Find out what place the Volga occupied in the life of N. Nekrasov. Find works by N.A. Nekrasov that mention the Volga

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Turning his creativity to the life and everyday life of ordinary people, Nikolay Nekrasov I never tried to embellish them. On the contrary, he tried to show in what slavish and incredibly difficult conditions the peasants live, forced to earn their living through hard physical labor. , dedicated to serfs, are filled with pain and compassion. At the same time, the poet constantly wonders why the world is so unfair and dreams of changing it.

Most of the poems dedicated to representatives of the lower strata of society were created in his mature years, when he had already said goodbye to his youthful illusions and realized that his noble spiritual impulses would not find a response in modern society. However, the poet could not and did not want to come to terms with the inequality that he saw around him. But all that remained for him was to capture in his works unpleasant scenes from the life of peasants, trying at least in this way to open people’s eyes to the fact that the other side of luxury and prosperity is poverty, hunger and disease.

In 1860, Nekrasov wrote a poem that is partly dedicated to childhood memories. The poet grew up on a family estate, which was located on the banks of this river, and until a certain age he had no idea that the power of the steamship industry was built on the slave labor of barge haulers. One day he saw a crowd of dirty, emaciated and sick people dragging a barge along the Volga, and was so amazed by this cruel and gloomy picture that many years later he recreated it in his poem.

Volga for Nekrasova is something much more than an ordinary river. His brightest and most carefree childhood years are associated with her. It was she who gave the teenage Nekrasov that feeling of freedom that he so lacked in his father’s house, and her “clear waters” gave coolness on a hot summer afternoon. The poet admits that in childhood “I considered people to be brothers.” He made no distinction between the poor and the rich, as he grew up with the children of serfs and enjoyed communicating with local fishermen, who taught him the wisdom of their craft. But it was precisely the meeting with the barge haulers that made the future poet take a different look at life and realize that a person “born as a slave” faces a very sad fate, which he is unable to avoid.

Poem "On the Volga" consists of four parts, the first two of which are dedicated to childhood memories. However, in subsequent chapters, Nekrasov talks about how, many years later, he again had the opportunity to visit the Volga, which he idolizes, never ceasing to admire its power and beauty. However, a new meeting with the river of childhood left a feeling of bitterness and hopelessness in the poet’s soul, because even after decades nothing has changed, and the same barge haulers still earn their living through hellish, hard labor. “You sing the same song, you carry the same burden,” is how the poet describes his new meeting with barge haulers. And it was at this moment that the author came to realize the simple truth that one of the reasons for his escape from the family estate was the desire to never again in his life encounter these emaciated people wandering along the shore in harness and singing their endless mournful song. Therefore, Nekrasov notes that from the sandy river banks “he would not have gone anywhere - if only, oh Volga! This howl didn’t sound like you!”

The beautiful Mother Volga is glorified in many works of famous writers and poets; many wonderful Russian folk songs have been written about her. This amazing river delights not only with its spacious blue waters and fabulous banks. Almost all Russian cities on the Volga and villages attract attention with their amazing history, majesty and beauty.

Volga River, geography

The largest river in Europe is the Volga. Throughout its course, various settlements have been built since ancient times. Cities located on the Volga are quite significant in all respects both for their regions and for the country as a whole.

The length of the river before the creation of reservoirs and a cascade of hydroelectric power stations was 3690 km, today it is 3530 km. According to some unspecified data, the length of the Volga has become much shorter - 3430 km. In the general list of the length of all Russian rivers, the Volga ranks sixth, and 16th among all rivers on Earth.

A territory of 1 million 360 thousand km² is occupied by the area of ​​its basin, which is about a third of the entire European part of Russia.

This amazing river begins on the Valdai Hills near the village of Volgo-Verkhovye (Tver region). The Volga flows from the west from the Valdai and Central Russian Uplands to the Urals in the east (European part of the Russian Federation).

Many large cities are located near the basin of the largest river. On the Volga, sailing along it, you can see many amazing natural landscapes with cities and villages that fit perfectly into them. Moreover, each has its own unique history, its own cultural values ​​and unique attractions.

The generally accepted division of the Volga regions. Cities located on the Volga

1. The Upper Volga represents the territory from the source of the river to the place where the Oka River flows (Nizhny Novgorod).

2. From the place where the Oka flows into the Volga to the place where the Kama flows into it - the territory of the Middle Volga.

3. The Lower Volga covers the zone from the confluence of the Kama to the Caspian Sea itself. Now (after the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir) the border between the Lower and Middle Volga is the Zhigulevskaya Hydroelectric Power Station (area of ​​the cities of Tolyatti and Zhigulevsk).

