Analysis of the legend about Kudeyar, who lives well in Rus'. “About two great sinners”

Legendary Kudeyar

Stories about the robber Kudeyar were widespread in legends in all the southern and central provinces of Russia - from Smolensk to Saratov. The years of his life are said to be very ancient, presumably before the Time of Troubles. He put together a gang with which he robbed rich convoys. The names of many small geographical locations in Rus' (Kudeyarovka fortress, mountain, forest, Kudeyarovka village) are associated with his name.

There lived twelve robbers, Lived Kudeyar - the chieftain. Many robbers have shed the blood of honest Christians.

Legends of the Tula region say that he is from these places, the former Belevsky district.

According to a widespread legend, Kudeyar is the son of Vasily III and his wife Solomonia Saburova, born after she was exiled to a monastery for infertility (see). Thus, he turns out to be the elder brother of Ivan the Terrible and his real name is Prince Georgy Vasilievich.

Volga landscape

Very often there are stories about numerous treasures hidden by a robber, which were actively sought in the 19th century. based on forged letters and inventories. There are about a hundred such Kudeyarov towns, where, according to legend, the robbers' treasures are buried, there are about a hundred known in Southern Russia. Especially many of these places were located within the Voronezh province.

Among Kudeyar's associates are the robber Anna, Boldyrya and his cursed daughter Lyubasha (her ghost appeared not far from the Optina Pustyn).

His grave is placed not far from Tula behind Kosaya Gora or in one of the mounds in the Saratov province (according to Volga legends).

Identification of Kudeyar

One version says that it could be Kudeyar Tishenkov(XVI century) - son of a boyar, originally from the city of Belev. Contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, traitor. In May, he showed the hordes of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray the route to Moscow. Retreating along with the Crimean Tatars, he left the Moscow state and remained in Crimea. Then it is mentioned in the letters of the captive Vasily Gryazny from Crimea to the Tsar. After some time, Tishenkov turns to Ivan IV with a request for pardon and permission to return to Moscow. Permission was given. Further traces of the historical Kudeyar Tishenkov are lost. There is no evidence that the robber Kudeyar, who lived around the same era and, as they say, also came from Belev, and Tishenkov are one and the same person. The fact that Kudeyar belonged to their family was also told in the Kursk Markov family.
Since the area of distribution of legends is very wide, researchers propose a version according to which the name Kudeyar could become a household name, and it was used by several atamans.
It is also mentioned that the word “kudeyar” could be the name of the Turkic position of tax collector.
“Kudeyar” was found as a proper name in the Voronezh, Tambov, Saratov, Kharkov, Kursk, Oryol, Tula, and Kaluga provinces. This is where the surname came from Kudeyarov.

The origin of the name of the famous Petushki is associated with the fact that the Kudeyar robbers, robbing rich convoys, warned of their appearance by the crow of a cock.

Image in art

In Russian art of the 19th century.

N. Kostomarov’s novel “Kudeyar” is a historical novel full of adventures and reconstructions. In particular, from there comes the following story, that during one of the Tatar raids, the son of Solomonia Saburova was captured. Elena Glinskaya refused to ransom him in order to provoke the Tatars to murder - another heir was not needed. But the Tatars did not kill Yuri (George), but gave him another name - Kudeyar. He grew up, gathered a squad and decided to take revenge on his brother.
Ionushka’s story “About two great sinners” in Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” : tells that in old age Kudeyar became a monk in order to atone for his sins. He was told to saw through the oak tree with a knife, and then they would be released. He spent years and years on this. But somehow a Polish nobleman began to brag to him about how he killed and tortured his slaves. The old man could not stand it and thrust a knife into the master’s heart - and at that moment the oak tree collapsed on its own.
The song “12 Thieves” was written based on Nekrasov’s poems, which was included, in particular, in Chaliapin’s repertoire.
legend by A. Navrotsky “Kudeyar’s Last Love”

Comparison of Uncle Grunya with the robber Kudeyar in the story “Grunya” by A. I. Kuprin
V. Bakhrevsky. "Ataman's treasure." Historical story about Kudeyar.
Yu. Alexandrov. "Kudeyarov Stan".
B. Shiryaev. "Kudeyarov oak".

