There are no women in closed male educational institutions, but there is a period of puberty. And in a society of one hundred men there will always be a couple of obvious homosexuals who will gladly involve anyone possible in this process. So there begin unnatural sexual games among themselves, in which the majority participate out of curiosity (although I never heard of anything like this in the Soviet Suvorov schools).
But today we are not talking about them, but about the Imperial School of Law - one of the most elite educational institutions of the Russian Empire, which was inaugurated 178 years ago, on December 5, 1835 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas I and heir Alexander. As in many closed male educational institutions, same-sex sexual traditions were especially widespread in this school.
Pupils of the School of Law in the dormitory (dormitory), 1911
But if for the majority of students at the School of Law homosexual preferences were only “experiences of adolescence,” then for those like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his brother Modest Tchaikovsky, they will remain for the rest of their lives.
But Modest’s twin brother, Anatoly Tchaikovsky, did not become homosexual after the School of Law.
Photo of the XX graduation of the School of Law. Of the thirty-two young people, only two tenderly hold each other's hands.
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« And the “Guardians,” Zyukin, is a secret society that protects the honor of the dynasty and ancient Russian families from shame and reproach. Haven't you heard? The year before last they forced this... what's his name... composer... damn, I can't remember his last name. For screwing up NN<Эндлунг назвал имя одного из молоденьких великих князей, которое я тем более повторять не стану
>" (c) Boris Akunin “Coronation, or the Last of the Novels.”
This quote from Akunin is based on a real rumor that was circulating in Russia at one time that Tchaikovsky died of cholera for a reason, but committed suicide. Allegedly, the great Russian composer seduced some very noble boy, almost a member of the House of Romanov. Concerned about the possible damage to the reputation of their elite educational institution, graduates of the Imperial School of Law convened a “court of honor”, according to which the composer took his life by simulating cholera.
This rumor would later be refuted by historians for many reasons, not the least of which was that it was impossible to spoil the reputation of the School of Law with the homosexual adventures of one of its graduates - this educational institution had long been famous in St. Petersburg for its “gay” morals.
Lawyers are kicking a ball around in the school garden. Photo 1913-1914
Before 1832, homosexuality in the Russian Empire was a crime only for a short time under Peter I, and only for military personnel. With the adoption under Nicholas I of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, two articles punishing homosexuality were included in the “Code of Punishments”.
Sodomy itself (paragraph 995) was punishable by deprivation of all rights of estate and exile to Siberia for a period of 4 to 5 years. Committing sodomy with the use of violence or against minors or the weak-minded (paragraph 996) was punishable by deprivation of all rights and hard labor for a term of 10 to 12 years.
But according to the expression attributed to Saltykov-Shchedrin, “the severity of Russian laws is softened by the optionality of their execution,” and these paragraphs in the Russian Empire were rarely tried on in judicial practice. For example, just in those years (1833-1849), the Minister of Public Education of the Russian Empire and the President of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was Count Uvarov, whose homosexual affections were lively discussed in society. And Count Uvarov’s appointment of his lover, Prince Dondukov-Korsakov, to the post of vice-president of the academy was ridiculed by Pushkin in a famous epigram:
At the Academy of Sciences
Prince Dunduk is in session.
They say it's not appropriate
Dunduk is so honored;
Why is he sitting?
Because well..there is.
This minister and his lover enlightened future lawyers on how to handle the law.
Imperial School of Law (view from the Fontanka River and facade), photo from the 1900s.
And back in 1862, St. Petersburg was rocked by a scandal with the closure of the Shotana restaurant, as a gathering place for secular pederasts, who formed a kind of club there with the participation of students of the School of Law (in common parlance, “legal scholars”).
Everyone who visited that club was disgraced throughout the city by the name “bugors” (from the corrupted French “bougre” - “sodomite, sodomite”), many houses closed their doors to them, acquaintances stopped bowing, and some of the disgraced jurists left the School out of shame and left St. Petersburg . But the majority remained, and no one drove them out of the Imperial School of Law.
And finally, about one misconception. At the instigation of Valentin Pikul (“I have the honor”), a story went around the world that the famous funny song “Chizhik-Pyzhik, where have you been?//Drank vodka on the Fontanka” owes its appearance to lawyers who secretly visited the tavern, which was located there (even, I remember, in “What? Where? When?” there was such a question).