Let's look at some of the largest cities located on the Volga, worthy of attention in terms of history and attractions.

Yaroslavl

This ancient city on the Volga has a population of more than 590 thousand people.
Almost the entire historical center of Yaroslavl, protected by UNESCO, is a tourist attraction.

In total, the city has 785 cultural and historical monuments. In one of them, the amazing Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, a historical collection of ancient manuscripts and books has been preserved.

In the 16th century, the state treasury was moved to Yaroslavl. There is also a large state museum-reserve (historical, architectural and artistic) with a rich collection of icons.

This settlement, like other cities on the Volga River, has a rich historical heritage of ancient times. It is impossible to describe it in full.

Samara

Samara is located between the mouths of the Samara and Sok rivers, in the very place where they flow into the Volga. The city's population is more than 1,100 thousand people. During Soviet times, the city was called Kuibyshev.

The very first mentions of the city in historical chronicles date back to 1361.

The most interesting sights: Stalin's bunker, built in less than a year in 1942; the legendary Revolution Square (the oldest street in the city); bell tower of the women's Iversky Monastery (building of 1850, 70 meters high).

It should be noted that the above-mentioned bell tower stood for about 80 years without repair. Only in the 90s of the last century this historical building was reconstructed.

Many cities on the Volga also have similar historical buildings that have survived to this day.

Saratov

On the right bank of the Volgograd reservoir is the beautiful city of Saratov. The date of its foundation is 1590, when a guard fortress was built on this site.

The population of Saratov is more than 830 thousand people.

Sights: “Saratov Arbat” is located on Kirov Avenue; monument to flying cranes (Sokolova Gora); Nikitin Brothers Circus; Conservatory named after L.V. Sobinova; monument in honor of Yu.A. Gagarin (Cosmonauts embankment); national village (national houses of all peoples of the Saratov region).

In this unusual village you can not only find yourself in the atmosphere of the cultural heritage of Dagestan, Uzbekistan, Tatarstan, etc., but also try dishes of a variety of national cuisines.

Volgograd

Which city on the Volga had several names? From 1589 to 1925, Volgograd was called Tsaritsyn, and then until 1961 - Stalingrad. The city's population is more than 1 million people. The hero city is the largest historical and cultural center of the region.

A majestic memorial monument (symbol of the Motherland) was erected in it in honor of the famous Battle of Stalingrad.

Nizhny Novgorod

At the confluence of two large rivers, the Volga and Oka, the ancient city of Nizhny Novgorod is located. It is not only one of the oldest cities in Russia on the Volga, but also one of the largest. Its population is more than 1200 thousand people.

The date of foundation of the city is calculated from the founding of the Novgorod fortress of the Nizovsky land (hence its name) - this is 1221. This fortress is the main attraction of Nizhny Novgorod.

The Church of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God is located not far (7.5 kilometers) from Sennaya Square.

Kazan

Kazan is a city that relatively recently celebrated its millennium (2005), although the exact year of its founding is not entirely known. It is located on the banks of the Volga River at the confluence of the Kazanka River. The city is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, and is very often called the “third capital of Russia.” The population is more than 1,100 thousand people.

Almost all cities on the Volga have preserved unique historical ensembles in their architecture, perfectly combined with modern buildings.

The most important attraction of Kazan is located in the historical center of the city: the Kremlin with the Kul Sharif mosque and the Syuyumbike tower.

Modern buildings also fit perfectly into the numerous ancient historical ensembles of the city: the Pyramid cultural center, the state circus, modern hotels, etc.

Also in Kazan, the following attractions are very memorable and beautiful: a fabulous-looking children's puppet theater, the pedestrian cultural street of Bauman (similar to Arbat in Moscow), beautiful embankments, on one of which there is a wedding palace in the shape of a bowl, etc.

Astrakhan

This city, by its location, is the last of the regional centers located on the banks of the Volga. It is inhabited by more than 500 thousand people.

On the site of Astrakhan in the 8th-10th centuries there was the city of Itil, which at that time was the capital of the ancient Khazar Khaganate.

Here you can see the Kremlin, famous for its unprecedented beauty, built at the beginning of the 17th century.

Smaller notable cities on the Volga

Along the banks of the great Volga River there are also smaller cities, which are historical and architectural monuments.

Tolyatti is the second largest city in the Samara region in terms of population. It was founded in 1737. Population: more than 720 thousand people.

The city of Syzran is also located in the Samara region near the Saratov reservoir. It was founded by Grigory Kozlovsky in 1683. Population: more than 170 thousand people.

