Went once two of our factory grass to look. And they had long hauls. Somewhere behind Severushka.

It was a festive day, and hot - passion. Parun is clean. And both of them robbed in grief, that is, in Gumeshki. Malachite ore was mined, as well as blue tit. Well, when a beetle with a coil fell, and there it was said that it would do.

There was one young guy, unmarried, and it began to cast green in his eyes. Another older one. This one is completely ruined. The eyes are green, and the cheeks seem to turn green. And the man was coughing all the time.

It's good in the forest. The birds sing and rejoice, soaring from the earth, the spirit is light. They, listen, and exhausted. We reached the Krasnogorsk mine. At that time iron ore was mined there. It means that ours lay down on the grass under the mountain ash and immediately fell asleep. Only suddenly the young one - exactly someone pushed him in the side - woke up. He looks, and in front of him a woman is sitting on a pile of ore near a large stone. Back to the guy, and on the braid you can see - a girl. The scythe is black and does not dangle like our girls, but evenly stuck to the back. At the end of the ribbon is either red or green. They shine through and tinkle so thinly, like sheet copper. The guy marvels at the scythe, and he notes further. A girl of small stature, good-looking and such a cool wheel - she won’t sit still. He leans forward, looks exactly under his feet, then leans back again, bends on that side, on the other. He jumps to his feet, waves his arms, then bends down again. In a word, Artut-girl. Hearing - muttering something, but in what way - it is not known, and with whom he speaks - it is not visible. All just a laugh. It's fun, apparently.

The guy was about to say a word, when he suddenly got hit on the back of the head.

You are my mother, but it is the Mistress herself! Her clothes are. How did I not notice right away? She averted her eyes with her scythe.

And the clothes are truly such that you will not find another in the world. From a silk, you hear, malachite dress. This kind happens. A stone, but on the eye like silk, at least stroke it with your hand. “Here,” the guy thinks, “trouble! As if only to carry away the legs, until I noticed. From the old people, you see, he heard that this Mistress - a malachite girl - loves to philosophize over a person. As soon as she thought about it, she looked back. He looks merrily at the guy, bares his teeth and says in a joke:

What are you, Stepan Petrovich, staring at a girl's beauty for nothing? After all, they take money for a look. Come closer. Let's talk a little. The guy was frightened, of course, but he does not show it. Attached. Although she is a secret force, but still a girl. Well, he's a guy - that means he's ashamed to be timid in front of a girl.

No time, - he says, - I have to talk. We overslept without that, and went to look at the grass.

She laughs and then says:

You will win the game. Go, I say, there is work.

Well, the guy sees - there is nothing to do. I went to her, and she looms with her hand, go around the ore from the other side. He walked around and sees - there are countless lizards. And everyone, listen, is different. Some, for example, are green, others are blue, which flow into blue, otherwise they are like clay or sand with golden specks. Some, like glass or mica, shine, while others are faded like grass, and which are again decorated with patterns. The girl laughs.

Do not part, - he says, - my army, Stepan Petrovich. You are so big and heavy, but they are small for me. - And she clapped her hands, the lizards fled, they gave the way.

Here the guy came closer, stopped, and she again clapped her hands, and says, and all with laughter:

Now you have nowhere to go. Crush my servant - there will be trouble. He looked under his feet, and there was no knowledge of the earth. All the lizards somehow huddled together in one place - how the floor became patterned underfoot. Stepan looks - fathers, but this is copper ore! All sorts and well polished. And mica right there, and blende, and all sorts of glitter, which are like malachite.

Well, has he recognized me now, Stepanushka? - asks the malachite girl, and she laughs and bursts into laughter. Then, a little later, he says:

You don't get scared. I won't do you any harm.

The guy felt sorry that the girl was mocking him, and even saying such words. He became very angry and even shouted:

Whom should I be afraid of, if I shy away in grief!

That's all right, - the malachite answers. - I just need such a person who is not afraid of anyone. Tomorrow, like going downhill, your factory clerk will be here, you tell him yes, look, do not forget the words: “The mistress, they say, the Copper Mountain ordered you, stuffy goat, to get out of the Krasnogorsk mine. If you still break this iron hat of mine, then I’ll send you all the copper in Gumeshki there, so that there’s no way to get it.

She said this and frowned.

Did you understand, Stepanushko? In grief, you say, you rob, you are not afraid of anyone? So tell the clerk as I ordered, and now go and tell the one who is with you, don’t say anything, look. He is a spoiled man, that he should be disturbed and involved in this matter. And so she said to the little titmouse to help him a little.

And again she clapped her hands, and all the lizards fled. She herself also jumped to her feet, grabbed a stone with her hand, jumped up and, like a lizard, ran over the stone. Instead of arms and legs, her paws have green steel, her tail sticks out, there is a black stripe halfway along the ridge, and her head is human. She ran to the top, looked back and said:

Don't forget, Stepanushko, as I said. She ordered, they say, you - a stuffy goat - to get out of Krasnogorka. If you do it, I'll marry you!

The guy even spat in the heat of the moment:

Ugh, what a bastard! So that I marry a lizard.

And she sees him spitting and laughing.

Okay, - shouts, - then we'll talk. Maybe you think?

And now over the hill, only the green tail flashed.

