Adventures For the whole family Russian Empire Siberia Uprising Service to the Fatherland Love Heroism
CHARACTERS Mikhail Strogoff – 30 years old. Courageous, cold-blooded. Originally from Omsk. Tall, with regular features, blue eyes and thick black hair. Nadya – 17 years old, of average height, a slender girl with luxurious golden hair. Ivan Ogarev – a traitor, a former colonel, who was demoted and sent into exile. He always stood out among other officers for his intelligence and ambition. When his participation in a secret society was discovered, he was demoted and exiled to Siberia. Six months later he was pardoned and returned, but he voluntarily went to Siberia, where he decided to stir up an uprising, which was joined by the Bukharans. Sangarra – a gypsy. A beautiful brunette with regular features and fiery eyes. Harry Blunt – an Englishman, a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. Thin, tall, imperturbably phlegmatic; sparing with words and gestures. Alcide Jolivier – a Frenchman. Thin, tall, very lively with an excellent hearing. He does not name the newspaper he works for, but jokes that he writes to his cousin. Vasily Fedorov – Nadya's father; a man of about 40, with a tall and sad face, who has spent his whole life in struggle and suffering.
WORLD OF HISTORY An uprising breaks out among the nomads of the Turkestan region subject to Russia, threatening to engulf all of Siberia. At that time, the governance of the Siberian region is entrusted to two governors-general; one of them lives in Irkutsk, the other in Tobolsk, the main points of Eastern and Western Siberia. They are connected with the European part of Russia by telegraph. At the very beginning of the uprising, the instigators damage the telegraph wire near Tomsk and in the direction of Kolyvan. The only thing the Tsar can do to convey his commands to the eastern outskirts of Siberia is to send a courier there…
SYNOPSIS Ball in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Tsar receives a telegram from Tomsk. It reports that there has been no communication with his brother, the Grand Duke, since yesterday. Telegraph service beyond Tomsk is interrupted. The Emperor inquires about the traitor Ivan Ogarev. But there is no news, and the Tsar demands that a secret order be sent to Perm, Yekaterinburg, Kasimov, Tyumen, Omsk, and all telegraph stations with which service has not been interrupted—to search for and find the traitor Ogarev.
Two foreign journalists, the Englishman Harry Blunt and the Frenchman Alcide Jolivier, are present at the ball. They whisper to one another about the day's events—the telegraph wire between the Asian border and Irkutsk damaged by traitors.
The Emperor orders troops to be assembled and sent to the East, but the problem is that they will only encounter the Bukharans face to face in a few weeks, while his brother has no communication with Moscow and is unaware that the traitor Ogarev, whom he does not know by sight, has plotted his life, seeking revenge for his demotion. The traitor hopes to gain the Grand Duke's trust by arriving in Irkutsk under a false name and handing the city over to the Bukharans. To warn his brother of this, the Emperor decides to send a courier.
General Kisov recommends the courier Michael Strogoff for this mission, as he has proven himself an excellent officer. Strogoff is provided with documents in the name of the Irkutsk merchant Nikolai Korpanov and is warned that when passing through Omsk, he must not see his mother under any circumstances, so as not to give himself away.
On June 16th, the courier leaves the capital on a train that is also carrying English and French journalists heading into the thick of things. On the train, Strogoff meets a girl, Nadya, who is traveling alone.
Arriving in Nizhny Novgorod, Strogoff goes to the steamship station to sail from there to Perm. He thinks about the girl from the train, worrying about how she will make such a journey alone and why she needs to go to Irkutsk.
Sitting down to rest near one of the barracks, Strogoff meets gypsies - an old man and a beautiful woman. Their faces remain etched in his memory.
In Nizhny Novgorod, the Tsar's courier is met by an order from the Governor-General prohibiting anyone from leaving the province, and requiring foreigners to leave within 24 hours. All these measures are intended to hinder Ogarev's exit from European Russia. The courier again remembers the girl Nadya, whose chances of reaching Irkutsk are now approaching zero, and wants to help her. He searches for Nadya in the city and offers to go with him under the guise of his sister. They are allowed to board the ship without hindrance, since the documents issued to Korpanov (Strogov) state that he can have 1 or 2 people with him.
They agree to be on a familiar basis and pretend to be brother and sister.
On the ship, Mikhail meets two foreigners, again the journalists Blunt and Jolivier. Their paths cross again. At night, walking along the deck, Strogoff accidentally overhears a conversation between gypsies he already knows. They are discussing that "a courier has already been sent from Moscow..." And he realizes that they are talking about him!
