On May 28, 2012, the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, took place in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This prize was established in 2009 “to encourage writers who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of spiritual and moral values in life modern man, family and society." It is awarded not for a single book, but for the entire work of the writer. Candidates for the prize are nominated by “Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, heads of self-governing Churches within the Moscow Patriarchate, diocesan bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, bodies state power CIS and Baltic countries, synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as editorial staff literary magazines" The Patriarchal Prize was awarded for the first time in 2011, then the laureate was Russian writer V. Krupin.
This year, the short list of the award included 10 nominees: Archpriest A. Vladimirov, writers V. Bakhrevsky (based on his novels the script for the television series “Raskol” was written), B. Ekimov, V. Nikolaev, O. Nikolaeva, A. Segen (based on his the book was removed famous film“Pop”), A. Solonitsyn, S. Shcherbakov, A. Yakovlev and literary critic, translator I. Charota.
With a group of teachers, librarians and parishioners of Obninsk churches, we visited not only the award ceremony, but also the procedure for electing laureates. The ceremony was led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.
Briefly about impressions. The hall is very beautiful, comfortable, decorated with fresh flowers. Spacious foyer with a magnificent winter garden. The orchestra is playing softly. The atmosphere is festive and upbeat. The nominated writers sit in the front row.
It all begins with a general prayer and a welcoming speech by the Patriarch. After this, ballots with the names of the nominees are distributed to the members of the House of Trustees of the award, and then, while the counting commission (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, MGIMO Professor Yu.P. Vyazemsky, Rector of the Moscow Conservatory A.S. Sokolov) counts the votes, we watch a film representing each nominee . At the end of the counting of votes, His Holiness signs the commission’s ballot right on stage. And the laureates are solemnly announced. They were writers - namesakes Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev. Writer Viktor Nikolaev (b. 1958) – reserve major, Afghan, author of the books “Alive in Help. Notes of an Afghan", "From generation to generation", "Fatherlessness", "Shamordino stories". Olesya Nikolaeva (b. 1955) is a poet, prose writer, essayist, she has published 13 books of prose, 11 books of poetry, and 4 collections of essays. Since 2008 she has been actively working for Orthodox TV channel"Saved".
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presents the awards and warmly congratulates the laureates and nominees. The laureates keep their word back. And then everyone takes pictures together.
This concluded the official part, and the concert began, in which the choir of the Moscow Theological Academy, children's choirs and choreographic groups, singers. We especially liked the wonderful children's choir“Moscow Bells” and the male choir, which superbly performed the ancient waltz “Amur Waves”.
Books by writers and nominees could be purchased in the foyer. We bought a new book by prize winner V. Nikolaev, “Shamorda Stories,” and 2 books by prize nominee S. Shcherbakov.
By the way, the library has at least 10 books by O. Nikolaeva, 3 books by V. Nikolaev, as well as books by A. Vladimirov, V. Bakhrevsky, A. Segen and A. Yakovlev. And more detailed information about the laureates and nominees can be read in the May issue of the Orthodox Book Review magazine, which is also in the library. Read!
Photo sketches
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| Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. | |
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| The Counting Commission is working. | |
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| Patriarch Kirill signs the protocol of the Counting Commission. | |
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| Children's choir "Moscow Bells". | Choreographic studio "Nutcracker". |
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| Moskva River opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. |
On May 24, 2018, in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' held the eighth ceremony of electing and awarding laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. At the end of the presentation of the nominees, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed those gathered.
Your Eminences and Graces! Dear members of the House of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius! Dear participants and guests of our ceremony!
I cordially greet you all. Today we have gathered for the eighth time to elect and award the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.
This year our ceremony takes place directly on the day of remembrance of the patron saints of the award. And this is very symbolic. The Slavic alphabet celebrates this year significant date. 1155 years have passed since the famous Moravian mission of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, who, together with their disciples, compiled the first translation of the Gospel into the Slavic language. Thanks to the ascetic labors of the Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers and their followers Slavic peoples received the most important thing: the opportunity to read and hear the word of God in native language. The precious treasures of Christian spiritual culture became available to them.
