Poetry at the end of the 19th century was called the “poetic renaissance” or “silver age”.

Gradually the term " silver Age" began to be attributed to that part artistic culture Russia, which was associated with symbolism, acmeism, “neo-peasant” and partly futuristic literature.

Literary directions:

1. Realism - continues to develop (L. Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky, etc.)

2.Modernism - from French. the words “newest, modern.” Modernists believed in the divine transformative creative role of art.

Symbolism is a literary artistic movement that considered the purpose of art to be an intuitive comprehension of world unity through symbols.

This is the first and largest movement of modernism. The beginning of self-determination was laid by D.S. Merezhkovsky (1892). He called mystical content, symbols and the expansion of artistic impressionability.

V. Bryusov became the leader of symbolism. BUT symbolism turned out to be a heterogeneous movement; several independent groups took shape within it. In Russian symbolism, it is customary to distinguish 2 main groups of poets: “senior” symbolists (Bryusov, Balmont, Sologub, Kuzmin, Merlikovsky, Gippius) and “younger” symbolists (Blok, Bely, Ivanov).

In the publishing life of the Symbolists, there were two groups: St. Petersburg and Moscow. This turned into a conflict.

The Moscow group (Liber Bryusov) considered the main principle of literature to be “art for art’s sake.”

Petersburgskaya (Merezhkovsky, Zippius) defended the priority of religious and philosophical searches in symbolism. They considered themselves genuine symbolists and considered their opponents decadents.

Characteristic:

polysemy

full significance of the subject plan of the image

concentration of the absolute in the individual

Music: the second most important aesthetic category of symbolism

The relationship between the poet and his audience: the poet addressed not everyone, but the reader-creator.

Acmeism is a modernist movement (from the Greek tip, pinnacle, highest degree, pronounced qualities). This movement declared specifically sensory perception of the external world, returning the word to its original non-symbolic meaning.

At the beginning of their path, the Acmeists were close to the Symbolists, then associations appeared: 1911 - the Workshop of Poets.

“All of Greece and Rome fed only on literature: in our sense, there were no schools at all! And how they grew. Literature, in fact, is the only school of the people, and it can be the only and sufficient school...” V. Rozanov.

D. S. Likhachev “Russian literature... has always been the conscience of the people. Her place in the public life of the country has always been honorable and influential. She educated people and strove for a just reconstruction of life." D. Likhachev.

Ivan Bunin The Word The tombs, mummies and bones are silent, Only the word is given life: From ancient darkness, in the world graveyard, Only Letters sound. And we have no other property! Know how to protect, at least to the best of your ability, in days of anger and suffering, Our immortal gift - speech.

General characteristics of the era The first question that arises when addressing the topic “Russian literature of the 20th century” is from when to count the 20th century. According to the calendar, from 1900 - 1901. ? But it is obvious that a purely chronological boundary, although significant in itself, gives almost nothing in the sense of delimiting eras. The first milestone of the new century is the revolution of 1905. But the revolution passed, and there was some calm - until the First World War. Akhmatova recalled this time in “Poem Without a Hero”: And along the legendary embankment the not calendar, the real twentieth century was approaching...

At the turn of the eras, the worldview of a person who understood that the previous era was gone forever became different. The socio-economic and general cultural prospects of Russia began to be assessed in a completely different way. The new era was defined by contemporaries as “borderline.” The previous forms of life, work, and socio-political organization became history. The established, previously seemingly unchangeable, system of spiritual values ​​was radically revised. It is not surprising that the edge of the era was symbolized by the word “Crisis”. This “fashionable” word roamed the pages of journalistic and literary-critical articles along with the similar words “revival”, “turning point”, “crossroads”, etc. Innokenty Annensky

Fiction also did not stand aloof from public passions. Her social engagement was clearly manifested in the characteristic titles of her works - “Off the Road”, “At the Turning” by V. Veresaev, “The Decline of the Old Century” by A. Amfiteatrov, “At the Last Line” by M. Artsybashev. On the other hand, most of the creative elite felt their era as a time of unprecedented achievements, where literature was given a significant place in the history of the country. Creativity seemed to fade into the background, giving way to the ideological and social position of the author, his connection and participation in Mikhail Artsebashev

