Alexander Pushkin - Dubrovsky
After zemstvo court carried out investigations on this request, it was discovered that the said current owner of the disputed estate of the guard, Lieutenant Dubrovsky, gave an explanation to the noble assessor on the spot that the estate he now owns, consisting of the said village of Kistenevka, ** souls with land and lands, went to he inherited after the death of his father, artillery second lieutenant Gavril Evgrafov's son Dubrovsky, and he inherited from the father of this petitioner, formerly the former provincial secretary, and then the collegiate assessor Troekurov, by power of attorney given from him in the 17th... year of August 30 days, certified in the ** district court, to the titular councilor Grigory Vasiliev's son Sobolev, according to which there should be a deed of sale from him for this estate to his father, because it specifically says that he, Troekurov, received all the estate that he received under the deed from the clerk Spitsyn, * * soul with land, sold to his father, Dubrovsky, and the following money under the agreement, 3200 rubles, received everything in full from his father without return and asked his trusted Sobolev to give his father the designated fortress. Meanwhile, his father, in the same power of attorney, on the occasion of payment of the entire amount, shall own the estate purchased from him and dispose of it from now on until the completion of this fortress, as the real owner, and he, the seller Troekurov, will no longer enter into that estate with anyone. But when exactly and in what public place such a bill of sale was given to his father from Sobolev’s attorney, he, Andrei Dubrovsky, does not know, because at that time he was very young, and after the death of his father he could not find such a fortress, but believes that Didn’t it burn with other papers and property during the fire in their house in 17..., which was known to the residents of that village. And that this estate from the date of sale by Troekurov or the issuance of a power of attorney to Sobolev, that is, from the year 17..., and after the death of his father from the year 17... to this day, they, the Dubrovskys, undoubtedly owned, this is evidenced by the roundabout residents who, in total 52 person, when questioned under oath, they testified that indeed, as they can remember, the aforementioned gentlemen began to own the said disputed estate. The Dubrovskys went back about 70 years ago without any dispute from anyone, but they do not know about which act or fortress. “The former buyer of this estate, the former provincial secretary Pyotr Troekurov, mentioned in this case, they will not remember whether he owned this estate. The house of Messrs. About 30 years ago, the Dubrovskys burned down due to a fire that happened in their village at night, and outsiders assumed that the said disputed estate could bring in income, believing from that time on, in complexity, annually no less than 2000 rubles.
On the contrary, General-in-Chief Kiril Petrov, son of Troyekurov, on the 3rd of January of this year, entered this court with a petition that although the aforementioned guard lieutenant Andrei Dubrovsky presented during the investigation to this case the power of attorney issued by his late father Gavril Dubrovsky to the titular adviser Sobolev for the sold to him the estate, but according to this, not only the original bill of sale, but even the execution of it ever, did not provide any clear evidence according to the force of the general regulations of Chapter 19 and the decree of 1752 on November 29. Consequently, the power of attorney itself is now, after the death of the giver of it, his father, according to the decree of May... day 1818, completely destroyed. - And beyond that -
it was ordered that disputed estates be given into possession - serfs by fortress, and non-serfs by search.
