Although it is already sunny and early spring in Western Europe, the weather in St. Petersburg still retains a bit of the coldness and gloom of late winter. However, this does not affect the interest of people in the city. They are glad that they have finally relaxed from the dull midwinter.
I came here and started to resume socializing with enthusiasm to relieve myself of the boredom that had accumulated over the winter.
On this day, the great poet Pushkin, who was already well-known in the Russian literary world, was delighted to see his good friend Boris Volkonsky come to visit his apartment at No. 53 Arbat Street, Petersburg.
At this time, Pushkin was in the most prosperous period of his life - not only was he highly productive in literary and poetry creation, consolidating his status in the literary world, but what was even more enviable was that not long ago, he had just married a Russian
Natalia Goncharova, recognized as a contemporary beauty, has become a lucky person talked about in Petersburg social circles.
This marriage was the result of the great poet trying his best to obtain it.
When the two first got acquainted, Natalia didn't pay much attention to him, but no matter how detached the great poet's thoughts were, he was still a pure man in his soul, and he immediately fell in love with this great beauty at first sight.
, not even minding the fact that "the other party knows nothing about and is not interested in the literature and poetry that he is best at".
Driven by hormones, he tried his best to create opportunities to get close to her, competing with many young men in Petersburg, hoping to win the beauty's heart.
Maybe it was this kind of enthusiastic effort, maybe it was his circle of friends and reputation in Petersburg, maybe it was his "poetic temperament" that finally played a role. In any case, with his unremitting efforts, in 1830 Nata
Leah finally agreed to his proposal, and the two officially got married the following year.
Logically speaking, this should be a fairy tale ending, and Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova (whose surname has now been changed to Pushkina) are also a couple who fully fit the description of "a talented man and a beautiful woman".
However, after the excitement and excitement brought about by this sacred union gradually cooled down, Pushkin, who was originally addicted to love, gradually felt that his rose-colored life seemed to gradually fade again, and slowly changed back to
In the originally dull track.
There are naturally many reasons for this situation, but there are two main reasons.
First, Pushkin was originally known as a passionate prodigal. When he was pursuing Natalya, he once wrote a letter and admitted to others that this was his "113th" love, although he has now entered into marriage.
, but he did not mentally accept the shackles that marriage brought to him. Deep in his heart, he still missed the sensory and spiritual stimulation in his romantic career.
Second, he and his wife have almost nothing in common in their spiritual lives. Natalia is a standard aristocratic girl who loves balls, socializing, and jewelry, the topics that Petersburg ladies are most passionate about. She has no interest in poetry.
Moreover, she is still very young and has not yet reached the age of twenty, and it is difficult for her to adapt to family life after marriage.
Of course, the poet already knew this when he was dating Natalia before. He should have had this realization, but when he was moved by beauty, his mind was filled only with impulsive passion, so how could he care about it?
?
It is difficult for people to be satisfied, and "poets" are almost one of the most dissatisfied groups among human beings. They often fall in love suddenly and devote themselves wholeheartedly to it, but then immediately fall into new love again.
Passion is abundant but difficult to last.
Therefore, even though he is now savoring the happiness of newlyweds, deep in the poet's heart, there is still a little tiredness. He is looking forward to returning to the ordinary life after marriage, and there will be some fresh waves.
And the sudden visit from his friend Boris brought him the freshness he longed for.
After receiving the news, he hurried to the reception room and gave his friend a cordial hug.
"Boris, long time no see! Are you okay?"
"At least it's fine now." Boris also gave his friend a hug enthusiastically.
Then, he looked at Pushkin with envy and said, "Brother, you are now the most hated man in Petersburg."
Looking at his friend's joking eyes, Pushkin wanted to say something, but in the end he could only smile bitterly, "It's one thing to fall in love, but it's another thing to get married, man."
"Come on! Stop being such a good boy!" Boris patted his friend's shoulder heavily, "Your friend is about to go to the wilderness to eat grass, and you can hug the beauty and sleep soundly every night. You
What else are you dissatisfied with? Hurry up and smile for me and show off to me, that way I will feel better!"