The guy was left alone. The mine is quiet. You can only hear how another snores behind a breast of ore. Woke him up. They went to their mowing, looked at the grass, returned home in the evening, and Stepan had one thing on his mind: what should he do? Saying such words to the clerk is not a small matter, but he was still, - and it’s true, - he was stuffy - he had some kind of rot in his gut, they say. Not to say it's also scary. She's the Mistress. What he likes ore can be thrown into a blende. Do your lessons then. And worse than that, it’s a shame to show yourself as a braggart in front of a girl.

Thought and thought, laughed:

Was not, I will do as she ordered.

The next day in the morning, as people gathered at the trigger drum, the factory clerk came up. Everyone, of course, took off their hats, was silent, and Stepan came up and said:

I saw the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in the evening, and she ordered to tell you. She tells you, stuffy goat, to get out of Krasnogorka. If you spoil this iron hat for her, then she will sink all the copper in Gumeshki there, so that no one can get it.

The clerk's mustache even quivered.

What are you? Drunk, or mind decided? What hostess? To whom are you speaking these words? Yes, I will rot you in grief!

Your will, - says Stepan, - but that's the only way I've been told.

Flog him, - the clerk shouts, - and lower him up the mountain and chain him in the face! And in order not to die, give him dog oatmeal and ask lessons without indulgence. A little something - to fight mercilessly!

Well, of course, they whipped the guy and up the hill. The overseer of the mine, - also not the last dog - took him to the face - nowhere worse. And it's wet here, and there is no good ore, it would be necessary to quit long ago. Here they chained Stepan to a long chain, so that, therefore, it was possible to work. It is known what time it was - a fortress. Everyone made fun of the person. The warden also says:

Cool down here a bit. And the lesson from you will be pure malachite so much, - and he appointed it completely inappropriate.

Nothing to do. As soon as the guard walked away, Stepan began to wave the kaelka, but the guy was still nimble. Look, it's okay. So malachite is poured, exactly who throws it with his hands. And the water went somewhere from the bottom. It became dry.

“Here,” he thinks, “it’s good. Apparently, the Mistress remembered me.

Bazhov Pavel Petrovich was born on January 27, 1879. This Russian writer, the famous storyteller, prose writer, processor of legends, legends, Ural tales, died in 1950, on December 3.

Origin

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, whose biography is presented in our article, was born in the Urals, near Yekaterinburg, in the family of Augusta Stefanovna and Pyotr Vasilyevich Bazhev (this name was then written that way). His father was a hereditary master at the Sysert plant.

The writer's surname comes from the word "bazhit", which means "foretell", "tell". Even Bazhov's street boyish nickname was Koldunkov. Later, when he began to publish, he also signed with this pseudonym.

The formation of the talent of the future writer

Bazhev Petr Vasilievich worked as a foreman at the Sysert plant, in the puddling and welding shop. The mother of the future writer was a good lacemaker. This was a help for the family, especially when the husband was temporarily out of work.

The future writer lived among the miners of the Urals. Childhood impressions were the most vivid and important for him.

Bazhov liked to listen to the stories of experienced people. Sysert old men - Korob Ivan Petrovich and Klyukva Alexei Efimovich were good storytellers. But the future writer, Khmelinin Vasily Alekseevich, a field miner, surpassed everyone who knew.

Childhood and youth

The future writer spent this period of his life at the Polevsk plant and in the town of Sysert. His family moved frequently, as Pavel's father worked either at one factory or at another. This allowed the young Bazhov to get to know the life of the mountain district well, which he subsequently reflected in his work.

The future writer got the opportunity to learn thanks to his abilities and chance. At first, he attended a three-year male zemstvo school, where a talented teacher of literature worked, who knew how to captivate children with literature. Pavel Petrovich Bazhov also loved to listen to him. The biography of the writer has developed largely under the influence of this talented person.

Everyone assured the Bazhev family that it was necessary to continue the education of their gifted son, but poverty did not allow them to dream of a real school or gymnasium. As a result, the choice fell on the Yekaterinburg Theological School, since it had the lowest tuition fee, and it was not required to buy a uniform. This institution was intended mainly for the children of nobles, and only the assistance of a family friend made it possible to arrange Pavel Petrovich in it.

At the age of 14, after graduating from college, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov entered the Perm Theological Seminary, where he studied various fields of knowledge for 6 years. Here he became acquainted with modern and classical literature.

Work as a teacher

In 1899, the training was completed. After that, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov worked as a teacher in an elementary school in an area populated by Old Believers. He began his career in a remote village near Nevyansk, after which he continued his activities in Kamyshlov and Yekaterinburg. The future writer taught Russian. He traveled a lot in the Urals, was interested in local history, folklore, ethnography, and journalism.

For 15 years, during school holidays, Pavel Bazhov traveled every year on foot around his native land, talked with workers, looked closely at the life around him, wrote down stories, conversations, collected folklore, learned about the work of stone cutters, cutters, casters, steelworkers, gunsmiths and other craftsmen Ural. Later, this helped him in his career as a journalist, and then in his writing work, which Pavel Bazhov began later (his photo is presented below).

When, after some time, a vacancy opened up at the Yekaterinburg Theological School, Bazhov returned to the native walls of this institution as a teacher.

Family of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov

In 1907, the future writer began working at the diocesan school, where he taught Russian language lessons until 1914. Here he met his future wife, Valentina Ivanitskaya. She was at that time a student of this educational institution. In 1911, Valentina Ivanitskaya and Pavel Bazhov got married. They often went to the theater and read a lot. Seven children were born in the writer's family.

During the outbreak of the First World War, two daughters were already growing up - the children of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov. Due to financial difficulties, the family was forced to move to Kamyshlov, where Valentina's relatives lived. Pavel Bazhov began to work at the Kamyshlov Theological School.

