"The Non-Chekhovian Intelligentsia:
Short Stories about All Kinds of Things" by Boris Akunin, summary

This book is a collection of historical short stories and essays, published in 2016. The author transports the reader to different eras and countries, inviting them to reflect on the paradoxes of human nature, the mechanics of absolute power, and true heroism. The work explores the phenomenon of active, sometimes cruel, yet determined people. Such individuals are radically different from the passive image of the Russian intelligentsia. The work is structured as a kaleidoscope of brief vignettes, united by the author’s interest in little-known or unusual facts from world history.

This publication is part of the author’s "Love of History" series. It is the fifth work in the series, joining "The Most Mysterious Secret and Other Stories" and "The Northern Sentinel and Other Stories."

Paradoxes of Antiquity and the Nature of Genius

The narrative begins with the story of the Syracusan tyrants Dionysius the Elder and Dionysius the Younger. The former began as a humble clerk, seized power through deception, and cruelly ruled the city, believing himself a great poet. The latter was fascinated by philosophy, exiled Plato, and ended his days as an ordinary schoolteacher. The writer reflects on the nature of genius, dividing it into professional and human. Professional talent often falls to people with petty characters, while true human geniuses remain unknown to the world. The author mentions the creative paths of Arthur Rimbaud and Yukio Mishima. Rimbaud uncompromisingly gave up writing poetry at the age of twenty, and Mishima committed suicide when he felt his literary talent had completely exhausted.

Crime dramas and traditions of justice

The bloody siege on Sidney Street in London in 1911 comes to mind. A group of armed Russian anarchists fiercely resisted the police, forcing Winston Churchill to resort to artillery fire. This event prompted British constables to arm themselves with firearms. Further descriptions follow of horrific family tragedies and domestic massacres in the Russian Empire of the 19th century. The bloody incidents lack grace, characterized by brutal brutality and a thirst for easy money. In contrast, the history of British justice is cited, where in the 16th and 18th centuries, lords were hanged at Tyburn alongside commoners for the murders of lowly servants.

The history of piracy occupies a special place. Captain Henry Avery carried out the most daring robbery at sea, capturing the Great Mogul’s ship with colossal treasure. Having stolen the lion’s share of the loot from his own crew, he vanished without a trace and evaded retribution. The masterful robbery of a mail train in Bezdany in 1908 is also mentioned. The operation was carried out by members of the Polish Socialist Party. The intelligent robbers took a huge sum of money without any losses. Four of the participants in this perfect heist later became prime ministers of independent Poland.

War, espionage and female heroism

The book details the fates of secret agents during World War II. Briton Forrest Yeo-Thomas, codenamed "White Rabbit," coordinated the French Resistance. Captured by the Gestapo, he endured inhumane torture, organized an escape from Buchenwald, and lived to see liberation. He became one of the inspirations for James Bond. Australian Nancy Wake, nicknamed "White Mouse," commanded thousands of partisans in the forests of Auvergne. She killed enemies with her bare hands. She became the most decorated female agent and died peacefully at a ripe old age.

The author explores the plight of people of German descent in the Russian and Soviet armies. During World War I, German officers served the empire honorably. Under Stalin, Soviet Germans were deported en masse. Only a few, having concealed their origins, managed to rise to the rank of general and receive the title Hero of the Soviet Union. A similar situation developed in the United States, where interned Japanese Americans formed a volunteer regiment. They suffered enormous losses in Europe, proving their loyalty to their new homeland with their blood.

The horrors of fanaticism and the mysticism of chance

The story recounts the terrifying Yakut campaign of General Anatoly Pepeliaev in 1922. The White Guard Siberian Volunteer Squadron made a mad march across the icy wilderness, hoping to capture Yakutsk. At the Sasyl-Sysy ravine, they encountered a detachment led by the Red Army commander Ivan Strod. The bloody siege on ice ended in defeat for the Whites. Both commanders were subsequently executed by the Soviet government during the Reign of Terror of the 1930s. The fates of three generations of the Gershtenszweig generals are also tragic. Grandfather, father, and son each committed suicide, shooting themselves with the same family pistol.

The book explores the nature of fearlessness. It describes Urbach-Wiethe syndrome, which destroys the amygdala, completely depriving a person of the sense of fear. The author argues that courage lies not in the absence of fear, but in the ability to overcome it. The monstrous consequences of political fanaticism are examined. Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López dragged the country into war with three powerful neighbors. The senseless slaughter continued until ninety percent of Paraguayan men were dead. López even sent eight-year-old children with fake beards to the front.