End XIX century exposed the deepest crisis phenomena in the economy of the Russian Empire. The reform of 1861 by no means decided the fate of the peasantry, who dreamed of “land and freedom.” This situation led to the emergence in Russia of a new revolutionary teaching - Marxism, which relied on the growth of industrial production and a new progressive class - the proletariat. In politics this meant a transition to organized struggle united masses, the result of which was to be the violent overthrow of the state system and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The former methods of populist educators and populist terrorists have finally become a thing of the past. Marxism offered a radically different, scientific method, thoroughly developed theoretically. It is no coincidence that “Capital” and other works of Karl Marx became reference books for many young people who were striving to build an ideal “Kingdom of Justice”.

On turn of the 19th century and the 20th century, the idea of ​​a rebel man, a demiurge man capable of transforming an era and changing the course of history, is reflected in the philosophy of Marxism. This is most clearly seen in the work of Maxim Gorky and his followers, who persistently highlighted Man with a capital M, the owner of the earth, a fearless revolutionary who challenges not only social injustice, but also the Creator himself. The rebel heroes of the writer's novels, stories and plays ("Foma Gordeev", "Philistines", "Mother") absolutely and irrevocably reject the Christian humanism of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy about suffering and purification by it. Gorky believed that revolutionary activity in the name of reorganizing the world transforms and enriches inner world person. Illustration for M. Gorky's novel "Foma Gordeev" Artists Kukryniksy. 1948 -1949

Another group of cultural figures cultivated the idea of ​​spiritual revolution. The reason for this was the assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881 and the defeat of the 1905 revolution. Philosophers and artists called for the internal perfection of man. IN national characteristics Russian people, they were looking for ways to overcome the crisis of positivism, whose philosophy became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century. In their quest, they sought to find new paths of development that could transform not only Europe, but the whole world. At the same time, an incredible, unusually bright rise of Russian religious and philosophical thought took place. In 1909, a group of philosophers and religious publicists, including N. Berdyaev, S. Bulgakov and others, published a philosophical and journalistic collection "Milestones", whose role in the intellectual history of Russia in the 20th century is invaluable. “Vekhi” even today seem to us as if sent from the future,” this is exactly what another will say about them great thinker and truth-seeker Alexander Solzhenitsyn. "Vekhi" revealed the danger of thoughtless adherence to any theoretical principles, exposing the moral inadmissibility of belief in the universal significance of social ideals. In turn, they criticized the natural weakness of the revolutionary path, emphasizing its danger for the Russian people. However, the blindness of society turned out to be much worse. Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev

First World War turned into a disaster for the country, pushing it towards an inevitable revolution. February 1917 and the ensuing anarchy led to the October Revolution. As a result, Russia acquired a completely different face. For late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, the main background of literary development was tragic social contradictions, as well as the dual combination of difficult economic modernization and the revolutionary movement. Changes in science occurred at a rapid pace, philosophical ideas about the world and man changed, and arts close to literature developed rapidly. Scientific and philosophical views at certain stages of cultural history radically influence the creators of words, who sought to reflect the paradoxes of time in their works.

The crisis of historical ideas was expressed in the loss of a universal point of reference, of one or another ideological foundation. It is not for nothing that the great German philosopher and philologist F. Nietzsche uttered his key phrase: “God is dead.” It speaks of the disappearance of a strong ideological support, indicating the onset of an era of relativism, when the crisis of faith in the unity of the world order reaches its culmination. This crisis greatly contributed to the search for Russian philosophical thought, which was experiencing an unprecedented flowering at that time. V. Solovyov, L. Shestov, N. Berdyaev, S. Bulgakov, V. Rozanov and many other philosophers had a strong influence on the development of various spheres of Russian culture. Some of them showed themselves in literary creativity. Important in Russian philosophy of that time was the appeal to epistemological and ethical issues. Many thinkers have focused their attention on spiritual world personality, interpreting life in categories close to literature such as life and fate, conscience and love, insight and delusion. Together, they led a person to understand the diversity of real, practical and internal, spiritual experience