The administrative and cultural center of the Kostroma region is Kostroma. The date of its foundation is 1152. Population: more than 260 thousand people.

Tver (formerly Kalinin) is located at the confluence of the Tvertsa and Tmaka rivers into the Volga. The city was founded in 1135. Population: more than 400 thousand people.

The capital of Chuvashia is Cheboksary. Population: more than 450 thousand people.

The city of Mologa was once located not far from Yaroslavl, at the confluence of the Mologa and Volga rivers. It was located on a flat hill and stretched along the right bank of the Mologa and along the left bank of the Volga.

Its population was more than 7,000 people.

During the Soviet Union in 1935, a government decree was adopted on the construction of a hydroelectric power station (Rybinskaya). According to the project, the area of ​​the reservoir was supposed to be 2.5 thousand square meters, and the height of the surface of its waters above sea level was 98 m. The city elevation was 98-101 m.

However, in 1937, the famous five-year plans of those times forced a revision of the project to increase the power of the hydroelectric station. In this regard, it was decided to raise the water level to 102 meters. As a result, the area of ​​flooded areas almost doubled.

In April 1941, after the resettlement of people, the filling of the reservoir began. The ancient and original city of Mologa (800 years old), which was once an appanage principality with numerous villages, never became.

The flooded city on the Volga is a victim of the country's electrification.

The amazing nature of the Volga basin, beautiful cities with unique historical architectural and cultural attractions attract the attention of a huge number of tourists to travel to these places.

In the USSR, many cities were flooded in the 1930s–1950s during the construction of hydroelectric power stations. 9 cities fell into the flood zone: 1 on the Ob River, 1 on the Yenisei and 7 on the Volga. Some of them were completely flooded (such as Mologa and Korcheva), and some were partially flooded (Kalyazin). Many cities were rebuilt, and for some this became a breakthrough in development: for example, Stavropol (or Stavropol-on-Volga) from a small village turned into a city with a population of 700 thousand inhabitants, which today is called Tolyatti.

Kalyazin- one of the most famous flooded cities in Russia. The first mention of the village of Nikola on Zhabnya dates back to the 12th century, and after the founding of the Kalyazin-Trinity (Makaryevsky) Monastery on the opposite bank of the Volga in the 15th century, the importance of the settlement increased. In 1775, Kalyazin was given the status of a county town, and from the end of the 19th century the development of industry began in it: fulling, blacksmithing, and shipbuilding. The city was partially flooded during the creation of the Uglich hydroelectric power station on the Volga River, which was built in 1935–1955. The Trinity Monastery and the architectural complex of the Nikolo-Zhabensky Monastery were lost, as well as most of the historical buildings of the city. All that remained of it was the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral sticking out of the water, which became one of the main attractions of the central part of Russia.

Mologa is the most famous city completely flooded during the construction of the Rybinsk Reservoir. This is a rather rare case when the settlement was not moved to another place, but was completely liquidated: in 1940 its history was interrupted. The village of Mologa has been known since the 12th–13th centuries, and in 1777 it received the status of a county town. In the 19th century, the Afanasyevsky Monastery and several churches were built here. With the advent of Soviet power, the city became a regional center with a population of about 6 thousand people. Mologa consisted of about a hundred stone houses and 800 wooden ones. After the impending flooding of the city was announced in 1936, the relocation of residents began. Most of the Mologans settled far from Rybinsk in the village of Slip, and the rest dispersed to different cities of the country. Since the 1960s, Rybinsk has been hosting meetings of Mologans, where they remember their lost city.

Korcheva is the second (and last) completely flooded city in Russia, which then ceased to exist. This village in the Tver region was located on the right bank of the Volga River, on both sides of the Korchevka River, not far from the city of Dubna. The village has been mentioned in chronicles since the 16th century, and it received city status in 1781. By the 1920s, the population of Korchevka was 2.3 thousand people. There were mostly wooden buildings, although there were also stone structures, including three churches. In 1932, the government approved the plan for the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal, and the city fell into the flood zone. On March 2, 1937, the center of the Konakovsky district was moved to Konakovo, and the residents of Korchev were also resettled here. Today, on the unflooded territory of Korchev, a cemetery and one stone building have been preserved - the house of the Rozhdestvensky merchants.

City of Puchezh exists to this day, but its entire old part went under the waters of the Gorky Reservoir in 1955–1957. The village has been mentioned in sources since the 16th century. Its inhabitants were engaged in trade, fishing, and gardening. In 1793, the settlement became a posad, and in the first half of the 19th century it was a center for hiring barge haulers. In 1862, a flax spinning factory was built here. In 1955–1957, in connection with the impending flooding of the city, a decision was made to move Puchezh to a higher place. Some of the wooden buildings were moved to the new city, and all the stone buildings were destroyed. The rebuilt city still exists today: in 2014 its population was 7,624 people.

