TO THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF N. A. NEKRASOV. ”WHO LIVES HAPPILY AND FREELY IN RUSSIA”: THE SEARCH FOR NATIONAL HAPPINESS IN N. A. NEKRASOV'S POETRY
This paper focuses on the question of happiness which has always been actively discussed by philosophers, writers, poets and philologists, but in recent decades an interest in it has grown rapidly. The article analyzes the phenomenology of happiness in the poetry of N.A. Nekrasov (whose anniversary is celebrated by the country this year), who devoted his work to the people. The article analyses the specifics of Nekrasov's understanding of happiness. The educational, religious, folklore and socio-political foundations of the poet's ideas about this phenomenon of human life have been revealed. Happiness as a cornerstone category of being can be connected with the sphere of realization of religious, ethical and ideological ideas about the ideal in an individual fate of a man, what the classics of Russian literature repeatedly reflected in their works, Nekrasov was no exception. But no less important is the consideration of happiness as a national phenomenon associated with the well-being of all people. And Nekrasov's contribution to the development of this aspect of the question of happiness is huge. The intensity of the discussion of national happiness becomes more acute in the period of the 50-60s of the 19th century which is determined by difficult socio-historical situation in Russia's foreign and domestic policy as well as by the turning- point event of this epoch - the abolition of serfdom. Nekrasov pondered in his poetry on what 'people's happiness' is and how it is connected with freedom. Nekrasov's most elaborate thoughts on the problem of happiness associated with the fate of the people, their past and present, are reflected in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia ", which this study will focus on.