At the Kazan pier, the gypsies leave the ship, just like Strogoff, heading to Ishim, but by a different route.
Nadya tells Nikolai Korpanov (Strogov) that she is going to see her exiled father in Irkutsk. Her father is Doctor Vasily Fedorov. Through the machinations of ill-wishers, his house was searched, during which someone else's books were found, for which he was exiled to a settlement in Irkutsk. His wife died of grief, and Nadya went to her father.
Having arrived in Perm, the only way to continue the journey was by horse. Here the travelers buy a carriage. On the way from Perm to Yekaterinburg, they are pursued by bad weather. One day, caught in a hurricane, they literally have to save themselves. Nadya hears cries for help coming from around a bend in the road – they are foreign correspondents whose carriage is stuck in the mud, the horses have galloped away, and the coachman has given chase, with no one knowing if he will return. Strogoff offers them one of his horses. And since their shared journey leads to Ishim, they decide to continue it together. In a conversation with the Englishman, the Frenchman reveals that the traitor Ogarev, disguised as a gypsy, is, according to his information, already moving from Kazan to Yekaterinburg. These words touch Strogoff, and he recalls the gypsies he encountered.
By nightfall on July 22, the heroes arrive in Tyumen. Word in the city is that Feofar Khan's troops have approached Ishim and that Ivan Ogarev will soon join him. On the way to Ishim, about 30 miles from the city, their carriage comes up alongside another tarantass, from which someone shouts "Stop!" but they don't hear it and, overtaking, continue on. That evening, upon arriving in Ishim, they are greeted with dire news: the Bukharans have approached the city, so the authorities have moved to Tobolsk. Strogoff takes the last three horses at the station, and the heroes prepare to depart. Suddenly, a man appears at the door of the post office, urgently demanding the horses. Having learned from the stationmaster that Strogoff has managed to take the last horses, he demands that they be unharnessed, as he urgently needs them. Strogoff categorically refuses to give up the horses. The enemy strikes Strogoff with a whip and even draws his saber, but Mikhail refuses to fight him (he simply doesn't have the time). Nadya understands that her companion must have very compelling reasons to tolerate such an insult. The foreigners are discouraged.
On July 25, the heroes have already traveled 120 miles from Ishim. At the post station, the stationmaster dissuades them from continuing their journey—Bukharan troops are prowling the steppe, and they could fall right into their hands—but the companions are adamant and continue on. As they cross the Irtysh, their ferry is pursued by Bukharan soldiers in boats. Mikhail is wounded, and Nadya is tied up and dragged into the boat.
Only on the third day does Mikhail come to his senses in a peasant hut, where he was dragged by the peasant who pulled him from the water. Strogoff sets off for Omsk, where the Bukharan warriors are already in full swing. In a part of the city not yet taken by the rebels, in the hope of finding a carriage, Strogoff and his companion, a peasant, navigate the narrow streets. Suddenly, a detachment of Bukharan warriors, led by Ivan Ogarev, rushes past them. Strogoff recognizes him as the traveler with whom they had quarreled over horses at the post station in Ishim, as well as the "gypsy" from the Nizhny Novgorod fair!
Strogov wants to leave the city at night and decides to dine at the post station, where he unexpectedly encounters his mother, who, of course, recognizes him. He pretends the woman is mistaken. The mother understands that Mikhail must have very good reasons for doing this, and she tells the gathered crowd of onlookers that she was indeed mistaken. But it is too late, as she leaves the post station—her way is blocked by Ivan Ogarev himself! "Are you Marfa Strogoff?" Ogarev has already been informed of the scene that unfolded at the station, and suspecting the truth, he interrogates the old woman. She continues to insist that she was mistaken, but Ogarev does not believe her and sends a pursuit after Mikhail, and orders the woman to be sent to Tomsk.
Strogov, who managed to leave the city, has no doubt that a pursuit has been sent after him. He is worried about the fate of his mother and young Nadya.
August 5th. 1500 miles to Irkutsk. Trampled fields and burnt villages and hamlets. Near one of the burnt huts, Strogoff meets an old man. From him he learns that Kolyvan has not yet been taken and is heading there. At night, he hears a group of horsemen approaching. 50 people stop for rest not far from his hiding place. They are Bukharans. Strogoff overhears their conversation. They are talking about him! He learns that his mother is being held captive. When Mikhail tries to leave the shelter, the Bukhara man's horse gives him away. Escaping pursuit, Strogoff fires back and, galloping to the bank of the Ob, plunges into the water with his horse, but it is shot in the side. The courier swims to shore and disappears into the reeds.