Vesyegonsk, flooded in 1939 in connection with the creation of the Rybinsk Reservoir, has been known since 1564. In those days, on the site of the future city there was the village of Ves Yogonskaya. In the 16th–19th centuries, this settlement was an important trading center. Here they sold and bought salt, wax, hops, fish, furs and much more. Since 1796, Vesyegonsk has been a provincial town in the Tver province, and since 1803 it has been a district town. It is mentioned in N. Gogol’s “Dead Souls” as an example of a provincial provincial town: “...And the court writes: to transport you from Tsarevokokshaisk to the prison of such and such a city, and that court writes again: to transport you to some Vesyegonsk, and you move yourself from prison to prison and say, looking around the new abode: “No, the Vesegonsk prison will be cleaner: even though it’s a lot of money there, there’s still room, and there’s more society!” By 1930, about 4 thousand people lived in Vesyegonsk. During the flooding, the territory of the old city was completely destroyed, and new buildings were located to the south, on collective farm lands. At the same time, the city was demoted in status to a working village. Vesyegonsk received city status again in 1953. From the old buildings, only the ensembles of the Trinity and Kazan churches and the cemetery church of John the Baptist have been preserved here.

Stavropol(unofficial names - Stavropol-Volzhsky or Stavropol-on-Volga), a city in the Samara region, was founded in 1738 as a fortress. The number of residents fluctuated greatly: in 1859, 2.2 thousand people lived here, by 1900 - about 7 thousand, and in 1924 the population decreased so much that the city officially became a village (city status was returned in 1946). At the time of the flooding in the 1950s, about 12 thousand people lived in Stavropol. The city was moved to a new location, and in 1964 it was renamed Tolyatti. The rapid development of the city is associated with the emergence of large industrial enterprises here (Volgocemmash, KuibyshevAzot and KuibyshevPhosfor, etc.).

Kuibyshev city(Spassk-Tatarsky) has been mentioned in chronicles since 1781. In the second half of the 19th century there were 246 houses, 1 church, and by the early 1930s 5.3 thousand people lived here. In 1936 the city was renamed Kuibyshev. In the 1950s, it found itself in the flood zone of the Kuibyshev Reservoir and was completely rebuilt in a new location, next to the ancient settlement of Bulgar. Since 1991, it was renamed Bolgar and soon has every chance of becoming one of the main tourist centers in Russia and the world. In June 2014, the ancient settlement of Bulgar (Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This song is known to every Russian person. As soon as the first words are uttered, passers-by immediately pick them up, and in a moment the whole street is humming the famous melody of yesteryear.

But does everyone know from what “far” and how “long” the great Russian river flows? And why is it so big?

The Volga flows from not quite far away. It originates in the Tver region in the village of Volgoverkhovye, but extends all the way to Astrakhan, where it flows into the Caspian Sea. Its path lasts 3,530 km, making the river the longest in Europe.

Is it possible to imagine that over this entire distance the Volga turns from a stream that can be crossed into a wide river, the bridge across which reaches more than 5 km!

This is interesting:

Presidential Bridge - the total cost of construction of a bridge across the Volga River in Ulyanovsk in 2008 prices is 38.4 billion rubles. The total construction period for the bridge crossing was 23 years, which exceeded the standard construction period by 14 years and led to an increase in the cost of the facility (with an average inflation rate of 1 billion rubles per year) by 14 billion rubles.

“Can you cross the Volga?” — I always ask guests who come to the Tver region. The answers are different, but everyone’s eyes light up, and then the question follows: “Where can this be done?” I myself crossed the Volga twice, but this action was always accompanied by some secret. Now I like to watch people who come to the source for the first time. They run like children to a tiny stream and, not believing their eyes, ask: “Is this really her?” And then they happily jump from shore to shore. Happiness. Yes, happiness lives here, which lies in simple things. It is located at the very source, at the source of the great Russian river.

Next is happiness flows through 15 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, capturing cities such as Tver, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan and others. And for every resident of these cities, the Volga is a favorite river, a nurse. Songs have always been written about it, poets and writers sang about it, artists painted it at any time of the year.