Yes, scientists will tell us that the translation language was largely artificial and was an attempt to unite various Slavic dialects, creating a universal written language on their basis. However, the fact that this experience, these brilliant creative efforts had a huge impact on all subsequent development Slavic languages, - there is no doubt. And this experience of creating, in a sense, an artificial language pursued one specific goal: so that everyone Slavic tribes could use the same alphabet, the same grammar, the same language.
Of course, the Russian literary language still had to go through big way formation. But what would Russian literature be like if it were not nourished by the life-giving source of the Church Slavonic language? What would the path of the entire Russian culture have been like if it had not been based on the evangelical values and ideals instilled in it through the works of the holy brothers of Thessaloniki?
I am convinced that even if such literature and culture existed at all, even if it had not dissolved in the ocean of history, it would not have occupied such an outstanding and glorious place in world culture as Russian literature now deservedly occupies.
When I say “Russian literature,” I mean, of course, first of all the work of our great classics: Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and other masters artistic word. But not only that.
Let's not forget that literary language, as the famous Russian linguist Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy wrote, “is an instrument of spiritual culture and is intended for the development and deepening of not only fine literature in the proper sense of the word, but also scientific, philosophical and religious thought”. Do we realize today as we read works of art, scientific works and journalism, that all these are branches of a wonderful tree that grew from a seed sown many centuries ago by the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius?
The possibilities of language also open up opportunities for a person to comprehend this world. For wisdom is known in the word(Sir. 4:28), as Holy Scripture tells us. The Russian language has amazing beauty and richness expressive means, allowing you to accurately, deeply and in the finest shades convey any human thought. No wonder Lomonosov, comparing Russian with other European languages, admired it splendor, liveliness and strong brevity in the images .
Beautiful and competent speech produces not only a strong aesthetic effect, but also carries a powerful intellectual charge and sets a high cultural standard for the audience. And therefore the educational role of literature begins precisely with language. Reading the classics, we admire not only ideas and deep meanings, embedded in the work, but also a wonderful style, richness of language and beauty of images. All this together makes an impression on the reader.
However, what we see today when we open the works of some modern authors? An abundance of jargon and vulgarisms, colloquial expressions, crude foreign borrowings and constructions and intonations not typical of the Russian language. And in oral speech we hear phonetic intonations that are not characteristic of the Russian language, which for unknown reasons our youth today use even when communicating with each other. If you listen, these are not Russian, but English intonations. I think this should also be paid attention to, because it destroys the integrity of Russian speech.
To speak in an understandable language means to penetrate into the essence of life's problems and spiritual quests of our contemporaries. And real literature, penetrating these depths, is precisely called upon to answer the questions that concern people on the basis of the word of God, from the standpoint of the Gospel and the Christian attitude to reality.
The importance of literature in Russian history has always been great. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all Russian culture is essentially literary-centric. For centuries, the writer and poet was perceived by our people not only as a master of words, but also in many ways as the conscience of the nation. It is no coincidence that in Soviet years, when the Church was significantly limited in its pastoral capabilities, it was literature that conveyed eternal moral values, posed important spiritual questions to her contemporaries.
Today, talk about the crisis of literature, the crisis of culture, including the culture of reading, has become common place. You can think a lot about this and complain that the majority of people have begun to read less, that more and more often they choose to read not serious classics, but an entertaining book. At the same time, it is no longer possible to close our eyes to the fact that the crisis has turned into new reality, the features of which cannot be ignored.
Modern people live at high speeds. They are overwhelmed by the flow of information that bombards them from everywhere: from TV screens, from radios and the Internet. We cannot protect ourselves and others from this constant information impact. But we can help people by teaching them to distinguish noise from signals, fake and fake from real and truly valuable.
It is obvious that the reader's consciousness has changed significantly over last decades. Our compatriots sometimes have neither the time nor the opportunity for leisurely and thoughtful reading. The modern reader, if we use images famous novel Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, looks more and more like the businesslike and impatient Stolz, keen on searching for something entertaining and interesting, rather than the complacent and leisurely Oblomov, ready to spend hours thinking and thinking about something.
