Four court cases were brought against Strashinsky, but the investigation dragged on for an unprecedentedly long time, even for an extremely slow Russian justice. Almost 25 years passed from the first charges to the verdict. And the measure of punishment chosen by Emperor Alexander II the Liberator astounded a significant part of Russian society.

To maintain his reputation at the proper level, every strong landowner acquired a harem with a decent amount of his own "serales"

nature fun

In 1845, the rector of the church in the village of Mshantse, Kyiv province, Yashchinsky, told the head of the local police, the district police officer, that his flock was dissatisfied and grumbled. Moreover, he has every reason for this, since the father of the owner of the estate, Mikhalina Strashinskaya, Viktor, constantly demands that peasant girls and wives be sent to his estate, the village of Tkhorovka, for carnal pleasures, and if the sending is delayed for some reason, he comes to Mshants himself and rapes women , girls, even youngsters.

If there was something strange in this story, it was only that Strashinsky used his daughter's serfs for his own pleasure: in society they looked askance at those who abuse other people's property. However, they did not find anything strange in exactly how the landowner treated the peasant women, since a rare wealthy landowner in the 18th and early XIX century did not use his position to satisfy love passions.

Memoirists claimed that in the villages of "Peter the Great's arap" - Abram Petrovich Hannibal - there were quite a few very swarthy and curly-haired serfs in African style. Almost every noble owner of souls considered it a duty to have his own harem of two or three dozen serf beauties.

For example, they wrote about the State Chancellor, His Serene Highness Prince A. A. Bezborodko, that he shunned secular society and ladies because "the real" novel "of his life was a harem, always replete with concubines and often updated."

And some landowners, carried away by the harem, forgot not only about society, but also about any other business, estates and family. Pushkin's friend A. N. Wulf wrote about his uncle Ivan Ivanovich Wulf:

“Having married very early on a rich and pretty girl, he ruined his estate for several years in St. Petersburg. Having settled in the village, he left his wife and started a harem of serf girls, in which he lived with a dozen children, leaving care of his lawful wife. completely sensual, incapable of anything else."

In hospitable houses, important guests were offered shelter, a table and a bed with a serf girl to choose from.

The fighters for the happiness of the people were no exception to the rule. Decembrists (there is a crunch of a French roll here). For example, in a certificate on the case of December 14, 1825, O. Yu. Gorsky, a participant in the uprising, said:

“At first he supported several (exactly three) peasant women, bought by him in the Podolsk province. With this seraglio, he lived three years ago in the house of Varvarin. Vile depravity and bad treatment forced the unfortunate girls to flee from him and seek protection from the government, but the matter hushed up at Count Miloradovich's."

The whole difference between the owners of seraglios was how exactly they treated those for whom, in that era, the almost official name "seralkes" appeared. For example, about the landowner P. A. Koshkarev, the 19th century chronicler N. Dubrovin wrote:

"Ten-twelve most beautiful girls occupied almost half of his house and were intended only for the service of the master (he was 70 years old). They stood on duty at the door of the bedroom and slept in the same room with Koshkarev; several girls were specially assigned to serve the guests.

However, unlike the "serals" of other owners, the girls in Koshkarev's house were kept in very decent conditions. Y. M. Neverov, who lived with Koshkarev as a child, recalled them:

"In general, the girls were all very developed: they were beautifully dressed and received - like the male servants - a monthly salary and cash gifts for public holidays. Everyone dressed, of course, not in a national, but in a pan-European dress ".

excessive infatuation

In the first quarter XIX century, Lieutenant-General Lev Dmitrievich Izmailov became widely known in the country. He became famous both for his exploits for the glory of the Fatherland, spending a huge amount of money, a million rubles, on arming the Ryazan provincial militia in 1812, and for his tyranny and numerous antics, the fame of which diverged throughout the empire.

They talked a lot, and then they remembered the harem of General Izmailov. However, the details that terrified contemporaries and descendants became clear in 1828 after the completion of the investigation appointed on the complaint of Izmailov's peasants.

The beginning and course of this case are no less interesting than the details revealed in the course of it. It began with the fact that the general's chargé d'affaires, his lawyer Fedorov, decided to earn extra money on his own trustee and persuaded his peasants to write a complaint about Izmailov's numerous atrocities and abuses.

The lawyer rightly hoped that during the investigation, which could not do without bribes to judges and other officials, he would be able to make good money. And the case, given the influence, age and past merits of the general, will still be closed.

At first, everything went according to plan. In court, the testimony of the peasants was not completely recorded or distorted and, under pain of punishment, was forced to sign. Izmailov regularly gave, and Fedorov, not forgetting his own interests, handed over bribes, so that in the end the peasants were going to be sentenced to exile in Siberia for rebellion and slandering the landowner.

His Serene Highness Prince Bezborodko preferred pastime in the circle of his yard girls and women to a brilliant court society.

However, at the same time, senators Ogarev and Saltykov arrived in the Ryazan province with an inspection, who not only knew, but also did not like Izmailov. The peasants were immediately released from prison and sent home, and a real investigation began on Izmailov's estates.

In addition to other serfs, Izmailov was also interrogated by the inhabitants of his harem. Moreover, their testimony turned out to be such that the biographer of Izmailov, S. T. Slovutinsky, who was well acquainted with the case, cited many of them allegorically or even preferred to omit them:

"Day and night, they were all locked up. Bars were inserted into the windows of their rooms. These unfortunate girls were released from this chamber of theirs, or, rather, from their permanent prison, only for a short walk in the manor's garden or for a trip to tightly closed vans to the bath.

With the closest relatives, not only with brothers and sisters, but even with their parents, they were not allowed to have meetings. There were cases when courtyard people who passed by their windows and bowed to them from afar were severely punished for this.

Many of these girls - there were only thirty of them, but this number, like a permanent set, never changed, although the faces that made it up changed very often - entered the manor house from the very childhood, one must think, because they promised to be beauties in their time. Almost all of them in the sixteenth year and even earlier fell into the lord's concubines - always secretly, and often through violence.

Slovutinsky described many cases when Izmailov raped young girls and granted the same right to his guests:

“From the testimony it turns out that General Izmailov was also hospitable in his own way: girls were always taken to his guests for the night, and for the guests of significant or the first time they arrived, innocent people were chosen, even if they were only twelve years old ...

So, the soldier Mavra Feofanova tells that in the thirteenth year of her life she was taken by force from the house of her father, a peasant, and she was corrupted by Izmailov's guest, Stepan Fedorovich Kozlov. She was about to escape from this landowner, but they caught her and, on the orders of her master, severely beat her with a stick.

Strashinsky was also accused of having kidnapped someone else's serf, with whom he had two daughters, whom he then corrupted ...

But all this could not be compared with what Izmailov did with his own daughter, adopted from the "seral":

"Nymphodora Fritonova Khoroshevskaya (Nymph, as the yard people called her in their testimony, probably following the example of the master) was born while her mother was kept locked up in the manor's house, behind bars ... Izmailov corrupted her fourteen years old. She reminded him that she had been baptized by his mother; his terribly cynical, vile objection to the Nymph cannot be quoted here ...

On the same day, the Nymph was again called to the master's bedroom. Izmailov began to interrogate her: who is to blame for the fact that he did not find her virgin. Explanation Details poor girl about her innocence, about what the master himself did with her when she was still a child of eight or nine years old (all this is set out in detail in the testimony of Nimfodora Khoroshevskaya, given to the last investigators), are too outrageous to be reported in the press ...

The master's interrogation did not end well for the serf Nymph: first they flogged her with a whip, then with a rapnik, and in the course of two days she was flogged seven times. After these punishments, she remained for three months in the locked harem of the Khitrovshchina estate, and during all this time she was the master's concubine.

Finally, he became jealous of her pastry chef. This confectioner was immediately handed over to the soldiers, and the Nymph, after being punished with whips in the living room, spent three days on a wall chain in the prisoner's room. Then she was exiled to a potash factory, to hard work, where she stayed for exactly seven years.

On the third day, her head was shaved as a result of her exile to the factory. A few months later she got into a slingshot because the potash came out little; She wore this slingshot for three weeks. She was transferred from the potash factory to a cloth factory, and at the same time Izmailov ordered her to marry a simple peasant; but the Nymph did not agree - and for that three days she was chained.

Finally, she was exiled from the cloth factory to the village of Kudasheva, where, of course, she had to take some rest from her hard labor at Izmailov's.

It would seem that after such facts were discovered and confirmed, General Izmailov could not avoid heavy punishment. In addition, the use of torture, which had been banned by that time, was added to the accusations of child molestation. And besides, Izmailov was accused of another serious crime - he did not allow the peasants to go to confession, so that information about his pleasures and atrocities did not reach the spiritual authorities.