Wikipedia says about this: “ The students of the school—in common parlance “lawyers”—wore a yellow-green uniform and a triangular hat, and in winter a fawn hat (which is why they received the nickname “siskin-fawn”).
This is all untrue - no yellow-green uniform » jurists did not wear them; their uniform was a dark green (in common parlance “bottle”) color, with a light green cloth collar and cuffs. The buttons were gilded, with an eagle, and the overcoats were also dark “Nikolaev” with beaver collars.
A student of the Imperial Alexander Lyceum (left), a student of the Imperial School of Law (right).
And siskins from the family of finches, the order of passerines. Well they don't look alike at all
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The color of the motley siskins, the “bottle” color of the uniform of lawyers, did not in any way resemble, especially since dark green was the uniform color for university students, and the uniforms of lyceum students and lawyers generally differed only in the color of the buttonholes and piping.
And the students of the School of Law never wore any “fawn hats” - both in winter and summer they were given a cocked hat without a plume and were allowed a cap (which, although not provided for by the Charter of the school, was allowed).
Lawyers in uniform in winter and summer. Future world chess champion A.A. Alekhine, photo 1913, and D.A. Levitsky, photo 1917
And the song about siskin-fawn was known at least 10 years before the opening of the Imperial School of Law. From the correspondence of Pushkin’s contemporaries, Izmailov - Yakovlev, November 16, 1825: “ A parody was made of the return of the first [Gnedich]: “Gnedich, Gnedich! where have you been? In the Caucasus, I washed it; washed once, washed twice, my head was refreshed" And this song spread to jurists, perhaps only because of their “f..ki.”
By the way, they say yesterday was Lawyer’s Day in Russia? Congratulations.
Chizhik-Pyzhik on the Fontanka is a favorite monument of guests and residents of St. Petersburg. A small siskin sits on a pedestal near the 1st Engineering Bridge.
One of the smallest monuments in the world (and certainly the very best in St. Petersburg) Chizhik-Pyzhik sits on a pebble near the water near the 1st Engineering Bridge across the Fontanka. This life-size bronze bird regularly gathers guests and residents of the city around it. The small monument to the siskin is included in excursion routes and has long become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. Where did he come from?
The cadets of the privileged imperial school of law, located in the sixth house along the Fontanka River, were nicknamed Chizhik-Pyzhik. The young guys wore a light green uniform that resembled the plumage of a siskin, in cold weather they wore fawn hats, and were also famous for their demonstrative cadet bearing. During the day they walked through the streets, ruffled and puffed up, and in the evening, having changed into civilian clothes, they secretly made their way to carouse and revel in the tavern of the merchant Nefedov, located nearby. Probably, the vodka in Nefedov’s tavern was strong, and the siskins returned from there very tipsy. About them, young people, people composed a topical teasing song:
Chizhik-Pyzhik, where have you been? I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank two - my head started spinning!
Graduates of the School of Law included the composer P. I. Tchaikovsky, the poet A. M. Zhemchuzhnikov, the father of the writer V. V. Nabokov and many other famous personalities. Until 1918, when the educational institution was liquidated, about 2,000 people managed to graduate from it. Some of the graduates - the same ones who were once teased as Chizhiks-Pyzhiks - were arrested by the NKVD in 1925 on a fabricated “case of lyceum students”, shot or repressed. But let's return to our Chizhik, one of the favorite heroes of folk art. There is more than one continuation to the song about him, also with territorial references:
Chizhik-Pyzhik drank water from the Fontanka instead of drinking
Apparently, the degrees are not the same - there was a noise in my stomach.
Chizhik-Pyzhik got a hangover from the Fontanka after drinking.
This bird was pumped out only at the Botkin hospital!
