A summary of "At-Davan" by Vladimir Korolenko

The story was written in 1892 and was part of the author’s series of Siberian essays. The plot unfolds at a remote post station in the icy wilderness of the Lena River. This book is a profound exploration of the nature of human rebellion against the all-powerful tyranny of the authorities. The author shows how a downtrodden, downtrodden man, under the influence of difficult memories, suddenly regains a sense of self-worth. The text avoids idealizing Siberian life, demonstrating the harsh reality of exile.

The story is told from the perspective of a passing traveler. He and his merchant companion, Mikhail Ivanovich Kopylenkov, travel down the frozen Lena River. Gloomy mountains covered in dead forest tower all around, and giant ice floes block the way. Kopylenkov is constantly nervous, worried about his capital. He is terrified by the harsh Siberian nature, the desolate expanses, and the potential threat of robbery. The merchant dreams of saving up the necessary sum and leaving these bleak lands forever.

Due to severe snowstorms and the merchant’s reluctance to take risks, the travelers travel slowly. Kopylenkov prefers to take long rests at stations, drinking tea and sleeping. One frosty evening, their cart stops on the ice near the At-Davan post station. This station is located beneath a sheer stone wall. After climbing a narrow path past a lonely Yakut grave, the travelers find themselves in a hotly heated station house.

At the station, the guests are met by the local clerk, Vasily Spiridonovich Kruglikov. This small, fussy man is dressed in a shabby but elegant European suit of an old cut. Kruglikov humbly begs the travelers to stay the night and not demand the two troikas remaining at the station. He admits he’s saving them for an important courier he’s expecting. Kopylenkov happily agrees to stay the night, not wanting to venture out into the bitter cold.

Soon, a frozen postman in a shabby official uniform arrives at the station. After warming himself by the stove and drinking vodka, he brings disturbing news. Arabin, the government courier, is returning from Verkhoyansk. The postman warns Kruglikov that Arabin is furious over official complaints filed against him. The courier is renowned for his incredible cruelty; he mercilessly harasses horses and strikes terror into the hearts of all the stationmasters along the route.

The mail leaves, and the station once again plunges into a timid wait. The narrator enters the coachman’s yurt, where the local guides have gathered around a huge fireplace. One of the young coachmen sings a mournful improvised Yakut song. In his song, he describes the deepening frost and the terrifying figure of "Arabyn-toyon" — the formidable Lord Arabin, whose approach causes all of At-Davan to tremble. The coachmen listen to this howl with deep, sincere emotion.

The narrator recalls meeting Arabin in Irkutsk. There, this Cossack ensign seemed quiet, shy, and inconspicuous. However, having received power and the status of courier for special assignments, he was completely transformed. Cut off from the law over vast expanses of thousands of kilometers, Arabin imagined himself an all-powerful ruler. He raced along the highway waving a red flag, destroying horses and brutally beating his subordinates, encountering no resistance.

In the station room, Kopylenkov strikes up a conversation with the clerk about money and wealth. Kruglikov agrees to have a drink with the merchant and suddenly begins to pour out his soul. He admits that he drinks strong liqueurs out of a deep longing for an irretrievably lost past. It turns out that Kruglikov is a former collegiate secretary who served in the navy in Kronstadt. His former life was prosperous, but was destroyed by a tragic love affair.

In Kronstadt, the young Kruglikov was engaged to his childhood friend Raisa. They were truly in love, strolling along the fortress ramparts and dreaming of a future together. However, the fathers of the families quarreled over the size of the dowry. Raisa’s enraged father rejected Kruglikov and promised to marry his daughter to his elderly boss, State Councilor Latkin. Latkin had long had an eye on the beautiful girl, taking advantage of his high position.

Kruglikov tried to rebel, but his own father threatened to have him severely flogged by a force of retired soldiers. His home turned into a prison, and at work, Latkin demanded obedience. Soon, his superior forced Kruglikov to accompany him to Raisa’s as a matchmaker. Kruglikov complied. Seeing his beloved, overcome with grief and humiliation, begin to laugh hysterically and offer to hire the general her former fiancé as a lackey, Kruglikov finally broke down.

At that moment, madness awoke within him. He remembered the small pistol he’d secretly taken from Raisa’s dresser earlier. Going out into the hallway, Kruglikov retrieved the weapon, returned to the room, and shot Latkin twice from behind. The chief survived, as the wounds were to soft tissue. Raisa, horrified by this baseness, sent Kruglikov away. After his arrest and trial, he was stripped of his rank and exiled to Siberia.

Raisa later married their mutual friend, the scientist Dmitry Orestovich. They never forgot the exiled clerk, occasionally sending him money and a family portrait. Kruglikov reverently shows this portrait to travelers, carefully keeping it in his closet as a sacred relic. The memories bring a flood of tears and profound emotion to him.

Late at night, Arabin bursts into the station noisily. He’s weary from the journey, his face pale, and his black eyes wild. The courier wants to drink some tea and leave, demanding that the horses be brought immediately. However, Kruglikov, flushed with alcohol and troubled memories, suddenly changes his demeanor. He becomes stern, reserved, and decisive. The clerk calmly but firmly demands that the formidable courier pay the official fees for the use of the six horses.

For Arabin, such a demand on the silent highway sounds like unheard-of impudence. If he pays here, news of it will instantly spread throughout Lena, and his authority will be destroyed. The courier throws the travel document at the clerk, but Kruglikov declares Arabin’s actions illegal. Enraged, the courier knocks the clerk down with a powerful blow. Kruglikov falls to the floor, but Arabin is suddenly stopped by the appearance of the narrator.

Seeing his acquaintance from Irkutsk, Arabin instantly sobers up from his epic madness. The presence of an outside witness brings him back to the real world, where he is just an ordinary Cossack ensign, obliged to obey the rules. The courier hurriedly sits down at the table, breathing heavily and trying to grumble. Then, with a sharp movement, he throws the money on the floor and quickly drives away. Kruglikov rises, goes to his room, and weeps bitterly in humiliation.

In the morning, the travelers leave At-Davan. The clerk timidly accompanies them to the sleigh, begging Kopylenkov to help him find a new post. The merchant halfheartedly promises to help, but on the way, he admits to the narrator that he will do nothing. Kopylenkov considers Kruglikov an extremely dangerous and harmful person. In the merchant’s view, Kruglikov should have meekly submitted to his superior in Kronstadt, received a benefit in return, and lived happily with another woman.

The merchant is deeply outraged by the fact that a petty clerk dared demand that his superiors obey the law. Kopylenkov is convinced that even uttering the word "law" is harmful to ordinary people. The travelers’ carriage falls, overturning among the enormous ice floes of the great Siberian river. Looking back, the narrator sees only mountains, terrifying in their majesty, and a barely noticeable wisp of smoke rising from the station lost in the ice hummocks.