The picture of artistic movements and trends has changed dramatically. The former smooth transition from one stage to another, when at a certain stage of literature one direction dominated, has faded into oblivion. Now different aesthetic systems existed simultaneously. Realism and modernism, the largest literary movements, developed in parallel with each other. But at the same time, realism was a complex complex of several “realisms”. Modernism was distinguished by extreme internal instability: various currents and groups were continuously transformed, arose and disintegrated, united and differentiated. Literature, as it were, “got rid of money.” That is why, in relation to the art of the early 20th century, the classification of phenomena on the basis of “directions and trends” is obviously conditional, non-absolute.

A specific feature of the culture of the turn of the century is the active interaction of various types of art. It is flourishing at this time performing arts. The opening of the Art Theater in Moscow in 1898 was an event of great cultural significance. On October 14, 1898, the first performance of A. K. Tolstoy’s play “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” took place on the stage of the Hermitage Theater. In 1902, at the expense of the largest Russian philanthropist S. T. Morozov, the famous Moscow Art Theater building was built (architect F. O. Shekhtel). The origins of the new theater were K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich. Danchenko. In his speech addressed to the troupe at the opening of the theater, Stanislavsky especially emphasized the need to democratize the theater, bringing it closer to life. The true birth of the Art Theater, a truly new theater, took place during the production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" in December 1898, which has since been theater emblem. The modern dramaturgy of Chekhov and Gorky formed the basis of its repertoire in the first years of its existence. Principles of performing arts developed Art Theater and being part of the general struggle for new realism, had big influence on theatrical life Russia as a whole.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Russian literature became aesthetically multi-layered. Realism at the turn of the century remained a large-scale and influential literary movement. Thus, Tolstoy and Chekhov lived and worked in this era. The brightest talents among the new realists belonged to the writers who united in the Moscow circle "Sreda" in the 1890s, and in the early 1900s who formed the circle of regular authors of the publishing house "Znanie", the actual leader was M. Gorky. IN different years it included L. Andreev, I. Bunin, V. Veresaev, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, A. Kuprin, I. Shmelev and other writers. The significant influence of this group of writers was explained by the fact that it most fully inherited the traditions of the Russian literary heritage of the 19th century. The experience of A. Chekhov turned out to be especially important for the next generation of realists. A.P. Chekhov. Yalta. 1903

Themes and heroes of realistic literature The thematic range of works of realists at the turn of the century is undoubtedly wider, in contrast to their predecessors. For most writers at this time, thematic constancy is uncharacteristic. Rapid changes in Russia forced them to approach topics differently, to invade previously reserved layers of topics. The typology of characters has also been noticeably updated in realism. Outwardly, the writers followed tradition: in their works one could find easily recognizable types of the “little man” or the intellectual who experienced a spiritual drama. Characters got rid of sociological averageness and became more diverse in psychological characteristics and attitude. “The diversity of the soul” of the Russian person is a constant motif in I. Bunin’s prose. He was one of the first in realism to use foreign material in his works ("Brothers", "Chang's Dreams", "The Mister from San Francisco"). The same thing became characteristic of M. Gorky, E. Zamyatin and others. The work of A. I. Kuprin (1870 -1938) is unusually wide in the variety of topics and human characters. The heroes of his stories are soldiers, fishermen, spies, loaders, horse thieves, provincial musicians, actors, circus performers, telegraph operators

The genres and stylistic features of realistic prose were significantly updated at the beginning of the 20th century genre system and the style of realistic prose. The most mobile stories and essays occupied the main place in the genre hierarchy at this time. The novel has practically disappeared from the genre repertoire of realism, giving way to the story. Starting with the work of A. Chekhov, in realistic prose The importance of the formal organization of the text has noticeably increased. Some techniques and elements of form received greater independence in the artistic structure of the work. For example, artistic detail was used more variedly. At the same time, the plot increasingly lost its significance as the main compositional device and began to play a subordinate role. In the period from 1890 to 1917, three literary movements- symbolism, acmeism and futurism, which formed the basis of modernism as a literary movement

