A summary of "The History of a City" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

This book was written in 1870. Saltykov-Shchedrin stylizes the text as a real archival chronicle of the fictional town of Foolov. The narrative is told from the perspective of archivists. The writer caustically ridicules the flaws of the state apparatus, bureaucracy, and the submissiveness of the masses. He uses caustic grotesque and bold hyperbole.

Director Sergei Ovcharov adapted the story for the screen in 1989, producing the successful feature film "It." Soviet animators also created several stop-motion and hand-drawn adaptations based on individual chapters.

The origin of the Foolovites

The ancient people of the Blockheads lived in the far north. The tribe was constantly at odds with their independent neighbors. They fought desperately against the walrus-eaters, the onion-eaters, the slant-bellied, the lip-slappers, the vendace, and the hand-slappers. Having prevailed over their opponents through cunning and a bright sunbeam, the Blockheads attempted to restore order. They cooked porridge in purses, kneaded the Volga with oatmeal, and caulked the fort with pancakes. These wild people even traveled eight and a half kilometers to catch a mosquito.

However, they were unable to settle down independently. The prisoners quickly devoured the pancakes, and the purse burned along with the delicious porridge. Then the elder Dobromysl advised them to seek out the foolish prince. After long wanderings through the swamps, the innovator thief led them to the wise ruler. The prince imposed a heavy tribute on the people — thus began the historical era of Foolov. The innovator thief stole horribly and stabbed himself with a fresh cucumber. The Orlovite burned Staritsa, and the Kalyazinite brutally murdered the Semendyaevites. Then the prince arrived in the city in person.

Inventory of mayors

The Glupovsky archive contains a brief list of twenty-two mayors. These administrators continually replaced one another from 1731 to 1825. Among them are Italians, Greeks, Frenchmen, runaway orderlies, and former barbers. Each of them left a unique mark on the city’s history. Amadeus Klementy was a master at cooking long pasta. Ivan Baklan boasted a towering height of two meters twenty-six centimeters.

Bogdan Pfeiffer accomplished absolutely nothing. Viscount Du Chariot enjoyed dressing up in women’s clothing, feasted on marsh frogs, and ultimately turned out to be a virgin. Manyl Urus-Kugush-Kildibaev was distinguished by his insane courage and once stormed his native Glupov. Archangel Perekhvat-Zalikhvatsky rode into town on a white horse, burned down the local high school, and sternly abolished all academic studies.

Organ

Dementiy Varlamovich Brudasty arrived in Foolov in 1762. The townspeople were genuinely happy and awaited welcoming words. He, however, was distinguished by his sternness and extreme silence. Only two short shouts escaped his lips: "I will not tolerate this!" and "I will destroy you!" The mayor constantly locked himself in his office, busily scribbling official papers. An uncontrollable fear gripped the town. Police officers grabbed the terrified people on the fly.

It soon became clear that the ruler was secretly visiting master clockmaker Vasily Baibakov at night. The clerk accidentally entered the office with his morning report and found Brudasty sitting at his desk, headless. It turned out that the empty head contained a small organ with two short pieces of music. The spring dampness had loosened the tiny pegs. A new head was urgently ordered from St. Petersburg by the capital’s master clockmaker Winterhalter. Suddenly, two identical mayors appeared in Foolov. Both impostors were imprisoned in strong alcohol and taken away forever to the province.

Time of Troubles

Glupov was left without legitimate authority. A disastrous seven-day anarchy ensued. Six desperate women vied fiercely for the reins of power. Iraida Paleologova seized the treasury, captured the treasurer, and fought off powerful enemies. Clémentine de Bourbon won over the disabled corps but quickly became a drunkard. Amalia Stockfish generously distributed vodka to the mutinous soldiers.

Nelka Lyadokhovskaya, Dunka Tolstopiataya, and Matryonka Nozdrya also fiercely asserted their rights to the throne. Dunka skillfully fired a cannon and unleashed swarms of hungry bugs upon her enemies. The townspeople went completely mad. They daily threw people from the cathedral bell tower and drowned innocents in the river. The dissolute women locked each other in a cramped cage. This terrible feud only ended happily with the arrival of the new mayor, Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov.

Dvoekurov and Ferdyshchenko

Dvoekurov paved Bolshaya and Dvoryanskaya Streets. He established a mead brewery and forced the townspeople to consume mustard with bay leaves. He was replaced by the good-natured foreman Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko. For the first six years, he ruled the town surprisingly peacefully. Then the old mayor became consumed with an uncontrollable passion for the beautiful Alenka. Her husband, the coachman Mitka, rebelled and departed for Siberia.

