Summary of Lyubimov


A. Sinyavsky
Lyubimov
In a fairy tale narrates about a strange story that happened to an ordinary Belorussian inhabitant Lene Tikhomirov. Until then, there had been no miraculous events at Lyubimov, which was under the wet mountain, but, on the contrary, there was a large Komsomol and intellectual stratum and life was completely socialist under the guidance of the secretary of the Tischenko town committee, Semyon Gavrilovich. But Lenya Tikhomirov, a descendant of the nobleman Proferansov, gained a wonderful power over people, and only by force of his will forced Tishchenko to retire from office. He reigned in the city and declared Lyubimov a free city, and before that – completely in a fantastic tradition, turning around as a fox or a motorcycle, won a convincing victory over Tishchenko.
The fact is that Proferans Samson Samsonovich was not a simple landlord, but a philosopher and theosophist, and left a manuscript with the help of which it was possible to acquire

a giant yule to subdue other people’s actions and guide destinies. Here Lenya Tikhomirov and found the manuscript of his old ancestor. And he began to establish in the city of Lyubimov a communist utopia, as he understood this matter. First of all he fed everyone. That is, I told them that they were eating sausage. And really there was sausage, and there was wine – but a strange thing! – the head from a hang-over did not hurt, and in general: you drink-drink, and as though also anything. Then Lenya of all criminals amnestied. And then he began to build dictatorial communism, in which everyone is full, but he thinks for all, because he knows best how.
But in the meantime, the city of Lyubimov is besieged on all sides by Soviet power, in order, therefore, to remove dictator Lenya and restore order. Does not exceed! Because Lenya’s will made the city invisible. Only and got there indomitable detective Vitaly Kochetov, written off from the editor-in-chief of the journal “October”, notorious obscurantist. This most Vitaly Kochetov came to Lena Lyubimov and suddenly saw that everything
was right in the city! All right! And even more communist than in the Soviet Union! Complete dictatorship, and one thinks for all! And Vitaly was filled with love for Lena, asked to join him and wrote about his closest friend Anatoly Sofronov, who was written off from the editor-in-chief of Ogonyok.
But I must tell you that Lenya did all this escapade solely out of love for the beautiful woman named Serafima Petrovna, and, having gained power over all, Lenya achieved this hour and her love. This whole epic is told to us by another Preference, not even a relative of Samson Samsonich, and his name is Saveliy Kuzmich – but in the manuscript of Saveliy Kuzmich, all the time someone invades, makes footnotes, adds comments… This is the spirit of Samson Samsonich Proferansov. He reads the manuscript, watches the events and sees that it’s time for him to intervene.
And it’s time to intervene because God is with him, with Lena, and with the enslaved Seraphim, and even with the enslaved city, – but Lenya has already swung the re-education of his mother. He began to impress upon her that there was no God. She is his, sickly, withered from the state worries, feeds-pours, and he inspires her: “There is no God, there is no God!” “Mothers do not you dare touch!” – exclaims the spirit of Proferansov – and deprives Lenya of his miraculous power.
And it turned out that Serafima Petrovna is Jewish, and there’s nothing to be done about it, that is, there are things in the world, Lena not subject to authority. And since the Jews are like pepper in soup or yeast in a pie, Serafima Petrovna was the first to get sick of Lenin’s fortune. She left him.
And then the others pulled out of the city – as if everyone at once was sick of Lenya thinking for them. Only the faithful Vitaly Kochetov remained, but he was moved by an amphibious tank, because Lenin is now a city that has become deserted, as if extinct, has now become visible to everyone. By Kochetov’s radio, he was booked. And the lovers dispersed in the surrounding fields. Thus ended the great communist experiment on the introduction of abundance and unanimity.
And Lenya fled in a freight train to Chelyabinsk and, falling asleep in the car under the whistle of a locomotive, felt better than in the role of dictator.
One misfortune is that arrests are taking place in the vicinity of Lyubimov, a consequence, the townspeople are caught and interrogated, so this manuscript should be hidden as soon as the floorboard… They will not find it.
Abram Tertz – who was Andrei Sinyavsky – was arrested two years after finishing the work on this story.


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Summary of Lyubimov