For which estate, belonging to his father, a serfdom deed has already been presented from him as proof, according to which it follows, on the basis of the aforesaid legalizations, that the said Dubrovsky has been taken away from the wrongful possession and given to him by right of inheritance. And as the said landowners, having in the possession of an estate that did not belong to them and without any fortification, and used it incorrectly and income that did not belong to them, then, according to the calculation, how many of these will be due according to the force ... to recover from the landowner Dubrovsky and him, Troekurov, to satisfy them . - Upon consideration of the case and the extract made from it and from the laws in the ** district court, it was determined:
It is clear from this case that General-in-Chief Kirila Petrov son Troekurov on the said disputed estate, now in the possession of the guard of Lieutenant Andrei Gavrilov son Dubrovsky, located in the village of Kistenevka, according to the current... audit of all male sex ** souls, with land and lands, presented a genuine bill of sale for the sale of it to his late father, the provincial secretary, who later was a collegiate assessor, in 17... from the nobles, the clerk Fadey Spitsyn, and that besides this, this buyer, Troekurov, as can be seen from the inscription on that bill of sale, was in the same year ** the zemstvo court took possession of the estate, which the estate had already been refused for him, and although on the contrary, from the side of the guard, Lieutenant Andrei Dubrovsky presented the power of attorney given by that deceased buyer Troekurov to the titular councilor Sobolev for the execution of a deed of sale in the name of his father, Dubrovsky, but in such transactions not only to approve serf immovable estates, but even to temporarily own by decree... is prohibited, and the power of attorney itself is completely destroyed by the death of the giver. But in order for, in addition to this, a deed of sale was actually executed under this power of attorney where and when for the said disputed estate, Dubrovsky has not presented any clear evidence to the case from the beginning of the proceedings, that is, from 18... to this time. And therefore this court decides: to approve the said estate, ** souls, with land and lands, in whatever position it now finds itself, according to the bill of sale presented for it for Chief General Troekurov; about the removal from the order of the guard of Lieutenant Dubrovsky and about the proper entry into possession for him, Mr. Troekurov, and about the refusal for him, as he inherited it, to order ** the zemstvo court. And although, in addition to this, Chief General Troekurov asks for the recovery of Lieutenant Dubrovsky from the guard for the illegal possession of his hereditary estate for those who took advantage of the income from it. But what kind of estate did the Messrs. have, according to the testimony of old-timers? The Dubrovskys have been in undisputed possession for several years, and from this case it is not clear that on the part of Mr. Troekurov there have been any petitions until now about such improper possession by the Dubrovskys of this estate, according to the code
It is ordered that if someone sows someone else’s land or fences off an estate, and they begin to beat him with a brow for improper possession, and this is found out directly, then that land should be given to the rightful person, and with the sown grain, and the city, and the building,
and therefore, General-Chief Troyekurov will refuse the claim brought against the guard by Lieutenant Dubrovsky, because the estate belonging to him returns to his possession, without taking anything from it. And that when entering for him, everything may turn out to be without a trace, while providing General-Chief Troekurov, if he has any clear and legal evidence about such a claim, he can ask where it should be specially. What decision will be first announced to both the plaintiff and the defendant, on a legal basis, by appeal, and summon them to this court to hear this decision and sign pleasure or displeasure through the police.
Which decision was signed by all those present in that court.
The secretary fell silent, the assessor stood up and with a low bow turned to Troekurov, inviting him to sign the proposed paper, and the triumphant Troekurov, taking the pen from him, signed the court decision with his complete pleasure.
The line was behind Dubrovsky. The secretary brought him the paper. But Dubrovsky became motionless, lowering his head.
The secretary repeated his invitation to him to sign his complete and complete pleasure or obvious displeasure, if, more than aspirations, he feels in his conscience that his cause is right, and intends to appeal to the appropriate place at the time prescribed by the laws. Dubrovsky was silent... Suddenly he raised his head, his eyes sparkled, he stamped his foot, pushed the secretary with such force that he fell, and, grabbing an inkwell, threw it at the assessor. Everyone was horrified. "How! do not honor the church of God! away, you boorish tribe!” Then, turning to Kiril Petrovich: “We’ve heard of it, your Excellency,” he continued, “hunters are bringing dogs into God’s church! dogs are running around the church. I’ll teach you a lesson already...” The watchmen came running at the noise and forcibly took possession of him. They took him out and put him in a sleigh. Troekurov followed him out, accompanied by the entire court. Dubrovsky's sudden madness had a strong effect on his imagination and poisoned his triumph.
The judges, who hoped for his gratitude, did not receive a single friendly word from him. On the same day he went to Pokrovskoye. Meanwhile, Dubrovsky was lying in bed; The district doctor, fortunately not a complete ignoramus, managed to bleed him and apply leeches and Spanish flies. By evening he felt better, the patient came to his senses. The next day they took him to Kistenevka, which almost no longer belonged to him.