Modernism in the artistic culture of the turn of the century was a complex phenomenon. Within it, several movements can be distinguished, different in their aesthetics and programmatic settings (symbolism, acmeism, futurism, egofuturism, cubism, suprematism, etc.). But in general, according to philosophical and aesthetic principles, modernist art opposed realism, especially the realistic art of the 19th century. However, the art of modernism in its The literary process of the turn of the century in its artistic and moral value was largely determined by the common, for most major artists, desire for our rich cultural heritage and, above all, freedom from aesthetic normativity, overcoming not embodied. contains within itself the silver lining of Russian culture. only literary cliches of the previous era, but also new artistic canons that developed in their immediate literary environment. Literary school (current) and creative individuality are two key categories literary process beginning of the 20th century. To understand the work of a particular author, it is essential to know the immediate aesthetic context - the context of a literary movement or group.

The literary process at the turn of the century was largely determined by the common desire, for most major artists, for freedom from aesthetic normativity, to overcome not only the literary cliches of the previous era, but also the new artistic canons that were emerging in their immediate literary environment. Literary school (current) and creative individuality are two key categories of the literary process of the early 20th century. To understand the work of a particular author, it is essential to know the immediate aesthetic context - the context of a literary movement or group.

Composition

Goal: to familiarize students with the general characteristics and originality of Russian literature of the 19th century. from the point of view of history and literature; give an idea of ​​the main trends in literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries; show the significance of Russian literature of this period in the development of the Russian and world literary process; to cultivate a sense of belonging and empathy for the history of Russia, love for its culture. equipment: textbook, portraits of writers and poets of the turn of the century.

Projected

Results: students know the general characteristics and originality of Russian literature of the 19th century. from the point of view of history and literature; have an idea of ​​the main trends in literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries; determine the significance of Russian literature of this period in the development of the Russian and world literary process. lesson type: lesson on learning new material.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Organizational stage

II. Update background knowledge Checking homework (frontal)

III. Setting the goals and objectives of the lesson.

Motivation educational activities

Teacher. The twentieth century began at zero o'clock on January 1, 1901 - this is its calendar beginning, from which it counts its history and world art XX century From this, however, it does not follow that at one moment a general revolution took place in art, establishing a certain a new style XX century Some of the processes that are essential for the history of art originate in the last century.

The last decade of the 19th century. opens a new stage in Russian and world culture. Over the course of about a quarter of a century - from the early 1890s to October 1917 - literally every aspect of Russian life changed radically: economics, politics, science, technology, culture, art. Compared to the social and, to some extent, literary stagnation of the 1880s. The new stage of historical and cultural development was distinguished by rapid dynamics and acute drama. In terms of the pace and depth of change, as well as the catastrophic nature internal conflicts Russia at this time was ahead of any other country. Therefore, the transition from the era of classical Russian literature to the new literary time was accompanied by far from peaceful processes in general cultural and intraliterary life, which were unexpectedly fast by the standards of the 19th century. - a change in aesthetic guidelines, a radical update of literary techniques.

The legacy of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. is not limited to the creativity of one or two dozen significant artists words, and the logic of literary development of this time cannot be reduced to a single center or the simplest scheme changing directions. This heritage is a multi-tiered artistic reality in which individual literary talents, no matter how outstanding they may be, are only part of a grandiose whole. When starting to study the literature of the turn of the century, one cannot do without a brief overview of the social background and general cultural context of this period (“context” is the environment, the external environment in which art exists).

IV. Working on the topic of lesson 1. teacher's lecture

(Students write theses.)

Literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. existed and developed under powerful impact crisis that gripped almost all aspects of Russian life. His sense of the tragedy and disorder of Russian life of this time with great artistic power The great realist writers of the 19th century, who were finishing their creative and life path: l. N. Tolstoy and A. P. Chekhov. Continuers of the realistic traditions of I. a. Bunin, A. I. Kuprin, l. N. Andreev, A. N. Tolstoy, in turn, created magnificent examples of realistic art. However, the plots of their works became more and more disturbing and gloomy from year to year, the ideals that inspired them became more and more unclear. Life-affirming pathos, characteristic of Russian classics of the 19th century c., under the weight of sad events, gradually disappeared from their work.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Russian literature, which previously had high degree ideological unity, has become aesthetically multi-layered.

