«TO ONE EPISODE FROM THE LIFE OF "MAYOR" KOVALEV. PUSHKIN AND GOGOL ON THE PAGES OF THE JOURNAL «SOVREMENNIK» (1836 г.)

The article traces how the Caucasus theme develops on the pages of the St. Petersburg journal Sovremennik; in particular, we discuss the features of public service on the outskirts of the Empire. The purpose of the article is to study the works of Russian literary classics to identify the motives, defined by the so-called "Decree on examinations" (1809), which established the foundations of promotion in ranks in civilian institutions. The study is based on the material of travel notes “Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829” by A.S. Pushkin and the story "The Nose" by N.V. Gogol, published respectively in the first and third volumes of Sovremennik. It is noted that in “Journey to Arzrum” Pushkin focuses on the attractiveness of the service in the Caucasus for titular counselors, who saw it as an opportunity to obtain “the so coveted” Class-VIII rank (collegiate assessor) without passing examination tests. This fragment of "Journey..." refers to the satirical poem by A.N. Nakhimov "Elegy" (1809), which indicates Pushkin's hostility towards the universal pursuit of ranks. N.V. Gogol in his fantastic constructions also takes into account the effect of the aforementioned “Decree on examinations”. Thus, the “major” Kovalev from the story “The Nose” is called the “Caucasian collegiate assessor”, which for an initiate reader signals that the protagonist has been accepted into a unified official body, where the significance of a personality is determined by their place on the corporate ladder, where getting the rank becomes the meaning of life, and affinity is understood not as a natural property, but as a state phenomenon. The study stresses the fact that A.S. Pushkin, just like N.M. Karamzin before him, advocated the abolition of exams for ranks. We conclude that in Pushkin’s Sovremennik the image of the Caucasus loses the romantic aura traditional for the “golden age” and is viewed in a social context, filled with meanings that are more complex. Thus, the article offers an original research direction of Pushkin's Sovremennik, revealing its previously unexplored features.

A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.N. Nakhimov, Caucasus, Table of Ranks, Decree on Examinations, Promotion in Ranks