Basne

Fables by Mikhail E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, published by the Pedagogical-Literary Society in 1948 with illustrations by Nikolai J. Muratov, bring a selection of the author's most famous satirical allegories. The collection includes the stories How ​​a Peasant Fed Two Generals, The Wild Landlord, The Wise Scrivener, The Sacrificial Rabbit, The Bear-Duke, The Eagle of the Patron, The Idealist Karaš, The Faithful Trezor, The Reasonable Rabbit, The Liberal, Kljuse and Kiselj, with an introduction by B. Buškanec.

In these stories, animals, nobles, officials and ordinary people represent different social classes and human traits. The author through irony, grotesque and humor exposes greed, hypocrisy, bureaucratic arbitrariness, blind obedience and social inequality. For example, in the fable How ​​One Peasant Fed Two Generals he ridicules the uselessness of the privileged classes, while The Wild Landlord shows the absurdity of life without those whom the nobility underestimates. Fables such as The Overwise Scrivener, The Sacrificial Hare and The Idealist Karasha question cowardice, naivety and vain idealism.

Muratov's illustrations emphasize the satirical character of the stories and contribute to their expressiveness. Although they were created as a criticism of the political and social conditions of 19th-century Tsarist Russia, these fables transcend their time. They speak of the abuse of power, injustice and human weaknesses in a way that is still recognizable today, confirming Saltykov-Shchedrin as one of the most significant Russian satirists.