However, despite all this, the Senate was extremely merciful to Izmailov. His decision stated:

"As the estate of Izmailov has already been taken into custody and he himself, in the manner of his treatment of his people, cannot be allowed to manage that estate, then leave it in custody; and although it would be inappropriate for Izmailov to stay on his estate, but since he, in respect of his serious illness, was left in his present place of residence, then allow him to stay there until he recovers".

After such a precedent court decision, the emergence of a case against Viktor Strashinsky already looked completely strange. And his investigation is absolutely hopeless.

In the estate of Viktor Strashinsky, investigators did not find a single peasant woman who was not raped by him

Longest consideration

At first, however, the investigation was quite successful.

"During the interrogations on September 12, 1846, it was said in the description of the case, they showed: the centurion s. Mshantsa Pavel Krivshun, without an oath that the landowner Strashinsky or requires to himself in the village. Tkhorovka of peasant girls, or he comes to the village himself. Mshants and rapes them.

The peasant girls indicated by the centurion testified that they were corrupted by Strashinsky, that Esaul Ganakh, the girl Desyatnikova, the woman Martsinikh and the laundress Leschukova brought them to him, and that they complained about this to their parents. The peasant Esaul Ganakh explained that he really brought the girls he demanded to Strashinsky, but whether the landowner raped them or not, he does not know about it and did not hear from them themselves".

But then the investigation began to slip:

"The mentioned women of Desyatnikov, Leschukov and Martsenikh showed that they never brought girls to Strashinsky. The fathers and mothers of the aforementioned girls (with the exception of only one Vakumova) all rejected the reference to them of their daughters, explaining that the latter had never complained to them about the rape.

On the confrontations 10 girls, put up by the centurion Krivshun, and 6 others, who also slandered Strashinsky in rape, retracted their previous testimony and during interrogations confirmed that he had never corrupted them, but they showed about that before in order to get rid of the demand for another estate for domestic services".

It looked even worse that the priest Yashchinsky, who had started the case, began to refuse his accusations:

"Priest Yashchinsky testified that no decisive information had reached him about Strashinsky's rape of the girls, but that he had seen the crying of fathers and mothers when their children were taken to the village. Thorovka, as some said, for rape, and others for services".

Other witnesses also did not confirm the rape data:

"12 people from neighboring peasants testified under oath that they had not heard anything plausible about the molestation and rape of girls by Strashinsky, but that the crying of parents and children came from taking peasant women into yard service.

During a general search, Strashinsky's behavior was reported under oath: two landowners that they knew him from better side, and four that, due to lack of connections with him, they do not know anything about his lifestyle".

After that, Strashinsky, who had evaded interrogations since the beginning of the investigation, went on the offensive:

"The landowner Strashinsky, who did not appear at the investigation under the pretext of illness of his and his daughter and was finally sent by order of the authorities with a police official on December 20, 1846, testified:

1) what with. Mshants does not belong to him, but to his daughter Mikhalina, who owned it on patrimonial right for 6 years before the start of this investigation;

2) that the crimes attributed to him are unusual neither for his rank as a nobleman, nor for his 65-year old age, nor, finally, for his disordered health;

3) that these accusations are based on the malice and slander of the priest s. Mshants and Sotsky Krivshun, and that the peasants, by this, were carried away by the idea of ​​freedom from serfdom, if these accusations against him, Strashinsky, were justified;

4) that the peasants with. Mshantsa, not belonging to him, Strashinsky, could not keep silent about his crimes, if they really were committed by him".

In fact, the case could be closed for lack of evidence of a crime. However, in 1845, in another district and on another estate of Strashinsky, exactly the same case arose.

"Consequence, - it was said in the same description of the case, - about Strashinsky's rape of peasant girls in the village. Kumanovka was also started in 1845 on the basis of a report from the senior assessor of the Makhnovo Zemstvo Court Pavlov to the local police officer.

In the report, the assessor explained that the peasants with. Kumanovka, which is in the traditional possession of Strashinsky, is immensely burdened with corvée and that he raped the daughters of two local peasants Yermolai and Vasily".

But the police were unable to bring witnesses for questioning:

"The police officer instructed the assistant police officer to present these girls with their parents to the Zemstvo court, but the assistant informed the police officer that Strashinsky had not betrayed these people. The police officer instructed the police officer to find out about this on the spot".

The most unkind methods of re-education were applied to the yard women, who refused the landowner in kindness.

The results of the preliminary inquiry amazed the police officer:

"Having received a report that Strashinsky did not leave a single girl chaste in the Kumanovka estate, he presented this to the head of the province.

By order of this latter, the Makhnovist district marshal of the nobility, together with the district attorney, was instructed to carry out a rigorous investigation on the spot both about Strashinsky’s cruel treatment of his peasants and burdening them with corvée, and about the rape of peasant daughters.".

However, the history of the previous case repeated itself. Frightened by the landlord, the peasant women, one after another, refused to admit not only the fact of rape, but also the very acquaintance with Strashinsky. And he, in turn, began to prove that it was not he who managed Kumanovka, but the housekeeper, and he himself almost never happens on this estate.

However, the story of mass rapes already seriously interested the provincial authorities, and in Kyiv they very carefully got acquainted with the results of the second investigation:

"Having examined this investigation, the head of the Kyiv province found that it was carried out without any attention and with the apparent intention of justifying Strashinsky ... The Vasilkovsky district marshal of the nobility, together with the captain of the gendarme corps, was instructed to carry out the investigation ...

The girls, who had been questioned in Strashinsky's absence and had acquitted him during the investigation, now showed that he really raped them. Their parents, who also acquitted Strashinsky during the investigation, during the reinvestigation confirmed the testimony of their daughters that he had raped them.

The husbands of the aforementioned peasant women similarly renounced their previous testimonies that justified Strashinsky, and explained that during their marriage they found their wives deprived of their virginity, according to their explanation, by Strashinsky himself.

New witnesses testified under oath that they heard that the landowner Strashinsky, arriving in Kumanovka, ordered the girls to be brought to him and had carnal intercourse with them.".

The Strashinsky case turned out to be a record not only in terms of the number of victims, but also because it reached consideration in the Senate only after 25 years.

Strashinsky explained the new testimonies by the intrigues of his enemies and the rebellious intentions of the peasants. But no one listened to him, since the provincial authorities decided to establish the authenticity of the accusations and sent investigators to the village where the landowner lived permanently, to Tkhorovka.

And so that Strashinsky did not interfere with interrogations, he was sent to Berdichev under police supervision. As a result, the investigators got what they were counting on - frank testimony of victims and witnesses:

"During the investigation, it was found that Tkhorovka belonged to Strashinsky's wife, and in 1848 it was transferred to their son Heinrich Strashinsky according to a separate record.

Peasants from. Tkhorovki, among 99, unanimously explained that Strashinsky oppressed them with duties, treated them cruelly, lived fornication with their wives, deprived the girls of innocence, of which two (Fedosya and Vasilina) even died from rape, and that he corrupted, among other things two girls Palageya and Anna, adopted by him with a woman Prisyazhnyukova.

The wives and daughters of the indicators, including 86 people, explained for their part that they really were forcibly corrupted by Strashinsky, some at the age of 14, and others upon reaching only 13 or even 12 years old ...

Many explained that Strashinsky continued to have relations with them even after their marriage, and some testified that he forced them to be present when he copulated with others.".

There were confirmations and accusations in the death of girls:

"Those girls died after being forcibly corrupted by their landowner Strashinsky: Fedosya within one day, and Vasilina after a few days, that this is known to the whole society ...

The wife of the peasant Soloshnik, to whom Fedosya was in the service, and Vasilina's aunt, the peasant woman Gorenchukova, explained that the aforementioned girls died from severe bleeding after being violently corrupted by Strashinsky".

The landowner defended himself as best he could. He presented a medical certificate stating that he suffers from chronic rheumatism, and therefore he could not have committed the acts attributed to him. His wife filed a petition stating that in fifty years of marriage, her husband had never once given her cause for jealousy. And besides, he perfectly manages all the family estates for 47 years.

In a matter that interested all the nobility, Alexander II faced a difficult choice - to send Strashinsky away to Siberia or to understand and forgive

The Mildest Punishment

However, the investigators did not waste time and discovered that the aforementioned mistress of Strashinsky, the peasant woman Prisyazhnyukova, came to him after escaping from the former master, Lieutenant Colonel Solovkov. And Strashinsky went on perjury in order to keep her.