Realism at the turn of the century continued to be a large-scale and influential literary movement.

The most brilliant talents among the new realists belonged to the writers who united in the 1890s. to the Moscow circle “Sreda”, and in the early 1900s. who formed the circle of regular authors of the publishing house “Znanie” (one of its owners and actual leader was M. Gorky). In addition to the leader of the association, over the years it included L. N. Andreev, I. a. Bunin, V.V. Veresaev, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, a. I. Kuprin, I. S. Shmelev and other writers. With the exception of I. a. There were no major poets among Bunin's realists; they showed themselves primarily in prose and, less noticeably, in drama.

Generation of realist writers of the early 20th century. received as an inheritance from A. P. Chekhov's new principles of writing - with much greater authorial freedom than before, with a much wider arsenal artistic expression, with a sense of proportion obligatory for the artist, which was ensured by increased internal self-criticism.

In literary criticism, it is customary to call, first of all, three literary movements that declared themselves in the period 1890–1917 as modernist. These are symbolism, acmeism and futurism, which formed the basis of modernism as a literary movement.

In general, Russian culture of the late XIX - early XX centuries. amazes with its brightness, wealth, and abundance of talents in various fields. And at the same time, it was the culture of a society doomed to destruction, a premonition of which could be traced in many of her works.

2. familiarization with the textbook article on the topic of the lesson (in pairs)

3. Heuristic conversation

Š What new styles and trends have appeared in Russian culture at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries? How were they related to a specific historical setting?

♦ Which historical events late XIX - early XX centuries. influenced the destinies of Russian writers, were reflected in works of literature?

♦ What philosophical concepts had an impact on Russian literature at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries? what explains the special interest of writers in the philosophy of a. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche?

♦ How did the craving for irrationalism, mysticism, and religious quest manifest itself in Russian literature of this time?

♦ is it possible to say that at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Is realism losing the role of the dominant literary process that belonged to it in the 19th century?

♦ How do traditions compare in turn-of-the-century literature? classical literature and innovative aesthetic concepts?

♦ What is the uniqueness of A.’s late work? P. Chekhov? How justified is judgment a. Bely that a. P. Chekhov “most of all a symbolist”? What features of Chekhov's realism allow modern researchers call the writer the founder of absurd literature?

♦ What character did the literary struggle take at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries? Which publishing houses, magazines, almanacs played a particularly important role in the development of Russian literature?

♦ How is the problem of the relationship between man and the environment solved in Russian literature at the turn of the century? What traditions " natural school" found development in the prose of this time?

♦ What place did journalism occupy in the literature of this period? What problems were especially actively discussed on the pages of magazines and newspapers during these years?

V. Reflection. Summing up the lesson

1. “Press” (in groups)

The teacher’s general word - thus, the deep aspirations of the modernist movements that conflicted with each other turned out to be very similar, despite the sometimes striking stylistic dissimilarities, differences in tastes and literary tactics. That is why the best poets of the era rarely confined themselves to a particular literary school or movement. Almost a rule of their creative evolution has become the overcoming of directional frameworks and declarations that are narrow for the creator. Therefore, the real picture of the literary process at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. is determined to a much greater extent by the creative individuals of writers and poets than by the history of trends and movements.

VI. Homework

1. Prepare a message “the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. in the perception... (one of the representatives of Russian art of this time)", using memoir prose by A. Bely, Yu. P. Annenkov, V. F. Khodasevich, Z. N. Gippius, M. I. Tsvetaeva, I. V. Odoevtseva, and other authors.

2. individual task(3 students). Prepare “literary business cards” about the life and work of M. Gorky:

Autobiographical trilogy(“Childhood”, “In People”, “my universities”);

“We sing glory to the madness of the brave!” (“Song of the Falcon”);

Russian literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries (1890 - 1917).

