In 1871 - P.A. Rovinsky, in 1919 - A.M. Selishchev and many others. In our time, unique material on the Mukhorshibirskaya, and then Kunaleiskaya volosts, which included Bichura, was collected by the largest researcher of the Old Believers F.F. Bolonev. He discovered an archival document, in which family members indicate the year of settlement in Bichur - 1768. 26 families, including 70 souls, are husbands. and 66 wives. gender. Valuable information is contained in P.A. Rovinsky about that time: “Semeisky from the first batch of arrivals were settled first along the Iro River in a settlement called Pokrovsky village. And then they were transferred again, and, according to the Bichurians themselves, they themselves crossed to the Bichur River in the Bichur village. While Urluk was already enjoying the fruits of his labors, the Dzhidin family began to settle on Bichur.
In January 1795, 186 male souls and 185 female souls already lived in Bichur, a total of 371 people in 31 houses. They were not afraid of any work and struggle with nature, they did not meet resistance in the Russian settlers, at first they lived in some kind of slum, in the cramped place of the Bichur valley, among the swamps, which is why this part was called Gryaznukha. From the documents it follows that in 1798 there were no Semey on the middle Bichurka, and in 1801 it is clear that they were already there. Initially, they occupied the opposite side of the river to the Orthodox. With the growth of the population and the settlement of land disputes, the other coast was also developed. It was not easy for nature to cede its rights to them, then the young shoots were beaten, then the locusts attacked and ate 550 acres of different bread from some Bichurskys, then the weather prevented the harvesting of bread, snow fell. This was joined by internecine. And then the priest died, grief, you need to get a new one from Russia ... you will have to live without grace. Despite all the difficulties, after thirty or forty years, the villages of the Old Believers transformed the surrounding landscapes, everywhere, even on the mountain slopes, arable land spread, and the settlers were able not only to feed themselves, but also sold surplus flour relatively cheaply. The Bichurians were mainly engaged in arable farming, vegetable growing, and less animal husbandry. They sowed spring rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, hemp, from one tithe they received up to 70-80 pounds of grain, sometimes even 100 pounds. They mined pine nuts, drove resin, tar. In the taiga tracts, stoves were smoked throughout the warm season. The products were exported to Verkhneudinsk, Kyakhta, Petrovsky Zavod, and floated down the Khilok. The family population in Bichur grew rapidly, in 1808 - 610 people, in 1825 - 1069 in 150 houses; it increased naturally. Exiles in the region, as a rule, were attributed to the Orthodox. In 1860, there were already 2,436 Old Believers in Bichur. Such a high increase has not been noted anywhere in the entire history of the peoples and villages of Siberia.
In 1869, a division of land arose among the peasants of Bichura due to the separation of 60 Orthodox people into a special society, from that time on, most of the village began to be called Novobichursky, and the smaller Starobichursky, each was under the control of its village foreman. In view of the confusion, the patchwork of the lands of the Orthodox and Old Believers, both petitioned for their redistribution. The redistribution of land was carried out by order of the Chief Assessor of the III section of the Verkhneudinsky district Maskov.
An interesting description of Bichura and its population in 1871 is contained in the works of P.A. Rovinsky. “Wherever you go to Bichura: from Verkhneudinsk along the Petrozavodsk tract or from Kyakhta, you will have to go all the way between the ridges. On a wide and flat plane, a Russian village stretched in a long strip on both sides of the river. Bichura, now approaching her right up, then keeping a respectful distance from her. On the right bank, Moskovskaya Street ran for 9 versts almost continuously, only in one place a stone rock squeezed like a cape to the river itself and forced to make a gap of 100 sazhens, and immediately a short transverse Tyuryukhanovskaya street separated, immediately a prison, a volost government, public shops . On the other side, for almost the same length, there is Kolesovaya Street with several breaks, now in two rows, then in one. Between these streets, a river rushes in three branches with two bridges and several crossings made of planks and boards. More than 20 mills operate throughout the river. If you look at the village from a nearby cliff, then you see long, long streets on both sides and between them regular and irregular green quadrangles of different shades: from the grayish color of cabbage and light green cucumbers and carrots to dark potatoes and beets. Here and there the greenery is full of yellow carnations, red and white poppies, and colorful asters. Here are the calves. The houses are all monotonous, but they look fresh and cheerful. Before many there are dryers, where they dry the sheaves and make a test of the threshing of new bread. Like all Great Russian villages, Bichura is not painted with groves, or gardens, or even front gardens. Not a single tree, either on the street or in the yard. At the first Savior they had procession to the water. Almost the whole night they went on praying in the house; just as the sun rolled out from behind the mountains, everyone went to the river. There were at least a thousand people, all from young to old. How much fear was sung and read! More than 20 deacons served the priest and made up the chorus of singers. When the cross was immersed in the water, all the people rushed into the river. The Bichurians spent considerable sums on the acquisition of priests and brought them from Moscow. The priests hid from the police, secretly traveled around their flock and performed rites, in addition, they were under the constant supervision of their Old Believers.
