Whoever was Alexander Aleksandrovich Blok - a poet, writer, publicist, playwright, translator, literary critic. In addition, A. A. Blok is one of the classics of Russian literature of the twentieth century. Russian symbolism is inconceivable without this author. He made a huge contribution to its development and is one of its largest representatives. A. A. Blok lived in difficult historical times, which were rich in events. One of them was the October Revolution. Blok's attitude to the revolution cannot be assigned unambiguous, which will be discussed in this article.
Historical background - October Revolution
The October Revolution didn't come out of nowhere, it had its own reasons. The people of that time were tired of hostilities, a complete collapse threatened industry and agriculture, the peasants became more and more impoverished every day in the absence of a solution to the agrarian issue. The implementation of social and economic reforms was constantly delayed, and a catastrophic financial crisis arose in the country. As a result of this, at the beginning of July 1917, Petrograd was shaken by popular unrest, which demanded the overthrow of the Provisional Government. The authorities issue a decree to suppress a peaceful demonstration withthe use of weapons. A wave of arrests is sweeping, executions are beginning everywhere. At this point, the bourgeoisie wins. But in August, the revolutionaries win back their positions.
Since July, the Bolsheviks have been conducting a great agitation among the workers and the military. And it brought results. An attitude has taken root in the minds of the people: the Bolshevik Party is the only element of the political system that truly stands up for the protection of the working people. In September, the Bolsheviks receive more than half of the votes in the elections to the dumas of the districts. The bourgeoisie is failing because it did not have mass support. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin begins to develop a plan for an armed uprising in order to win power for the Soviets. On October 24, the uprising began, the armed units loyal to the government were immediately isolated from it. On October 25, in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks successfully captured bridges, the telegraph, and government offices. On October 26, the Winter Palace is captured, and members of the Provisional Government are arrested. The October Revolution of 1917 divided the world into two large sides - capitalist and socialist.
A turning point, difficult and global changes
The 20th century was a difficult period in Russian history. The October Revolution of 1917 shook society. This historical event did not leave anyone indifferent. One of the public groups that responded to what happened was the Russian intelligentsia. In 1918, the famous poem "The Twelve" was written by AlexanderAleksandrovich Blok.
The author's attitude to the Revolution of 1917 has been discussed for many generations, and each time there are more and more new interpretations of his position. No one can say that A. A. Blok adhered to a specific side (let's say as simply as possible: "Was the uprising good for the country?"). Let's see what is the inconsistency of Blok's attitude to the revolution.
Short story of the poem "The Twelve"
For those who did not study well at school, let us briefly recall the plot of the poem. The first chapter presents the plot of the action. The author describes the winter snowy streets of Petrograd, engulfed by the revolution (winter 1917-1918). Portraits of passers-by are striking in brevity, but figurativeness. A patrol detachment consisting of twelve people is walking along the streets of Petrograd. The revolutionaries are discussing their former comrade Vanka, who left the revolution for the sake of drinking and got along with the former girl of easy virtue Katya. In addition to talking about a comrade, patrolmen sing a song about serving in the Red Army.
Suddenly, the patrol collides with the wagon in which Vanka and Katya were riding. The revolutionaries attacked them, the driver was able to escape, and Katya was killed by a shot from one of the patrolmen. The one who killed her regrets what happened, but the rest condemn him for it. The patrol moves further down the street, and a stray dog is attached to them, which was driven away with bayonets. After that, the revolutionaries saw in front of them the vague outlines of a figure - in front ofJesus Christ walked with them.
Not only "Twelve"
During the period of time when Blok wrote the poem "The Twelve", he simultaneously worked on the poem "Scythians" and the article "Intelligentsia and Revolution". Blok's attitude to the October Revolution in these works was very unequivocal. He urged everyone to fully listen and hear the Revolution.
Delight - that's what the author initially felt in relation to what happened. Blok saw great changes that were to lead Russia to a time of prosperity and a truly better life in the future. However, Blok's attitude towards the Revolution began to change over time. After all, sometimes hopes are not destined to come true.