Having reached Kolyvan, he is relieved to see that the rebels have not yet taken the city, but a battle is underway. His task is to find the horse. Hiding from a Bukharan detachment, he runs into the first house he comes across. It turns out to be a telegraph office, where he meets the English and French journalists he already knows. Bukharan soldiers burst in. The journalists, and with them Strogoff, are taken prisoner.
The next day, the prisoners are delivered to Feofar Khan's camp. Strogoff behaves meekly and patiently, because he is being led where he needs to go and where he would never have reached in such safety. The only thing he has to fear is Ivan Ogarev.
On the morning of August 12, Ogarev enters the camp. A crowd of gypsies follows him and, of course, that same gypsy woman, Sangarra's devoted one. Ogarev releases the captive foreign journalists. They travel to Tomsk, having bought horses. Ogarev is also in a hurry to Tomsk; Feofar Khan demanded that his headquarters be transferred to this city. This pleases Strogoff very much, since the only danger of the journey for him lay precisely before Tomsk.
Old Marfa Strogoff is also among Ogarev's captives. Sangarra keeps a close eye on her. Nadya constantly cares for the old woman in captivity; fate brings them together and they become inseparable, but the girl does not yet know that the old woman is her friend's mother. Nadya tells her the story of Nikolai Korpanov, thanks to whom she was able to travel such a long way. From the description, Marfa Strogoff understands who Nikolai Korpanov really is.
The detachment of prisoners stretched for several miles along the road. Strogoff walks in front, and the women in the rear. They do not know that they are next to each other.
On August 15, on the bank of the Tom River, there is a rest stop. In the evening, when Marfa Strogoff and Nadya, having waited their turn, approach the river's edge to drink water, Nadya suddenly sees Kopanoff (Strogov). She screams! Strogoff sees her and his mother, but, so as not to give himself away, he quickly turns away and leaves. Marfa pulls Nadya back so as not to reveal her son's secret. But Sangarra witnesses this scene. She did not have time to get a good look at the man, but she clearly saw Marfa Strogoff's face and her reaction to this meeting. She hurries to report to Ogarev that Marfa Strogoff's son is in the camp! Ogarev is excited, because it is vital for him to intercept the Tsar's courier's letter.
The next day, the prisoners are lined up. Marfa Strogoff understands what is about to happen and tells Nadya that, no matter what happens, she must not betray their acquaintance in any way.
They demand that Marfa acknowledge her son, but she refuses. Then Ogarev orders her to be tortured. A whip whistles behind the old woman. Strogoff cannot bear it and gives himself away, jumping out of the crowd and intercepting the blow of the whip. Strogoff hits Ogarev across the face with the whip, cutting it until it bleeds, thereby avenging the blow at the post station. He recognizes him. About 20 men rush at Mikhail, but Ogarev stops them: "This man will be judged by the emir himself." The courier is found with the Tsar's letter. Ogarev rereads it several times and sets off for Tomsk, where the emir awaits the victorious troops.
Ivan Ogarev introduces Marfa Strogoff and Mikhail to Feofar Khan, calling him a "Russian spy." The Emir opens the Koran, points at a line at random that speaks of darkness, and orders the prisoner to be blinded. Eastern beauties dance before the cruel punishment, and Strogoff is ordered to keep his eyes wide open. Foreign journalists witness the events. Understanding what is about to happen to this worthy man, they leave without waiting for the reprisal.
Ogarev's last glance falls on his old mother, who stretches out her hands to him. Heating his Damascus steel saber red-hot, the executioner blinds Mikhail. Ogarev approaches Strogoff, unfolds the Tsar's letter, and holds it to the prisoner's eyes: "Read this now, Mikhail Strogoff! The real Tsar's ambassador is no longer you, but Ivan Ogarev!"
When everyone disperses, having lost interest in Mikhail Strogoff, Nadya helps him to his feet and leads him along. After walking 50 miles, they reach a deserted village. All the inhabitants have fled. In the empty hut, Nadya confesses to Mikhail that she knows who he is and promises to help him reach Irkutsk and fulfill his duty.