From the second half of XIX and at the beginning of the 20th century. In connection with a significant increase in the population of the Old Believers in the village, the archival documents of the SAIO and the NARB contain a huge number of boundary cases on the division of arable and hay lands. It also contains the petition of Akindin Pavlov, a trusted 19 householders of the peasants of the Bichursky village, for permission to form a new village in the area along the Khilka River (NARB. F. 29. Op. 1. d. 315). Selishchev A.M., having visited the Semey villages of the region in 1919, noted: “First of all, in every village, from every interlocutor, I heard an inevitable complaint about the lack of land. From the old man to the boy, everyone yelled with one voice: there is not enough land, give land. There is not enough hay, and these cries are not family greed. The land is not good for them. The cultivated area is insufficient. There are from 2 - 2.3 to 5 acres per capita (rarely). There are also villages where the shower room has less than 2 acres of comfortable arable land. So, for example, in Bilyut (Okino-Klucheskaya volost), according to the data of 1914, there are 711 acres of arable land, the number of male souls is 452. At the beginning of the 20th century. part of the population of Bichura, due to lack of land, migrated to the Amur. New villages Motnya, Novosretenka, Petropavlovka, Pokrovka spun off. At the same time, the population of Bichura itself continued to grow rapidly. At the beginning of 1919, about 7,000 people lived in the village in 1,113 households. Early 20th century researchers noted as the time of penetration of new trends in family life. In 1920, the Bichursky Congress of Soviets was held in the village. The congress decided to establish Soviet power in the Baikal region.
In the conditions of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, very significant changes took place in the life of family people. Among them, depeasantization, repressions that deprived the villages of most spiritual leaders and farming traditions, the creation of an agro-industrial complex, the development of social infrastructure, industrial construction, etc. The tradition was becoming a thing of the past with each new generation, the leveling of the way of life and culture in the Soviet period led to the modernization of the life of the Old Believers of Bichura. In the years Soviet power in connection with the creation in the villages industrial enterprises, such as industrial plants, confectionery factories, forestries, etc., an influx of specialists poured into the villages, not of Semey origin. By marrying family members, they not only influenced their family life and culture, but also enriched their ideas and concepts.
In 1948, 7009 people lived in Bichur, the same number as in 1920. In the post-war period, the population grew, but migration to the urban areas of the rural population played a significant role in its growth. By 1970 - 10078 people. In 1995, 11,783 people lived in Bichur. This is the maximum indicator of the population of the village for the entire period of its existence. Since 1996, there has been a decline in population. Today, the village of Bichura remains the largest family village with the longest rural avenue in the world (Moskovskaya, Bolshaya St., now Kommunisticheskaya St.), listed in the Guinness Book of Records. As before, the majority of the population here are family.
Bichura- translated from Buryat Beshүүre is a village in the south of the Republic of Buryatia. And this is the greatest village of Bichura, with its open spaces and power pleases the eyes of residents and guests.
Bichura village was founded in 1767, as a result of the peasant colonization of Transbaikalia and the resettlement of a special ethnographic group of Russians from Poland - Semeyskie.
The village of Bichura is one of the largest villages not only in Buryatia, but also in Russia. Area 53250 sq. km, population 13071 people. The length of the village is 18 km. Most of the families live in the village. These people have long been connected with the earth. Bichura was founded by Old Believers - Semey, resettled by decree of Catherine II of December 14, 1762 from Poland. In 1768 their number reached 70 men and 66 women.