The Volga has fed and inspired our people for many centuries. How many centuries? While I was trying to understand the scientific material on geography and geodesy, I realized that the issue with the history of the origin of the Volga is a little deeper than I imagined. I won't go into details. One thing is important - the Paleo-Volga was formed 5 million years ago! What about the references to the river? The first of them belongs to Herodotus (5th century BC), then there are references to ancient Roman sources of the 2nd – 4th centuries. and, of course, the Volga is mentioned in the ancient Russian work “The Tale of Bygone Years,” written by the chronicler Nester.

Of course, like any full-flowing river, its main function is transport. In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route ran along the Volga, which connected Scandinavia with the countries of East Asia. The dawn of this trade route occurred in the 9th century. Under Ivan the Terrible, through traffic along the river to its mouth was opened for both self-propelled oared vessels and those propelled by barge haulers. Everyone is, of course, familiar with it, so the idea of ​​this hard work does not need description. In the early 1800s, steamships began to appear, which still ply along the Volga.

Many famous people traveled along the Volga, described it, and drew it. One of these people was Catherine the Great. The journey itself was called the “Volga Voyage” and lasted just over a month from May 13 to June 16, 1767. It started in Tver and ended in Sinbirsk. During her stay in Kostroma, Catherine learned that the city does not have a coat of arms. The Empress immediately ordered the creation of a coat of arms for Kostroma: “Order in the Heraldry to make the city and county the Kostroma coat of arms, with which I intend to bestow them.”

That coat of arms became the first officially approved coat of arms in Russia, and it depicted Catherine’s Volga Voyage - the ship on which the Empress sailed along the Volga. Thus, the Great Russian River began to appear in heraldic symbolism.

I don’t know what other facts from the life of the river can be cited so that there is no doubt about its greatness and significance, although, did anyone doubt it? And how can one question the beauty and power of the Russian river, which has become a symbol of the entire country?

Oh Volga!.. my cradle!
Has anyone ever loved you like I do?
Nekrasov N.A.

The most sacred river in the world,
Queen of crystal waters, mother!
Karamzin N.M.

But I simply cannot live without the Volga.
How good it is in the raspberry morning
Come and sit on the shore,
And be silent near her silence.
Dementyev A.S.

1. For the first time, people heard the song “The Volga River Flows” in July 1962 in the Sunday radio broadcast of the All-Union Radio “Good morning!” performed by Mark Bernes, who was supposed to voice her in the movie “The Volga Flows,” however, he refused this. As a result, Vladimir Troshin sings the song in the film.

2. Since 2008, Volga Day has been unofficially celebrated on May 20. Traditionally, environmental measures are taken to clean up the river. In the Tver region, at the end of May, the Volga religious procession begins, which begins with the illumination of the source of the Volga and then follows through all the Volga cities of the Tver region.

3. Barge haulers are not only those who pulled the barge. This word can be used to describe a person who went to earn money (cut down a house, build stoves, etc.). In the USSR, barge lifting was banned in 1929. Currently there is no ban on it in the legal acts.

4. The longest bridge across the Volga - Presidential - was built in 2009 in Ulyanovsk. Its length is 5,825 meters. The Presidential Bridge was the longest bridge in Russia, before the construction of the Crimean Bridge, which is 19 km long.

Childhood of N.A. Nekrasov. N.A. Nekrasov’s childhood passed on the Nekrasov family estate, the village of Greshnevo. It was located near the Volga. “Everything that walked and drove along it and was known, starting with postal troikas and ending with prisoners shackled in chains, accompanied by guards, was constant food of our childhood curiosity.” (N.A. Nekrasov)

“Reflections at the Main Entrance” Go out to the Volga: whose groan is heard Above the great Russian river? We call this groan a song. The barge haulers are walking along the towline!.. Volga! Volga!.. In the spring of abundant water You do not flood the fields as much as our land is overflowing with the great sorrow of the people,

“The grief of old Naum” Volga true story Volga true story Of other times, other pictures I foresee the beginning... Freed from the shackles, the inexorable people will mature and densely populate the coastal deserts; Science will deepen the waters, Along their smooth plain Giant ships will run in a countless crowd, And vigorous labor will be eternal Above the eternal river.

“On the Volga” In some pink dreams I forgot myself. Sleep and heat already reigned over me. But suddenly I heard groans, and my gaze fell on the shore. Almost bending my head to my feet, entwined with twine, shod in bast shoes, barge haulers crawled along the river in a crowd, And it was unbearably wild And terribly clear in the silence Their measured funeral cry - And my heart trembled in me.

Conclusion Nekrasov is first and foremost a people's poet. And therefore, the theme of the river, the landscape theme, in his works is closely intertwined with the theme of the oppressed, “moaning” Russian people. This river is the Volga, because it is the people's river, the river flowing through all of Russia, the river sharing with the people their joys and sufferings.