Pushkin didn't react at first, but then he noticed that his friend was wearing the uniform of a Guards officer.
"Are you going to fight?" he asked immediately.
"Yes." Boris nodded happily, "To be precise, I will be sent to Poland soon. These Poles are really awesome. The war has dragged on for so long, and His Majesty the Tsar is angry... These poor Poland
You bastard, you are going to be in bad luck now..."
Boris spoke lightly, but Pushkin's mood suddenly became heavy.
The war was fierce and dangerous, and he was worried about the fate of his friends after they went to the front line. At the same time, he was worried about the fate of the Poles now.
Of course, for Pushkin, the Russian Empire's foreign conquests were nothing new. Just a few years ago, he personally experienced an expedition against the Turks, and secretly met the King of Rome there.
However, that war and this war gave him completely different feelings.
Although the previous expedition was essentially to seize the territory of the Turks, it could also be said to be to help the Orthodox Christians and the Slavic compatriots in the Balkans who had been ravaged by the Turkish pagans for hundreds of years. Although there was "imperial ambition" in it.
existence, but at least there is some glory to be said for it.
And what about this time?
If you are a pure Great Russian imperialist, you will definitely tremble with anger at the "rebellion" of the Poles, because the power of the empire and the prestige of the Tsar are unshakable laws of heaven. As a subject of the Tsar, if you dare to rise up in armed rebellion, then
The only outcome is to be smashed to pieces.
But Pushkin was not such a person.
Although he is full of love and attachment to the country of Russia, and although he respects the Tsar and the imperial government, he is not superstitious about the authority of the Tsar, and he does not believe that anyone is qualified to deprive humans of their natural freedom in the name of the country. In his youth, he even
He was once exiled by the Tsar because he wrote poems that satirized current affairs.
Therefore, although he did not participate in the Decembrists' uprising against the Tsar, in his heart, he was still full of sympathy for these people and agreed with their vision for the future of Russia.
Against this background, he was naturally not excited at all about the war taking place in Poland.
What is the meaning of this war?
Is it just to deprive the Poles of their freedom and make them hate us even more? Is it just to continue their fate of being enslaved and oppressed?
There is no doubt that from a Russian standpoint, he hopes that the empire can suppress the rebellion, but as a freedom-loving person, he is not proud of this at all.
"Poor Poles..." Then, he couldn't help but sigh, "I hope this will end soon, so that we will not be destroyed together!"
"Your Majesty has given them a chance, but they do not understand the current situation and refuse to lay down their weapons and surrender...so there is no room for change now." Boris replied with a sneer, "Now your Majesty has decided to suppress it with an iron fist.
After the army crosses the border, there will be no other result except devastation."
"Boris, are you really happy about this?" Pushkin asked the other party, "Does it really make you proud that we ran over, burned down villages and towns, and killed strangers?"
No, I know you, you won't be happy about this."
The friend's rhetorical question made Boris Volkonsky speechless for a moment.
As an aristocratic young man with a superior family background, he has long been accustomed to using a sarcastic and cynical tone to evaluate everyone and everything around him. However, as a young man who has received an enlightenment education and has the same ideals as Pushkin, he certainly will not like it.
The current situation in Russia.
That's why the two of them became friends.
However, in the atmosphere in which the Decembrist uprising was overthrown and the tsar strictly controlled public opinion, and in the atmosphere of strict discipline and strict scrutiny within the army, any act of dissent was dangerous, so he could only use cynicism.
Cynical attitude to the slightest resistance to the surrounding environment.
"Whether I'm happy or not can't change any outcome." After a moment of silence, Boris shrugged lightly, "I'm a soldier. I can't do anything except execute orders, at least not now."
"Of course, you are a soldier and should obey orders. But even so, as an officer you have a lot to do. You can't be merciful on the battlefield. This goes without saying, but you can at least restrain your troops from looting less villages and less
It is worth shooting some ordinary civilians to save a few more lives." Pushkin replied softly, "Don't forget, the Poles are also your Majesty's subjects."
"Oh, brother, you are such a good person." Boris sighed, then patted his friend on the shoulder, "Okay, I will pay attention, and I will first thank you for your mercy on behalf of those Polish brats - haha
!”