The initial settlement of the Semey people began in Gryaznukha, in this unprepossessing place by name, and then houses appeared along Bolshaya Street. Today it is Communist street.
Further, the village was located along the mountain river Bichurka. It still consists of several long streets, one of which is the largest Communist street. This street is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Photo of Communist street.
Photo 2 Street Communist.
The right bank of Novaya Bichura grew in breadth; over the years, residents appeared on opposite side R. Bichurki, other streets have been outlined. Today every street has its own name. Photo 1. Sovetskaya street. bichur.
Photo 2. Sverdlov street.
Photo 3. Petrov street.
Photo 4. Fedotov Brothers Street.
Photo 5. Street named after the hero Soviet Union Solomennikov.
Photo 6. Tyuryukhanova street.
Photo 7. Lenin Street.
Photo 8. Entrance to Communist street. This is the longest street in Bichura, listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Photo 9. Kalinina street. Bichur.
Photo 10. Center of Bichura. Bus station area.
Despite the difficulties in the life of the family, the village grew, agriculture developed, cattle breeding was mastered, ties were established with the natives of the region. Life required close contacts with the Buryats living nearby and with the alien population. The Russians took a lot of value for themselves from the pastoral practice of the Buryats. It is no coincidence that many family names of domestic animals of Buryat origin, for example: a goby-burun, from the Buryat bur, a laid ram - ergen.
Buryat names have also become stronger for many household items: a leather bag - tulun, a cheesecake - tarka. They also adopted some of the clothes and shoes from the Buryats: a winter hat, high fur boots.
The Bichurians were mainly engaged in arable farming. Plowing of arable land was carried out with a wooden plow, harrowed with a wooden harrow. Sowing was done by hand. They harvested bread with scythes, where the ears are softer, and reaped with sickles. After the harvest, it was time to take the sheaves home, where the sheaves were stacked in luggage. The threshing of bread was carried out in winter. At first they sowed spring rye, later they began to sow wheat, oats, buckwheat, and millet. These crops are still sown on collective farms.
The main mode of transport was the one-wheel cart. The carts were made on a wooden track, and later on an iron one. In winter they rode sledges.
In addition to arable farming, the population of Bichura was also engaged in animal husbandry. As a rule, each farm had about five sheep, 2-3 cattle, 2-5 pigs. This has continued to this day in many families. In vegetable growing, special attention was paid to the cultivation of onions. The presence of chernozem soils, the correct system of watering vegetable gardens favored the Bichurians in obtaining high yields of onions. The old such hardening remained with the residents along the streets of Communist and Kirov. The inhabitants of these streets grow entire onion plantations. Its sale was carried out in the markets of the city of Verkhneudinsk, now it is the city of Ulan-Ude.
Thus, they made money. In addition to onions, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, garlic, poppy seeds, sunflowers, potatoes, radishes, rutabaga, beans, peas, and tomatoes grow well in the Bichur gardens.
The peasantry of Bichura took the most Active participation in all the measures of the Soviet government aimed at improving the household, at equalizing the rights of men and women, allocating land to families according to the number of eaters, and so on. All these fair measures brought a great revival into the economic and everyday life of the family peasantry.
Semeyskie are born vegetable growers. Every woman knows the intricacies of growing a particular garden crop. Knows how to prepare seeds, cultivate the land for planting vegetables, for growing seedlings, preparing greenhouses. The ridges in the gardens are arranged so that the water from the canals spills between them.
For several years, Bichura has been developing, a sugar beet processing plant has been launched. His idea for the building came about in 1941. In 1942, its construction began. The capacity of the plant also changed, from 500-600 c. previously planned for 1500-2000 c. beets per day. However, over time, this sugar factory was liquidated due to unprofitability.
Our region has rich forest lands. For their rational use, there are 3 forestries in the region, 2 of which are located in the village, these are the Bichursky forestry and the Interkolkhoz forestry - today it is called the Buysky forestry.
To ensure the uninterrupted operation of vehicles in the village of Bichura, there are 2 gas stations, the last of which began operating in 1995.
Financial transactions are carried out through banks located in Bichur: these are the cash settlement center, Rosselkhozbank, Savings Bank.
Housing and communal services operate in Bichur, which supports the life of many residential and industrial points of the district center. On its base in the center of the village, in 1971, the Niva Hotel was opened for 24 people.