Creation of tales

In 1918-1921, Bazhov took part in the Civil War in Siberia, the Urals, and Altai. In 1923-1929 he lived in Sverdlovsk, where he worked for the Peasant Newspaper. At this time, the writer created more than forty tales dedicated to the factory Ural folklore. Since 1930, work began in the book publishing house of Sverdlovsk. The writer was expelled from the party in 1937 (reinstated a year later). Having lost his job at the publishing house due to this incident, he decided to devote his free time to tales that, like Ural gems, "shimmered" in his "Malachite Box". In 1939, this most famous work of the author was published, which is a collection of fairy tales. For the "Malachite Box" the writer was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. Bazhov later supplemented this book with new tales.

Bazhov's writing path

The writer's path of this author began relatively late. His first book "The Urals were" appeared in 1924. The most significant stories of Pavel Bazhov were published only in 1939. This is the aforementioned collection of tales, as well as "The Green Filly" - an autobiographical story about childhood.

The Malachite Box later included new works: Tales of the Germans (year of writing - 1943), Key Stone, created in 1942, Tales of Gunsmiths, as well as other creations of Bazhov. The later works of the author can be called the term "tales" not only because of the formal features of the genre (the presence in the narrative of a fictional narrator with an individual characteristic of speech), but also because they go back to the secret tales of the Urals - the oral traditions of prospectors and miners, which differ a combination of fabulous and real-everyday elements.

Features of Bazhov's tales

The writer considered the creation of tales the main business of his life. In addition, he was engaged in editing almanacs and books, including those devoted to the Ural local history.

Initially folklore are the tales processed by Bazhov. "Secret tales" he heard as a boy from Khmelinin. This man became the prototype of grandfather Slyshko - the narrator from the work "Malachite Box". Bazhov later had to declare officially that this was just a trick, and he did not just record other people's stories, but created his own based on them.

The term "skaz" later entered the folklore of the Soviet era to define the prose of workers. However, after some time it was established that this concept does not mean a new phenomenon in folklore: tales actually turned out to be memories, legends, traditions, fairy tales, that is, genres that had existed for a long time.

Calling his works by this term, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, whose tales were associated with the folklore tradition, took into account not only the tradition of this genre, which implies the obligatory presence of a narrator, but also the existence of oral ancient legends of the miners of the Urals. From these folklore works, he adopted the main feature of his creations - a mixture of fairy-tale images in the narration.

Fantastic heroes of fairy tales

The main theme of Bazhov's tales is a simple man, his skill, talent and work. Communication with the secret foundations of our life, with nature is carried out with the help of powerful representatives of the mountain magical world. Perhaps the most striking among the characters of this kind is the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, whom Stepan, the hero of the Malachite Box, met. She helps Danila - the character of the tale called "Stone Flower" - to reveal his talent. And after he refuses to make the Stone Flower on his own, he becomes disappointed in him.

In addition to this character, the Great Poloz is interesting, who is responsible for the gold. His image was created by the writer on the basis of the ancient superstitions of the Khanty and Mansi, as well as Ural legends, will accept miners and miners.

Grandma Sinyushka, another heroine of Bazhov's tales, is a character related to the famous Baba Yaga.

The connection between gold and fire is represented by the Jumping Fireball that dances over the gold mine.

So, we met such an original writer as Pavel Bazhov. The article presented only the main milestones of his biography and the most famous works. If you are interested in the personality and work of this author, you can continue to get to know him by reading the memoirs of Pavel Petrovich's daughter, Ariadna Pavlovna.

The case began with trifles - with a powder match. She's not so hot as long ago invented. Will a hundred years be enough with a small one? At first, as the powder flask went into action, a lot of thought was given to it. Which are completely in vain. Who, say, came up with the idea of ​​​​making chiseled straws, who again began to lubricate matches with such a composition that they would burn with different lights: raspberry, green, and what else. With capping, too, a lot of weirdos. To put it bluntly, the gunpowder match was in great fashion.

I'm not talking about people, I'm talking about myself. In those years, when people went to the collective farms in droves, I was already in my middle years. Instead of fair-haired curls, he grew a bald spot all over his head. And my old woman did not look young. Before, I used to call it a song machine, but now it’s like a grinder. So it sharpens me, and it sharpens me: that is not there, this is a lack.

With people, the peasants will take care of everything, but with us, as soon as it tangles up and evaporates in the bath, so on the side. And he doesn't think about anything!

In these places, before, a simple person would not have been able to resist: the beast would have seized or the vile would have overcome. At first, these places were inhabited by the heroes. They, of course, looked like people, only very large and stone. This, of course, is easier: the beast will not bite him, he is completely calm from the gadfly, you cannot get through the heat and cold, and there is no need for houses.

For the eldest of these stone heroes, one went by the name Denezhkin. He, you see, in response was a glass with small money from all sorts of local stones and ore. According to these ore and stone money, that hero had a nickname.

The glass, of course, is heroic - taller than human height, much larger than a forty-bucket barrel. That glass is made of the best golden topaz and is so finely and cleanly carved that there is nowhere else to go. Ruins and stone coins are visible through and through, and the power of these coins is such that they show the place.

We're not very rich here anyway. We all have mountains and spoons, spoons and mountains. You won't go around them, you won't go around. Mountain, of course, grief discord. No one takes another into account, and the other, not only in their own district, but even distant people know: it is well-known, famous.

