Peaceful living by Alexandr Kuprin. Short summary

5 seconds

Ivan Vianorych considers himself a religious and decent man. He wants to rid corrupt society of its vices, but he chooses a method that is inconsistent with morality.

1 minute

A devout former teacher, Ivan Vianorich Nasedkin, is busy writing anonymous letters. He denounces all the inhabitants of the small town: officers, gentlemen, merchants, lovers, collegiate assessors. The man prides himself on eradicating the vices of society in this way.

Lent. Ivan Vianorych is going to go to the temple. On his way he meets students and a teacher with a cigarette in his teeth. Nasedkin tries to remember the teacher’s face to complain.

Temple. During the penitential canon, he decides to retire to a monastery to be away from his corrupt surroundings. Here the man sees the beautiful Shcherbacheva. Two years ago, Nasedkin informed her husband of his wife’s adultery, for which he beat and humiliated the young woman. But Ivan Vianorych is sure in the piety of his deed.

On his way home, Ivan Vianorych throws letters into the mailbox. He revels in the purity of his thoughts and his ability to influence the destinies of others. Nasedkin hurries to his world — «the world of righteous judges.»