The village develops, grows, and the number of its population increases. More than 75% of the village population is employed in agriculture.
In the village of Bichura, the District Central Hospital operates and exists. Carries out control and leadership in the RTMO Maslyonkina O. B. - Honored Doctor of the Republic of Belarus. Today, the medical institution continues to develop: a medical outpatient clinic is being built, a therapeutic department is being expanded, a children's building has been equipped and reconstructed, a maternity hospital, a gynecological department, an infectious, surgical, sanitary and epidemiological station have been improved, that is, each department has been reequipped and improved, according to the national project. Photo 11. District hospital.
In addition to the RTMO, there are 5 paramedical stations on the territory of Bichura along the streets of Kirov, Kalinin, Lenin, Kommunisticheskaya, the village of Sewing Factory, today it is the Sugar Factory. Each paramedical station has a pharmacy kiosk.
In addition, a pension fund building, new shops, shopping centers, etc. have been built.
Photo 12. New pension fund.
Photo 13. Shopping center "KAMELIA".
Its construction and expansion.
New buildings continue to be built in Bichur. Photo 15. A new store, not yet opened, preparations are underway.
Today the village of Bichura is developing, growing, modernizing and expanding. Pleases the soul of the population for the construction of new houses. People want to live, strive for the best, and therefore keep up with the times.
Photo 16. Construction and expansion of Bichury village.
Each visitor to our village will be enchanted by its priceless beauty of nature, the sunset among the streets, intersections, evening calm time.
Photo 18 interesting moments in village life, evening sunset, nature, approaching night.
New Bichur forest.
Crossroads of Sovetskaya and Petrov streets. Beauty among the inhabitants of Bichur.
Kalinina street. Late in the evening.
On this, our tour of the village of Bichura ended. Thank you for your attention.
She told the story of the village of Bichura, the name of the streets of the village, author of the photo: Olga Nikolaevna Ulyanova, teacher primary school MOU BSOSH No. 5
(I) Coordinates : 50°35′11″ s. sh. 107°35′50″ E d. / 50.5864000° N sh. 107.597472° E d. / 50.5864000; 107.597472(G) (I)
Russians, Buryats
Old Believers, Orthodox, Buddhists
Geography
It is located along the banks of the Bichura River (from the dialect. Bur. Pisuure - “ thickets in the valley”), not far from its confluence with Khilok. The village has a width of up to 4 km, stretching along the Bichura valley for 11 km from the southeast to the northwest, where the extreme houses of the village are one kilometer from the bank of the Khilok. A regional highway runs through the central part of the village from east to west. P441 Mukhorshibir - Bichura - Kyakhta (in the village it goes along Sovetskaya Street), dividing the settlement into two parts - the southern one, located in the intermountain valley of the spurs of the Malkhan Range, and the northern one, where the Bichura river enters the Khilok river valley.
Story
In our time, unique material on the Mukhorshibirskaya, and then Kunaleyskaya volosts, which included Bichura, was collected by the largest researcher of the Old Believers F.F. Bolonev. He discovered an archival document in which the family indicate the year of settlement in Bichur - in the amount of 26 families, including 70 male and 66 female souls. Valuable information is contained in P. A. Rovinsky about that time: “Semeysky from the first batch of arrivals were settled first along the Iro River in a settlement called Pokrovsky village. And then they were transferred again, and, according to the Bichurians themselves, they themselves crossed to the Bichur River in the Bichur village. While Urluk was already enjoying the fruits of his labors, the Dzhidin family began to settle on Bichur. In January 1795, 186 male souls and 185 female souls already lived in Bichur, a total of 371 people in 31 houses. They were not afraid of any work and struggle with nature, they did not meet resistance in the Russian settlers, at first they lived in some kind of slum, in the cramped place of the Bichur valley, among the swamps, which is why this part was called Gryaznukha. From the documents it follows that in 1798 there were no Semey on the middle Bichurka, and in 1801 it is clear that they were already there. Initially, they occupied the opposite side of the river to the Orthodox. With the growth of the population and the settlement of land disputes, the other coast was also developed. It was not easy for nature to cede its rights to them, then the young shoots were beaten, then the locusts attacked and ate 550 acres of different bread from some Bichurskys, then the weather prevented the harvesting of bread, snow fell. This was joined by internecine. And then there is grief - the priest died, you need to get a new one from Russia ... you will have to live without grace. Despite all the difficulties, after thirty or forty years, the villages of the Old Believers