One such mountain fell right by our plant. At first, a verst, or even more, such a pull that a strong horse walks lightly, and that one is in soap, and then you still have to overcome the wickedness, like a scallop of the most difficult climb. What can I say, a remarkable hill. Once you pass, or you pass, you will remember for a long time and you will begin to tell others.

Behind the pond, we have one logo that has been famous for a long time. Such a fun place. The spoon is wide. In the spring it stays a little wet here, but the grass grows curlier and the flowers are more powerful. Around, of course, a forest of any kind. Have a look. And it’s handy to stick to that logo from the pond: the shore is not steep and not gentle, but at the very one, to say, as if it were settled on purpose, and the bottom is sand with hazel grouse. At all a strong bottom, and the leg does not prick. In a word, everything is as designed. One can say that this place itself draws to itself: it’s good to sit here on the shore, smoke a pipe or two, light a fire, and let them look at their factory - wouldn’t our little one seem better?

The local people have been accustomed to this spoon for centuries. Even under the Mosolovs, fashion started.

They - these Mosolov brothers, under whom our factory began with a building, left the carpenter's rank. In today's way to say, like contractors, apparently, were. yes, they got very rich and let's set up our own plant. On a large one, it means that they swam out the water. Wealth made them heavy, of course. All three brothers forgot to walk along the rafters with a spirit level and a plumb line. In one word they say:

Two boys grew up in our factory, in close proximity: Lanko Puzhanko and Leiko Shapochka.

Who and for what they came up with such nicknames, I can’t say. Between themselves, these guys lived together. We got to match. Mind level, strong level, height and years too. And there was no big difference in life. Lank’s father was a miner, Lake’s was grieving on the golden sands, and mothers, as you know, were busy with the housework. The guys had nothing to be proud of in front of each other.

Katya - Danilov's bride - remained unmarried. Two or three years have passed since Danilo got lost - she completely left the bride's time. For twenty years, in our opinion, in a factory way, an overage is considered. Guys like that rarely woo, widowers more. Well, this Katya, apparently, was handsome, all suitors climb to her, and she only has words:

Daniel promised.

There were a lot of famous miners in our places. It also happened that truly learned people, academicians called them professors and were not in jest amazed at how they subtly recognized the mountains, even though they were illiterate.

The matter, of course, is not simple - not to pick a berry from a bush. No wonder one of these was nicknamed the Heavy Knapsack. He carried a lot of stones on his back. And how much it looked like, how much the rocks were turned over and turned over - it's impossible to count.

They say that the treasury (with state funds. - Ed.) Set up our Field Field. There were no other factories in those places then. They went with a fight. Well, the treasury, you know. The soldiers were sent. The village of the Mountain Shield was purposely built so that the road was safe. On Gumeshki, you see, at that time the visible wealth lay on top - they approached him. We got there, of course. The people were caught up, the plant was installed, some Germans were brought in, but things did not go well. It didn't work and it didn't work. Either the Germans didn’t want to show it, or they didn’t know it themselves - I can’t explain, only Gumeshki were ignored by them. They took it from another mine, but it was not worth the work at all. A completely useless mine, skinny. You can't build such a good factory. It was then that our Polevaya landed on Turchaninov.

Ural tales of Bazhov

Tales of Bazhov absorbed plot motifs, unusual images, colors, the language of national legends and folk wisdom. Pavel Petrovich Bazhov managed to give unusual characters (Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Veliky Poloz, Ognevushka-Poskakushka) bewitching poetry. The magical world into which we are introduced by the old Ural tales of Bazhov they immersed ordinary Russian people, and with their real, earthly strength they defeated the conventions of fairy-tale magic. On our website you can see online list of Bazhov's fairy tales, and enjoy reading them absolutely for free.

Biographers of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov say that this writer had a happy fate. The great storyteller lived a long and peaceful life full of events. The master of the pen perceived all political upheavals relatively calmly and in those troubled times managed to achieve recognition and fame. For many years, Bazhov did what he loved - he tried to make a reality a fairy tale.

His works are still popular with young people and the older generation. Perhaps there are few people who have not seen the Soviet cartoon "Silver Hoof" or have not read the collection of short stories "Malachite Box", which includes the tales "Stone Flower", "Sinyushkin Well" and "Dear Name".

Childhood and youth

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was born on January 15 (27 according to the new style) January 1879. The future writer grew up and was brought up in an average family. His father Pyotr Bazhov (originally the surname was written with the letter “e”), a native of the peasants of the Polevskaya volost, worked at a mining site in the town of Sysert, in the Sverdlovsk region. Later, the Bazhovs moved to the village of Polevskoy. The writer's parent earned his bread by hard work, but did not engage in agriculture: there were no arable land plots in Sysert. Peter was a hardworking man and a rare specialist in his field, but the bosses did not favor the man, so Bazhov Sr. changed more than one job.

The fact is that the head of the family liked to sip a strong drink and often went into hard drinking. But it was not this bad habit that became a stumbling block between leaders and subordinates: the tipsy Bazhov did not know how to keep his mouth shut, so he criticized the working elite to smithereens. Later, the "talkative" Peter, who for this reason was nicknamed the Drill, was taken back, because such professionals are worth their weight in gold. True, the factory authorities did not immediately condescend to forgiveness, Bazhov had to beg for a job for a long time. In moments of thought of the helmsmen, the Bazhov family was left without a livelihood, they were saved by the odd jobs of the head of the family and the handicrafts of his wife Augusta Stefanovna (Osintseva).