In St. Petersburg (Petrograd, Leningrad), people, it should be noted, love to compose topical songs about birds. “Fried Chicken” alone, which went for a walk along Nevsky at your own risk, has at least a dozen different options. Perhaps the day will come when a monument to this unfortunate bird, who suffered from social ill-being, will appear somewhere in the central part of the city, but for now, Chizhik-Pyzhik has taken all the fire of people’s love. In 1994, during the festival of satire and humor “Golden Ostap”, the grand opening of a five-kilogram bronze bird took place. Its author is the famous Georgian director, writer, artist, sculptor Rezo Gabriadze, whom everyone knows well from the films “Mimino”, “Kin-dza-dza”, “Don’t Cry”. Rezo Gabriadze is responsible for another wonderful monument in St. Petersburg - “Major Kovalev’s Nose” on Rimsky-Korsakov Avenue (based on Gogol’s story “The Nose”).
Little Chizhik-Pyzhik, a monument for non-adults, organically fits into the cultural image of the city. The folk bird is adored by both tourists and residents of St. Petersburg. Everyone knows for certain that if you make a wish and throw a coin on Chizhik’s pedestal so that it stays there, your wish will come true. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get a penny where you need it the first time, so the bottom under the 1st Engineering Bridge is constantly strewn with small money. They say that on a good day you can get up to three hundred rubles from there. Newlyweds come to Chizhik out of necessity. They have a different task: they need to lower a glass of vodka on a rope and clink glasses with a bronze beak - then the happiness in family life will be eternal and endless. In general, it is not difficult to come to an agreement with a drunken birdie: it is important to know the approach - he does not take sable and greyhound puppies...
The bronze siskin is a migratory bird: from time to time it moves to a collection point for non-ferrous metals. Since 1994, the monument has been stolen 7 times. Sometimes the bird was found and returned, sometimes an exact copy was made, but as a result the siskin found itself back in its former home. According to experts, today the bird is tightly screwed to its pedestal, and it can only be dragged away along with a piece of the embankment.
Chizhik-Pyzhik is included in many excursion routes for tourists, which can be found on our portal. Here you will learn about other places where a curious city visitor must visit in order to stop feeling like a guest. A live look at the most remarkable sights, an overview of interesting events, colorful restaurants and mini-hotels, as well as directions to where you need to go, are posted on the website portal. Stay tuned for changes!
P.S.: By the way, the song about Chizhik-Pyzhik is very popular in Odessa. Only their bird drinks vodka not on the Fontanka, but on the Fontan. Because our Fontanka does not exist in Odessa at all, but there is a Fontan. And not just any one, but the Big Fountain - one of the largest famous Odessa resort areas. By the way, the expression “not a fountain” also came from Odessa. But that's a completely different story...
Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka!
I drank a glass, drank two -
My head is spinning!
A couplet that is usually associated with students of the St. Petersburg School of Law, located on the Fontanka embankment, building 6. It was a closed educational institution for the children of nobles, founded in 1838 at the suggestion of the dignitary Mikhail Speransky, the author of the civil reforms of Alexander I.Chizhikamicalled the students of this school.
These students were not known for their good behavior.If the version is correct, then the verse appeared no earlier than 1838. Moreover, the first two lines are quoted in Dmitry Grigorovich’s story “Kapellmeister Suslikov,” written in 1848 and published in the same year in the 12th issue of Sovremennik.
Chizhik, chizhik, where have you been?
On the Fontanka I drank water... etc.
That is, in the 1840s the song was already popular.
Many cultural figures have graduated from the School of Law: composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Alexander Serov, literary and music critic Vladimir Stasov, poets Alexey Apukhtin, Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov and others.
Now, opposite the building of the former school, at the edge of the Fontanka water, there is a life-size monument to the little siskin. They throw coins at him for good luck. The monument is often stolen, but a new one is erected in its place.
Folklorist Vladimir Bakhtin doubted that the song was connected with students. He quoted ten lines of the song and drew parallels with an old village song about a bunny:
“Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
I drank water on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank two,
There was a noise in my head.
They began to catch the siskin,
To put him in a cage.
Chu, chu, chu, chu,
I'll fly out of the cage.
The little siskin didn’t want to go into the cage,
He took the air and flew away.
In the first years of the existence of St. Petersburg, as, indeed, in pre-Petrine times, Fontanka was called the Nameless Erik. Eriks, that is, river channels formed during a flood, were many small rivers flowing from one large river and flowing into it. Since 1737, the name "Fontanka" became official.
It must be said that the Fontanka remained one of the most beloved objects of urban folklore throughout the history of St. Petersburg.