In modern popular culture

“Kudeyar” is a series of novels by Maria Semyonova, in which the main character, a modern colonel, bears this nickname.
Kudeyar Kudeyarych- character in the story “He” by Tatyana Tolstoy (“Kys”)
The robber Kudeyar is mentioned as a comparison in Akunin’s novels from the “Pelageya” series.
The nickname of one of the characters in A. Bushkov’s novel “Indecent Dance”.

Footnotes

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See what “Robber Kudeyar” is in other dictionaries:

- “Kudeyar”, drawing by A. Nozhkin Kudeyar (Turkic “beloved by God”) is a legendary robber, a character in Russian folklore (from the 16th century). Contents 1 Legendary Kudeyar 1.1 Identification of Kudeyar ... Wikipedia

- “Kudeyar”, drawing by A. Nozhkin Kudeyar (Turkic Persian Xudāyār “beloved by God”) according to the legendary version, the brother of Ivan the Terrible or the son of Zsigmond Bathory ... Wikipedia

Zsigmond Bathory ... Wikipedia

Genre: poem

Village Old Burasy Country RussiaRussia ... Wikipedia

Vladislav Bakhrevsky Birth name: Vladislav Anatolyevich Bakhrevsky Date of birth: August 15, 1936 (1936 08 15) (76 years old) Place of birth: Voronezh Citizenship ... Wikipedia

For almost five centuries now, in villages scattered along the banks of the Don and Voronezh, people have been talking about the legendary robber Kudeyar and his countless treasures buried in the ground or hidden in caves. Legends are made about him, songs are sung about him:

There lived twelve robbers
There lived Kudeyar-ataman.
The robbers shed a lot
The blood of honest Christians.

However, what kind of person the famous chieftain was, the people did not remember firmly. In some legends he appears as a robber; in others - a disgraced boyar hiding from the wrath of the formidable king; thirdly, an impostor posing as a royal relative, or even the brother of Ivan the Terrible.

According to documents of the 16th century, the nobleman Kudeyar Prokofievich Tishenkov is known - a traitor who in 1571 helped the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey secretly bypass the Russian outposts near the Oka and burn Moscow. Vasily Gryaznoy, a close associate of the Tsar, wrote about him from Crimean captivity in 1574, that all the traitors were dispersed and only “one dog remained - Kudeyar.” Perhaps it was his robber exploits that formed the basis of numerous legends about Kudeyar.

It’s hard to say what happened to him later. One story recorded by ethnographers claims that the authorities were never able to catch Kudeyar: “Where and where Kudeyar did not rob! And in Kaluga, and in Tula, and to Ryazan, and to Yelets, and to Voronezh, and to Smolensk - everywhere he set up his camps and buried many treasures in the ground, but all with curses: he was a terrible sorcerer. And what vile power he possessed: he would spread his sheepskin coat on the bank of the river and go to bed; sleeps with one eye, watches with the other to see if there is a chase; the right eye has fallen asleep - the left one is watching, and there - the left one is sleeping, the right one is watching; and when he sees the detectives, he jumps to his feet, throws the sheepskin coat he was sleeping on into the water, and that sheepskin coat becomes a boat with oars; Kudeyar gets into that boat - remember what his name was... And he died his own death - they couldn’t catch him, no matter how hard they tried.”

Legends, ghypotheses and facts

The Turkic name Kudeyar is derived from the Persian Khudoyar - “beloved by God.” Karamzin mentions the Crimean Murza Kudoyar, who in 1509 treated the Russian ambassador Morozov rudely, calling him a “servant.” The Crimean and Astrakhan ambassadors are known with the same name. In the 16th century, the name Kudeyar was already common in Rus'; it was borne by such famous historical figures as Prince Meshchersky and Ambassador Mudyurinov. “Kudeyar” was found as a proper name in the Voronezh, Tambov, Saratov, Kharkov, Kursk, Oryol, Tula, and Kaluga provinces. The surname Kudeyarov came from him.