For this terrible sin, a great drought befell Glupov. A prolonged famine ensued, people ate crushed pine bark and died in droves. The townspeople caught Alenka and threw her from a high bell tower. Later, the foreman became infatuated with the shameless riflewoman Domashka. This time, the unfortunate Glupov burned to the ground. During a fantastical journey through the pasture, Ferdyshchenko ate a piglet and a fat goose with cabbage. From overeating, his mouth became distorted, and he died suddenly.

Wars of Enlightenment

Vasilisk Semenovich Borodavkin was distinguished by his incredible administrative efficiency. He constantly shouted loudly, wrote lengthy decrees, and never slept at night. Borodavkin decided to continue Dvoekurov’s work. He wanted to enforce widespread education by force. The first campaign concerned the mandatory consumption of hot mustard. The mayor launched a full-scale military campaign against the Streletskaya Sloboda. He became hopelessly lost in the pasture, terrified the peaceful inhabitants, and destroyed numerous huts.

Instead of real warriors, Borodavkin used toy tin soldiers. These figurines suddenly became filled with hot blood and acquired the ability to speak intelligently. The settlement meekly surrendered and began paying taxes. Subsequent large-scale campaigns introduced the cultivation of Persian chamomile and the construction of strong stone foundations. The city’s tax-dependent economy fell into deep decline. People stopped buying fresh bread. Borodavkin completely devastated the settlement of Negodnitsa, burned Navoznaya, and died a brutal execution. Under his rule, Glupov became utterly impoverished.

From meekness to gluttony

Ksavery Mikaladze completely put an end to bloody wars. He wore an unbuttoned frock coat, issued no strict decrees, and was very fond of women. The Foolovites took a break from their brutal torture and grew considerably fatter. Then Feofilakt Irinarkhovich Benevolensky arrived. He secretly scattered his own laws on the streets at night regarding the proper baking of pies and safe walking. Benevolensky was shamefully exiled to a cold prison for secret communications with Napoleon Bonaparte.

The next ruler, Major Pimple, didn’t interfere at all in the affairs of free citizens. He slept on a cold glacier during summer nights. The city was bathed in unprecedented luxury and food abundance. The local leader of the nobility suffered from severe gastronomic melancholy. Smelling the appetizing scent of fresh truffles, he furiously attacked the mayor. The leader cut off the tasty slices and devoured Pimple’s stuffed head whole.

Melancholy and asceticism

Erast Andreevich Grustilov was extremely sensitive and constantly tearful. Under his rule, the Foolovites completely abandoned the arduous field work. The townspeople worshiped the ancient pagan idols Perun and Volos en masse. A severe famine began. The pharmacist’s wife, Pfeifersha, led Grustilov down the path of false religious mysticism. The ruler donned heavy chains and brought the filthy holy fools Aksinyushka and Paramosha into his orbit. All joyful singing in the town immediately ceased.

The townspeople subsisted on the meager scraps of stale food. Officials gathered in the nursing home in the dead of night for ecstatic leaps and readings of spiritual books. A disgruntled staff officer secretly reported these nightly gatherings to his superiors. During yet another frantic gathering, a new and very terrifying mayor appeared on the doorstep.

The end of history

The former regimental scoundrel Ugryum-Burcheyev was a pure and impenetrable idiot. He slept harshly on the bare ground, ate tough ox sinew, and thought only in straight lines. Ugryum-Burcheyev was determined to wipe old Glupov off the face of the earth. He forced the terrified residents to tear down their wooden houses to their filthy foundations. The mayor desperately tried to stem the rapid flow of the full-flowing river. People threw household garbage, horse manure, and heavy logs into the water.

A powerful natural disaster easily swept away all the fragile artificial dams. Then the scoundrel led his subordinates to a flat lowland for the rapid construction of the city of Nepreklonsk. The townspeople marched incessantly and lived joylessly in their identical gray barracks. Suddenly, a dark, thundering cloud blew in from the north. The earth shook gently, and the warm sun dimmed and faded. A deafening crack rang out, and Gloom-Grumblev vanished without a trace into the empty air. The text also contains several written documents justifying the mayor’s unanimity and the obligatory kindness of the bureaucrat.