In the eyes of the noble society, such a crime looked almost worse than rape. In addition, the archive of the court found a case of 1832 that did not end with a verdict, according to which peasant women from the village of Mshants accused him of rape.

So the number of his victims over 47 years of managing villages could not be less than 500. In addition, a medical examination of peasant women was carried out, which confirmed the accusations.

The case went through the courts for a long time and reached the highest, the Senate, only in 1857, a quarter of a century after the first accusations. The opinions of the senators on the choice of punishment were diametrically opposed, and as a result of the discussions, three opinions were formed, submitted for approval to the emperor.

According to the first opinion, the sentence should have looked like this:

"Strashinsky, depriving all the special rights and privileges appropriated personally and by the state, to exile to live in the Tobolsk province. On the subject of the forcible corruption of their young peasant girls and forcing peasant women who have reached the age of 14 to commit fornication with him, leave Strashinsky in strong suspicion".

According to the second opinion, Strashinsky should have been found guilty on all counts:

“Viktor Strashinsky is guilty not only of ill-treatment of peasants, of placing a fugitive peasant woman Kislichkova and of forgery to marry her to a peasant Prisyazhnyuk belonging to him, but also of rape, combined with corruption, of peasant girls who have reached and have not reached 14 years of age. This is confirmed by the following facts:

1) more than 100 peasants and peasant women of the villages of Tkhorovka, Mshanets and Kumanovka accuse Strashinsky of rape, and in such a mass of people it is difficult to imagine a strike;

2) their testimonies become all the more reliable because the peasants not only belong to different villages, but live in different districts, they did not give answers at the same time and to different investigators;

3) all the peasant women explained the details of the rape, pointed out the persons who had brought them to Strashinsky, some of them told their parents about it, and many told about their preparation for fornication, which, being a refined debauchery, cannot be imagined;

4) the persons who brought the girls to Strashinsky and the parents confirmed the reference made to them;

5) the husbands of the raped also responded that their wives married them already corrupted, as they confessed, by the landowner Strashinsky;

6) third-party peasants of the villages of Mshanets and Kumanovka and neighboring villages testified under oath that they had heard about the rape of their girls by Strashinsky and married women;

7) a medical certificate certifies the rape of 13 girls who were already from 14 to 18 years old, and although it does not serve as proof that the crime was committed precisely by Strashinsky, he could not provide any justification that would deserve respect, and in general in the case no persons were found who could be suspected of molestation;

8) the behavior of peasant women is approved;

9) Strashinsky was sued already in 1832 for the rape of peasant girls in the village of Mshanets. All these pieces of evidence, taken together, exclude the possibility of being perplexed about the guilt of the defendant and constitute perfect evidence against him.

For the rape of girls under the age of 14, as for the gravest crime committed by Strashinsky, he would be subject to deprivation of all rights of property and exile to hard labor in fortresses for a period of 10 to 12 years; but bearing in mind that he is now 72 years old, it should be depriving Strashinsky of all the rights of the state to exile him to a settlement in the most remote places of Siberia".

The third opinion offered an exceptionally lenient sentence:

"1) Defendant Viktor Strashinsky (72 years old) should be left in suspicion on the subject of corruption of peasant girls.

2) Order the Governor-General of Kyiv, Podolsk and Volhynia to make an order to withdraw from the possession of Strashinsky the inhabited estates belonging to him personally on serfdom, if there are any at the present time, with the transfer of them to guardianship.

3) To return to Lieutenant Colonel Solovkov his fugitive woman, married to Prisyazhnyuk, together with her husband and children adopted from her ... "

By that time, preparations had already begun for the abolition of serfdom, caused sharp discontent of the nobility. And Alexander II, perhaps, did not want to create a new pretext for disputes and conflicts.

It is also possible that the emperor, who himself loved young girls, reacted with sympathy to Strashinsky's passion. Be that as it may, he supported the third opinion. So the record-breaking rapist essentially escaped any punishment.

What is there to be surprised that these "noble" people were drowned in latrines during the revolution? Slavery is vile and disgusting, and the hatred of the people for their oppressors quite naturally resulted in the Revolution.

VIRTUALITY

Fortress girl.
This story happened when in Rus' there was serfdom. This right was enjoyed by people who from the day of birth were awarded the title of nobleman. This group of people, on whom the king's power rested, enjoyed his special honors, including the right to dispose of the lives of their subjects, who were given to his power for life.

But my story will be about honest and free man named Ivan Zakharov. Ivan came to the big city as a poor man. Unlike other people of his level, who, having caught fire, immediately go out, he possessed iron character and perseverance. Becoming an apprentice at a jeweler, he worked with great zeal. The owner noticed him and made him a master. Ivan multiplied his industriousness, tried everywhere to adopt the methods of his craft. Then he began to come up with trickier tricks himself, and independently began to make many discoveries in the jewelry art.

He worked hard and tirelessly. Until late at night, the light from the lamp burned in the window of his workshop. Ivan diligently tapped with a hammer, sharpened, filed, cut, bent, turned, soldered.
Necessity gave rise to labor. Labor gave birth to high diligence. Effort breeds wealth.
He built his house. He set up a workshop and a small shop in the house, in which he began to sell his wonderful products. Many townspeople became its frequent visitors and buyers.

Despite the temptations of the big city, our Ivan lived modestly. Even in the blooming time of youth, he never succumbed to the temptations of life that raged around him.
Ivan was a man of the simplest and most ingenuous concepts. He was afraid of God, then of thieves, nobles of all levels, but most of all he was afraid of all sorts of troubles and worries.
Over time, he learned to go his own way. Don't run around other people's business. Stretch your legs by clothes, do not owe yourself and do not lend to your neighbor.

Keep your eyes open, don't let your glasses rub in, don't talk about what you're doing. Don't even throw out the water. Do not be forgetful, do not trust anyone with your worries or your wallet.

All these simple worldly rules allowed him to trade for his own benefit, which he did without offending anyone.

People said about him that Ivan was created, as it were, with one blow, hewn out of one piece. Such people are always superior to those who have been taken several times to create.
That's how virtuous Ivan Zakharov was. Why did our master remain lonely as a finger when his natural properties anyone could appreciate.

If you start criticizing our hero, the question arises, do you know what love is? I'm afraid you don't know...
A lover is supposed to go somewhere, return from somewhere, listen, lie in wait, be silent, speak. Then shrink, then turn around. Grow, then shrink. To please, to strum on some instrument, to repent, to be dragged to distant lands.

Climb out of your skin, get bird's milk, caress her cat or dog, be friends with her friends. Sniff out what her family likes, don't step on anyone's feet, don't break dishes. Get the moon from the sky, pour from empty to empty. To grind nonsense, to climb into fire and into water. Admire the outfits of your beloved, and repeat it a thousand times. Dress up like a peacock yourself. To joke aptly, sharply. Overcome suffering with laughter. Curb your temper.

Walk from morning to night with a sweet smile. But it is known that it is difficult to please nice ladies - they will wag their tail and goodbye, even without explaining the reasons! She herself does not really know the reasons, but she demands from her lover that he should know!

Some men in such circumstances grow gloomy, angry, go crazy, do all sorts of stupid things. This is what makes a man different, for example, from a dog. This explains why dogs have no soul. Do not want? – sniffed at last and ran to itself further.
A lover must be a jack of all trades: he is both a magician and a warrior, a king, an idler, a simpleton reveler, a liar, a braggart, an informer, an idler, a heliport, red tape, a spendthrift, a fool, a holy fool.

After hearing all this, a prudent person will neglect love. And indeed. Indulging in this occupation, self-respecting men, first of all, are forced to spend: time, life, blood, cherished words, not counting the heart, soul, brain. Just before these human qualities damsels hunt beyond measure. Chatting sweetly among themselves, they say to each other: “If a man didn’t give me everything he has, then he didn’t give me anything!”. And some, frowning their brows, are still not happy that a man will break into a cake for her sake: “What a trifle, he’s trying hard!”

And the respected Ivan Zakharov, know for yourself, melted silver and gold. Looking at the bustle surrounding him, he could not in any way ignite the fantastic patterns of love in his heart, so as to decorate it, be reflected in it, play out in intricate inventions. Everything was explained simply, nowhere did he find a living model for this sacrament of the soul.

You yourself understand that in no country do virgins fall for no reason at all into the arms of a man, just as fried chickens do not fall from the sky. So our goldsmith remained chaste.

It cannot be said that Ivan Zakharov was colder than ice, no, it's not. He could not see the charms with which nature generously endowed some of his customers. But, having listened to their amusing chatter, behind which sly thoughts were hidden, he understood that by flirting with him, they were simply trying to reduce the price of jewelry.