I will now say something that may be somewhat unexpected. The so-called “entertainment literature,” which everyone is accustomed to scolding, can also be useful. If you perceive it as a form of education. In our memory, there are already several successful examples of how works on Orthodox themes, written in the entertainment genre, became in demand by readers. They were read in the subway, these books were given to friends and acquaintances. Through these works, albeit in an entertaining form, contemporaries became acquainted with the Orthodox faith, with the life of the Church, and learned about Christ and the Gospel.
Of course, reading the same Dostoevsky, Leskov or Clive Lewis requires a certain cultural and intellectual preparation from a person. Can we expect that people without such training will be able to appreciate their works? Our compatriots, who have survived 70 years of an atheistic regime, sometimes lack basic knowledge about God, about the spiritual and moral foundations of life, presented in simple and accessible language. And to those whom it is necessary to teach the first principles of the word of God, we need milk, not solid food(Heb. 5:12), testifies the Apostle Paul.
The task of a real writer is not only to evoke an emotional reaction in the reader at the “like it or not like it” level. Modern literature, unfortunately, often does not go beyond such an emotional impact on a person. But still, it is not the style and plot “special effects” that make the work truly worthy. It is important to touch the innermost soul of a person, to find a response in the heart, to awaken thought.
An emotional approach to assessing the phenomena of reality is characteristic, for the most part, of a consumer society. But literature is not a product or service that you can “like” on a website and delete from your memory after some time. Literature is, first and foremost, lessons from experience. Even if what you write about concerns historical events centuries ago. By weaving your narrative through personal life, spiritual, and intellectual experiences, you convey something very important to the reader. This message is not one of those “this also happens in life.” This message is an invitation to think.
For the eighth year now, we have been gathering in this hall to present the Patriarchal Literary Prize to authors who have not forgotten the high calling of literature and the enormous moral responsibility of the writer.
It is wonderful that thanks to the writers included in the list of nominees this year and previous years, our contemporaries have the opportunity to truly read good works, corresponding to high ethical and aesthetic ideals.
There are no easy times, as we know, and our literature will face new challenges, new problems will appear that we simply know nothing about today. These challenges will come into the life of society, into the life of every person. And every time writers will have to do moral choice: whether to resist evil and darkness with the power of your word, whether to create for the sake of establishing the eternal moral values, and not momentary fame and material goods? I hope that all of our nominees and honorees will follow the right path.
Gratefully remembering the feat of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, let us reverently preserve and increase the spiritual and cultural heritage they left behind, and use the opportunities and talents given to us for the sake of testimony about Him Who is the True Way and Life(John 14:6).
I would like to wish you all God's help and further creative success. May the blessing of the Lord remain upon all of you.
I sincerely thank you for your attention and propose to proceed with the solemn ceremony of electing and awarding the laureates.
Trubetskoy N.S. Common Slavic element in Russian culture // Trubetskoy N.S. On the problem of Russian self-knowledge. Paris, 1927.
Lomonosov M.V. Dedication to “Russian Grammar” (1755).
Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'
On May 11, 2017, in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' led the seventh ceremony of electing and awarding laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.
Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were present at the ceremony: the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate; Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church; first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow; ; viceroy; Chairman of the Publishing Council; ; Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate; editor-in-chief; Deputy Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate; employees of the Publishing Council, the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate and other synodal institutions, clergy and monastics.
The event was also attended by members of the House of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, Russian literary scholars, journalists, representatives of government and public organizations, and cultural figures.
Applications for the Patriarchal Literary Prize are accepted on September 14, 2016. During the seventh award season, 50 applications were received from various regions of Russia, as well as from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Latvia. March 28 this year at a meeting of the House of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, a short list of nominees for 2017, which included:
- Irina Anatolyevna Bogdanova;
- Dmitry Mikhailovich Volodikhin;
- Vasily Vladimirovich Dvortsov;
- Viktor Ivanovich Likhonosov;
- Boris Fedorovich Sporov;
- Alexander Borisovich Tkachenko;
- Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.
