The Russian ship "Pallada". "Fregat" Pallada "- travel essays by I. Goncharov

In the work of I. Goncharov a special place is occupied by travel essays "Frigate" Pallada ". They told the reader a lot about the structure of foreign states, both civilized European and colonial in the territory of Africa, Asia, the Far East. No less interesting was the description of the Russian way of life in Siberia.

A masterpiece of the Russian fleet

In 1831, at the personal instruction of Nicholas I, the laying of one of the most famous Russian ships of the first half of the XIX century "Pallada" took place. The frigate was put on a voyage after a year and served more than 20 years.

"Pallas" in different years commanded by N. Nakhimov, P. Moller, I. Unkovskiy. Thanks to the high technical data and skilful actions of the crew, the ship has repeatedly come to the aid of ships in trouble. It was also used for long trips to the shores of other countries. The last voyage the ship made to Japan - it described in his essays I. Goncharov. In 1855 "Pallada" (the frigate carried two powerful typhoons and was worn out in order) went to rest in the Post Bay in the territory of the Imperial (Soviet) harbor in the Khabarovsk Territory.

Trip around the world

The purpose of the diplomatic mission, undertaken in 1852, was the need to establish trade relations with Japan and to conduct an inspection of Alaska, which belonged to Russia. Was picked up by an experienced crew, prepared for a long time provisions. The group of diplomats was headed by Vice-Admiral E. Putyatin, and the secretary was the then-writer I. Goncharov, who worked at the Department of Foreign Trade. The Pallas frigate sailed past England, Indonesia, South Africa, China, the Philippines and many small islands in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The whole trip lasted almost 3 years.

The history of writing the book "Frigate Pallada" »

I. Goncharov took the news about the trip positively, noting that it would greatly enrich his life experience. From the first days he began to record everything he had seen in the travel journal, although later, in his introduction to the essays, he noted that he wanted only to capture the most important moments of the trip in artistic form. To impressions from the overseas countries added observations of the life of Russian Siberia: Goncharov traveled to St. Petersburg by land from the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk where Pallas docked. The frigate needed repairs and could not bear further swimming.

Two months after his return to the capital (in April 1855), the First Essay on the Journey appeared in Otechestvennye Zapiski. Then, for three years, Goncharov was published in the "Sea Digest". The whole magazine was published in 1858 and immediately attracted the attention of the entire reading public. Subsequently, the book - which was not originally planned by the author - "Fregat" Pallas "" was supplemented with two more essays. In the first it was told about the final stage of the journey through Siberia, in the second - about the further fate of the ship.

The main advantages of travel records were the abundance and variety of recorded factual material, a message about phenomena that until then had been little known to a Russian person, the artistic skill of a writer.

"Frigate Pallada": a short summary of the book

Essays are a detailed description of life in different countries. And the author's view is more often critical and is accompanied by ironic remarks about foreigners, whoever they are. For example, the British civilization, according to Goncharov, destroys all life. Here everything goes according to plan and there is no sincerity. This way of life is opposed to a broad Russian soul. For example, the story of the sailor Sorokin, who decided to grow grain in Siberia, is recalled. His idea was a success, but he does not stop at what has been achieved and is mastering all new territories, giving the fruits of his labor to the Tungus and the church.

Separate attention deserves the memories of the author bored on the ship "Pallas" - a frigate writer in a foreign land often called his home - about the life of a Russian nobleman. This leisurely tea-drinking, quiet lying on the couch, endless holidays. For Goncharov, they did not go to any comparison with the constant fuss of the English.

Negroes and Chinese did not like their smell, in part because they rubbed themselves with special oils. Japanese writer considered sly (the older, the more stupid faces were wrinkled) and sluggish. He believed that it was necessary to destroy their system of isolation from the outside world and humanize them. But the advantage of wild peoples was the proximity to nature, completely lost by the English. In this regard, the writer's conclusions about the results of colonization, which he observed almost along the entire path of "Pallas", are interesting. According to the writer, "wild" Chinese, with their shortcomings, could teach civilized Englishmen and Americans and manners, and a common culture of behavior, and attitude to the gifts of nature.

The book also told (for the first time!) About the life of the Decembrists in Siberia, which was facilitated by the writer's personal acquaintance with some of their representatives. The unshakable strength of the spirit, the very way of life (despite inhuman conditions, the best representatives of the nobility tried to maintain the necessary level of spirituality in their huts-salons) caused the writer admiration.

A few interesting moments from the essays of I. Goncharov

To the modern reader, the book is interesting by describing what seems absurd today. For example, laughter and irony caused Goncharov's habit of greeting the English. "First they will try to tear off each other's hand," he wrote. How did the writer know that the method of greeting accepted by the English men will soon appear in Russia.

Another funny episode is about the Japanese. One of the locals gave the sailor an empty bottle. Then the Japanese translator asked to take the gift back. And to the words: "Yes, throw it out (the bottle) into the sea" seriously replied that it was impossible. "We'll bring it, but you'll give it up ... yourself." It turned out that in this way the local authorities fought smuggling.

So describes his unusual journey I. Goncharov, the frigate "Pallada" for which for two and a half years has become not only a home and a reminder of the Motherland, but also a source of inspiration, which made it possible to create a highly artistic work.