After smiling, he seemed a little regretful, "Well, this time I probably won't be able to take you there to find inspiration for poetry. You can just stay in Petersburg and enjoy this enviable happy life."
"Take care of yourself, my friend. I'm still waiting for you to continue drinking with me after you come back." Pushkin shook hands with Boris again, praying in his heart that the other party would return safely as soon as possible.
After talking about this heavy topic, in order to liven up the atmosphere, Boris mentioned another thing.
"By the way, it's not only the Poles but also the French that have made His Majesty the Tsar furious recently. Did you hear that? That young Emperor has publicly pointed his fingers at us... but His Majesty is very angry."
The great news of the French Emperor's public speech had already spread all the way to Petersburg, and Pushkin had naturally heard about it.
This speech was criticized by Russian officials, who denounced the emperor's hypocrisy, lies, and interference in internal affairs. However, Pushkin had a different view in his heart.
"I saw it...and I think he made a good point."
"Shh!" Boris was suddenly startled. He subconsciously covered his lips, then looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then he frowned and looked at Pushkin.
"You are so brave, how can you agree with what he said!"
"I'm just telling the truth." Pushkin replied with a serious face, "What's wrong with what he said? He loves peace and sympathizes with the disasters suffered by the Polish people. He hopes that the conflict will stop as soon as possible and the people will gain more freedom... These
What's wrong? It's exactly what I thought."
"Alas..." Seeing Pushkin's expression, Boris also gave up the idea of arguing with him, "Whether he is right or wrong, in short, he is our enemy now. If you don't want to cause trouble, you'd better not be here."
It’s nonsense outside.”
"Of course I know." Pushkin shook his head, "But if we always avoid talking about all this, we will be the ones who suffer the consequences in the end."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them fell silent at the same time, both feeling helpless at the current situation and feeling unwilling to do so in their hearts.
After a moment of silence, Pushkin thought of another question.
"Then after pacifying Poland, does Your Majesty still want to teach the French a lesson?"
"That's probably because you don't want to." Boris shook his head, "His Majesty currently has no interest in starting another war, and it seems that the British and Austrians do not intend to form another anti-French alliance...
…Starting a war just because the opponent’s words are not pleasant to hear is really meaningless. Moreover, launching a great expedition requires a lot of preparation work, at least so far I have not seen any similar signs.”
"That's good." Pushkin breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, those French people who came over recently are looking forward to fighting." Boris changed the subject, "It's a pity that no one listened to them."
With the turmoil in France in 1830, the Bourbon dynasty was ousted from power, and a large number of orthodox nobles loyal to the Bourbon royal family also chose to flee the country. Some of the exiles came to the Russian Empire, and Russia was different from what it had been decades ago.
Just like during the Great Revolution, the government accepted these people with enthusiasm, and some nobles became guests of Petersburg's upper class because of their superior family backgrounds.
Under these circumstances, the Tsarist government had no reason to protest against the French government for hosting Polish exiles.
In addition, like the "predecessors" who fled the Great Revolution and went into exile abroad in 1789, the French exiles who came to Russia this time were also unwilling to lose power, so they were also lobbying other countries to go to war against the French Empire and restore the "legitimacy of the dynasty."
However, all countries are afraid of rabbits and don't let go of hawks. When the Bonaparte family is obviously not prepared to cause trouble, who is willing to fight another war for the sake of illusory orthodoxy? Therefore, their efforts are in vain.
"They are just a bunch of outdated products. They have been overthrown three times in a row...no one will ask them back this time." Pushkin also made the assertion.
"That would be even worse." Boris joked, "The French have always been dissolute. If you let them stay in Petersburg for a long time, God knows how many affairs they will have. You'd better be careful, my friend...
Ha ha ha ha."
Pushkin didn't pay attention to his friend's joke. Instead, a memory suddenly arose in his heart.
In distant Greece, he once got acquainted with that young couple. It was a collision between poets and poets.
Who could have imagined that they would really have a "successful career" and wear the highest crown?
"If you have the chance to visit Paris, it would definitely be great..."