But still. The charmers achieved their goal, but in a completely different area - he went home after work, dreamy like a poet, yearning like a cuckoo without a nest. In these dreams, a kind and troublesome wife has already appeared. And approaching his house, he already mentally had a dozen children from this imaginary wife.

He embodied his yearning dreams in beautiful trinkets, and delighted buyers did not know how many wives and children lurk in these beautiful little things!
So our talented jeweler would have gone to another world as a bachelor, but this is what happened in the forty-first year of his life! One fine day, our hero was walking outside the city. Unbeknownst to himself, he entered the field, which was owned by the nobleman Prince K.

In the middle of the meadow, he met a young girl dragging a cow behind her. Passing by the jeweler, the girl bowed affably to him, smiled and said - Good day, my lord!

Either the innocent beauty of a pretty girl's face, or a friendly voice, or maybe thoughts about marriage that haunted him, but Ivan fell in love instantly and passionately.
- Dear girl, you are probably poor, since on Sunday you do not know the rest from work?
- I'm a serf girl of the prince. He, out of his kindness, allows us to graze our cow in his meadow, but after dinner.
- Do you like your cow so much?
- Yes, my lord, she is the breadwinner and waterer of my whole family.
- Such a beauty and one in the field?! There are probably a lot of eager fellows to win your heart?
- No, it's not like that at all. Everyone knows that I am a serf girl. If someone marries me, he automatically becomes a prince's serf. It is especially insulting that when the prince pleases, they will bring me to wife with the same serf man.

So slowly talking, they went to the girl's house. The jeweler admired the beautiful face of the girl, her slender figure. Although he was a virgin with a pure heart and thoughts, he could not force himself not to guess the lovely snow-white breasts that the girl hid with charming modesty under a coarse scarf.

All this excited him, aroused thirst, like a bowl of cold water seduces the weary traveler.
In a word, walking next to this wonderful creature, our Ivan was languishing with sudden love. The stricter the ban on this fruit was, the more the jeweler languished.

Suddenly, the girl suggested that he milk cow's milk, as the day was hot. Ivan refused and, unexpectedly for himself, burst into a passionate declaration of love.

I don't want milk, but I crave you. If you don't mind, I want to ransom you from the prince!
- It's impossible! For many unfortunate generations of my ancestors belonged to the prince. And grandfathers lived like that, and grandchildren will live. I am destined to forever be a serf to the prince. And my children will be serfs. The prince wants all the people belonging to him to have offspring.
- Isn't there a fellow who would dare to redeem such a beauty to freedom?
Will costs too much. Those who I liked leave as quickly as they appear.
"And you can't run away?"
- Oh, you can't. The prince has long arms, and the royal law on serfs is very strict. If they catch me, they will shackle me, and my darling may lose not only his freedom, but also all his property. I'm not worth the sacrifice! So I live in complete obedience, it is clear that this is my fate.
- What's your name, sweet girl?
- Masha.
- My name is Ivan. Ivan Zakharov, goldsmith. And that's what I'll tell you, my dear. Never in my life have I liked a single woman like you. Do you also know...? I was walking through this field with thoughts of choosing a friend for myself, but I met you. In this I see an indication of heaven. If I am not disgusting to you, if you are ready to forget that I am already many years old, consider me your friend, and there ... maybe your husband!

Hearing such words, pleasant for a woman's heart, with a declaration of love, the girl blushed with a wonderful blush, lowered her happy eyes, and burst into tears:
- My dear Ivanushka! I do not want to become the cause of your many griefs, as soon as you begin to ask the prince to redeem my will. A few kind words will suffice for me.
- Dear Mashenka! You don't know anything about me yet. I am a fairly wealthy person. I will spare nothing to get the freedom of my future wife.
- Ivanushka! Give up these thoughts. - The girl said, shedding tears - I will love you all my life and so. Without these strict conditions.
- Come on Masha, let's agree. Next Sunday, I will come to this field again.
- My good lord! I will definitely be waiting for you here. If I'm severely punished after that, it doesn't matter. I'm not afraid. Come my dear.
- The girl returned home late in the evening, for which she received a strong beating, but she did not feel the beatings.

Good-natured Ivan, lost his appetite. He even closed the workshop and shop, so he fell in love with this wonderful serf girl. I thought about her, saw only her everywhere. When a man is in such a stage of falling in love, it is quite decent to start acting, and actively at that.
The jeweler, the man was careful.

Therefore, for a conversation with the prince, he decided to resort to the help of a respectable patron. He did not have any difficulties in this matter, since many radiant ladies were ready to assist in such a pleasant issue for women as love!
Princess M., who had great weight at the royal court, volunteered to accompany the jeweler and help in his troubles, how to ransom the serf girl.

The prince received the guest and the jeweler accompanying her with great respect. The princess took the trouble to start the conversation:
- The illustrious prince! I am with you on a very pleasant matter for me. I want to promote the unification of two hearts of lovers.
- Princess! I'll be glad to be of help, but I don't know what it's all about.
- Before you is our court jeweler, who kindled with love to the girl, who, unfortunately, is your serf. Therefore, I intercede before you for a will for this girl. From our side, you can count on the fulfillment of any of your desires.
- Who is she?
- The girl's name is Masha.
- Ah, ah! They told me something, but I did not attach any importance to it. In any case, we will have to discuss the terms of the ransom. Are you ready for this conversation?
- Your Excellency! - our loving jeweler entered into a conversation - I decided to make for you a wonderful golden vase studded with precious stones. I am sure that you will not find this in Russia.
- Of course, I will not refuse such a gift. But ... - the prince looked expressively at the princess - I am not free to change the royal decree.
- What decree?
- When the king granted me and others tall people estates, in his decree it is established that all peasants become our serfs. And their children, and their children's children. It was specifically pointed out that a person from outside, if he marries my serf, becomes a serf for the rest of his life. This is the king's decree! - the prince spread his hands - It is not in my power to correct the king! So, only a person who has lost his mind can decide on such a thing.
- The illustrious prince! I am such a person. I lost my mind in love with this poor girl. I am more touched by her tender and kind heart than by her bodily perfections. But most of all I am struck by your hardness of heart, for there is a way out of any situation. You just have to want. In a word, my fate is in your hands, and excuse my words. So! Even if all my property becomes your property, and I become your serf, your power still has a limit.
- This is what, - asked the prince, angry with impudent speeches, a commoner - as you put it, the limit?
- This limit is in my head. None of the most mighty force, has no power over my talent and all the ideas of future creations. All this is hidden in my mind!

Listening to this angry skirmish, the princess was no longer glad that she got involved in the story. She looked fearfully at the enraged prince, then at her beloved jeweler. With all his talents, the jeweler remained an invisible figure on the surface. It was in the power of the prince to erase this hindrance, with one movement of his hand. It is not known how it would all end, but fortunately, Masha was brought into the hall.

The prince ordered in advance to prepare the subject of conversation, for his own examination, and even as a subject of bargaining. The maids did their best. Mashenka sparkled like a silver dish, diligently rubbed by a busy hostess. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress, with a pink belt, her legs were shod in elegant shoes, from which beautiful legs in white stockings looked out.

Mashenka looked regally beautiful. Seeing the girl, Ivan was stunned with delight. Even the prince and princess admitted to themselves that they had never seen such perfect beauty.
The first to wake up was the princess, who realized that the continued presence of such a beautiful girl threatened with frustration and all sorts of dangers for the jeweler.

Therefore, she politely apologized and grabbed the stupefied Ivan by the hand and took him into the carriage. All the way, she persuaded the jeweler to give up his word to the girl, because with a woman's instinct she guessed that the prince would not let such a lovely bait out of his hands.
Later a short time, the princess received a letter from the prince.

In it, he once again confirms that in the event of marrying the girl Masha, the jeweler Ivan Zakharov must give all his goods in favor of the prince, and recognize himself and his future children as serfs. In the form of a special favor, the prince left a dwelling and a jewelry workshop for the young. There they could live and work. But once a year, husband and wife are obliged to stay in the human room for a week in order to confirm their slave state.

Ivan was in despair. He could not even kidnap Masha, since the prince ordered the girl to be especially guarded, which was immediately done. The jeweler had only one thing to do - to complain to his customers about the cruelty of the prince and his unhappy love. As a result, this story began to be widely discussed in society. All, without exception, sided with the poor jeweler. This murmur even reached the king.