The writer's mother came from Polish peasants, ran a household and raised Pavel. In the evening, she was fond of needlework: she wove lace, knitted fishnet stockings and created other cozy little things. But because of this painstaking work, which was carried out in the dark, the woman's eyesight was badly deteriorated. By the way, despite the wayward nature of Peter, he and his son developed friendly relations. Pavel's grandmother even used to say that his father indulged his child all the time and forgave any pranks. And Augusta Stefanovna had a completely soft and docile character, so the child was brought up in love and harmony.

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov grew up as a diligent and inquisitive boy. Before moving, he attended a zemstvo school in Sysert, studied excellently. Pavel grasped subjects on the fly, whether it was Russian or mathematics, and every day he pleased his relatives with fives in his diary. Bazhov recalled that thanks to him he managed to get a decent education. The future writer took a volume of the great Russian writer from the local library under harsh conditions: the librarian jokingly ordered the young man to memorize all the works. But Paul took this task seriously.

Later, his school teacher told a veterinarian friend about the student as a gifted child from a working-class family who knows the creations of Alexander Sergeevich by heart. Impressed by the talented young man, the veterinarian gave the boy a start in life and provided the son of a poor family with a decent education. Pavel Bazhov graduated from the Yekaterinburg Theological School, and then entered the Perm Theological Seminary. The young man was offered to continue his studies and receive a church order, but the young man did not want to serve in the church, but dreamed of poring over textbooks on the university bench. In addition, Pavel Petrovich was not a religious, but rather a revolutionary-minded person.

But there was not enough money for further education. Pyotr Bazhov died of a liver disease, he had to be content with the pension of Augusta Stefanovna. Therefore, without receiving a university diploma, Pavel Petrovich worked as a teacher in theological schools of Yekaterinburg and Kamyshlov, taught students the Russian language and literature. Bazhov was loved, each of his lectures was perceived as a gift, he read the works of the great classics sensually and with soul. Pavel Petrovich was one of those rare teachers who could interest even an inveterate loser and fidget.

The girls in the school had a peculiar custom: they pinned bows of multi-colored satin ribbons to their favorite teachers. Pavel Petrovich Bazhov had no free space on his jacket, because he had the most "insignia" of all. It is worth saying that Pavel Petrovich participated in political events and took the October Revolution as something due and fundamental. In his opinion, the abdication and the Bolshevik coup were supposed to put an end to social inequality and provide the inhabitants of the country with a happy future.

Until 1917, Pavel Petrovich was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, fought on the side of the Reds during the civil war, organized the underground and developed a strategy in the event of the fall of Soviet power. Bazhov also served as head of the trade union bureau and the department of public education. Later, Pavel Petrovich headed the editorial activities, published a newspaper. Among other things, the writer organized schools and called for the fight against illiteracy. In 1918, the master of words joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Literature

As you know, as a student, Pavel Petrovich lived in Yekaterinburg and Perm, where instead of wildlife there were solid railways around, and instead of small houses - stone apartments with several floors. In cultural cities, life was in full swing: people went to theaters and discussed social events at restaurant tables, but Pavel loved to return to his native land.

There he got acquainted with semi-mystical folklore: the local old man, nicknamed Slyshko (“Glass”), the watchman Vasily Khmelinin, loved to tell folk tales, the main characters of which were mythical characters: the Silver Hoof, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, the Jumping Fire, the Blue Snake and the grandmother Blue.

Grandfather Vasily Alekseevich explained that all his stories are based on everyday life and describe "old life". Khmelinin especially emphasized this difference between the Ural tales and fairy tales. Local children and adults listened to every word of grandfather Slyshko. Among the listeners was Pavel Petrovich, who absorbed the amazingly magical stories of Khmelinin like a sponge.

Since that time, his love for folklore creativity began: Bazhov carefully kept notebooks, where he collected Ural songs, legends, legends and riddles. In 1931, a conference on Russian folklore was held in Moscow and Leningrad. As a result of the meeting, the task was set to study the modern worker and collective farm-proletarian folklore, then it was decided to create a collection of "Pre-revolutionary folklore in the Urals." Local historian Vladimir Biryukov was supposed to search for materials, but the scientist did not find the necessary sources.

Therefore, the publication was headed by Bazhov. Pavel Petrovich collected folk epics as a writer, and not as a folklorist. Bazhov knew about passportization, but did not carry it out. Also, the master of the pen adhered to the principle: the heroes of his works come from Russia or the Urals (even if these assumptions contradicted the facts, the writer rejected everything that was not in favor of his homeland).

In 1936, Pavel Petrovich published the first work called "Azovka the Girl". Later, in 1939, the collection "Malachite Box" was released into circulation, which during the life of the author was replenished with new tales from the words of Vasily Khmelinin. But, according to rumors, one day Bazhov admitted that he did not rewrite his stories from someone else's lips, but composed them.

Personal life

It is known that for a long time Pavel Petrovich was not involved in relationships with women. The writer was not deprived of the attention of lovely ladies, but at the same time he was not a Don Juan: Bazhov did not plunge headlong into fleeting passions and novels, but led an ascetic bachelor life. It is difficult to explain why Bazhov remained lonely until the age of 30. The writer was fond of work and did not want to spray on the young ladies passing by, and also believed in sincere love. However, this is how it happened: the 32-year-old folklorist offered his hand and heart to 19-year-old Valentina Alexandrovna Ivanitskaya, a former student. A serious and educated girl agreed.

