live

Why did customs officer Vereshchagin live so “curly”? – Russia today Posting in CHAT: Russia Anyone who watched the Soviet film “White Sun of the Desert” probably remembers the scene in which the wife feeds her drunken customs officer husband black caviar from a spoon. At the same time, Vereshchagin turns up his nose and complains to his wife that he can no longer look at this caviar. For most modern people, such a scene even looks a little wild. Especially considering the fact that, according to Vereshchagin himself, he does not take bribes. Where does a simply “honest” customs officer get such luxury as peacocks, sturgeon, black caviar and a strong house? Isn't this citizen living a hard life for a former imperial official? The head of customs in the empire was a major or colonel. Secondly, it is worth carefully examining whether the former official of the Russian Empire really lives in abundance. Let's start from the end, let's discuss “luxury” and “excess”. Unfortunately, from the film we know only fragments of Vereshchagin’s biography. However, even they make it possible to reconstruct some details of his personal life and career, based on the history of imperial customs. If you take a close look at Vereshchagin’s house, he doesn’t live well. From the dialogues in the film we can conclude that Vereshchagin served in the Border Detachment for more than a year. Moreover, from the film we know that he was by no means a simple customs officer, but the head of customs. Thus, our hero was responsible for an entire section of the Russian border. This means that under the Russian Empire he had to have a military rank no lower than major, and perhaps even lieutenant colonel. For understanding, such titles correspond to grades 8-7 of the table of ranks (out of 14). Thus, after the reform of 1845, our hero, among other things, could claim personal nobility (not passed on to his descendants). In other words, the customs officer, of course, did not belong to the “cream” of society, but he was not a poor man either. However, “not being poor” can be done in different ways... So, Vereshchagin really does not take bribes. How rich is Vereshchagin? But in reality he has no wealth. It may be large, but it is an extremely simple adobe house. Moreover, it is likely that the house did not even belong to him during the tsarist regime, but was departmental. Moreover, inside this house, as we see from the scenes of the film, there is almost no furniture. Well, Vereshchagin doesn’t even have normal furniture! Regarding the peacocks, it is said right in the film that the former customs officer replaced them with his military jacket after the old government disappeared, and with it the customs office. Don’t start a longboat, Pavel Artemyevich As for sturgeon, in the context of the film they are never a luxury at all, because the action takes place on the coast of the Caspian Sea, where the sturgeon themselves live. Therefore, neither strong fish in the yard, nor a tub of black caviar on the table in the customs officer’s house should come as a surprise. For such regions, such a “diet” is not something super luxurious. Moreover, in the scene with caviar there is an indicative moment: Vereshchagin scolds his wife for the fact that she cannot even get bread. But there is no bread due to the ongoing civil war and widespread devastation. Perhaps it can be obtained for some fortune, but a retired Border Detachment officer does not have it. Therefore, when a customs officer declares that he “does not take bribes” and “takes offense in the name of the State,” he says this absolutely sincerely, because he is an honest person. Source link Source link