A summary of Roman Zlotnikov’s "The Serf"

This book is a science fiction novel about an alternate history, written in 2023. The plot revolves around the transfer of the consciousness of an old Soviet military man into the body of a six-year-old serf from the early nineteenth century, beaten half to death. This ordinary boy then begins to radically change the industry of a vast empire. The work opens the "Emperor and the Chimney Sweep" series. This publication is the first in the cycle. It is followed by sequels: the second book, "The Nobleman," the third, "The Count," and the fourth, "The Serene Prince." The text describes the hero’s childhood, the adaptation of Soviet people to the harsh conditions of the Napoleonic Wars, and the first bold attempts to introduce advanced industrial technologies.

Transferring the mind to the past

Anisim Opanasovich lived a rich life. He was born during the Great Patriotic War. He then trained as a railroad worker and served for many years as the head of army artillery depots near Chelyabinsk. Throughout his life, Anisim read voraciously, was fascinated by historical literature, and tinkered with useful things with his own hands. He raised three children with his beloved wife, Maryana. After his wife’s death from a viral infection, the retiree moved to St. Petersburg to be with his youngest son. He spent his old age with his inquisitive grandson, Styopka. While walking together in the park near Pavlovsk Palace, Anisim suffered a heart attack. The old man died instantly.

Anisim’s consciousness is transported to 1803. Upon awakening, he realizes he is in the body of a six-year-old orphan named Danilka. The boy worked in the palace as a stoker and chimney sweep. The previous day, a cruel groom flogged the child with a whip on the false accusation of starting a chimney fire. Surviving the execution, the boy quickly assesses his surroundings. Anisim resolves to survive at any cost. The experienced warehouse manager uses cunning and military caution. The hero deals with his tormentors through proxy means. Danilka skillfully turns the servants against the drunken stoker and the thieving cook. By causing accidents for his ill-wishers, he secures a comfortable and comfortable life for himself.

Friendship with the Grand Dukes

One day, Danilka is making model gliders from scraps of newspaper and thin wood chips. He goes to the quiet palace park to launch these flying machines. There, nine-year-old Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich notices his unusual crafts. The future monarch is strolling through the park with his governess. The little chimney sweep charms Nikolai with his technical knowledge and mature reasoning. Soon, Nikolai’s younger brother, Mikhail, joins in the games. The boys become inseparable friends. Danilka skillfully takes advantage of the opportune moment. By order of the Grand Dukes, the orphan is transferred to Nikolai’s personal servant. The young hero is dressed in an elegant Caucasian Circassian coat.

Nikolai demands Danilka’s constant presence at all classes. The former major is forced to master French and German grammar from scratch. He studies the exact sciences, local arithmetic with its incomprehensible units of weight and pound, etiquette, and even dancing. The boys’ tutor, General Lamsdorf, is extremely strict with the serf. For poor grades, Danilka is regularly flogged in the stables. The hero stoically endures corporal punishment.

Danilka continues to secretly influence the grand dukes. He tells his brothers fairy tales by Pushkin and Yershov, passing off the poems as ancient folk tales. The hero instills in the boys the habit of morning cold water dousings. The young princes fashion Indian bows from hazel and play enthusiastically in the forest.

With the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, Danilka decides to help the Russian infantry. From his past life, the military logistics specialist remembers the design of the Neisler expanding bullet. The smooth lead projectile flies much further and hits more accurately than a round ball. Together with Nikolai, the heroes organize secret tests at the Guards Regiment’s shooting range. They then show their accuracy charts to General Kutaisov and Commander Pyotr Bagration. The senior officers are amazed by the results of their marksmanship.

The Grand Dukes receive the official approval of Emperor Alexander I. Mass production of bullet-proof weapons is launched throughout Russia. The Russian infantry gains a significant firepower advantage. Danilka understands the need for his own steel mills. He convinces Nikolai to engage in manufacturing entrepreneurship.