Scaffolds and changing ideals of beauty

The author explores the bloody history of Parisian squares. For centuries, the Place de Grève served as the site of brutal public executions, drawing crowds of onlookers. Here, daring duelists were beheaded, kings’ assassins were quartered, and poisoners were burned. Later, the Place de la Révolution took over. During the Great Terror, the guillotine operated relentlessly. King Louis XVI, the proud Marie Antoinette, and the great chemist Lavoisier were beheaded. Special mention is made of Guillaume de Malesherbes, a noble old man who took on the defense of the deposed monarch before the tribunal. He paid for his actions with the lives of his entire family, but he went to the scaffold with a courageous smile.

The changing canons of female beauty are examined. For centuries, a curvaceous, plump figure was considered the ideal. Thinness was perceived as a sign of illness and ugliness. The fashion for slenderness was introduced by the French Empress Eugénie de Montijo in the mid-19th century. Although thin, she sewed dresses that emphasized her figure and surrounded herself with slender ladies-in-waiting. Soon, the entire world began to imitate the Parisian court. Quite different standards existed in ancient Japan. Noble Japanese women shaved their eyebrows, heavily whitened their faces with rice powder, and covered their teeth with black varnish, creating a sharp color contrast.

Behind the Scenes of Absolute Power

A separate essay is devoted to the evolution of the tyrants’ entourage. Analyzing photographs of Hitler and Stalin’s confidantes, the author notes their effeminate, flabby features. The dictators systematically eliminated strong, strong-willed men, leaving behind only obedient followers devoid of masculinity. Only during difficult military trials did true commanders come to the fore, only to be relegated to the shadows after victory. The leaders’ financial appetites are also examined. Mussolini received no official salary. Hitler grew rich from royalties from postage stamps bearing his portrait. Soviet general secretaries earned millions from the massive print runs of their own books.

The cynical exploitation of religion by secular authorities is exposed. The Nazi leadership strongly encouraged Orthodox collaborators in the occupied territories of the USSR, and German generals even converted to Islam to win the favor of the Caucasian peoples. The period of pornocracy in the 10th century, when the papacy was ruled by the depraved Theophylact family, is recalled. Depraved patricians openly traded ecclesiastical positions and murdered those they disliked. This chaos continued until the eighteen-year-old Pope John XII turned the Lateran Palace into a veritable harem.

The face of the past and the memory of generations

The author recounts the expansion of the Russian Empire in the Pacific Ocean. The adventurer Georg Schäffer attempted to annex the Hawaiian Islands to Russia, building forts there and renaming the river the Don. Later, another Russian doctor, the socialist Nikolai Sudzilovsky, headed the Hawaiian Senate and fought against the annexation of the archipelago by the United States. The tragic death of Prince Napoleon IV is described. The last hope of the French monarchists left to fight in Africa and was killed by Zulu warriors. A forgotten branch of the Bonaparte dynasty found refuge in Russia, where Louis Napoleon served as a general in the Tsar’s cavalry.

Profound reflections are devoted to the power of love, capable of overcoming the fear of death. In the Conciergerie prison, French aristocrats awaited their inevitable execution. The highest happiness for couples in love was considered to be on the same death list. If the names did not match, one of the separated couples would shout a royalist slogan. For this, the person was immediately placed in the condemned cart, allowing the loving hearts to go to the scaffold together. Similar selflessness motivated the pious King Robert, who defied the Pope. The monarch married his beloved Countess Bertha, despite prohibitions, for which he was excommunicated.

The book is replete with curiosities. Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to flee from a thousand domestic rabbits purchased by Marshal Berthier for the imperial hunt. In the 17th century, Samuel Pepys was paid to kiss the mummy of the French queen Catherine of Valois, which was on public display in Westminster Abbey. Byron’s executors burned the poet’s priceless memoirs out of false modesty, forever depriving the world of a literary masterpiece. Japanese kamikaze pilots died in the thousands on the orders of their commanders, yet many of these admirals committed seppuku after the surrender, taking the blame for their needless sacrifices.

Many pages are dedicated to invisible heroes. Four servants of the royal family refused to abandon Nicholas II and died in the Ipatiev basement. Revolutionary Nadezhda Sigida and her comrades committed mass suicide in a Siberian penal servitude, protesting corporal punishment for women. Their sacrifice led to the closure of the Ust-Kara prison. Vintage photographs complete the kaleidoscope of stories. The author examines daguerreotypes of seventy-eight-year-old Constanze Mozart and centenarian Conrad Heyer. These old photographs offer a glimpse into time, confirming the reality of people long since relegated to historical myths.