The last decade of the 19th century opens a new stage in Russian and world culture. Over the course of about a quarter of a century - from the early 90s to October 1917 - literally all aspects of Russian life were radically updated - economics, politics, science, technology, culture, art. Compared to the social and relative literary stagnation of the 80s, the new stage of historical and cultural development was distinguished by rapid dynamics and acute drama. In terms of the pace and depth of changes, as well as the catastrophic nature of internal conflicts, Russia at this time is ahead of any other country.

Therefore, the transition from the era of classical Russian literature to the new literary time was distinguished by the far from peaceful nature of general cultural and intraliterary life, a rapid - by the standards of the 19th century - change in aesthetic guidelines, and a radical renewal of literary techniques. Russian poetry was renewed especially dynamically at this time, again after Pushkin era- came to the forefront of the country’s general cultural life. Later, this poetry earned the name “poetic renaissance” or “silver age.” Having arisen by analogy with the concept of the “golden age”, which traditionally denoted the “Pushkin period” of Russian literature, this phrase was initially used to characterize the peak manifestations of poetic culture of the early 20th century - the work of A. Blok, A. Bely, I. Annensky, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam and other brilliant masters of words. However, gradually the term “Silver Age” began to define the entire artistic culture of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To this day, such word usage has become entrenched in literary criticism.

What was new compared to the 19th century at the turn of the two centuries was, first of all, man’s perception of the world. The understanding of the exhaustion of the previous era grew stronger, and conflicting assessments of the socio-economic and general cultural prospects of Russia began to appear. The common denominator of ideological disputes that flared up in the country towards the end of the last century was the definition new era like eras border: the previous forms of life, work, and political organization of society were irretrievably a thing of the past; the system of spiritual values ​​itself was decisively revised. Crisis- the key word of the era, which wandered through magazine journalism and literary critical articles (words similar in meaning “revival”, “turning point”, “crossroads”, etc. were often used)

Fiction, which traditionally for Russia has not stood aside from public passions, quickly became involved in the discussion of current issues. Her social engagement was reflected in the titles of works characteristic of this era. “Without a Road”, “At the Turning” - V. Veresaev calls his stories; “The Decline of the Old Century” - echoes the title of the chronicle novel by A. Amphitheaters; “At the last line,” M. Artsybashev responds with his novel. Awareness of the crisis of the time, however, did not mean recognition of its futility.

On the contrary, most wordsmiths perceived their era as a time of unprecedented achievements, when the importance of literature in the life of the country increased sharply. That's why it's so great attention began to be paid not only to creativity itself, but also to the worldview and social position of writers, their connections with political life countries. In the writing community, there arose a desire to consolidate with writers, philosophers, and workers of related arts who were close to them in their worldview and aesthetics. Literary associations and clubs played this game historical period a much more prominent role than in the previous few decades. As a rule, new literary movements at the turn of the century developed from the activities of small writers' circles, each of which united young writers with similar views on art.

Quantitatively, the writing environment has grown noticeably compared to the 19th century, and qualitatively - in terms of the nature of education and life experience of writers, and most importantly - in terms of the diversity of aesthetic positions and levels of skill - it has become seriously more complex. In the 19th century, literature had a high degree of ideological unity; it has developed a fairly clear hierarchy of literary talents: at one stage or another, it is not difficult to identify masters who served as reference points for an entire generation of writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov, Tolstoy, etc.).

The legacy of the Silver Age is not limited to the work of one or two dozen significant literary artists, and the logic of the literary development of this era cannot be reduced to a single center or the simplest scheme of successive directions. This heritage is a multi-tiered artistic reality in which individual literary talents, no matter how outstanding they may be, turn out to be only part of that grandiose whole, which received such a broad and “lax” name - the Silver Age.

When starting to study the literature of the Silver Age, one cannot do without a brief overview of the social background of the turn of the century and the general cultural context of this period (“context” - the environment, the external environment in which art exists).

Socio-political features of the era.