According to legends recorded in the Saratov and Voronezh provinces, Kudeyar was a baskak - the khan's tax collector, a man of enormous stature. Having plundered the villages near Moscow, he returned to the Horde with great wealth, but on the way he decided to hide the tribute he had taken from the khan and settled in the Voronezh lands, where he began to engage in robbery. Here he married a Russian girl - a rare beauty, whom he took away by force.

According to legend, recorded in the village of Lokh in 1919, Kudeyar was of the royal family and was the younger brother of Ivan the Terrible. The king allegedly heard from someone that his own brother, when he grew up, would deprive him of the throne, so he decided to kill the child. But his servants Sim and Ivan disobeyed the royal order and, together with the prince, fled to the Turkish Sultan. Here the brother of Ivan the Terrible was named Kudeyar and converted to Islam.
According to another version, Kudeyar is the son of Solomonia, the first wife of Vasily III, the father of Ivan the Terrible. She was forced into a monastery under the name of Sophia, so that Vasily III could marry Elena Glinskaya. Solomonia gave birth to Kudeyar in a monastery, he was taken to the Kerzhensky forests and secretly raised in forest hermitages.

According to another widespread legend, Kudeyar is the son of Zsigmont Botory, born before his uncle, Stefan Batory, became the Polish king. Having quarreled with his father, Zhigmont fled to the Cossacks on the Dnieper. Then he went into the service of Ivan the Terrible under the name of Prince Gabor-George Sigismundovich. He was a guardsman, but after the tsar’s disgrace he fled and became a bandit, having a camp near the village of Bozhedarovka, modern Shchorsk.

In Ryazan and some areas of the Voronezh province they said that Kudeyar was a disgraced guardsman who stole livestock from local residents, robbed and killed Moscow merchants. In the Sevsky district of the Oryol province, Kudeyar was generally considered not a person, but an unclean spirit - a “storekeeper” who guards enchanted treasures.

The name of Kudeyar is associated with the names of many small geographical locations. About a hundred Kudeyarov towns, where, according to legend, the robbers' treasures are buried, are known in Southern Russia. A secluded place called Kudeyarov Log was pointed out in Zadonsk district. In the Lipetsk region, on the Don, opposite the village of Dolgoye, rises a mountain called Cherny Yar, or Gorodok. On it lies a very large stone of a bluish color. According to legend, the Kudeyarov fortress was located here.
In the Bryansk forests they named places where treasures buried by Kudeyar were hidden. They said that lights flash over the stones covering these treasures, and twice a week at 12 o'clock the plaintive cry of a child is heard.

Among Kudeyar's associates are the robber Anna and Boldyr. They say that Kudeyar hid with them in the Don forests, robbing caravans of merchants traveling down the Don. The Don Cossacks took up arms against Kudeyar. First they defeated the stakes of Boldyr and Anna, then they reached Kudeyar’s refuge. His fortress could not be taken either by attack or by siege. Then the Cossacks surrounded it with brushwood and set it on fire from all sides. Kudeyar buried all his treasures in the ground, placed his favorite horse over them, turning it into stone so that it would not burn, and he himself fled into the forest. But the Cossacks chased him, captured him, shackled him and threw him from Black Yar to the Don.

Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” includes Ionushka’s story “About Two Great Sinners,” which says that in old age Kudeyar became a monk in order to atone for his sins. He was ordered to saw through the oak tree with a knife, and then they would be released. He spent many years on this. But somehow a Polish nobleman began to brag to him about how he killed and tortured his slaves. The old man could not stand it and thrust a knife into the master’s heart - and at that moment the oak tree collapsed on its own.
The song “12 Thieves” was written based on Nekrasov’s poems, which was included, in particular, in Chaliapin’s repertoire.

However, what kind of person the famous chieftain was, the people did not remember firmly. In some legends he appears as a robber; in others - a disgraced boyar hiding from the wrath of the formidable king; thirdly, an impostor posing as a royal relative, or even the brother of Ivan the Terrible.

According to documents of the 16th century, the nobleman Kudeyar Prokofievich Tishenkov is known - a traitor who in 1571 helped the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey secretly bypass the Russian outposts near the Oka and burn Moscow. In 1574, Vasily Gryaznoy, a close associate of the Tsar, wrote about him from Crimean captivity that all the traitors were dispersed and only “one dog remained - Kudeyar.” Perhaps it was his robber exploits that formed the basis of numerous legends about Kudeyar.