It turned out to be a marriage for life, the lovers raised four children (seven were born in the family, but three died in infancy from diseases): Olga, Elena, Alexei and Ariadne. Contemporaries recall that comfort reigned in the house and there were no cases when spouses were burdened by household or other disagreements. From Bazhov it was impossible to hear the name Valya or Valentina, because Pavel Petrovich called his beloved affectionate nicknames: Valyanushka or Valestenochka. The writer did not like to be late, but even leaving for a meeting in a hurry, he returned to the threshold if he forgot to kiss his beloved wife goodbye.

Pavel Petrovich and Valentina Alexandrovna lived happily and supported each other. But, like any other mortal, in the life of the writer there were both cloudless and sad days. Bazhov had to endure a terrible grief - the death of a child. Young Alex died due to an accident at the factory. It is also known that Pavel Petrovich, although he was a busy person, always took time to talk with children. It is noteworthy that the father communicated with the offspring as with adults, gave the right to vote and listened to their opinions.

“The ability to know everything about their loved ones was an amazing feature of the father. He was always the busiest of all, but he had enough spiritual sensitivity to be aware of the worries, joys and sorrows of everyone, ”said Ariadna Bazhova in the book Through the Eyes of a Daughter.

Death

Shortly before his death, Pavel Petrovich stopped writing and began to give lectures that strengthened the spirit of the people during the Great Patriotic War.

The great writer died in the winter of 1950. The grave of the creator is located on a hill (central alley) in Yekaterinburg at the Ivanovo cemetery.

Bibliography

• 1924 - "The Urals were"
• 1926 - "For Soviet Truth";
• 1937 - "Formation on the move"
• 1939 - "The Green Filly"
• 1939 - "Malachite Box"
• 1942 - "Key-stone"
• 1943 - "Tales of the Germans"
• 1949 - "Far - Close"

View the full list of fairy tales

Biography of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov

Bazhov Pavel Petrovich(January 27, 1879 - December 3, 1950) - famous Russian Soviet writer, famous Ural storyteller, prose writer, talented processor of folk tales, legends, Ural tales.

Biography

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov was born on January 27, 1879 in the Urals near Yekaterinburg in the family of the hereditary mining foreman of the Sysertsky plant, Peter Vasilyevich and Augusta Stefanovna Bazhev (this is how this surname was written then).

The surname Bazhov comes from the local word "bazhit" - that is, to tell fortunes, to foretell. Bazhov also had a boyish street nickname - Koldunkov. And later, when Bazhov began to print his works, he signed one of his pseudonyms - Koldunkov.

Petr Vasilievich Bazhev was a foreman of the puddling and welding shop of the Sysert Metallurgical Plant near Yekaterinburg. The writer's mother, Augusta Stefanovna, was a skilled lacemaker. This was a great help for the family, especially during the forced unemployment of her husband.

The future writer lived and was formed among the Ural miners. Childhood impressions turned out to be the most important and vivid for Bazhov.

He liked to listen to other old experienced people, connoisseurs of the past. The Sysert old men Aleksey Efimovich Klyukva and Ivan Petrovich Korob were good storytellers. But the best of all whom Bazhov happened to know was the old field miner Vasily Alekseevich Khmelinin. He worked as a caretaker of wood warehouses at the plant, and children gathered at his gatehouse on Dumnaya Gora to listen to interesting stories.

The childhood and adolescence of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov were spent in the town of Sysert and at the Polevsk plant, which was part of the Sysert mining district.

The family often moved from factory to factory, which allowed the future writer to get to know the life of the vast mountain district well and was reflected in his work.

Thanks to chance and his abilities, he got the opportunity to study.

Bazhov studied at the men's zemstvo three-year school, in which there was a talented teacher of literature, who managed to captivate the children with literature.

So, a 9-year-old boy once read by heart the entire school collection of poems by N.A. Nekrasov, learned by him on his own initiative.

We settled on the Yekaterinburg Theological School: it has the lowest tuition fees, no need to buy a uniform, and there are also student apartments rented by the school - these circumstances turned out to be decisive.

Having excellently passed the entrance exams, Bazhov was enrolled in the Yekaterinburg Theological School. The assistance of a family friend was needed because the theological school was, after all, not only, so to speak, professional, but also class-based: it trained mainly ministers of the church, and mainly the children of the clergy studied in it.

After graduating from college at the age of 14, Pavel entered the Perm Theological Seminary, where he studied for 6 years. It was the time of his acquaintance with classical and modern literature.

In 1899, Bazhov graduated from the Perm Seminary - the third in terms of points. It's time to choose a path in life. The offer to enter the Kyiv Theological Academy and study there on a full pay basis was rejected. He dreamed of a university. However, the way there was closed. First of all, because the spiritual department did not want to lose its "cadres": the choice of higher educational institutions for graduates of the seminary was severely limited by the Dorpat, Warsaw, and Tomsk universities.

Bazhov decided to teach at an elementary school in an area inhabited by Old Believers. He began his career in the remote Ural village of Shaydurikha, near Nevyansk, and then in Yekaterinburg and Kamyshlov. He taught Russian, traveled a lot around the Urals, was interested in folklore, local history, ethnography, and was engaged in journalism.

For fifteen years, every year during school holidays, Bazhov wandered on foot around his native land, everywhere he looked at the life around him, talked with workers, wrote down their well-aimed words, conversations, stories, collected folklore, studied the work of cutters, stone cutters, steelworkers, foundry workers. , gunsmiths and many other Ural craftsmen, talked with them about the secrets of their craft and kept extensive records. A rich supply of life impressions, samples of folk speech helped him a lot later in his work as a journalist, and then in writing. He replenished his “pantry” all his life.