After listening to this sad story, the king first shed tears of pity, and then became angry with the prince. When he appeared before the eyes of the angry lord, he asked:
- Why are you a prince, do not want to listen to the voice Great love and do not follow mercy?
- Sovereign, judge for yourself! All the laws of the state are interconnected like links in a chain. It is worth one link to fall out, everything collapses. If my serf is taken against our will, then soon a rebellion may arise in the state. They will begin to refuse to pay duties to the treasury, and there it is not far that the crown will be removed from your head, sovereign!

The latter circumstance immediately cooled the royal anger, and he, waving his hand, released the prince.

Nevertheless, a visit to the palace was not in vain for the prince. He was an experienced dignitary, and decided from sin and royal anger to defuse the situation. As a result, the jeweler was allowed to see Masha, under strict supervision. The girl was brought, dressed in luxurious dresses, like a court lady. Lovers were only allowed to see each other and talk to each other. The supervision was so strict that the lovers could not even furtively exchange kisses.

The prince thus achieved his goal. Unable to endure this slow torture, the jeweler in love decided to sign all the necessary papers and contracts.
The rumor that the famous jeweler, for the sake of his beloved, decided to part with his fortune and enslave himself, becoming voluntarily the property of the prince, everyone wanted to look at him.

The ladies of the court began to crowd in the store, beautiful women, who took away jewelry without an account, just to have a longer talk with the jeweler. And if others could equal beauty with Mashenka, none of them possessed her kind heart.
On the eve of the final transition to slavery and love, the jeweler melted all the gold, made a crown out of it, without particularly trying, adapted everything to it. gems and took it to the queen.

Your Majesty! I do not know to whom to entrust my wealth, I give it to you. Tomorrow I will have nothing left of my own - everything will go to the prince. I know that you have expressed words of pity to me more than once. Therefore, show generosity, accept this crown. I dare to hope that if my children become free, and bad things happen to me, I hope for your generosity towards them.
- I accept the gift, you are my poor man! Sooner or later, the prince will need my help. Then, believe me, I will remember you.

The wedding of the jeweler, who deprived himself of his freedom for this, gathered a huge crowd. “You will always remain a noble person, in defiance of the prince!” - eminent citizens shouted to the groom.
Inspired by popular support, the newlyweds showed themselves worthy of each other in an intimate duel. Husband Ivan repeatedly won, and his beloved wife answered him in battle, as befits a healthy peasant girl.

This lasted for the entire first month, and the newlyweds, like doves, began to weave a cozy nest for themselves. Mashenka enjoyed an unprecedented bright and comfortable home. She transferred her light of love and comfort to the customers who crowded the store. The buyers carried away this light on themselves, enchanted by the young mistress.

At the end of the honeymoon, the unexpected happened. The prince entered the house that already belonged to him. Calling the jeweler and his wife, who had died from surprise, to him, the prince said:
- I brought you my good decision. I do not want to be a tyrant in the eyes of society, so I decided - you are free! This freedom will cost you nothing.

Ivan and his wife fell to their knees and wept for joy. The jeweler, with great honor and respect, escorted the prince's carriage through the whole city.

The events didn't end there. One fine day, the servant reported to the prince that the jeweler wanted to see him. Entering the prince's study, the jeweler placed a mahogany casket in front of him. The prince opened the chest and closed his eyes. In the casket lay a wonderful golden goblet, of marvelous shape. All of it was adorned with precious stones.

Remember, prince, on my first visit I promised to create this cup for you. I am keeping my promise. Accept it as a gift, for your kindness, in memory of the happiest married couple in the world.
When the jeweler left, the prince sat in his office for a long time, looking at the goblet. True love everyone should triumph!

(Based on "Perseverance in Love" by Honore de Balzac)

Nastenka and the barin.

Nastenka is a 13-year-old serf girl with hairs barely breaking through on her pubis, but already with developing breasts, whose nipples protrude seductively and seem to want to break through the fabric of a sundress.
Barin - big overweight man forty years. He has just arrived in one of his villages. Nastenka was sweeping in the passage when the master entered. He immediately bumped into her.
- Are you dangling under your feet? he shouted menacingly. But, seeing a fresh girl's face, breasts, small bare legs with chicks, the master decided to change his anger to mercy.
- What is your name?
- Nastenka.
- Tonight you will come to serve to wash. Prokhor! he called to the portly man who was cleaning his dress. “Bring this girl to me tonight.”
- Listen, sir. he replied.
In the evening, Prokhor pulled off his master's boots and suit. He gave me a nightgown.
- Prokhor, bring the girl here. Let the jug of water bring.
Nastenka entered with water.
- So, - said the master, - wash my feet. - Nastenka obediently sat down next to the bed and began to wash her master's feet.
“Now,” said the master, lying down on the bed, “scratch my heels.” - Nastenka obediently sat down at her feet and began to scratch her master's heels.
- All right, all right, - the master said, squinting with pleasure, - and now start sucking my toes. - Nastenka obediently began to lick the master's fingers. Thumb I didn’t want to fit in my mouth, and Nastenka had to open her mouth wider.
- Now come here. Closer, closer, - called the master. Nastenka timidly moved closer to him. The master already felt how his penis became imperiously and demanded affection. - Suck it, - the master put the horseradish out.
- No, you can’t, shame on the master, - Nastenka blushed.
- But I'll call Prokhor, he's already in the stable and will flog you. Want?
- No, you don’t need a master, - and Nastenka obediently began to lick his master ***.
The master pulled the girl to him and put his hand under her sundress. Russian girls don't wear underwear.
- Oh, sir, what are you doing? - Nastenka got excited.
- Shut up, fool, - said the master, put Nastenka on his back and leaning on her himself, began to poke his *** in search of an entrance. Finding it, he inserted it with such force that Nastenka burst into tears.
“It hurts, sir,” she whimpered.
- Shut up, fool! - the master repeated and became **** Nastenka with all the strength of his mighty organism. Nastenka plunged into a fucking drowsiness and practically passed out. Finally, the master sighed sharply, accelerated his movement and, leaning forward, threw such a charge of sperm into Nastenka that she seemed to fill her all.
- Well, everything. - said the barin. “Get up, you fool, go tell Prokhor to change the bed, otherwise it’s covered in blood.”
Nastenka ran away. She slept especially restlessly that night.

Everyone knows that serfdom existed in Russia. But what it really was - today almost no one knows.
The entire system of serfdom, the entire system of economic and domestic relations between the masters and the peasants and household servants were subordinated to the goal of providing the landowner and his family with the means for a comfortable and convenient life. Even concern for the morality of their slaves was dictated on the part of the nobility by the desire to protect themselves from any surprises that could disrupt the usual routine. Russian soul-owners could sincerely regret that the serfs could not be completely deprived of human feelings and turned into soulless and mute working machines.

In the era of serfdom, there were many cases when a noble wife or daughter, who was forcibly taken away from her husband, was also a concubine of a large landowner. E. Vodovozova accurately explains the reason for the very possibility of such a state of affairs in her notes. According to her, in Russia, the main and almost the only value was wealth - "everything was possible for the rich."

But it is obvious that if the wives of minor nobles were subjected to brutal violence from a more influential neighbor, the peasant girls and women were completely defenseless against the arbitrariness of the landowners. A.P. Zablotsky-Desyatovsky, who, on behalf of the Minister of State Property, collected detailed information about the situation of serfs, noted in his report:

“In general, reprehensible ties between landowners and their peasant women are not at all uncommon. Examples will show you in every province, in almost every county... The essence of all these cases is the same: debauchery combined with greater or lesser violence. The details are extremely varied. Another landowner makes him satisfy his bestial urges simply by the power of power, and seeing no limit, goes berserk, raping young children ... another comes to the village temporarily to have fun with his friends, and first waters the peasant women and then makes him satisfy his own bestial passions, and his friends ” .

The principle that justified the master's violence against serf women sounded like this:

"Must go, if a slave!"

Compulsion to debauchery was so widespread in the landowners' estates that some researchers were inclined to single out a separate duty from other peasant duties - a kind of "corvée for women".

The violence was systematically ordered. After finishing work in the field, the master's servant, from the trusted ones, goes to the court of one or another peasant, depending on the established "queue", and takes the girl - daughter or daughter-in-law, to the master for the night. Moreover, on the way he enters a neighboring hut and announces to the owner there:

“Tomorrow go winnow wheat, and send Arina (wife) to the master” ...

IN AND. Semevsky wrote that often the entire female population of some estate was forcibly corrupted to satisfy the master's lust. Some landlords, who did not live on their estates, but spent their lives abroad or in the capital, specially came to their possessions only for a short time for vile purposes. On the day of arrival, the manager had to provide the landlord full list all the peasant girls who had grown up during the absence of the master, and he took each of them for himself for several days:

"When the list was exhausted, he left for other villages, and came again the next year."