Strogov decides to reach Krasnoyarsk, where he counts on the governor's assistance. Along the way, the heroes meet a young peasant, Nikolai Pegasov, who agrees to give them a ride to Krasnoyarsk. Eight days later, upon reaching their destination, they are astonished – Krasnoyarsk is also empty. It turns out the Emperor has ordered both the army and the inhabitants to be evacuated from the city. The travelers decide to continue their journey to Irkutsk together. They need to somehow cross the Yenisei River, but not a single vessel is left anywhere. Finding wineskins containing kumiss, they place them under the cart and launch it. But on the river, the cart gets caught in a whirlpool. Then Strogoff dives in and pulls the cart, horse and all, out of the whirlpool. After resting, they continue on to Irkutsk.
A few days later, the travelers realize that a small Bukharan detachment has passed before them. Their horse stops, unwilling to go any further, seeing a dead man. The further they travel, the more dead bodies they encounter along the road. They must decide whether to go through Nizhneudinsk or bypass it in case the city has been taken by the Tatars. But already at the approach, they see that the city is burning. They decide to turn off, when suddenly a group of Tatar cavalrymen jumps out at them and the heroes are captured again. From snatches of conversation between the Bukharans, he learns that the army of Feofar and Ogarev is to unite near Irkutsk.
The Tatars mock Strogoff and even give him a blind horse to test whether he is faking it. The horse is injured, and Strogoff is tied behind another horse and forced to walk.
On September 11, they reach the village of Chebarlinskoye. That night, the soldiers get drunk and one of them insults Nadya. Nikolai sees this, snatches the offender's pistol and shoots him point-blank. They want to kill Nikolai, but an officer intervenes, so they tie him up, throw him across a horse and take him away. The rope with which Strogoff was tied to the horse breaks. The rider does not notice this, and Mikhail and Nadya find themselves free and completely alone.
The two of them continue their journey to Irkutsk across the endless steppe. Despite Nadya's fatigue, Mikhail is in a great hurry. Feofar Khan's detachment, heading for Irkutsk, may catch up with them at any moment. Strogoff tells Nadya that he must reach Irkutsk before Ivan Ogarev at all costs. Reaching the river, they hear a human cry and a dog barking off to the side of the road. Они находят Николая, зарытого по горло в землю. Николай открывает глаза и, простившись с друзьями, умирает. Михаил хочет по-человечески похоронить друга и роет могилу. В это время по дороге проносится отряд Феофар хана. Михаил и Надя теперь не могут идти по дороге, а идут через степь.
12 дней спустя герои выходят к озеру Байкал. Им остается 3 дня пути, когда на берегу они видят группу русских людей, которые, спасаясь от татар, ищут спасения в Иркутске. Строгов выдает себя за мещанина. Вечером вся группа грузится на паром и отправляется по Ангаре вниз по течению. Когда плоту требуется остановка на ремонт, паром причаливает к берегу маленького городка. Им навстречу с берега бросаются иностранные журналисты Блэнт и Жоливье, так и не сумевшие добраться до Иркутска. На пароме Надя подзывает их к Михаилу, и он просит обоих хранить тайну его личности.
Ночью температура опускается ниже нуля. Они плывут среди льдин тихо, не разговаривая, пытаясь согреться, кто как может. По берегам они то и дело видят то лесной пожар, то догоравшие деревушки… Лежа на краю парома Жоливье опускает руку в воду и понимает, что рука выпачкана в нефти. Слой нефти плывет вместе с течением Ангары в Иркутск. Они понимают, что татары хотят поджечь город! Иностранцы решают умолчать об увиденном, чтобы не пугать и без того перепуганных женщин и детей.
Вдруг они видят тени, которые по льдинам прыгают в сторону парома. Это волки, решившие напасть на людей. Начинается битва, волков оказываются десятки, но вдруг, зарево от громадного пожарища освещает плот и всю реку. Горит большое село на берегу. Там бесчинствуют татары. Волки, испугавшись зарева, отступают. Беглецы, опасаясь выдать себя, тихо проплывают мимо. Только журналисты понимают, какой опасности они подвержены, если ветер вдруг подует в сторону реки. Останавливаться и пережидать нельзя, потому что, если река замерзнет или их зажмет льдинами – утром паром обнаружат бухарцы.
Паром замечают, с берега начинают стрелять. Надя и Михаил сходят на лед и тихо по льдинам скрываются в темноте. Большая льдина отрывается, и они уплывают на ней вдвоем.
Тем временем, в изолированном от всего света Иркутске Великий князь приказывает укрепить город, чтобы он мог вынести осаду. Он не знает, что главный советник варваров – русский офицер Иван Огарёв, разжалованный им в солдаты, хоть и не знакомый лично. Всем жителям губернии приказано переселиться в Иркутск. Хлеб и припасы тоже перевезены в город.