Industrial entrepreneurship

The partners open a modern factory for the mass production of metal writing nibs. Inexpensive steel nibs quickly take over the European stationery market. The enterprise generates enormous profits. The shareholders divide the profits according to agreed-upon shares. The grand dukes receive independent pocket money. Danilka accumulates seed capital for further endeavors. The factory expands its product range. The heroes begin producing drafting sets and precision measuring rulers. Danilka realizes the limits of his capabilities. He lacks the chemical components for the production of dynamite and Vishnevsky ointment.

European travel and war

To study cutting-edge factory practices, Nikolai, Mikhail, and Danilka embark on a long journey through Europe. They visit Prussia, France, and Great Britain. In London and Edinburgh, the young men study the structure of local universities and tour vast shipyards and coal mines. Danilka arranges a meeting between Nikolai and the great inventor of the steam engine, James Watt. The elderly Scotsman is impressed by the Russian prince’s agile mind and ceremoniously presents Nikolai with his new copying machine.

In England, the friends carefully inspect engineer Richard Trevithick’s first rail locomotive. Danilka buys back the abandoned pleasure railway of a bankrupt Englishman, paying off his debts. He spends a long time persuading the talented mechanic to move to Russia to work. The heroes recruit a large staff of experienced Scottish engineers and scientists. Interacting with freedom-loving students, Nikolai understands the reasons for Europe’s economic success. Young Romanov understands the urgent need to implement universal public education and the complete abolition of serfdom.

On the way back to St. Petersburg, the travelers receive terrifying news. Napoleon has left the island of Elba and landed victoriously in France. Grand Duke Nicholas categorically refuses to go home. He rushes to the aid of the British allied forces. His faithful servant Danilka follows the young master. The heroes find themselves in the very center of the bloody Battle of Waterloo.

The friends, along with the Russian guards, steadfastly maintain a perimeter defense at Hougoumont Farm. Using accurate English rifles, they methodically pick off enemy officers. The commander-in-chief of the allied army, the Duke of Wellington, personally recognizes the courage of the small Russian detachment. Right on the smoky battlefield, he knights Danilka. The former serf chimney sweep suddenly receives English nobility and the resonant double surname of Nikolaev-Wellesley. Soon, Russian Emperor Alexander I awards the hero the soldier’s insignia of the Military Order of St. George.

In St. Petersburg, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna is furious at her sons’ unauthorized military action. She orders Danilka to be immediately flogged. His English nobility does nothing to protect the young man from the cruel whip. The flogging is quickly stopped, but his back is severely damaged. Danilka is expelled from the capital’s Winter Palace in disgrace. He moves to his factory village of Susary. There, he begins to directly manage the growing industrial plants. His coming of age is marked by romantic liaisons with local servants and foreign aristocrats.

Construction of the railway

The hero unleashes a frenetic activity. Danilka opens the world’s first railway technical school for orphans. He hires the famous Russian inventor Ivan Kulibin as a teacher. The plant’s chemical laboratories urgently develop a special coke impregnation for wooden sleepers. Danilka personally builds energy-efficient brick kilns for the workers’ barracks. He sews comfortable canvas overalls and produces safety kerosene lamps and red phosphorus matches. The mechanical plant regularly receives lucrative foreign orders for dredgers, steam cranes, and pile drivers.

Together with the hired engineer Trevithick, Danilka designs and builds the first passenger railway. The 1,435-millimeter-wide track runs from St. Petersburg to Pavlovsk and Gatchina. Danilka deliberately chooses the unified European rail standard. The Ural Demidov factory owners roll metal sections strictly according to Danilka’s drawings. The experienced foreman Yefim Cherepanov and his son arrive to learn advanced technical know-how for the development of Ural factories. The new locomotives are equipped with powerful fire-tube boilers, insulated driver’s cabs, and comfortable enclosed carriages. Nikolai successfully secures government funding for the grandiose construction project. He presents the railway as a generous wedding gift for his Prussian bride, Charlotte.

The wedding of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich is celebrated with unprecedented state pomp. European monarchs arrive in the Russian capital in a triumphant ceremony on a high-speed steam train. In recognition of his undeniable industrial achievements, Danilka receives a large landed estate and peasants. The hero secures the rights to his railway inventions. The former major builds himself a huge two-story wooden mansion. The building is equipped with hot water heating and a comfortable shower.