"Prince of Silver." The Tale of the Time of Ivan the Terrible

The novel "The Prince of Silver: The Tale of the Times of Ivan the Terrible" was written by A.K. Tolstoy after the death of Emperor Nicholas I. Writer for a long time wanted to translate on the pages of the book his plan - to reflect the horrors of the reign of Ivan IV, the cruelty of the oprichniki, the silent humility and suffering of the Russian people. The work "Prince of Silver," a brief summary of which we now recall, should be read by anyone who cares about their own history.

Nikita Romanovich is a young prince who returns to his native state after a five-year absence: he failed to sign peace with Lithuania. In the village of Medvedkovo he sees the terrible excesses of the oprichniks, mistakes them for the villains, with his vigilantes he flogs them and hands them over to the local headman. He himself, with two prisoners released, goes to the mill to stay overnight. Prisoners turn out to be forest robbers, but they help the prince and protect him from his associates. At night Prince Vyazemsky arrives and demands from the miller the spellbinding herbs to forcibly ignite Elena's love. Prince Nikita Romanovich and Elena loved each other, but while he was in Lithuania, the girl was forced to marry Boyar Morozov in order to avoid Vyazemsky's harassment.

In Moscow, the prince sees sad pictures: the rough, constantly drunk oprichniks turn their "justice", burn villages and call themselves "royal servants". In sadness, he goes to an old friend of his father, Morozov (Helen's husband), who tells Nikita Romanovich about the transfer of Tsar Ivan the Terrible to Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, about betrayals, denunciations and violence. Clandestinely explaining himself in the garden with Elena, the prince goes to the sovereign, where cheerless pictures await him: gallows and plaques next to temples and royal chambers. Moreover, the unarmed prince oprichniks try to poison with a bear, but the son of Malyuta Skuratov saves him from death. The prince is invited to the feast of Ivan the Terrible, where the poisoned wine is poured by the river, only false speeches are heard, and Nikita Romanovich himself is accused of mockery of the oprichniks in Medvedkovo. From the execution, Maxim Skuratov again rescues him.

At the feast, Vyazemsky receives permission from the tsar and decides to kidnap Elena. Under the guise of the envoy of Ivan the Terrible, he arrives at the house to Morozov, where Silver has already been invited. Morozov heard the conversation in the garden, but he could not understand who was the man with whom his wife was talking. He, in the guise of an ancient "kiss rite," tries to find out - Elena, kissing Nikita Romanovich, faints. Later, Morozov reproaches his wife for treason, but at that moment Vyazemsky bursts into the bedchamber and takes the woman by force. Far away he could not leave - the wounds that Prince Silver had inflicted on him, took away his last strength, and he lost his senses in the backwoods of the forest. A frightened horse brings Elena to the mill. The cunning miller understands who this woman is, therefore discourages the arriving oprichniki from staying the night and talks the wounds to the kidnapper.

After a skirmish with Vyazemsky, Nikita Romanovich goes to prison, where he is interrogated by Malyuta and Boris Godunov. The king tries to forget about them and goes hunting, where he meets two blind songwriters, whom he invites to sing to himself in his chambers. This turns out to be saved by the silver brigands who want to release him from prison. With songs they could not put the king to sleep, but they still get the prince out of prison and force him away from there. In the woods Prince Serebryany meets Maxim Skuratov, rescues him from the hands of the bandits and heads the stanitsa. Together they are fighting the Tatar army, and only with the support of the unexpectedly appeared Basmanov they manage to win the battle.

Shortly unfolds Vyazemsky's dishonest plan: Morozov accuses him of kidnapping his wife, and Basmanov calls Vyazemsky a sorcerer - their dispute the king proposes to decide in a fair fight. Vyazemsky goes to the miller, asks to "speak" the sword to victory. The battle did not take place: Vyazemsky, having left Morozov, fell from his horse, fresh wounds opened. On his chest, the tsar sees an incense with herbs and also accuses Vyazemsky of witchcraft against the tsar's power. Trying to justify himself, the villain says that Basmanov has the same frankincense. The king of both throws in prison, and on Morozov puts on the caftan of the buffoon and forces to express everything he thinks about his reign. After the feast, Ivan the Terrible executes everyone: the miller, the robbers, Morozov, Basmanov and Vyazemsky.

Silver tells the king everything, and he forgives the disgraced prince. From the offer to go to the oprichniki Nikita Romanovich refuses and heads the guard regiment. The prince decides to send his stirrup (Mikheich) to the monastery, where Elena is expected to take a vow, and bring her. Mikheich does not have time. The prince goes himself to say farewell to his beloved woman. Elena, who took after the veil of the name Eudokia, said that they could not be happy because of the spilled blood of Morozov.

Silver by faith and truth serves the sovereign. Time goes by and all the words of Morozov at the last feast come true: John suffers defeat in the west, and in the east only the Ermak forces manage to conquer Siberia. The novel ends with a call to all of Russia to forgive the cruelty and atrocities of Ivan the Terrible. Not alone, he bears the burden of responsibility for everything that has happened - this is what AK thinks. Tolstoy. Prince Serebryany and Morozov are worthy of the boyars, who remained loyal to their state and managed to withstand a difficult struggle.

The name of the main character was chosen by Tolstoy not by chance - it was worn by the ancestor of the royal family of the Romanovs, and therefore there were no problems with censorship. Empress Maria Alekseevna even awarded the writer a keychain of gold in the form of a miniature book.