Legends, hypotheses, and facts

In the Bryansk forests they named places where treasures buried by Kudeyar were hidden. They said that lights flash over the stones covering these treasures, and twice a week at 12 o'clock the plaintive cry of a child is heard.

The song “12 Thieves” was written based on Nekrasov’s poems, which was included, in particular, in Chaliapin’s repertoire.

http://sergeytsvetkov.livejournal.com/521837.html#comments

A rather popular character in the history of Slavic folklore was Ataman Kudeyar. Legends about him are known in many regions of both central and southern Russia. This article will examine in more detail some fairly well-known references in history, legends and literature to this chieftain.

Origin of the name Kudeyar

No one can name the exact dates of the life of Ataman Kudeyar, but it is generally accepted that he lived in the sixteenth century. There are many opinions regarding the origin of the Persian name Khudoyar, which means “beloved by God,” or Kudeyar; most often it is attributed to Tatar origin. In western and central Russia this name had a different meaning - the most powerful wizard.

For a long time, the proper name Kudeyar was found in many provinces, such as Voronezh, Kharkov, Tula, Kaluga and many others. Later, the surname Kudeyarov began to gain popularity.

The name of Ataman Kudeyar is found not only in legends. You can give examples of his mention in history:

In the family of noble Markovs, originally from Kursk, there was Kildeyar Ivanovich, who was abbreviated as Kudeyar.
Some historical documents mention a landowner originally from Arzamas, who bore the name Kudeyar Chufarov.
The name of the Moscow Cossack Karachaev Kudeyar is known.
Kudeyar Ivanovich is often mentioned in chronicles.
There are also records of a person who fled to the Crimea, named Kudeyar Tishenkov, originally from the Belevsky boyars. Many associate this particular historical figure with the image of the ataman.

Identification of the ataman with Tsarevich Yuri

There are several legends in which a parallel is drawn between Ataman Kudeyar and Yuri Vasilyevich, the son of Solomonia Saburova and Vasily III. Some of them can be highlighted:

The legend comes from Saratov, which tells that Ivan the Terrible, before leaving for hostilities in Kazan, left Moscow in the care of Kudeyar. Later it was found out that the Kazan Decree was false, made so that during the absence of the sovereign, Kudeyar Vasilyevich, having appropriated the state treasury, would escape punishment.
The Simbirsk legend tells that Yuri Kudeyar was summoned to Kazan to be executed at the hands of Ivan the Terrible. However, having learned in advance about the tsar’s intentions, Yuri took up defensive positions on the Volga, near the city of Krotkovo.
There is a well-known legend that Tsar Ivan the Terrible nevertheless met with Yuri near besieged Kazan, and he, in turn, fled from the ruler to the north of the country.
The Kursk legend says that Yuri was captured by the Tatars, who wanted to receive a ransom from the sovereign for him. When the attempt failed, the prisoner was sent along with the army to the war for the royal throne. However, this idea also turned out to be unsuccessful, after which Yuri remained on Russian lands, where he took up robbery.
The Suzdal legend, on the contrary, tells about the conclusion by Kudeyar Vasilyevich of a voluntary alliance with the Tatars, the purpose of which was to conquer the throne. However, having seen from the side the atrocities committed by the Tatars, he began to defend his native land.

All legends about both the ataman and Yuri Kudeyar point to his betrayal of the Motherland, which manifests itself in escape or in going over to the side of the enemy.

Other legends about the origin of Kudeyar

There are many stories about the origin of Ataman Kudeyar:

According to the Voronezh chronicles, Kudeyar was a tax collector for the khan. Once, having plundered Russian settlements, he decided not to return to the ruler, settled in the Voronezh lands, gathered like-minded people around him and continued his life as a bandit. Soon he fell in love with a Slavic girl, kidnapped her and made her his wife.