transformed the surrounding landscapes, everywhere, even on the mountain slopes, arable land spread, and the settlers were able not only to feed themselves, but also sold surplus flour relatively cheaply. The Bichurians were mainly engaged in arable farming, vegetable growing, and less animal husbandry. They sowed spring rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, hemp, from one tithe they received up to 70-80 pounds of grain, sometimes even 100 pounds. They mined pine nuts, drove resin, tar. In the taiga tracts, stoves were smoked throughout the warm season. The products were exported to Verkhneudinsk, Kyakhta, Petrovsky Zavod, and floated down the Khilok. The family population in Bichur grew rapidly, in 1808 - 610 people, in 1825 - 1069 in 150 houses; it increased naturally. Exiles in the region, as a rule, were attributed to the Orthodox. In 1860, there were already 2,436 Old Believers in Bichur. Such a high increase has not been noted anywhere in the entire history of the peoples and villages of Siberia. In 1869, a division of land arose among the peasants of Bichura due to the separation of 60 Orthodox people into a special society, from that time on, most of the village began to be called Novobichursky, and the smaller Starobichursky, each was under the control of its village foreman. In view of the confusion, the patchwork of the lands of the Orthodox and Old Believers, both petitioned for their redistribution. The redistribution of land was carried out by order of the Chief Assessor of the III section of the Verkhneudinsky district Maskov.
An interesting description of Bichura and its population in 1871 is contained in the works of P. A. Rovinsky. “Wherever you go to Bichur: from Verkhneudinsk along the Petrozavodsk tract or from Kyakhta, you will have to go all the way between the ridges. On a wide and flat plane, a Russian village stretched in a long strip on both sides of the river. Bichura, now approaching her right up, then keeping a respectful distance from her. On the right bank, Moskovskaya Street ran for 9 versts almost continuously, only in one place a stone rock squeezed like a cape to the river itself and forced to make a gap of 100 sazhens, and immediately a short transverse Tyuryukhanovskaya street separated, immediately a prison, a volost government, public shops . On the other side, for almost the same length, there is Kolesovaya Street with several breaks, now in two rows, then in one. Between these streets, a river rushes in three branches with two bridges and several crossings made of planks and boards. More than 20 mills operate throughout the river. If you look at the village from a nearby cliff, then you see long, long streets on both sides and regular and irregular quadrangles between them. Green colour different shades: from the grayish color of cabbage and light green cucumbers and carrots to dark potatoes and beets. Here and there the greenery is full of yellow carnations, red and white poppies, and colorful asters. Here are the calves. The houses are all monotonous, but they look fresh and cheerful. Before many there are dryers, where they dry the sheaves and make a test of the threshing of new bread. Like all Great Russian villages, Bichura is not painted with groves, or gardens, or even front gardens. Not a single tree, either on the street or in the yard. On the first Savior they had a procession to the water. Almost the whole night they went on praying in the house; just as the sun rolled out from behind the mountains, everyone went to the river. There were at least a thousand people, all from young to old. How much fear was sung and read! More than 20 deacons served the priest and made up the chorus of singers. When the cross was immersed in the water, all the people rushed into the river. The Bichurians spent considerable sums on the acquisition of priests and brought them from Moscow. The priests hid from the police, secretly traveled around their flock and performed rites, in addition, they were under the constant supervision of their Old Believers.
Since the second half of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries, due to a significant increase in the population of the Old Believers in the village, the archival documents of the SAIO and NARB contain a huge number of boundary cases on the division of arable and hay lands. It also contains the petition of Akindin Pavlov, a trusted 19 householders of the peasants of the Bichursky village, for permission to form a new village in the area along the Khilok River (NARB. F. 29. Op. 1. d. 315). A. M. Selishchev, having visited the Semey villages of the region in 1919, noted: “First of all, in every village, from every interlocutor, I heard the inevitable complaint about the lack of land. From the old man to the boy, everyone yelled with one voice: there is not enough land, give land. There is not enough hay, and these cries are not family greed. The land is not good for them. The cultivated area is insufficient. There are from 2 - 2.3 to 5 acres per capita (rarely). There are also villages where the shower room has less than 2 acres of comfortable arable land.