Chizhik-fawn, where have you been? —
I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank two,
There was a noise in my head.
The fate of one of the students of the School of Law who played the prank still excites urban folklore. True, now in connection with environmental problems:
Chizhik-fawn instead of drinking
I drank water from the Fontanka.
Apparently, the degrees are not the same:
There was a noise in my stomach.
Chizhik-fawn after drinking
I got a hangover from Fontanka.
They pumped this bird out
Only in the Botkin hospital.
And one of the proverbs contains the St. Petersburg formula of the eternal intellectual duality of soul, when St. Petersburg is dear to tears, and one would like to be carried away somewhere where the trees are more neatly trimmed and the lawns are less trampled, and St. Petersburg itself could be different, more comfortable and adapted for humans. In short: “I would like to live on the Fontanka, but... with a view of Manhattan.”
VARIANTS AND PARODIES
Chizhik, chizhik, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank two -
There was a noise in my head.
They began to catch the siskin,
To put him in a cage.
- Chu, chu, I’ll fly away,
I don't want to live in a cage.
The words and music were written no later than 1917.
Boris Rubashkin sings like this:
- Chizhik, chizhik, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka!
I drank a glass, drank two -
It's noisy in my head!
Hey Katya, Katya! Hey Katerina!
Oh, what a ballerina you are!
When you go home -
You're laughing, yes, yes, at me!
Chizhik, chizhik, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka!
I drank a glass, drank two -
My head is spinning!
Hey, Chizhik, Chizhik, tell me, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka!
I drank a glass, drank two -
It's making noise in my head!
Siskin-fawn
- Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank two -
There was a noise in my head.
- I’m not vodka, I’m liqueur,
I love Katya-Katerina.
Katya, Katya, Katerina -
A picture has been drawn.
Katya embroidered the dress,
The officer was waiting.
- Young officer
Take me home!
My house is on the mountain
Three windows in the yard!..
- Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank three -
Don't take the fourth one!
One, two, three, four,
I was taught to read and write,
Don't read, don't write,
Just count the money.
Siskin, siskin, siskin,
Village man
We fed you
We gave you something to drink
They put me on my feet,
They forced me to dance.
- Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
- I drank vodka on the Fontanka.
I drank a glass, drank seven -
I became completely drunk!
Chizhik-fawn (parody)
- Chizhik-fawn, where have you been?
- I washed my ass on the Fontanka!
The wind blew - I fell -
Got my ass dirty again.
St. Petersburg is one of the ten most beautiful cities of the Old World, where there is a huge number of attractions. Every year, the city on the Neva is visited by thousands of tourists who dream of visiting the Russian Museum and the Hermitage, sitting on a bench in the Summer Garden, taking a tour along the St. Petersburg canals, seeing the opening of bridges, climbing or simply strolling along the streets of the historical center.
The newest attractions of St. Petersburg
Although the pride of St. Petersburg is its historical and architectural attractions, which are hundreds of years old, even today monuments are being created here and museums are opening that are no less interesting and also deserve the attention of tourists. At the same time, the newest ones - Chizhik-Pyzhik, the Langensiepen business center building, the Mumu monument, the Viktor Tsoi museum at the Boiler room club, the Schweik monument, the Dream Museum and others - have not only already won the love of local residents, but have also given impetus for the emergence of new urban traditions and acquire various signs.
Where did Chizhik-Pyzhik come from in St. Petersburg?
Surely not everyone knows that the name Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg appeared back in the 19th century. The fact is that in 1835 the Imperial School of Law was founded on the Fontanka embankment. His students were required to wear uniforms and green uniforms with yellow cuffs and buttonholes, so someone gave them the nickname Chizhiki-Pyzhiki.
In addition, there is a legend that the students were very proud of their privileged status as future lawyers and puffed up as they walked. As for the famous song about how Chizhik-Pyzhik “drank vodka on the Fontanka” in St. Petersburg, eyewitnesses remember that “Chizhiks” from the law school often visited a nearby tavern and wandered along the Fontanka drunk.
Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg: the history of the creation of the monument
Be that as it may, the school of law existed until 1918, and although from the beginning of the 20th century students no longer wore bird-colored uniforms, they continued to be called Chizhik-Pyzhik.