A.I. Koshelev wrote about his neighbor:

“The young landowner S. settled in the village of Smykovo, a passionate hunter for the female sex and especially for fresh girls. He otherwise did not allow the wedding, as by a personal actual test of the virtues of the bride. The parents of one girl did not agree to this condition. He ordered that both the girl and her parents be brought to him; chained the latter to the wall and raped their daughter in their presence. There was a lot of talk about this in the county, but the marshal of the nobility did not get out of his Olympian calmness, and the matter got away with it safely.

It is noteworthy that in the original author's version of the story "Dubrovsky", which was not allowed by the imperial censorship and is still little known, Pushkin wrote about the habits of his Kirill Petrovich Troekurov:

“A rare girl from the yard avoided the voluptuous attempts of a fifty-year old man. In addition, sixteen maids lived in one of the outbuildings of his house ... The windows to the outbuilding were barred, the doors were locked with locks, from which Kirill Petrovich kept the keys. Young hermits went to the garden at the appointed hours and walked under the supervision of two old women. From time to time, Kirilla Petrovich gave some of them in marriage, and new ones took their place ... "

Big and small Troekurovs inhabited noble estates, reveled, raped and hurried to satisfy any of their whims, not thinking in the least about those whose fates they broke. One of such innumerable types is the Ryazan landowner Prince Gagarin, about whom the leader of the nobility himself spoke in his report that the prince’s lifestyle consists “only in dog hunting, with which he, with his friends, travels day and night through the fields and forests and puts all his happiness and well-being in it. At the same time, the serfs of Gagarin were the poorest in the entire district, since the prince forced them to work on the master's arable land all days of the week, including holidays and even Holy Easter, but not transferring them to a month. But how from the cornucopia rained down on peasant backs Physical punishment, and the prince himself handed out blows with a whip, a whip, a rapnik or a fist - whatever.

Started Gagarin and his harem:

“There are two gypsies and seven girls in his house; the latter he corrupted without their consent, and lives with them; the first were obliged to teach the girls to dance and songs. When visiting guests, they form a choir and amuse those present. Prince Gagarin treats the girls just as cruelly as he treats others, often punishing them with a rapnik. Out of jealousy, so that they would not see anyone, he locks them in a special room; I once beat a girl for looking out the window.

About the mores of the landlords gives an idea and description of life in the estate of General Lev Izmailov.

Information about the unfortunate situation of the general's household was preserved thanks to the documents of the criminal investigation launched at the Izmailov estate after the cases of violence and debauchery that were somewhat unusual even for that time became known.

Izmailov arranged colossal drinking parties for the nobles of the entire district, to which peasant girls and women belonging to him were brought to entertain guests. The general's servants traveled around the villages and forcibly took women directly from their homes. Once, having started such a “game” in his village of Zhmurovo, it seemed to Izmailov that there weren’t enough “girls” brought in, and he sent carts for replenishment to the neighboring village. But the local peasants unexpectedly resisted - they did not give up their women and, moreover, in the dark they beat Izmailovsky "oprichnik" - Gusk.

The enraged general, not postponing revenge until the morning, at night, at the head of his yardmen and accustomers, flew into the rebellious village. Having scattered the peasant huts over the logs and setting a fire, the landowner went to a distant mowing, where he spent the night most of the population of the village. There, unsuspecting people were tied up and crossed.

Meeting guests at his estate, the general, in his own way understanding the duties of a hospitable host, would certainly provide everyone with a yard girl for “whimsical connections” at night, as the investigation materials delicately say. The most significant visitors to the general's house, on the orders of the landowner, were given over to molestation by very young girls of twelve or thirteen years.

The number of Izmailov's concubines was constant and, according to his whim, was always thirty, although the composition itself was constantly updated. Girls of 10-12 years old were often recruited into the harem and for some time grew up in front of the master. Subsequently, the fate of all of them was more or less the same - Lyubov Kamenskaya became a concubine at the age of 13, Akulina Gorokhova at 14, Avdotya Chernyshova at the 16th year.

One of the general's recluses, Afrosinya Khomyakova, taken into the master's house at the age of thirteen, told how two lackeys among white day they took her from the rooms where she served the daughters of Izmailov, and dragged her almost dragged to the general, holding her mouth and beating her along the way so that she would not resist. From that time on, the girl was Izmailov's concubine for several years. But when she dared to ask permission to see her relatives, she was punished for such “impudence” with fifty lashes.

Nymphodora Khoroshevskaya, or, as Izmailov called her, Nymph, he corrupted when she was less than 14 years old. Moreover, being angry for something, he subjected the girl to a number of cruel punishments:

“First, they flogged her with a whip, then with a rapnik, and in the course of two days they flogged her seven times. After these punishments, she was still in the locked harem of the estate for three months, and during all this time she was the master's concubine ... "

Finally, half of her head was shaved and she was sent to a potash factory, where she spent seven years in hard labor.

But the investigators found out the completely shocking circumstance that Nymphodora was born at a time when her mother herself was a concubine and was kept locked up in the general's harem. Thus, this unfortunate girl also turns out to be Izmailov's illegitimate daughter! And her brother, also the illegitimate son of a general, Lev Khoroshevsky, served in the "Cossack women" in the master's household.

How many children Izmailov actually had has not been established. Some of them, immediately after birth, were lost among the faceless domestics. In other cases, a woman pregnant by a landowner was given in marriage to some peasant.

On the picture: To maintain their reputation at the proper level, every strong landowner acquired a harem with a decent amount of his own "serales"

EVGENY ZHIRNOV, Kommersant

Case of the record-breaking rapist

To maintain his reputation at the proper level, every strong landowner acquired a harem with a decent amount of his own "serales"

More than 500 women and girls were raped by the nobleman Viktor Strashinsky from the Kyiv province. Moreover, many of his victims were not his own serfs, the pleasures with which, before the liberation of the peasants, were considered almost the natural right of the owner of serf souls. Four court cases were initiated against Strashinsky, but the investigation dragged on for an unprecedentedly long time even for the extremely slow Russian justice system. Almost 25 years passed from the first charges to the verdict. And the measure of punishment chosen by Emperor Alexander II the Liberator astounded a significant part of Russian society.

nature fun

In 1845, the rector of the church in the village of Mshantse, Kyiv province, Yashchinsky, told the head of the local police, the district police officer, that his flock was dissatisfied and grumbled. Moreover, he has every reason for this, since the father of the owner of the estate, Mikhalina Strashinskaya, Viktor, constantly demands that peasant girls and wives be sent to his estate, the village of Tkhorovka, for carnal pleasures, and if the sending is delayed for some reason, he comes to Mshants himself and rapes women , girls, even youngsters.

If there was something strange in this story, it was only that Strashinsky used his daughter's serfs for his own pleasure: in society they looked askance at those who abuse other people's property. However, they did not find anything strange in exactly how the landowner treated the peasant women, since a rare wealthy landowner in the 18th and early 19th centuries did not use his position to satisfy love passions. Memoirists claimed that in the villages of "Peter the Great's arap" - Abram Petrovich Hannibal - there were quite a few very swarthy and curly-haired serfs in African style. Almost every noble owner of souls considered it a duty to have his own harem of two or three dozen serf beauties. For example, they wrote about the State Chancellor, His Serene Highness Prince A. A. Bezborodko, that he shunned secular society and ladies because "the real" novel "of his life was a harem, always replete with concubines and often updated."

And some landowners, carried away by the harem, forgot not only about society, but also about any other business, estates and family. Pushkin's friend A. N. Wulf wrote about his uncle Ivan Ivanovich Wulf:

“Having married very early on a rich and pretty girl, he ruined his estate for several years in St. Petersburg. Having settled in the village, he left his wife and started a harem of serf girls, in which he lived with a dozen children, leaving care of his lawful wife. completely sensual, incapable of anything else."

The Decembrists, fighters for the happiness of the people, were no exception to the rule. For example, in a certificate on the case of December 14, 1825, O. Yu. Gorsky, a participant in the uprising, said:

“At first he supported several (exactly three) peasant women, bought by him in the Podolsk province. With this seraglio, he lived three years ago in the house of Varvarin. Vile depravity and bad treatment forced the unfortunate girls to flee from him and seek protection from the government, but the matter hushed up at Count Miloradovich's."