Just at that time, a vacancy opened up at the Yekaterinburg Theological School. And Bazhov returned there - now as a teacher of the Russian language. Bazhov later tried to enter Tomsk University, but was not accepted.

In 1907, P. Bazhov moved to the diocesan (women's) school, where until 1914 he taught classes in Russian, and at times in Church Slavonic and algebra.

Here he met his future wife, and at that time just his student, Valentina Ivanitskaya, whom they married in 1911. Marriage was based on love and unity of aspirations. The young family lived a more meaningful life than most of Bazhov's colleagues who spent their free time playing cards. The couple read a lot, visited theaters. Seven children were born in their family.

When the First World War began, the Bazhovs already had two daughters. Due to financial difficulties, the couple moved to Kamyshlov, closer to the relatives of Valentina Alexandrovna. Pavel Petrovich transferred to the Kamyshlov Theological School.

Participated in the civil war of 1918-21. in the Urals, Siberia, Altai.

In 1923-29 he lived in Sverdlovsk and worked in the editorial office of the Peasant Newspaper. At this time, he wrote over forty tales on the themes of the Ural factory folklore.

Since 1930 - in the Sverdlovsk book publishing house.

In 1937, Bazhov was expelled from the party (a year later he was reinstated). But then, having lost his usual work in the publishing house, he devoted all his time to tales, and they flickered in the "Malachite Box" with genuine Ural gems.

In 1939, Bazhov's most famous work, the collection of fairy tales The Malachite Box, was published, for which the writer received the State Prize. In the future, Bazhov replenished this book with new tales.

Bazhov's writing path began relatively late: the first book of essays, "The Urals were," was published in 1924. Only in 1939 were his most significant works published - a collection of tales "The Malachite Box", which received the USSR State Prize in 1943, and an autobiographical story about childhood "Green filly". In the future, Bazhov replenishes the "Malachite Box" with new tales: "The Key-Stone" (1942), "Tales about the Germans" (1943), "Tales about gunsmiths" and others. His later works can be defined as "tales" not only because of their formal genre characteristics (the presence of a fictional narrator with an individual speech characteristic), but also because they go back to the Ural "secret tales" - the oral legends of miners and prospectors, characterized by a combination of real -household and fabulous elements.

Bazhov's works, dating back to the Ural "secret tales" - the oral legends of miners and prospectors, combine real-life and fantastic elements. The tales, which absorbed plot motifs, the colorful language of folk legends and folk wisdom, embodied the philosophical and ethical ideas of our time.

He worked on the collection of tales "The Malachite Box" from 1936 until the last days of his life. It was first published as a separate edition in 1939. Then, from year to year, the "Malachite Box" was replenished with new tales.

The tales of The Malachite Box are a kind of historical prose, in which the events and facts of the history of the Middle Urals of the 18th-19th centuries are recreated through the personality of the Ural workers. Fairy tales live as an aesthetic phenomenon thanks to a complete system of realistic, fantastic and semi-fantastic images and the richest moral and humanistic problems (themes of work, creative search, love, fidelity, freedom from the power of gold, etc.).

Bazhov sought to develop his own literary style, looking for original forms of embodiment of his writing talent. He succeeded in this in the mid-1930s, when he began to publish his first stories. In 1939, Bazhov combined them into the book The Malachite Box, which he later supplemented with new works. Malachite gave the name to the book because, according to Bazhov, "the joy of the earth is collected" in this stone.

Directly artistic and literary activity began late, at the age of 57 years. According to him, “there was simply no time for this kind of literary work.

The creation of tales became the main business of Bazhov's life. In addition, he edited books and almanacs, including those on Ural local history.

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov died on December 3, 1950 in Moscow, and was buried in his homeland in Yekaterinburg.

Tales

As a boy, he first heard an interesting story about the secrets of the Copper Mountain.

The Sysert old people were good storytellers - the best of them was Vasily Khmelin, at that time he worked as a watchman at the wood warehouses at the Polevsk plant, and the children gathered at his gatehouse to listen to interesting stories about the fabulous snake Poloz and his daughters Zmeevka, about the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, about the grandmother Sinyushka. For a long time Pasha Bazhov remembered the stories of this old man.

Bazhov chose an interesting form of narration - "skaz" - this is primarily an oral word, an oral form of speech transferred to a book; in the tale, the voice of the narrator is always heard - grandfather Slyshko - involved in the events; he speaks in a colorful folk language, full of local words and expressions, proverbs and sayings.

Calling his works tales, Bazhov took into account not only the literary tradition of the genre, which implies the presence of a narrator, but also the existence of ancient oral traditions of the Ural miners, which in folklore were called "secret tales". From these folklore works, Bazhov adopted one of the main signs of his tales: a mixture of fairy-tale images.

The main theme of Bazhov's tales is a simple man and his work, talent and skill. Communication with nature, with the secret foundations of life is carried out through powerful representatives of the magical mountain world.

One of the brightest images of this kind is the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, whom the master Stepan meets from the tale "The Malachite Box". The mistress of the Copper Mountain helps Danila, the hero of the tale The Stone Flower, to discover his talent - and becomes disappointed in the master after he refuses to try to make the Stone Flower on his own.