So, for example, in Bilyut (Okino-Klucheskaya volost), according to 1914, there are 711 acres of arable land, the number of male souls is 452. At the beginning of the 20th century, part of the population of Bichura migrated to the Amur due to lack of land. New villages Motnya, Novosretenka, Petropavlovka, Pokrovka spun off. At the same time, the population of Bichura itself continued to grow rapidly. At the beginning of 1919, about 7,000 people lived in the village in 1,113 households. The beginning of the 20th century is noted by researchers as the time of penetration of new trends into family life.
In 1920, the Bichur Congress of Soviets was held in the village. The congress decided to establish Soviet power in the Baikal region.
In the conditions of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, very significant changes took place in the life of family people. Among them, depeasantization, repression, which deprived the villages of most spiritual leaders and farming traditions, the creation of an agro-industrial complex, the development of social infrastructure, industrial construction, etc. The tradition was becoming a thing of the past with each new generation, the leveling of lifestyle and culture in the Soviet period led to modernization of the life of the Old Believers of Bichura. During the years of Soviet power, in connection with the creation of industrial enterprises in the villages, such as industrial plants, confectionery factories, forestries, etc., an influx of specialists, who were not of family origin, gushed. By marrying family members, they not only influenced their family life and culture, but also enriched their ideas and concepts.
In 1940, the Bichursky butter factory was opened. Experimental crops of sugar beet were made in 1940. In 1942, its industrial cultivation began and a sugar factory was founded in the summer of this year.
Population
To date, the majority of the population here is still family.
Infrastructure
Central regional hospital, 4 secondary comprehensive schools, Primary School, 4 kindergartens, a post office, a House of Culture, a children's art school, a house children's creativity, a nursing home for the elderly and disabled, a children's social and rehabilitation center "Ulybka".
Economy
- Bichursky Butter Plant LLC
culture
Every year, the Bichur Amber festival is held in Bichur. There are several folklore ensembles in the village, such as "Resurrection", "Staraya Bichura", children's exemplary family ensemble "Vasilki".
Historical local history museum named after S. Yu. Shirokikh-Polyansky, school museum of local lore "Motherland".
Mass media
Radio Newspaper- "Bichursky grain grower"
Attractions
Famous people
- Solomennikov Efim Ivanovich (1898-1986) - Hero of the Soviet Union. Lived and died in Bichur.
- Khorinskaya Elena Evgenievna (1909-2010) - Soviet poet, writer, translator. Born in Bichur.
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An excerpt characterizing Bichur (Buryatia)
The conversation was the simplest and most insignificant. They talked about the war, involuntarily, like everyone else, exaggerating their sadness about this event, they talked about last meeting, moreover, Nikolai tried to divert the conversation to another subject, they talked about the kind governor's wife, about the relatives of Nikolai and Princess Marya.Princess Mary did not speak of her brother, diverting the conversation to another subject as soon as her aunt spoke of Andrei. It was evident that she could talk about the misfortunes of Russia in a pretense, but her brother was a subject too close to her heart, and she did not want and could not talk lightly about him. Nikolai noticed this, as he generally, with penetrating observation unusual for him, noticed all the shades of Princess Marya's character, which all only confirmed his conviction that she was a very special and extraordinary creature. Nikolai, just like Princess Marya, blushed and was embarrassed when they told him about the princess and even when he thought about her, but in her presence he felt completely free and said not at all what he was preparing, but what instantaneously and always incidentally occurred to him.
During the short visit of Nicholas, as always, where there are children, in a moment of silence, Nicholas resorted to the little son of Prince Andrei, caressing him and asking if he wants to be a hussar? He took the boy in his arms, began to twirl him merrily, and looked round at Princess Mary. A touched, happy and timid look followed her beloved boy in the arms of a loved one. Nikolai noticed this look too and, as if understanding its meaning, blushed with pleasure and began to kiss the boy good-naturedly and cheerfully.
Princess Mary did not leave on the occasion of mourning, and Nikolai did not consider it decent to visit them; but the governor's wife nevertheless continued her business of matchmaking and, having conveyed to Nikolai the flattering things that Princess Marya had said about him, and vice versa, insisted that Rostov explain himself to Princess Marya. For this explanation, she arranged a meeting between young people at the bishop's before Mass.