By the end of the 19th century, the crisis in the Russian economy intensified. The roots of this crisis are in the too slow reform of economic life, which began back in 1861. A more democratic post-reform order, according to the government's plans, was supposed to intensify the economic life of the peasantry, make this largest group of the population mobile and more active. This is how it gradually happened, but the post-reform processes had a downside: from 1881, when the peasants had to finally pay off their debts to their former owners, the rapid impoverishment of the village began. The situation became especially acute during the famine years of 1891-1892. The inconsistency of the transformations became clear: having freed the peasant in relation to the landowner, the reform of 1861 did not liberate him in relation to the community. Until the Stolypin reform of 1906, the peasants were never able to separate from the community (from which they received land).

Meanwhile, self-determination of the largest political parties, which arose at the turn of the century, largely depended on one or another attitude towards the community. The leader of the liberal Cadet Party, P. Milyukov, considered the community a kind of Asian mode of production, with the despotism and over-centralization it generated in the political structure of the country. Hence the recognition of the need for Russia to follow the pan-European path of bourgeois reforms. Back in 1894, the prominent economist and political figure P. Struve, who later also became a liberal, completed one of his works famous phrase: “Let’s admit our lack of culture and let’s go to school for capitalism.” It was a program evolutionary development countries towards a European-style civil society. However, liberalism did not become the main program of action for the numerically expanded Russian intelligentsia.

More influential in public consciousness the position went back to the so-called “legacy of the 60s” - revolutionary democratic and revolutionary populist ideology, successor to it. N. Chernyshevsky, and later P. Lavrov and N. Mikhailovsky considered the role of the Russian community to be positive. These supporters of a special, “Russian socialism” believed that the community with its spirit of collectivism was the real basis for the transition to a socialist form of economic management. Important in the position of the “sixties” and their spiritual heirs were sharp opposition to autocratic “tyranny and violence”, political radicalism, and a focus on decisive change public institutions(little attention was paid to the real mechanisms of economic life, which is why their theories acquired a utopian overtones). For most of the Russian intelligentsia, however, political radicalism has traditionally been more attractive than a thoughtful economic program. It was the maximalist political tendencies that ultimately prevailed in Russia.

By the end of the century" railways"The development of capitalism in the country had already been laid out: in the 90s, industrial production tripled, a powerful galaxy of Russian industrialists was formed, industrial centers were growing rapidly. Mass production of industrial goods was being established, telephones and cars were part of the life of the wealthy. Huge raw materials resources, a constant influx from the countryside with cheap labor and free access to the capacious markets of the economically less developed countries of Asia - all this foreshadowed good prospects for Russian capitalism.

Relying on the community in this situation was historically short-sighted, as Russian Marxists tried to prove. In their struggle for socialism, they relied on industrial development and the working class. Marxism since the mid-90s. quickly wins the moral support of various groups of intellectuals. This was reflected in such psychological traits of the Russian “educated layer” as the desire to join the “progressive” worldview, distrust and even intellectual contempt for political caution and economic pragmatism. In a country with extremely heterogeneous social structure As Russia was then, the tilt of the intelligentsia towards the most radical political trends was fraught with serious upheavals, as the development of events showed.

Russian Marxism was initially a heterogeneous phenomenon: in its history, sharp divisions clearly prevailed over convergence and consolidation, and factional struggle almost always overwhelmed the framework of intellectual discussions. The so-called legal Marxists initially played a significant role in giving Marxism an attractive appearance. In the 90s, they polemicized in the open press with the populists (among the talented polemicists was the above-mentioned P. Struve). They professed Marxism as primarily an economic theory, without global claims to planning the destinies of all mankind. Believing in evolutionism, they considered it unacceptable to deliberately provoke a revolutionary explosion. That is why after the revolution of 1905 - 1907. The former legal Marxists finally separated themselves from the orthodox wing of the movement, which, despite the external anti-populist position, absorbed many of the deep-seated attitudes of revolutionary populism.

The last decade of the 19th century opens a new stage in Russian and world culture. Over the course of about a quarter of a century - from the early 1890s to October 1917 - literally every aspect of Russian life changed radically - economics, politics, science, technology, culture, art. Compared to the social and, to some extent, literary stagnation of the 1880s, the new stage of historical and cultural development was distinguished by rapid dynamics and extreme drama. In terms of the pace and depth of changes, as well as the catastrophic nature of internal conflicts, Russia at that time was ahead of any other country.