- Bishop of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky Pavel, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate;
- Yu.M. Loschits, writer, publicist and literary critic, laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize;
- K.P. Kovalev-Sluchevsky, professor at the Institute of Journalism and literary creativity, writer.
Then the election of the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize took place: members of the House of Trustees filled out voting ballots. The ballots were transferred to the Counting Commission. Members of the Counting Commission counted the votes, filled out the protocol and handed it over to His Holiness the Patriarch.
His Holiness the Patriarch presented the laureates with a diploma and badges of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.
All the 2017 award nominees were also invited to the stage - I.A. Bogdanova, D.M. Volodikhin, V.V. Dvortsov, A.B. Tkachenko, to whom the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church presented honorary diplomas.
The choir of the Otrada orphanage at the Nikolsky Chernoostrovsky Monastery in Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Region, took part in the musical accompaniment of the ceremony.
At the end of the evening there was a concert.
Patriarchal literary prize established by the Holy Synod on December 25, 2009 () with the aim of encouraging writers who have made a significant contribution to the establishment of spiritual and moral values in the life of a modern person, family and society, who have created highly artistic works that have enriched Russian literature. This prize has no analogues in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Orthodox Churches.
The first laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize in 2011 was the writer Vladimir Krupin. In the second award season (2012), the winners were Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev. In 2013, Alexey Varlamov, Yuri Loshchits and Stanislav Kunyaev received awards. In the fourth award season (2014) the winners
In the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles were announced and awarded. The award was established in 2009 and was first awarded in 2011. Both ecclesiastical and secular authors can receive the award. The examination of works is carried out by a council of experts. He is appointed by the House of Trustees, which includes representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the literary community. The Chamber approves the long and short lists of nominees and then selects the laureates.
Over the course of five years, the Patriarchal Literary Prize has won special recognition in the literary community. In the opening speech of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' there was not a word about the nominees, only about the most important thing - that Russian spiritual culture has always been literary-centric, moral idea has always been at the center of creativity.
“It is important to pay attention to literature, to help writers who, with their creativity, affirm the traditional values of our people,” the patriarch noted. “A person communicates with thousands of readers through a book. So that our modern literature, developing the traditions of Russian classical literature, rooted in hagiographic literature, and today I helped our people admire the image of a holy man."
Of the 37 nominees in shortlist this year there are 8 applicants. Among them are literary critic Vladimir Voropaev, historian Dmitry Volodikhin, poet-bards Novella Matveeva and Archpriest Leonid Safronov, actor and director Nikolai Burlyaev.
“To be among the applicants for the Patriarchal Literary Prize is a very high award in itself,” says People's Artist Russia Nikorlay Burlyaev. “Personally, I’m happy that I lived to see this day, because I never thought of being an actor, but I became an actor, then a director, I always dreamed of being a writer.”
Based on the results of a secret vote, which took place during the ceremony, the winners were poet Yuri Kublanovsky, prose writer Alexander Segen and front-line writer Yuri Bondarev. Member of the Great Patriotic War, he built fortifications near Smolensk in 1941, then fought at Stalingrad, participated in the liberation of Kyiv, and reached Poland and Czechoslovakia. Bondarev is the author of numerous novels. The most famous are "Liberation", " Hot snow", "The battalions ask for fire." Yuri Bondarev is confident that literature is called upon to assert the boundary between good and evil. Here the main thing for a writer is conscience.
“Without art there is no technology, without art there is no goodness, there is no justice, there is no great reverence for man and his abilities,” Bondarev said. “Why does a state exist on earth? So that a living creature endowed with reason proves that it is capable of creating ".
Writers of different views and directions became nominees and laureates of the Patriarchal Permia. Another thing is important.
“It must be faith coming from the depths of the heart, and literature that is in harmony with this faith,” said Alexander Arkhangelsky.