Although Rostov told the governor's wife that he would not have any explanation with Princess Marya, he promised to come.
Just as in Tilsit, Rostov did not allow himself to doubt whether what is recognized by all as good is good, so now, after a short but sincere struggle between trying to arrange his life according to his own mind and humble submission to circumstances, he chose the latter and left himself to the power that he (he felt) irresistibly attracted somewhere. He knew that by promising Sonya to express his feelings to Princess Marya, it would be what he called meanness. And he knew that he would never do meanness. But he also knew (and not what he knew, but in the depths of his soul he felt) that, now surrendering himself to the power of circumstances and the people who guided him, he not only did nothing wrong, but did something very, very important, such something he had never done before in his life.
After his meeting with Princess Mary, although outwardly his way of life remained the same, all his former pleasures lost their charm for him, and he often thought of Princess Mary; but he never thought of her in the same way as he, without exception, thought of all the young ladies he met in the world, not in the way that he had long and once enthusiastically thought about Sonya. About all the young ladies, like almost every honest young man, he thought of as a future wife, tried on in his imagination for them all the conditions of married life: a white hood, a wife behind a samovar, a wife’s carriage, children, maman and papa, their relationship with her etc., etc., and these visions of the future gave him pleasure; but when he thought of Princess Marya, on whom he was wooed, he could never imagine anything of the future married life. If he tried, then everything came out clumsy and false. He just got scared.
Terrible news about the Battle of Borodino, about our losses in killed and wounded, and even more terrible news about the loss of Moscow, were received in Voronezh in mid-September. Princess Mary, having learned only from the newspapers about her brother’s wound and having no definite information about him, was about to go in search of Prince Andrei, as Nikolai heard (he himself did not see her).
Having received the news of the Battle of Borodino and the abandonment of Moscow, Rostov not only experienced despair, anger or revenge and similar feelings, but he suddenly became bored, annoyed in Voronezh, everything was somehow ashamed and awkward. All the talk he heard seemed feigned to him; he did not know how to judge all this, and felt that only in the regiment would everything become clear to him again. He was in a hurry to complete the purchase of horses and often unfairly got into a temper with his servant and sergeant major.
A few days before the departure of Rostov, a prayer service was scheduled in the cathedral on the occasion of the victory won by the Russian troops, and Nikolai went to mass. He stood somewhat behind the governor and, with official gravity, thinking about a wide variety of subjects, survived the service. When the prayer was over, the governor's wife called him to her.
Have you seen the princess? she said, pointing her head at the lady in black standing behind the kliros.
Nikolai immediately recognized Princess Marya, not so much by her profile, which was visible from under her hat, but by that feeling of caution, fear and pity that immediately seized him. Princess Mary, obviously immersed in her own thoughts, was making her last crosses before leaving the church.
Nikolai looked at her face in surprise. It was the same face he had seen before, the same was in him. general expression subtle, inner, spiritual work; but now it was completely differently illuminated. A touching expression of sadness, prayer and hope was on him. As before with Nikolai in her presence, he, without waiting for the advice of the governor's wife, to approach her, without asking himself whether it would be good, decent or not, his appeal to her here in church, approached her and said that he had heard about her grief and sympathizes with him with all her heart. As soon as she heard his voice, suddenly a bright light lit up in her face, illuminating at the same time both her sadness and joy.
“I wanted to tell you one thing, princess,” said Rostov, “that if Prince Andrei Nikolayevich had not been alive, then, as a regimental commander, this would have been announced in the newspapers now.
The princess looked at him, not understanding his words, but rejoicing at the expression of sympathetic suffering that was in his face.
“And I know so many examples that a shrapnel wound (in the newspapers it says a grenade) is either fatal right now, or, on the contrary, very light,” Nikolai said. “We have to hope for the best, and I’m sure…”
Princess Mary interrupted him.
“Oh, that would be so awful…” she began, and without finishing from excitement, with a graceful movement (like everything she did in his presence), bowing her head and looking gratefully at him, she went after her aunt.
On the evening of that day, Nikolai did not go anywhere to visit and stayed at home in order to settle some accounts with the horse sellers. When he finished his business, it was already late to go somewhere, but it was still early to go to bed, and Nikolai walked up and down the room alone for a long time, pondering his life, which rarely happened to him.