The works of the mature Bazhov can be defined as "tales" not only because of their formal genre features and the presence of a fictional narrator with an individual speech characteristic, but also because they go back to the Ural "secret tales" - oral legends of miners and miners, characterized by a combination of real household and fabulous elements.

Bazhov's tales absorbed plot motifs, fantastic images, color, the language of folk legends and folk wisdom. However, Bazhov is not a folklorist-processor, but an independent artist who used his knowledge of the Ural miner's life and oral art to embody philosophical and ethical ideas.

Talking about the art of the Ural craftsmen, reflecting the colorfulness and originality of the old mining life, Bazhov at the same time raises general questions in the tales - about true morality, about the spiritual beauty and dignity of a working person.

The fantastic characters of fairy tales personify the elemental forces of nature, which entrusts its secrets only to the brave, hardworking and pure soul. Bazhov managed to give fantastic characters (the Mistress of the Mednaya Mountain, Veliky Poloz, Ognevushka the Poskakushka) extraordinary poetry and endowed them with subtle complex psychology.

Bazhov's tales are an example of the masterful use of the folk language. Carefully and at the same time creatively referring to the expressive possibilities of the folk language, Bazhov avoided the abuse of local sayings, the pseudo-folk "playing on phonetic illiteracy" (Bazhov's expression).

Tales of P.P. Bazhov are very colorful and picturesque. His color is sustained in the spirit of folk painting, folk Ural embroidery - solid, thick, ripe. The color richness of the tales is not accidental. It is generated by the beauty of Russian nature, the beauty of the Urals. The writer in his works generously used all the possibilities of the Russian word to convey the variety of colors, its richness and richness, so characteristic of the Ural nature.

The tales of Pavel Petrovich are an example of the masterful use of the folk language. Carefully and at the same time creatively referring to the expressive possibilities of the folk word, Bazhov avoided the abuse of local sayings and the pseudo-folk "playing on phonetic illiteracy" (the expression of the writer himself).

Bazhov's tales absorbed plot motifs, fantastic images, color, the language of folk legends and their folk wisdom. However, the author is not just a folklorist-processor, he is an independent artist who uses excellent knowledge of the Ural miner's life and oral art to embody philosophical and ethical ideas. Talking about the art of the Ural craftsmen, about the talent of the Russian worker, reflecting the colorfulness and originality of the old mining life and the social contradictions characteristic of it, Bazhov at the same time raises general questions in his tales - about true morality, about the spiritual beauty and dignity of a working person, about aesthetic and psychological laws of creativity. Fantastic characters of fairy tales personify the elemental forces of nature, which entrusts its secrets only to the brave, hardworking and pure soul. Bazhov managed to give his fantastic characters (the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Veliky Poloz, Ognevushka-Poskakushka, etc.) extraordinary poetry and endowed them with a subtle and complex psychology.

The tales recorded and processed by Bazhov are originally folklore. Many of them (the so-called "secret tales" - old oral legends of the Ural miners) he heard as a boy from V. A. Khmelinin from the Polevskoy plant (Khmelinin-Slyshko, grandfather Slyshko, "Glass" from "Ural byli"). Grandfather Slyshko is the narrator in The Malachite Box. Later, Bazhov had to officially declare that this was a trick, and he did not just write down other people's stories, but really is their writer.

Later, the term "skaz" entered Soviet folklore with the light hand of Bazhov to define working prose (prose of workers). After some time, it was nevertheless established that it does not denote any new folklore phenomenon - “tales” turned out to be legends, fairy tales, memories, that is, genres that have existed for many hundreds of years.

Ural

The Urals is “a rare place both in terms of craftsmen and beauty.” It is impossible to know the beauty of the Urals if you do not visit the amazing, enchanting silence and peace of the Ural ponds and lakes, in pine forests, on the legendary mountains. Here, in the Urals, talented craftsmen lived and worked for centuries, only here Danila the master could carve his stone flower, and somewhere here the Ural craftsmen saw the Mistress of the copper mountain.

Since childhood, he liked the people, legends, fairy tales and songs of his native Urals.

P.P. Bazhov's work is firmly connected with the life of the mining Urals, the cradle of Russian metallurgy. The writer's grandfather and great-grandfather were workers and spent their whole lives at copper-smelting furnaces in the Ural factories.

Due to the historical and economic features of the Urals, the life of industrial settlements was very peculiar. Here, as elsewhere, the workers could barely make ends meet and were powerless. But, unlike other industrial regions of the country, the Urals were characterized by significantly lower wages for artisans. Here there was an additional dependence of workers on the enterprise. The breeders presented the free use of land as compensation for reduced wages.

The old workers, "experienced", were the keepers of folk miners' legends and beliefs. They were not only a kind of "folk poets", but also a kind of "historians".

The Ural land itself gave birth to legends and fairy tales. P.P. Bazhov learned to see and understand the richness and beauty of the mountainous Urals.

Archetypal images

The mistress of the Copper Mountain - the keeper of precious rocks and stones, sometimes appears before people in the form of a beautiful woman, and sometimes - in the form of a lizard in a crown. Its origin is most likely from the "spirit of the area." There is also a hypothesis that this is the image of the goddess Venus, refracted by the people's consciousness, with the sign of which for several decades in the 18th century field copper was branded.

Great Poloz - responsible for the gold. His figure was created by Bazhov on the basis of the superstitions of the ancient Khanty and Mansi, Ural legends and signs of miners and miners. Wed mythological serpent.

Grandma Sinyushka is a character related to Baba Yaga.

Jumping Fire - dancing over a gold deposit (the connection between fire and gold).