The History of a Town

Presented as a chronicle discovered in an archive, this novel recounts the history of the imaginary town of Glupov from 1731 to 1825. Its mayors arrive with fresh promises, threats and schemes for ordering their subjects' lives. One seems capable only of mechanical commands; another wants to impose military uniformity on the town and even its river. The inhabitants endure hunger, destruction and repeated changes of authority while placing their hopes in the next ruler. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin uses the solemn language of historical records to expose the absurdity of arbitrary power. Official announcements and grotesque portraits turn government into a sequence of increasingly fantastic episodes, but the suffering beneath them remains real. The satire also questions a population accustomed to obedience. Behind each new programme, the same relationship of dependence survives, sustained by fear, bureaucracy and the habit of surrendering judgement to those in command.