Princess Mary made a good impression on him near Smolensk. The fact that he met her then in such special circumstances, and the fact that it was precisely her at one time that his mother pointed out to him as a rich party, made him pay special attention to her. In Voronezh, during his visit, the impression was not only pleasant, but strong. Nikolai was struck by the special, moral beauty that he noticed in her this time. However, he was about to leave, and it never occurred to him to regret that, leaving Voronezh, he was deprived of the opportunity to see the princess. But the current meeting with Princess Mary in the church (Nikolai felt this) sank deeper into his heart than he foresaw it, and deeper than he wished for his peace of mind. This pale, thin, sad face, this radiant look, these quiet, graceful movements, and most importantly, this deep and tender sadness, expressed in all her features, disturbed him and demanded his participation. In men, Rostov could not stand to see the expression of a higher, spiritual life (that's why he did not like Prince Andrei), he contemptuously called it philosophy, daydreaming; but in Princess Marya, precisely in this sadness, which showed the whole depth of this alien to Nicholas spiritual world, he felt an irresistible attraction.
“A wonderful girl must be! That's the angel! he said to himself. “Why am I not free, why did I hurry with Sonya?” And involuntarily he imagined a comparison between the two: poverty in one and wealth in the other of those spiritual gifts that Nicholas did not have and which therefore he valued so highly. He tried to imagine what it would be like if he were free. How would he propose to her and she would become his wife? No, he couldn't imagine it. He felt terrified, and no clear images presented themselves to him. With Sonya, he had long ago formed a future picture for himself, and all this was simple and clear, precisely because it was all invented, and he knew everything that was in Sonya; but with Princess Mary it was impossible to imagine a future life, because he did not understand her, but only loved her.
Dreams about Sonya had something cheerful, toy in them. But thinking about Princess Mary was always difficult and a little scary.
How she prayed! he remembered. It was evident that her whole soul was in prayer. Yes, this is the prayer that moves mountains, and I am sure that her prayer will be fulfilled. Why don't I pray for what I need? he remembered. - What I need? Freedom, denouement with Sonya. She spoke the truth,” he recalled the words of the governor’s wife, “except for misfortune, nothing will come of the fact that I marry her. Confusion, woe maman... things... confusion, terrible confusion! Yes, I don't like her. Yes, I don't like it as much as I should. My God! get me out of this terrible, hopeless situation! He suddenly began to pray. - Yes, prayer will move a mountain, but you have to believe and not pray like Natasha and I prayed as children that snow would turn into sugar, and ran out into the yard to try whether sugar was made from snow. No, but I’m not praying about trifles now, ”he said, putting the receiver in the corner and, folding his hands, standing in front of the icon. And, touched by the memory of Princess Marya, he began to pray in a way he had not prayed for a long time. Tears were in his eyes and in his throat when Lavrushka entered the door with some papers.
- Fool! what do you climb when you are not asked! - said Nikolai, quickly changing position.
“From the governor,” Lavrushka said in a sleepy voice, “the courier has arrived, a letter for you.
- Well, okay, thanks, go!
Nicholas took two letters. One was from the mother, the other from Sonya. He recognized them by their handwriting and opened Sonya's first letter. Before he had time to read a few lines, his face turned pale and his eyes opened in fear and joy.
- No, it can't be! he said aloud. Unable to sit still, he is with a letter in his hands, reading it. began to walk around the room. He ran through the letter, then read it once, twice, and, raising his shoulders and spreading his arms, he stopped in the middle of the room with his mouth open and his eyes fixed. What he had just prayed for, with the assurance that God would grant his prayer, was fulfilled; but Nicholas was surprised by this as if it were something extraordinary, and as if he had never expected it, and as if the very fact that it happened so quickly proved that it did not come from the god he asked, but by mere chance.
That seemingly insoluble knot that tied Rostov's freedom was resolved by this unexpected (as it seemed to Nikolai), unprovoked letter from Sonya. She wrote that the last unfortunate circumstances, the loss of almost all the property of the Rostovs in Moscow, and the countess's repeatedly expressed desire that Nikolai marry Princess Bolkonskaya, and his silence and coldness for Lately- all this together made her decide to renounce his promises and give him complete freedom.