Therefore, the transition from the era of classical Russian literature to the new literary time was accompanied by a far from peaceful nature of general cultural and intraliterary life, an unexpectedly rapid - by the standards of the 19th century - change of aesthetic guidelines, and a radical renewal of literary techniques. Russian poetry developed especially dynamically at this time, again - after the Pushkin era - coming to the forefront of the country's general cultural life. Later, the poetry of this time was called the “poetic renaissance” or “silver age.” Having arisen by analogy with the concept of the “golden age,” which traditionally denoted the Pushkin period of Russian literature, this phrase was initially used to characterize the peak manifestations of poetic culture of the early 20th century - the work of A. Blok, A. Bely, I. Annensky, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam and other brilliant masters of words. However, gradually the term “Silver Age” began to define that part of the entire artistic culture of Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, which was associated with symbolism, Acmeism, “neo-peasant” and partly futuristic literature. Today, many literary scholars have made the definition of “Silver Age” synonymous with the concept of “culture of the turn of the century,” which, of course, is inaccurate, since a number of significant phenomena of the turn of the century (primarily associated with revolutionary theories) can hardly be compared with what was originally called art of the Silver Age.

What was new compared to the 19th century at the turn of the two centuries was, first of all, man’s worldview. The understanding of the exhaustion of the previous era grew stronger, and directly opposite assessments of the socio-economic and general cultural prospects of Russia began to appear. The common denominator of the ideological disputes that flared up in the country towards the end of the 19th century was the definition of the new era as a border era: the old forms of life, work, and political organization of society were irretrievably becoming a thing of the past, and the system of spiritual values ​​itself was being decisively revised. Crisis is the key word of the era, roaming the pages of journalistic and literary-critical articles (words similar in meaning to “revival”, “turning point”, “crossroads”, etc. were often used).

Fiction, which traditionally for Russia has not stood aside from public passions, quickly became involved in the discussion of current issues. Her social engagement was manifested in the titles of her works that were characteristic of that era. “Without a Road”, “At the Turning” - V. Veresaev calls his stories; “The Decline of the Old Century” - echoes the title of the chronicle novel by A. Amphitheaters; “At the last line” - M. Artsybashev responds with his novel. Awareness of the crisis of the time, however, did not mean recognition of its futility.

On the contrary, most wordsmiths perceived their era as a time of unprecedented achievements, when the importance of literature in the life of the country increased sharply. That is why so much attention began to be paid not only to creativity itself, but also to the worldview and social position of writers, their connections with the political life of the country.

Despite all the differences in positions and views, there was something in common in the worldview of the writers of the turn of the century, which was brilliantly captured in his time by the outstanding literature connoisseur Professor Semyon Afanasyevich Vengerov in the preface to the three-volume “History of Russian Literature of the 20th Century” (1914) that he conceived. The scientist noted that uniting the social activist M. Gorky and the individualist K. Balmont, the realist I. Bunin, the symbolists V. Bryusov, A. Blok and A. Bely with the expressionist L. Andreev and the naturalist M. Artsybashev, the pessimist-decadent F. Sologub and the optimist A. Kuprin was a challenge to the traditions of everyday life, “aspiration to the heights, to the distance, to the depths, but only away from the hateful plane of gray vegetation.”

Another thing is that writers imagined the ways of developing new literature in different ways. In the 19th century, Russian literature had a high degree of ideological unity. It has developed a fairly clear hierarchy of literary talents: at one stage or another, it is not difficult to identify masters who served as reference points for an entire generation of writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov, Tolstoy, etc.). But the legacy of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries is not limited to the work of one or two dozen significant literary artists, and the logic of literary development of that time cannot be reduced to a single center or the simplest scheme of successive directions. This heritage is a multi-tiered artistic reality in which individual literary talents, no matter how outstanding they may be, are only part of a grandiose whole.

When starting to study the literature of the turn of the century, one cannot do without a brief overview of the social background and general cultural context of this period (context - the environment, the external environment in which art exists).