In the village of Lokh they believe in the legend that Kudeyar was none other than the younger brother of Ivan the Terrible. The Emperor decided to kill him, believing rumors that when he grew up, he would deprive him of his rightful throne. However, the servants disobeyed the king's orders and fled with the prince, who later converted to Islam and was named Kudeyar.
There is a legend that Kudeyar was the son of Zsigmont Botory, who was born before his uncle was proclaimed king of Poland. He fled to the Dnieper to the Cossacks, later entered the service of Ivan the Terrible, but after the tsar’s disgrace he escaped and turned to the life of a bandit.
In Ryazan, there is an opinion that Kudeyar was a guardsman who not only robbed merchants from Moscow, but also appropriated the livestock of local residents.
The ataman was positioned as an unclean spirit who guards his treasures.

Considering the huge number of sources different from each other, it is quite difficult to give an accurate description of Ataman Kudeyar.

Legends about the Kudeyara Cave

For a long time, many treasure hunters tried to find the treasures of the robber Kudeyar, about which there are many legends. But everything was to no avail. Many ancient manuscripts tell about cities where the robbers of Ataman Kudeyar hid their loot. Most of these places are noted in the Voronezh region. According to some stories, in the forests of Bryansk there are places where treasures are hidden, and at night light can be seen from under the rubble of stones, and sometimes children’s cries are heard.

Kudeyarov Cave is described as a place in which not only the loot was stored, but also where the ataman himself lived in richly furnished chambers. The mountain in which the cave was located is completely covered with dense thickets. Next to it there is another mountain - Karaulnaya, on which the robber's sentries were posted. A deep ditch was dug around these places, protecting the shelter and its inhabitants from uninvited guests. At the time when Kudeyar left his shelter in search of new profit, he locked all the premises and blocked the entrance to the cave with stones. It is believed that the spirit of the ataman to this day guards his untold wealth from people. Some are of the opinion that Kudeyar, due to his magical abilities, is still alive today.

There is another version of the legend. According to it, all his treasures were enchanted from human eyes for 200 years. This deadline has long passed, and an odd number of people are needed to find the treasure. After the entrance is dug, to open the lock you should use the golden key, which is stored in Sim's spring. It is not so easy to get it, this can only be done by someone who draws out the source or can get water from the Dinner Lake, the location of which no one knows.

Collective image of a robber

The image of Tsarevich Yuri, whom many consider the robber Kudeyar, in history is collective and consists of biographical data of real, but completely different people. As a result, the name Kudeyar became a household name among the people. It characterizes all existing robbers. It is not possible to call this character reliably historical due to the lack of data confirming his real existence.

According to records made in Kudeyar, he appears to be a Tatar who knows the Russian language well and is distinguished by his rather tall stature and bestial appearance. Also, many legends endow this character with magical abilities, which helped him in robberies and also hid him from his pursuers.

In some manuscripts, the ataman is described as a black-skinned man of a hot-tempered and indomitable character, who was also a headstrong Cossack. In turn, according to some folk tales, a different image appears - a man of attractive appearance, heroic stature, intelligent, with a weakness for young girls.

In general, several images of Kudeyar can be distinguished, based on ancient legends. Some attribute to him the life of a cruel robber, others believe that Ataman Kudeyar was of royal blood and was hiding from the righteous wrath of the king. There is also an opinion that he was an impostor who posed as a person of royal blood.

Mention of a character in Nekrasov’s work

Ataman Kudeyar is mentioned by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, the great Russian writer, in “Who Lives Well in Rus',” in one of the chapters entitled “A Feast for the Whole World.” The last lines of this chapter differ depending on the edition, since several versions of the text are known:

Manuscript of 1876 for the journal "Otechestvennye zapiski" and a censored typographical impression made on the basis of this manuscript. Another truncated publication in this magazine was noted in 1881.
In 1879, an illegal edition of the St. Petersburg Free Printing House was published. This version is included in the collection of the author's essays.

In this work, the character Ataman Kudeyar is a legend told by Ionushka. His story tells about a fierce robber who repented of his sins and began a hermit's life. However, he finds no place for himself, and one day a wanderer appears to him and tells him how the robber can achieve peace. To do this, you need to cut down a century-old oak tree with the same weapon that killed innocent people. It took years to complete this task, but the tree collapsed only after the murder of Pan Glukhovsky.

Ataman Kudeyar had few people close to him in “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The work indicates their number. The poem says about this: “Once upon a time there lived twelve robbers, once upon a time lived Kudeyar the Ataman.” When Kudeyar decided to atone for his sins and repent, he dismissed his retinue to free bread.

