For a long time, it was a mystery to me: why did Lermontov harbor such hatred towards the Russian authorities after Pushkin's death? Two men quarreled over a woman, then dueled. What does the tsar have to do with this? Or the upper echelons of society?
Most likely, Lermontov, as a prophet, sensed the weakness, flimsiness, and low energy of the higher bureaucracy. The church, crushed by the state, failed to open the path to God for the people. Everyone started worshiping the external, material aspects of happiness.
By the end of the 18th century, Russia had lost its aspiration towards God. The upper class spoke in French, worshipped French manners and customs. External glitter and tinsel obscured the soul, morality, and love. No one considered that France's external achievements were the result of centuries of religious and moral upbringing.
I heard a story. A famous writer or artist stepped onto the threshold of his house and saw enthusiastic youth greeting him with flowers. He smirked bitterly and said:
«You are now worshiping not me, but an empty place. The person who wrote that talented work is no longer here. My talent has long faded. I remain only in my works.»
In reality, the period we commonly refer to as the early Middle Ages was centuries of sincere faith and morality, the accumulation of a vast spiritual potential. All this later burst forth in the Renaissance era when, alongside magnificent buildings, the development of trade, banking, and industry, the moral decay of society began.
There was a widespread fascination not only with alcohol; from distant lands, merchants began to bring tobacco and drugs. Sex, alcohol, smoking, gambling, various pleasures—all rapidly undermined and destroyed the energy of society's upper layers. As is well known, a fish rots from the head.
S. N. Lazarev, «Man of the Future. Parental Education 4»
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