The Patriarchal Prize is awarded "For significant contribution to the development of Russian literature." And this time its laureates are writers who affirm spiritual and moral values in human life, family and society.
In September, the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church opens the seventh season of the Patriarchal Literary Prize. Applications from applicants for this award will be accepted until February 2017. About how modern literature reflects the spiritual state of a person, about the connection different eras reflects Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. His article is dedicated to the work of this year's Patriarchal Literary Prize laureates - priest Nikolai Blokhin, prose writer Boris Ekimov, literary critic Boris Tarasov.
There are different periods in history. One is called gold, the other, for example, silver or bronze. The secular culture of Russia knows two special eras of its heyday, called the golden and silver age. Obviously, both periods are associated with the desire of society to comprehend the surrounding reality and its tragic experience (be it the war with Napoleon or the Russian revolutions of the early twentieth century), turning to the spiritual potential of the Russian people, to those most important values that were once the basis and still have now determined the uniqueness of Russia's civilizational development. This was reflected both in the development of philosophical thought and in various types art, especially in domestic literature.
In the current post-Soviet era, the need for self-identification is also acutely felt, which, in particular, is reflected in the search for national idea, unifying the beginnings for modern Russian society. Russian Orthodox Church, which has preserved the most important values of Russian civilization for centuries, supports that modern Russian literature that helps find answers to these pressing questions. In this regard, let’s try to reflect on how the modern period of the history of Russian literature differs, considering the work of the latest nominees for the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Prose writers became its new laureates this year Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov, Boris Petrovich Ekimov And Priest Nikolai Blokhin. These are people different fates, but there is a palpable common component in their work. With a variety of topics and genres of works, all three authors broadcast to the modern reader the eternal norms of Christian ethics, as an active, practical part of the worldview that our people have adopted since the Baptism of Rus' by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. And another unifying principle is the fact that they all experienced Soviet era, when a direct and frank presentation of religious views and even a kind word addressed to the Church was persecuted by the atheist state.
Priest Nikolai Blokhin in the Soviet years, while not yet a priest, he was arrested and spent several years in prisons and camps for illegal publication and distribution Orthodox literature. It was then, in prison, that he wrote his first story, “Grandma’s Glass.” He even jokes that prison made him a writer. Today he is the author of many books well known to Orthodox readers: “The Deep Mire,” “Give Up Your Brother,” “The Chosen One,” “Paul,” “Frontier,” “The Christmas Tale,” “Vladimirskaya.”
The perception of any sorrows as a source of human rebirth, as a motivating principle for his internal change, runs through the entire work of the author. This leitmotif was internally suffered, understood by priest Nikolai Blokhin personally life experience. It is no coincidence that he said exactly this in his response at the ceremony of awarding the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.
The theme of the Christian faith, its acquisition, Baptism as the greatest sacrament and the main event in a person’s life, the choice between faith and its denial, between yielding to sin and fighting it occupies central place in the works of priest Nikolai Blokhin. It is this that is the main core around which other themes, ideas, and characters are located. It is to her that everything in the narrative is subordinated. For example, in the stories “Grandma’s Glasses” and “The Chosen One,” the author depicts how deeply people, including the youngest, very children, changed when they believed and received Baptism, how differently they began to look at the world, at themselves, at those around them. The reader gets the impression that the adult characters are divided primarily on the basis of faith or lack of faith, that this is precisely their defining feature. This is why coming to faith radically changes the adult characters as well.
I have heard that Blokhin’s heroes lack psychologism, which is why they are somewhat schematic and even unreliable. But, in my opinion, most of them are not devoid of the main thing - internal change, as a result of spiritual choice. The absence of subtleties of emotional experiences in the narrative can be explained by the fact that the writer, when creating his characters, sought to focus the reader’s attention on the main thing - to show the responsibility of the person himself for his own choice.
This choice is always alternative: either acceptance of the Savior, the desire to follow Christ, read the Gospel, the lives of the saints, try to follow their example, or unbelief, or even a willingness to communicate with dark forces... According to the author, it is this choice as the focus of spiritual life every person at any age is at the center of the story. He is the main thing that the author wants to tell the reader about, and everything else is secondary, less important. That is why some “schematism” and a lack of “psychologism” in individual images are possible here.