In 1994, during one of the events within the framework of the famous humorous festival “Golden Ostap”, a native St. Petersburger - writer Andrei Bitov - voiced the idea of erecting a monument on the Fontanka... to a bird that became a symbol of this area of St. Petersburg. Only a few months passed and the embankment was decorated. According to the original plan, Chizhik was supposed to drink water, but this was not possible. The fact is that the monument was erected in winter, and ice on the river prevented its installation at the water's edge. Perhaps this was for the best, since otherwise Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg could have gone completely unnoticed: after all, the bird is very tiny!
The further story of Chizhik resembles a detective story, since he was kidnapped 7(!) times, but was cast again the same number of times. What can you do, apparently, some vandal tourists wanted to take away such an original and truly unique souvenir from St. Petersburg. Or perhaps it’s even more banal, and the robbers were interested in the monument as an ingot of expensive non-ferrous metal.
"Parents" of Chizhik-Pyzhik
It would probably be unfair to talk about Chizhik-Pyzhik and not mention his parents: Rezo Gabriadze and Slava Bukhaev.
Rezo Gabriadze is a famous sculptor, artist and puppeteer, who is the author of the scripts for such famous films as “Kin-dza-dza!” and “Mimino”.
No less famous is Vyacheslav Bukhaev, who, together with the sculptor M. Shemyakin, created several excellent monuments and sculptural compositions that adorn many Russian cities.
By the way, Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg is not the only attraction whose authorship belongs to the Gabriadze-Bukhaev tandem. In particular, in St. Petersburg in 1995, the amazing monument “Major Kovalev’s Nose” was erected.
St. Petersburg, Chizhik-pyzhik: address
Many travelers, having learned about an interesting monument, will want to see it. And it is quite natural, from their point of view, to ask where Chizhik-Pyzhik is located in St. Petersburg. Any local resident will tell you the address. In fact, a question like this is very easy to answer. After all, it is obvious that the bird could not “fly away” far from the Fontanka. Indeed, the monument can be found not far from the embankment. And in more detail, the tiny sculpture is located opposite house number 12/1, next to the bridge, at the place where it separates from the Fontanka. Among the landmarks that will make it easy to find Chizhik, you can also call the Mikhailovsky Palace.
Signs and traditions
Although Chizhik-Pyzhik appeared in St. Petersburg relatively recently, today various signs are already associated with it. So, every day hundreds of St. Petersburg residents and city guests throw small coins onto the pedestal, since it is believed that if the money remains there and does not fall into the water, then the wish will certainly come true. In addition, recently St. Petersburg grooms have to undergo a serious test called “Clink glasses with Chizhik.” To do this, many wedding processions drive up to the Fontanka embankment, tie a glass of vodka to the end of a long rope, and invite the newly-made husband to lower the glass over the railing so that it “clinks” with the beak of a bronze bird. If you are lucky, it is believed that the young people will have a long and happy life together.
We treat those who have left a mark on our lives in one way or another differently. It doesn't matter whether good or bad. You know: he seems to be a good person and has done a lot of good things, but there is one action that cancels everything out. Or, on the contrary, he did a lot of bad things, but the memories, no matter what, are good.
I remembered something about a song: “Chizhik-pizhik, where have you been? I drank vodka at the market...” On the topic of Chizhik. I also had one character like that. So, for a long time there were, in fact, many of my poems were dedicated to him... Hmm. It was I who suddenly remembered my omnivorous nature. Well, it's not about me. He was there, drinking vodka and more. He treated the Zhoriks nearby... What could we do without it? The position is this: drink yourself and treat the people. Well, or help yourself if someone offers, or if there is a reason. By the way, the bosses have much more reasons than the common people. Yeah. And they don’t get drunk so quickly, that is, the bosses, only because they always have snacks. In theory, that's why they're bosses.
What am I talking about? Oh, yes: on occasion, they leaked to us information about the proposed rewarding of the best representatives of the team with a sum of money, a la a prize, on behalf of circles such as superiors. Yeah... Well, so, why not play democracy on this occasion? Everything is fine, but among the worthy candidates, in my personal opinion, Chizhik was also proposed... Wow. Lord, forgive me, but... I just imagined how many people would spit if they found out that they saw, if not Niagara Falls, then Karasevka during the spring flood.
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