Sonya Golden Handles

Met Anton Pavlovich during census and legendary, then 45-year-old, Sonya Golden handle: "This is a small, thin, already seating woman with a marked, old face. Her shafts on her hands. She walks along his camera from angle corner, and it seems that she sniffs the air all the time as a mouse in a mousetrap. "

Chekhov visited the mines, barracks and prisons: "In the Voivodskaya prison, a chained knobs contain. Each of them is shackled into manual and foot shackles; From the middle of manual shackles there is a long chain of Arshri in 3-4, which is attached to the bottom of a small wheelbarrow ". Attended when punished with a whip: "… after which the nights of three or four declined the executioner and disgusting mare.

Caline settler poor in the village of Red Yar, o. Sakhalin

Do not forget, Chekhov – doctor. And for many years he considered the writing of the exercise for the soul, and medicine – for earnings. It turned out, how often the opposite. After all, he could not take payment from the poor – uncomfortable. So on Sakhalin: "Currently, Sakhalin has three medical points on the number of districts: in Alexandrovsk, Rykovskoye and Korsakovsky. Some weather I take outpatient patients. Neither the pelvis, no balls of wool, no probes, nor decent scissors, nor even water in sufficient quantities. Local hospital orders are behind civilization for at least 200 years. Multiple receptions of patients in the cherry lasacets of Chekhov spent exactly as a doctor.

In a letter A. NS. Suvorin summed up: "Sakhalin is the place of unbearable suffering, which is capable free and under-million. I regret that I am not sentimental, otherwise I would say that in places like Sakhalin, we must ride the worship, as the Turks go to Mecca, and the sailors and prisondes should look at Sakhalin, like the military to Sevastopol ".

Changes are irreversible

Anton Pavlovich stayed at the "Cursed Island" for three months and two days (he always insisted on this accurate wording) and another eight months traveled back – through Suez and Odessa.

Almost he immediately sat down. On the book "Island Sakhalin" went five years. At first, it was hard. On July 28, 1893, he admitted Suvorin: "I wrote for a long time and for a long time I felt that I was not on that way, until finally, did not catch false. False was exactly the fact that I as if someone I want my "Sakhalin" teach. But as soon as I began to portray, how much thought I felt on Sakhalin and what kind of pigs there, it became easy for me and my work was boiled. "

The book written by the "His", a civilized person from the inside of an alien, terrible and as if the non-existent world caused Furore in the world

In the book 23 chapters: "Common Cameras", "Candalous", "Cutting works in Aleksandrovsk", "Ex-Palach TERSKY", "barracks for family", "Duisk Prison", "Coal Copy", "chained to the bar" and T. D. Having finished, Chekhov admitted Suvorin: "I am glad that this hard arrestric bathrobe will hang in my fictional wardrobe.

The book written by the "His", a civilized person from the inside of an alien, terrible and as if the non-existent world caused Furore in the world.

Lifting up the comprehensive public, the Ministry of Justice and the main prison office sent their representatives to Sakhalin – everything was confirmed. Thus, the mechanism of sending was launched: cancellation of corporal punishment for women; appointment of government sums on the maintenance of children’s shelters; Cancellation of the eternal reference and lifelong cortic. In addition, the writer appeared followers. Sister of Mercy Evgeny Meyer, founded on the "Rabotnaya House" on the island, which gave work and food to settlers, and the Society of care about the families of refrunities, rightly said that I went to Sakhalin under the influence of the book Chekhov.

What is Anton Pavlovich himself? Of course, the trip made a decisive change in his life and the image of thoughts, although he, formerly stinging rather than sentimental, his feelings and mournful thoughts did not share with anyone. But in the questionnaires among the obligatory points of the place of birth and study, this trip mentioned always. Unfortunately, it seems that the journey irreversibly influenced not only on the image of Chekhov’s thoughts, but also on his body. Friends believed that it was "the journey through desperate roads, to the Rhaltice, on boats between ice floes or walking along the knee in ice water, in the rain and snow," and also intense literary work became the reasons for "his premature death".

You can learn about the life of modern Sakhalin in the project "My Planet" "Genius Places: Sakhalin".