There is an element of fantasy in the books of priest Nikolai Blokhin. It is intertwined with reality, and in the living fabric of his works they cannot be separated.
Often, only children, with their spontaneity, better than anyone else grasp the essence of what is happening and can express it. In my opinion, the most striking example of this is Alyosha from the story “Give Back Your Brother.” The child, not understanding what the adults intend to do, not knowing at all that what the adults intended (termination of pregnancy) is possible, intuitively senses trouble. Feeling afraid that something is threatening his future brother, he turns to adults (parents and hospital doctors) with the most important request for him: “Give me your brother!” And these words of the child “wake up” the elderly doctor, who thought that over the years of working in such a hospital he had become accustomed to everything. Then he admits that “he hasn’t run like that since the war,” when he found and caught up with Alyosha to tell him that his brother was alive, that he wasn’t killed...
The theme of suffering for faith and readiness for this suffering, the determination to endure it with God's help, but not to retreat, occupies a significant place in the work of Priest Nikolai Blokhin. Here you can remember the teacher Julia, Zoya and Seva-Sevastyan from the story “The Chosen One”.
Of the works of priest Nikolai Blokhin, the most powerful in artistically, in my opinion, is the story “The Deep Mire,” which tells about the events of the times Civil War. Reality in it is intertwined with elements of fantasy, each character has his own story, and it is not immediately and not always clear to the reader why suddenly this particular hero sees a mysterious monastery, a place of salvation for many, when other people do not see it. One of most important thoughts in this story it is the hope for the possibility of repentance, which remains with a person even when it is obvious that he has committed terrible atrocities, and by earthly standards this cannot be forgiven. In this regard, the first thing that comes to mind is the Red Army commander Vzvoev, who also suddenly saw that monastery and even found himself in it.
The writer conveys to the reader the idea of the importance of preserving Orthodoxy by every living generation, despite the obstacles inherent in its time. This is very important not only for us living today, but also for our descendants. Spiritual succession is the essence of the history of our people as a whole and its constituents individual families who, like a baton, pass on the Orthodox faith and virtuous life from one generation to another.
This year's laureate Patriarchal Prize writer Boris Petrovich Ekimov- one of the best prose writers not only of our time, but, as it seems to me, of all Russian literature. His works are written at the highest artistic level. This is exemplary (so to speak) prose created in best traditions Russian literature. I remember how many years ago I first read Boris Petrovich’s stories, and they made a very special, unforgettable impression on me.
Each period of the country's history is reflected in its own way in its secular culture. Various works arts: painting, music and literary works and the like - are the most valuable and detailed evidence of the era in which they were created. To a large extent, it is from them that descendants can judge the period as a whole, the development of culture and society, and what worried the people who lived then. Someday our descendants will judge our time by cultural heritage of our era, including literary works contemporary authors. I think that among the best, worthy prose works The books of Boris Petrovich Ekimov will remain in history.
Most of his works on the subject can be attributed to village prose . But they all tell not only about the villagers, they are about all people. Love for small homeland, beauty native nature, habit and craving for rural work, for one’s land, joys, sorrows, worries, relationships between relatives and fellow villagers - all this is in the works of B.P. Ekimova. One of his collections (“Return”) has the subtitle “Stories about Living Life.” This is the most precise definition the essence of all the writer’s prose.
There are many themes in his works, they are intertwined with each other into a complex artistic whole, they cannot be divided into components or separated from each other. When asked what, for example, one of the best stories in all Russian literature, “The Shepherd’s Star,” is about, it is impossible to give a monosyllabic answer. It is better to advise you to read it.
The novels and stories of Boris Ekimov are permeated with the Christian spirit, including those in which there is no direct mention of Christian realities. Let me again remember “The Shepherd Star” and its main character Timothy, for whom the moral principle “thou shalt not steal” is so natural that it does not even occur to him that he can appropriate other people’s sheep. At first he cannot even think that this is exactly what the owner who hired him as a shepherd intended. Timofey himself does not take what belongs to others.