Wind of change. Blok's new attitude towards the revolution
In the poem "The Twelve" the author is rethinking history. There is no former enthusiasm and praise. Objectivity in relation to what is happening is what comes to the fore when determining Blok's attitude to the Revolution. Historical events are beginning to be perceived as natural phenomena. He compares them to a storm, a snowstorm, which in their movement and action do not have any specific purpose and direction.
What is Blok's attitude to the revolution now? From a symbol of a new better life, it is transformed into natural will and inevitability. Everything that had accumulated over the years, discontent and claims, at one moment broke free and began to destroy everythingwhat stood in the way. This is the reason why, at the beginning of the poem, when describing the winter streets, the wind rips off bourgeois posters.
A world that is dying
The symbolism of Blok, the personification of which he became, is also present in this poem. The pre-Soviet world is dying - it is represented by the "lady in karkul", "bourgeois" and others who feel uncomfortable under the revolutionary wind.
The lady slips, and the bourgeois hides his nose in his collar to keep warm. At the same time, Blok does not mean the death of the entire large country, but the departure of the old way of life.
Contrasting colors of past events
The natural contrast of a black evening and white snow is transferred to people. Their emotions are painted in two contrasting colors: malice is divided into black and holy. Blok's attitude to the Revolution in the poem "The Twelve" becomes controversial, because he understands the obviousness that revolutionary good goals are often achieved by violent and oppressive means.
Everywhere the kingdom of robberies, violence, murders and immorality is established. But at the same time, the thought of whether there is still at least a drop of hope for the creative power of the revolution sweeps through the whole work.
Twelve Red Guards
The main expression of Blok's attitude to the revolution in the poem "12" is the image of patrolmen. The purpose of the patrol is to establish order. However, the Red Guards themselves are uncontrollable,like a storm or wind. They act completely unpredictable, their actions cannot be predicted, and their emotions and feelings are unknown. This is the tragedy of the situation.
Besides, the outward expression of the image of the patrolmen does not correspond to a new better life. They look more like prisoners - crumpled caps, cigarette rolls in their teeth. On the other hand, for the poet, patrolmen are ordinary Russians who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Revolution, but it remains unclear exactly for what purpose.
Issues of morality and holiness
Revolutionaries believed in creating a new world, but what kind? Blok's attitude to the Revolution and the new world is frightening. In the newly created state, people rob, loot, bring death not only to the guilty, but also to completely innocent people. This symbolizes the death of Katya, who was killed in a spontaneous outburst of a patrolman who succumbed to a flash of momentary violent emotions. Blok cannot fail to emphasize the tragedy of Katya's death, as Blok's woman is being killed. Holiness and sinfulness in the poem are united together. Throughout the story, the patrol constantly talk about renunciation of Christ. For the Russian man has always been characterized by "holy", a symbol of morality and spiritual purity. But in spite of everything, the guardsmen fail to completely renounce Christ. At the end of the poem, they still meet with him, while the patrolmen were waiting for the enemy, and a holy image appeared. The importance of the image of Christ lies in the fact that he steps with a gentle step. What equals how hecame two thousand years ago to save the souls of men. One of the provisions of Blok's attitude to the revolution is that he understood and accepted the inevitability of what was happening around, but at the same time he did not reconcile himself to the immoral and inhuman revolutionary methods.
In conclusion
Reviewing the twentieth century, its events and the intelligentsia that lived at that time, you can see how they emotionally and deeply reacted to ongoing historical events. A. A. Blok was one of the first to react to revolutionary actions, and at the same time his reaction was complex and mysterious. In the poem "The Twelve" this problem reaches its peak. On the one hand, the fact that the image of Christ, who carries the flag, completes the poem, makes the reader understand that the revolution can be a positive phenomenon. But on the other hand, the scene of the murder of a girl is accompanied by real and sincere pity and compassion. Katya is an image of the old, outgoing world. This leads the reader to the fact that Blok's rethinking of the revolution becomes less logical, it has more of a mystical character. From a historical event for Blok, the revolution became a process of society's transition to a new, completely different state, which could lead to the rebirth of the human personality. The clash between the two worlds must lead humanity somewhere.