The whole difference between the owners of seraglios was how exactly they treated those for whom, in that era, the almost official name "seralkes" appeared. For example, about the landowner P. A. Koshkarev, the 19th century chronicler N. Dubrovin wrote:

"Ten or twelve of the most beautiful girls occupied almost half of his house and were intended only for the service of the master (he was 70 years old). They stood on duty at the bedroom door and slept in the same room with Koshkarev; several girls were specially assigned to serve the guests. "

However, unlike the "serals" of other owners, the girls in Koshkarev's house were kept in very decent conditions. Y. M. Neverov, who lived with Koshkarev as a child, recalled them:

"In general, the girls were all very developed: they were beautifully dressed and received - like the male servants - a monthly salary and cash gifts for the holidays. All dressed, of course, not in national, but in pan-European dress."

excessive infatuation

In the first quarter of the 19th century, Lieutenant General Lev Dmitrievich Izmailov became widely known in the country. He became famous both for his exploits for the glory of the Fatherland, spending a huge amount of money, a million rubles, on arming the Ryazan provincial militia in 1812, and for his tyranny and numerous antics, the fame of which diverged throughout the empire. They talked a lot, and then they remembered the harem of General Izmailov. However, the details that terrified contemporaries and descendants became clear in 1828 after the completion of the investigation appointed on the complaint of Izmailov's peasants.

The beginning and course of this case are no less interesting than the details revealed in the course of it. It began with the fact that the general's chargé d'affaires, his lawyer Fedorov, decided to earn extra money on his own trustee and persuaded his peasants to write a complaint about Izmailov's numerous atrocities and abuses. The lawyer rightly hoped that during the investigation, which could not do without bribes to judges and other officials, he would be able to make good money. And the case, given the influence, age and past merits of the general, will still be closed.

At first, everything went according to plan. In court, the testimony of the peasants was not completely recorded or distorted and, under pain of punishment, was forced to sign. Izmailov regularly gave, and Fedorov, not forgetting his own interests, handed over bribes, so that in the end the peasants were going to be sentenced to exile in Siberia for rebellion and slandering the landowner.

However, at the same time, senators Ogarev and Saltykov arrived in the Ryazan province with an inspection, who not only knew, but also did not like Izmailov. The peasants were immediately released from prison and sent home, and a real investigation began on Izmailov's estates. In addition to other serfs, Izmailov was also interrogated by the inhabitants of his harem. Moreover, their testimony turned out to be such that the biographer of Izmailov, S. T. Slovutinsky, who was well acquainted with the case, cited many of them allegorically or even preferred to omit them:

"Day and night, they were all locked up. Bars were inserted into the windows of their rooms. These unfortunate girls were released from this chamber of theirs, or, rather, from their permanent prison, only for a short walk in the manor's garden or for a trip to tightly closed They were not allowed to meet with their closest relatives, not only brothers and sisters, but even their parents. Many of these girls - there were only thirty of them, but this number, like a permanent set, never changed, although the faces that made it up changed very often - entered the manor house from the very childhood, one must think, because they promised to be in their time, beauties. Almost all of them in the sixteenth year and even earlier fell into the lord's concubines - always secretly, and often through violence.

Slovutinsky described many cases when Izmailov raped young girls and granted the same right to his guests:

“From the testimony it turns out that General Izmailov was also hospitable in his own way: girls were always taken to his guests for the night, and for the guests of significant or the first time they arrived, innocent people were chosen, even if they were only twelve years old ... So, the soldier Mavra Feofanova tells that in the thirteenth year of her life she was taken by force from the house of her father, a peasant, and she was corrupted by Izmailov's guest, Stepan Fedorovich Kozlov. with a stick."

But all this could not be compared with what Izmailov did with his own daughter, adopted from the "seral":

“Nimfodora Fritonova Khoroshevskaya (Nymph, as the courtyard people called her in their testimony, probably following the example of the master) was born while her mother was kept locked up in the manor’s house, behind bars ... Izmailov corrupted her fourteen years old. She At the same time, she reminded him that she was baptized by his mother; his terribly cynical, vile objection to the Nymph cannot be brought here ... On the same day, the Nymph was again called into the master's bedroom. Izmailov began to interrogate her: who is to blame for the fact that he did not find her a virgin The details of the poor girl's explanations about her innocence, about what the master himself did with her when she was still a child of eight or nine years old (all this is set out in detail in the testimony of Nimfodora Khoroshevskaya, given to the last investigators), are too outrageous to be transmitted in the press. .. The interrogation of the lord did not end well for the serf Nymph: first they flogged her with a whip, then with a rapnik, and in the course of two days they flogged her seven times.After these punishments, she remained for three months in the locked harem of the Khitrovshchina estate and all this time was the master's concubine. Finally, he became jealous of her pastry chef. This confectioner was immediately handed over to the soldiers, and the Nymph, after being punished with whips in the living room, spent three days on a wall chain in the prisoner's room. Then she was exiled to a potash factory, to hard work, where she stayed for exactly seven years. On the third day, her head was shaved as a result of her exile to the factory. A few months later she got into a slingshot because the potash came out little; She wore this slingshot for three weeks. She was transferred from the potash factory to a cloth factory, and at the same time Izmailov ordered her to marry a simple peasant; but the Nymph did not agree - and for that three days she was chained. Finally, she was exiled from the cloth factory to the village of Kudasheva, where, of course, she had to take some rest from her hard labor at Izmailov's.

It would seem that after such facts were discovered and confirmed, General Izmailov could not avoid heavy punishment. In addition, the use of torture, which had been banned by that time, was added to the accusations of child molestation. And besides, Izmailov was accused of another serious crime - he did not allow the peasants to go to confession, so that information about his pleasures and atrocities did not reach the spiritual authorities.

However, despite all this, the Senate was extremely merciful to Izmailov. His decision stated:

“As Izmailov’s estate has already been taken under guardianship and he himself, in the manner of his treatment of his people, cannot be admitted to the management of that estate, then leave it in guardianship; and although it would be inappropriate for Izmailov to stay on his estate, but since he, out of respect for his serious illness, was left in his present place of residence, then allow him to stay there until he recovers.

After such a precedent court decision, the emergence of a case against Viktor Strashinsky already looked completely strange. And his investigation is absolutely hopeless.

Longest consideration

At first, however, the investigation was quite successful.

“During the interrogations on September 12, 1846,” the description of the case said, “they showed: the centurion of the village of Mshantsa Pavel Krivshun, without an oath, that the landowner Strashinsky either requires peasant girls to visit him in the village of Tkhorovka, or comes himself to the village of Mshants and The peasant girls pointed out by the centurion testified that they were corrupted by Strashinsky, that Esaul Ganakh, the girl Desyatnikova, the woman Martsinikh and the laundress Leschukova brought them to him, and that they complained about this to their parents. The peasant Esaul Ganakh explained that he really led to Strashinsky, the girls whom he demanded, but whether the landowner raped them or not, he does not know about it and did not hear from them themselves.

But then the investigation began to slip:

“The mentioned women of Desyatnikov, Leschukov and Martsenikh showed that they never brought girls to Strashinsky. The fathers and mothers of the said girls (with the exception of only one Vakumova) all rejected the reference to them of their daughters, explaining that the latter had never complained to them about rape. At face-to-face confrontations, 10 girls exposed by the centurion Krivshun and 6 others, who also slandered Strashinsky in rape, retracted their previous testimony and during interrogations confirmed that he had never corrupted them, but they showed that before in order to get rid of the demand to another estate for home services.

It looked even worse that the priest Yashchinsky, who had started the case, began to refuse his accusations:

“Priest Yashchinsky testified that no decisive information had reached him about Strashinsky’s rape of the girls, but that he saw the crying of fathers and mothers when their children were taken to the village of Tkhorovka, as some said, for rape, and others for services.”

Other witnesses also did not confirm the rape data:

“12 people of neighboring peasants testified under oath that they had not heard anything plausible about Strashinsky’s corruption and rape of girls, but that the crying of parents and children came from taking peasant women into yard service. they know him from the best side, and four that, due to the lack of any connections with him, they know nothing about his way of life.

After that, Strashinsky, who had evaded interrogations since the beginning of the investigation, went on the offensive:

"The landowner Strashinsky, who did not appear at the investigation under the pretext of illness of his and his daughter and was finally sent by order of the authorities with a police official on December 20, 1846, showed: 1) that the village of Mshants does not belong to him, but to his daughter Mikhalina, who owned he has been on patrimonial right for 6 years before the start of this investigation; 2) that the crimes attributed to him are unusual neither for his rank as a nobleman, nor for his 65-year old age, nor, finally, for his disordered health; 3) that these accusations are based on malice and slander of the priest of the village of Mshants and Sotsky Krivshun, and that the peasants were carried away by the idea of ​​freedom from serfdom, if the accusations leveled against him, Strashinsky, were justified; 4) that the peasants of the village of Mshants, not belonging to him, Strashinsky , could not remain silent about his crimes, if they really were committed by him.