“I don’t even need someone else’s,” he removed the money. - No matter how many times I passed, thank God I wasn’t flattered. But what about... People are crying somewhere, and we will crow with happiness, - he said weakly, but still hoping to convince . “You can’t thrive on other people’s tears.”
The whole image of the village simpleton, in which the greatness of the Russian spirit is focused, appears before the reader in the same lively, uncontrived, whole way. Timofey is truly responsible for his work, remembers the advice of the old shepherd, from whom he himself once learned. He lives in full force only in his small homeland, near his native farm, where he is surrounded by nature that is close to his heart, so familiar and at the same time the most beautiful.
But for all his simplicity, Timothy has wisdom. He is not offended by the owner's teenage son, who at first behaves somewhat arrogantly. Over time, Timofey becomes a truly close person to this boy. Unobtrusively, he convinces the teenager that it is impossible to spoil the growing bread. You cannot let a herd into the field, because even if the authorities are ready to turn a blind eye to this, a person should not act against his conscience:
“Don’t waste your bread. Poisoning bread is a great sin.”
The story “The Mistress” clearly illustrates how yielding to one sin leads to a whole chain of subsequent ones. Main character Olga is widowed and wants to find her happiness with Mikhail, a childhood friend who has long had a wife and children. Dreaming of destroying someone else's family and living together with someone else's husband, Olga goes further and further along the path of untruth, hardening her heart. She kicks the mother of her deceased husband out of the house in which she lived all her life, despite the fact that her mother-in-law always helped her raise her daughters and took on the hardest work. Olga forces her to move to another village to live with her daughter, where she is not very welcome, and then refuses to take her back. When the old woman asks with tears to let her spend her last earthly years in this house, Olga emphasizes that now they are strangers. All the injustice and callousness of Olga’s persistent desire to remain the only mistress in the house is revealed by her relationship with her own daughter Rosa, who insists that grandmother Akulina (“Baba Kulya”) live with them. After all, for her, “babanechka” is the dearest and most beloved person.
The story “Speak, Mom, Speak...” is about complete mutual understanding and true love between a long-grown daughter and mother. Both are able to feel from a distance what is especially important to a loved one, and give him exactly that. Both know, remember and take care of what their loved one loves and values.
Even if these works do not directly talk about Christianity, such was the era, but moral values are spelled out everywhere in them.
The 2016 Patriarchal Prize laureates included Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov- writer, philosopher, literary critic, Doctor of Philology, professor of the M. Gorky Literary Institute, who headed it as rector for many years, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.
In the series "Life" wonderful people“Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov published two books. This fictional biographies Christian thinkers Pascal and Chaadaev. I believe that most readers appreciate this probably oldest book series, which dates back to 1890. It was from this time that the publishing house F.F. Pavlenkov began to publish biographical and artistic-biographical books under a general title. Later, in the 30s of the 20th century, the series was resumed by Maxim Gorky.
Both books by Boris Tarasov are in demand by readers and have been reprinted several times. The wide readership, in my opinion, knows both thinkers somewhat “one-sidedly”: one as a scientist, the other as a contemporary of Pushkin, the addressee of his lines, a man whom the government declared crazy for his writings. Other aspects of their activities remain as if in the shadows. Meanwhile, Chaadaev himself considered himself a Christian thinker. In the books of B.N. Tarasova B. Pascal and P.Ya. Chaadaevs are revealed as versatile, deep personalities. Boris Nikolaevich has done a tremendous amount of work. He studied and analyzed many sources, resulting in his books that were very informative and entertaining.
