Сказки Салтыкова-Щедрина

There are many types of masters in Shchedrin's fairy tales: landowners, officials, military leaders and even autocrats. The writer often portrays them as completely helpless, stupid and arrogant. For example, “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals.” With caustic irony, Saltykov writes: “The generals served in some kind of registry... therefore, they did not understand anything. They didn’t even know any words.” Of course, these generals did not know how to do anything except live at the expense of others, believing that rolls grow on trees. And the Russian peasant is a great guy. He knows everything, he can do anything, he can even cook a handful of soup. But the satirist does not spare him either for his humility and sycophancy. The generals force this hefty man to twist a rope for himself so that he does not run away. And he obediently carries out the order. Saltykov-Shchedrin cannot and does not want to come to terms with the fact that the people are too patient, downtrodden and dark. And therefore he portrays the “gentlemen” in a caricatured light, showing that they are not so terrible. The main artistic device in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales is allegory. And the fact that the Bear ended up on the spear is symbolic. This is a kind of call of the people to fight for their rights and freedoms.

Drawings by M. Skobelev and A. Eliseev are black and white.