In fact, the case could be closed for lack of evidence of a crime. However, in 1845, in another district and on another estate of Strashinsky, exactly the same case arose.

“The investigation,” said the same description of the case, “about Strashinsky’s rape of peasant girls in the village of Kumanovka was also launched in 1845 on the basis of a report from the senior assessor of the Makhnovo Zemstvo Court, Pavlov, to the local police chief. In the report, the assessor explained that the peasants from the village of Kumanovka , which is in the traditional possession of Strashinsky, are immeasurably burdened with corvee and that he raped the daughters of two local peasants Yermolai and Vasily.

But the police were unable to bring witnesses for questioning:

"The police officer instructed the police officer's assistant to present these girls with their parents to the zemstvo court, but the assistant told the police officer that Strashinsky had not betrayed these people. The police officer instructed the police officer to find out about this on the spot."

The results of the preliminary inquiry amazed the police officer:

“Having received a report that Strashinsky did not leave a single girl chaste on the Kumanovka estate, he presented this to the head of the province. their peasants and burdening them with corvee, and about the rape of peasant daughters.

However, the history of the previous case repeated itself. Frightened by the landlord, the peasant women, one after another, refused to admit not only the fact of rape, but also the very acquaintance with Strashinsky. And he, in turn, began to prove that it was not he who managed Kumanovka, but the housekeeper, and he himself almost never happens on this estate.

However, the story of mass rapes has already seriously interested the provincial authorities, and in Kyiv they very carefully got acquainted with the results of the second investigation:

“Having examined this investigation, the head of the Kyiv province found that it was carried out without any attention and with the apparent intention of exonerating Strashinsky ... The investigation was ordered to be carried out by the Vasilkovsky district marshal of the nobility together with the captain of the gendarme corps ... Asked in the absence of Strashinsky, the girls who acquitted him during the investigation, they now showed that he really raped them. Their parents, who also acquitted Strashinsky during the investigation, during the re-investigation confirmed the testimony of their daughters that he had raped them. The husbands of the aforementioned peasant women similarly renounced their previous testimony that justified Strashinsky, and explained that during their marriage they found their wives deprived of virginity, according to their explanation, by Strashinsky himself. New witnesses testified under oath that they had heard that the landowner Strashinsky, arriving in Kumanovka, ordered that girls be brought to him and had carnal intercourse with them.

Strashinsky explained the new testimonies by the intrigues of his enemies and the rebellious intentions of the peasants. But no one listened to him, since the provincial authorities decided to establish the authenticity of the accusations and sent investigators to the village where the landowner lived permanently, to Tkhorovka. And so that Strashinsky did not interfere with interrogations, he was sent to Berdichev under police supervision. As a result, the investigators got what they were counting on - frank testimony of victims and witnesses:

"During the investigation, it was discovered that the village of Tkhorovka belonged to Strashinsky's wife, and in 1848 it was transferred, according to a separate record, to their son Genrikh Strashinsky. The peasants of the village of Tkhorovka, among 99, unanimously explained that Strashinsky oppressed them with duties, treated them cruelly , lived fornication with their wives, deprived of innocence of girls, of whom two (Fedosya and Vasilina) even died from rape, and that he corrupted, among other things, two girls Palageya and Anna, who were adopted by him with the woman Prisyazhnyukova. Wives and daughters of indicators, in including 86 people, explained for their part that they really were forcibly corrupted by Strashinsky, some at the age of 14, and others upon reaching only 13 or even 12 years old ... Many explained that Strashinsky continued to communicate with them even after their release married, and some showed that he forced them to be present when he copulated with others.

There were confirmations and accusations in the death of girls:

“The girls died after the violent corruption of them by the landowner Strashinsky: Fedosya within one day, and Vasilina after a few days, that this is known to the whole society ... The wife of the peasant Soloshnik, in whom Fedosya was in the service, and Vasilina’s aunt, the peasant Gorenchukova, explained that the aforementioned girls died from a strong bleeding after being forcibly molested by Strashinsky.

The landowner defended himself as best he could. He presented a medical certificate stating that he suffers from chronic rheumatism, and therefore he could not have committed the acts attributed to him. His wife filed a petition stating that in fifty years of marriage, her husband had never once given her cause for jealousy. And besides, he perfectly manages all the family estates for 47 years.

The Mildest Punishment

However, the investigators did not waste time and discovered that the aforementioned mistress of Strashinsky, the peasant woman Prisyazhnyukova, came to him after escaping from the former master, Lieutenant Colonel Solovkov. And Strashinsky went on perjury in order to keep her. In the eyes of the noble society, such a crime looked almost worse than rape. In addition, the archive of the court found a case of 1832 that did not end with a verdict, according to which peasant women from the village of Mshants accused him of rape. So the number of his victims over 47 years of managing villages could not be less than 500. In addition, a medical examination of peasant women was carried out, which confirmed the accusations.

The case went through the courts for a long time and reached the highest, the Senate, only in 1857, a quarter of a century after the first accusations. The opinions of the senators on the choice of punishment were diametrically opposed, and as a result of the discussions, three opinions were formed, submitted for approval to the emperor.

According to the first opinion, the sentence should have looked like this:

“Depriving Strashinsky of all special rights and privileges personally and as appropriated by his state, send him to live in the Tobolsk province. On the subject of forcible corruption of his young peasant girls and forcing peasant women who have reached the age of 14 to commit fornication with him, leave Strashinsky in strong suspicion.”

According to the second opinion, Strashinsky should have been found guilty on all counts:

“Viktor Strashinsky is guilty not only of ill-treatment of peasants, of placing a fugitive peasant woman Kislichkova and of forgery to marry her to a peasant Prisyazhnyuk belonging to him, but also of rape, combined with corruption, of peasant girls who have reached and have not reached 14 years of age. The following circumstances convince us of this: 1) more than 100 peasants and peasant women in the villages of Tkhorovka, Mshanets and Kumanovka accuse Strashinsky of rape, and it is difficult to imagine a strike in such a mass of people; 2) their testimony becomes all the more reliable because the peasants belong not only to various villages, but live in different districts, gave answers not at the same time and to different investigators; 3) all the peasant women explained the details of the rape, pointed to the persons who brought them to Strashinsky, some of them told their parents about it, and many told about the preparation them to fornication, which, constituting refined debauchery, cannot be invented; 4) persons who girls were brought to Strashinsky, and the parents confirmed the reference made to them; 5) the husbands of the raped also responded that their wives married them already corrupted, as they confessed, by the landowner Strashinsky; 6) third-party peasants of the villages of Mshanets and Kumanovka and neighboring villages testified under oath that they had heard about the rape of their girls and married women by Strashinsky; 7) a medical certificate certifies the rape of 13 girls who were already from 14 to 18 years old, and although it does not serve as proof that the crime was committed precisely by Strashinsky, he could not provide any justification that would deserve respect, and in general in the case no persons were found who could be suspected of molestation; 8) the behavior of peasant women is approved; 9) Strashinsky was sued already in 1832 for the rape of peasant girls in the village of Mshanets. All these pieces of evidence, taken together, exclude the possibility of being perplexed about the guilt of the defendant and constitute perfect evidence against him. For the rape of girls under the age of 14, as for the gravest crime committed by Strashinsky, he would be subject to deprivation of all rights of property and exile to hard labor in fortresses for a period of 10 to 12 years; but bearing in mind that he is now 72 years old, it should be depriving Strashinsky of all the rights of the state to exile him to a settlement in the most remote places of Siberia.

The third opinion offered an exceptionally lenient sentence:

"1) The defendant Viktor Strashinsky (72 years old) should be left in suspicion on the subject of corruption of peasant girls. 2) Order the Governor-General of Kyiv, Podolsk and Volyn to make an order to withdraw from the possession of Strashinsky the inhabited estates belonging to him personally on serfdom, if any would be in 3) To return to Lieutenant Colonel Solovkov his fugitive woman, married to Prisyazhnyuk, together with her husband and children adopted from her ... "

By that time, preparations had already begun for the abolition of serfdom, which caused acute discontent among the nobility. And Alexander II, perhaps, did not want to create a new pretext for disputes and conflicts. It is also possible that the emperor, who himself loved young girls, sympathized with Strashinsky's passion. Be that as it may, he supported the third opinion. So the record-breaking rapist essentially escaped any punishment.

In hospitable houses, important guests were offered shelter, a table and a bed with a serf girl to choose from.

The Strashinsky case turned out to be a record not only in terms of the number of victims, but also because it reached consideration in the Senate only after 25 years.