In addition to those mentioned biographical works Boris Tarasov published a number of educational books (“In the world of man”, “Where history is moving”, “Historiosophy of F.I. Tyutchev in the modern context”, “Man and history in Russian religious philosophy and classical literature", "The Mystery of Man" and the Mystery of History (unread Chaadaev, unheard Dostoevsky, unidentified Tyutchev)", "Dostoevsky and modern world”, etc. He also prepared a two-volume book “Nicholas the First and His Time” and a one-volume book “Knight of the Autocracy”), the titles of which indicate the author’s constant interest in the history of Russian literature and its connections with religious philosophy.
I would like to particularly focus on the book by B.N. Tarasov “Where is history moving (Metamorphoses of people and ideas in the light Christian tradition)". In it, the author consistently pursues a relevant idea: when they try to replace Christian values with some other values, even the most seemingly good, humane, humane ones, nothing truly good and bright comes out as a result. All attempts to replace Christian values, Christian norms, Christian views with any others supposedly aimed at the good of individuals and all humanity, which have been undertaken more than once in history and are being undertaken in our time, do not lead to anything good. If the foundation is not based on the Christian hierarchy of values, if these values are distorted, then everything done on such a foundation most often turns out to be evil for man and the world around him, although, as it seemed, those who tried to build on such a foundation were pursuing good goals.
In the book by B.N. Tarasov “Where History is Moving” we're talking about about famous Russian writers, philosophers and political figures of the 19th century (Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, Westerners, Slavophiles, soilists, F.I. Tyutchev, A.S. Pushkin, P.Ya. Chaadaev, K.N. Leontyev, L. N. Tolstoy) and about their contemporaries. Exploring their heritage in a variety of aspects: cultural, literary, philosophical, social, the author analyzes the problems they faced and ways to solve them in the complex context of Russian and world history.
At first glance it may seem that XIX century fairly well studied and largely known to most people. Domestic and world history of this century, as well as the classics of Russian literature in our country are studied at a school desk. This period of history is widely represented in research, popular science and fiction. But it should be noted that ideas about it in our society are, as a rule, superficial, insufficient and, importantly, contain a significant number of cliches.
The special value of the works of B.N. Tarasov is that he consistently, on a strictly scientific basis, destroys many templates. One of the most bright examples— attitude towards Emperor Nicholas I, assessment of his personality and the period of his reign. From a school history course, most students learn that this was an era of reaction, stagnation in all areas of life, and the emperor himself is perceived by them as a strangler of all freedom, an “offender” of the best poets, writers and generally thinking people - like “Nikolai Palkin.” Opposing this cliché, Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov convincingly shows that the figure of the emperor was not so unambiguously gloomy, and the years of his reign cannot be characterized only as a time of complete darkness in all spheres of life. The researcher gives many examples from the life and activities of the emperor, which convince the reader that Nicholas I had a lot positive qualities, important and necessary for governing the state, and his deeds for the benefit of the country are numerous and undeservedly forgotten.
I consider it very valuable that B.N. Tarasov does not go to the other extreme, maintaining a critical assessment historical figures. It happens that authors who write about someone undeservedly forgotten or who has received an undeserved “dark halo” in history become too carried away with apologetics and create in their works an unrealistically positive, to some extent “inanimate” image. In the studies of B.N. Tarasov, historical truth is preserved, heroes remain real people having both advantages and disadvantages. The author does not idealize the actions of the heroes of his books, does not present them in a “favorable” light, and does not select justifications for any of their actions. He recognizes not all the thoughts and actions of those he writes about as true.
Thanks to the works of B.N. Tarasov presents the reader with a much more real, versatile 19th century with all its contradictions, with many interesting and important people who lived at that time. The author does not just list facts and write about emperors, writers, philosophers, he gives the reader the opportunity to comprehend historical and cultural patterns and the significance of Christian values, norms, and traditions in history.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the laureates of this year’s Patriarchal Literary Prize in their own way reflect the diversity modern literature, rooted in the Orthodox worldview. Years of atheist censorship in national culture did not weaken the creative potential of writers who convey Orthodox moral principles and beliefs. And today we need more such writers. I don’t know what the contemporary period of Russian literature will be called. But its distinctive feature, in my opinion, is the interest of many talented authors in the spiritual laws of existence and their manifestation in the realities of our time.