Mentions in the works of other authors

The image of Ataman Kudeyar is present not only in the works of Nekrasov. There are mentions of him in Kostomarov’s novel “Kudeyar”, as well as in “Kudeyar’s Last Love”, described by Navrotsky.

Kostomarov’s work contains references to the legend about the origin of the character from the first marriage of Vasily the Third. His wife, after the divorce, was sent to a monastery due to infertility. However, within the walls of the monastery, her son is born. The woman sends him with people devoted to her to the Turkish border, where the prince is captured. A little later, having become more adult, he escapes to his native land, where he becomes a robber named Kudeyar.

This character is also mentioned in Soviet literature:

In Kuprin's story "Grunya" there is a comparison of the main character's uncle with the image of the famous chieftain.
The story of Kudeyar was described by Bakhrevsky in his work “The Ataman’s Treasure.”
Shiryaev mentions the ataman in “Kudeyarov Oak”.
Alexandrov describes the image in Kudeyarov's camp.
The robber is mentioned in the cycle "Pelageya" by the writer Akunin.

Chaliapin's song

“Once upon a time there lived twelve robbers, there lived Kudeyar the Ataman” - this is how the first verse of the song “The Legend of the Twelve Thieves” begins, performed by Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, according to the words of Nekrasov’s work. According to some sources, the creation of music is attributed to Nikolai Manykin-Nevstruev.

“Kudeyar-ataman” - a song about a robber and his comrades-in-arms - is performed together with a choir, which sings the chorus after each verse: “Let us pray to the Lord God, we will proclaim the ancient story! This is what the honest monk Pitirim told us in Solovki.”

Although this creation is based on the text from Nekrasov’s unfinished poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” it, in turn, has significant semantic differences. For example, in the poet’s work it was not indicated that Kudeyar and Pitirim are the same person, unlike the song.

In addition, in many legends and in the text of the work, Kudeyar is described as a kind of avenger of the people who stops the life of a robber, becomes a pilgrim and lives in solitude in the wilderness, and Kudeyar-ataman in the song goes to a monastery to atone for his sins.

The lyrics of the song have several versions and performers. Many have heard this work performed by Evgeny Dyatlov. Today it is included in the repertoire of many male church choirs.

Kudeyarovo settlement

According to some legends, Ataman Kudeyar lived with his robbers on the banks of the Seim, in the so-called Kudeyarov settlement. This legend mentions Catherine the Second, who at that time was traveling through southern Russia. During one of her rest stops not far from this settlement, Kudeyar stole the empress’s golden carriage and buried it between three oak trees.

No less famous is the Devil's Settlement, which many call Shutovaya Mountain, on the road from Kozelsk to Likhvin. This place was very well located, since it was along this road that caravans with goods often passed, which were excellent prey for any robber.

Many believe that Kudeyar’s refuge was located here, built for him by evil spirits. It is believed that it is this force that to this day protects the hidden treasures of the robber, and at night the ghost of Lyubusha, the chieftain’s daughter, who was cursed and imprisoned by her own father in these lands, appears in those places.

Black Yar

In fact, a large number of Kudeyarov cities are known in southern Russia. Each province has its own stories and places where the treasures of Kudeyar’s gang are hidden.

The mountain located in the Lipetsk region is very popular. Its distinctive feature is a bluish-colored stone lying on top, which is considered to be the chieftain’s petrified horse, which received this color after being scorched by fire.

According to many legends, it was here that the Kudeyarov fortress was located. According to legend, the Don Cossacks, dissatisfied with the outrages of Kudeyar and his robbers, took up arms against them. When they got to the fortress, they could not capture it, so they surrounded it with brushwood and set it on fire.

The chieftain hid all the loot and left his favorite horse as guard. And so that she would not be harmed by the fire, he turned her into stone.

For most contemporaries, Ataman Kudeyar is a forgotten story, but not so long ago this character was legendary, one might say, semi-mythical. And even today, the memory of him has been preserved in the names of mountains, cities, ravines, and the name Kudeyar itself is associated with an ominous, remarkable force.