25 сентября татарские колонны подходят к Иркутску, соединяются и начинают осаду. Эмир дважды безуспешно пробует захватить город. Политические ссыльные тоже помогают героически защищать Иркутск. Тогда Огарёв решает прибегнуть к хитрости, проникнуть в город, добраться до князя, войти к нему в доверие и открыть ворота для неприятеля.
Ссыльные, участвующие в обороне Иркутска, обращаются к Великому князю с прошением составить из них отдельный корпус, чтобы дозволить им быть впереди всех при первой вылазке. Князь соглашается, командиром отряда назначают Василия Федорова – отца Нади. Губернатор провозглашает, что защитники больше не ссыльные!
Великому князю докладывают о прибытии царского курьера. Входит Огарёв и представляется Михаилом Строговым. Он подает князю письмо, разорванное на маленькие кусочки (объясняет это интересами сохранности письма). Князь уверен в подлинности курьера. Огарёв преувеличивает победы татар над русскими и численность татарского войска, а также говорит, что помощь к Иркутску не придет. Князь благодарит Огарёва за службу и оставляет его жить во дворце. Предатель распространяет пораженческие настроения в войсках.
5 октября Огарёв сбрасывает из окна записку Сангарре. По его плану Иркутск должен быть предан и сдан в руки Эмира на следующий день.
Вечером, когда Великий князь вызывает к себе «Строгова» - ему сообщают, что курьера нет во дворце. Огарёв перелезает через окно и выходит на террасу, откуда он бросает зажженную паклю в Ангарскую воду. Нефть, разлитая по Ангаре по приказу Огарева, вспыхивает. Пожар разливается по реке с одной стороны города, а еще с двух сторон на Иркутск наступают татарские войска. Когда жители бросаются тушить пожар - большие ворота остаётся охранять лишь небольшой отряд из ссыльных.
Огарёв возвращается в свою комнату и видит женщину. Приняв ее за Сангарру, он ошибается. Это – Надя! Она и Строгов таки добрались до города вплавь. «Иван Огарёв!» закричала она, понимая, что это имя привлечет всеобщее внимание. «Иван Огарёв!» Он бросается на нее с кинжалом, но в эту минуту чья-то мощная рука хватает его за шиворот и отбрасывает в сторону. Это – Михаил Строгов. Всё оружие Михаила – маленький нож. Огарёв пытается нанести удар слепому, за ним другой – но от обоих тот уворачивается. «Он видит!» - кричит Огарев. «Да! Я вижу!» отвечает Строгов и поражает врага в самое сердце.
Через минуту в комнату входит Князь и видит труп того, кого считал царским курьером. Строгов говорит, что мёртвый человек – это предатель и изменник Иван Огарёв.
Строгов не ослеп. Когда его ослепляли – он смотрел на мать и слезы хлынули из глаз. При контакте с железом они превратились в пары, а пары охладили жар - как плавильщик, намочив руку в воде, погружает её в металл. Строгов решил уверить всех в своей слепоте, даже Надю. Только мать знала, что он видит. Тогда на площади, когда Огарёв поднес к его «слепым» глазам царское письмо – Строгов прочел его и узнал о разоблачавшихся в нем подлых замыслах изменника – теперь он знал, что угрожает князю, Иркутску и всей Сибири.
Надя, Строгов и Василий Федоров объединяются. Отряд татар разгромлен. Сангарра убита.
7 октября на помощь Иркутску приходит русская армия! С ними в Иркутск приезжают и старые друзья Строгова – журналисты Блэнт и Жоливье. Узнав, что Михаил не ослеп – их радость огромна. Русские войска разбивают татарское войско, отбив все захваченные города. Строгов делает предложение Наде, она соглашается. На венчании присутствует Великий князь, куча военных и статских, а также журналисты Блэнт и Жоливе. В качестве супружеской пары Строговы и отец Нади отправляются в обратный путь в европейскую Россию. По пути они останавливаются на один день в том месте, где похоронен их друг Николай. Там они устанавливают крест.
В Омске их встречает Марфа Строгова. После нескольких дней у матери, они отправляются в Петербург, откуда больше не выезжают никуда, кроме как в Омск навещать мать. Император назначает Михаила своим личным адъютантом и жалует ему Георгиевский крест. В последствии Строгов достигает высоких чинов и видных государственных мест.