To offend the weak was considered one of the greatest sins in Orthodox Russia. Weak not only physically, but also dependent on the powerful, both materially and socially.
From time immemorial, unjust leaders, up to the princely rank, were punished very severely. However, the fate of Prince Igor did not teach any of them anything. "The Execution of Prince Igor" Engraving by F. A. Bruni, 1839.
From the inability to stand up for himself, from constant fear, and also humiliation, the offended one sometimes decided to take a desperate step. So, a beast mortally wounded by a hunter, realizing that he has nothing to lose, rushes at the hated one (still disappear!) With his last strength, aiming right at the throat, in the hope that there will be at least one less tormentor.
Each time has its own heroes. There were such people in the 19th century in Russia, during the reign of the sovereign-emperor Nicholas I. One of the heroes of that time was not a Russian, but … a German, who deeply loved Russia and came to her for a long and honest service.
RUSSIAN GERMAN …
Ivan Reinman was a true German: pedantic, law-abiding, not compromising his principles under any circumstances. His career in Russia began in 1830, when he was appointed manager of the Staro-Lakhtinsky forestry near St. Petersburg.
In those days in tsarist Russia there was an acute problem with illegal deforestation (and when it was not there ?!), Russian foresters, it happened, and they themselves were involved in such machinations. For this reason, tenants, who valued their reputation and their name, preferred to hire Germans, relying on their decency and conscientiousness.
Ivan Reinman was just such a person, suitable for employers in terms of his business and human qualities. He served quietly and calmly for many, many years, until one fine time he accidentally discovered that some work on deforestation on its territory was taking place illegally. It is noteworthy that the new tenant received permission to cut the plots by bribing the chief caretaker of forests Alopeus.
The "stubborn" forester, who piously believes in the justice of the authorities, wrote about the affairs of his chief straight to the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty. Alopeus, having learned about the signal received by the "Administration" of the emperor, in revenge called Reinman a drunkard, insane, about which he hastened to notify the Cabinet.
The case took a serious turn, and therefore, in order to establish the truth, Reinman is suspended for a while from official duties, deprived of his salary and sent to doctors to check if the forester is sane. Meanwhile, the Cabinet is assembling a commission to check the report of the forester on illegal logging. The Commission fully and completely confirms the truth of Reinman's words. The tenant was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of 1,830 rubles in silver. And Alopeus, guilty of abuse of office, went to trial.
For six months, while the investigation lasted, Reinman was kept among the insane, and only at the very end of 1841 was he released from the hospital for the insane.
But … as it turned out, the German with the Russian name Ivan rejoiced early. The litigation threatened to turn into a never-ending process, as Alopeus filed a counterclaim in court, accusing Reinman of libel. But then the unexpected happened: Alopeus, unable to withstand the burden of litigation, died.
The death of the plaintiff did not stop the course of the proceedings. Therefore, "forest officials" once again declare Reinman mentally ill, despite all the assurances of doctors about the patient's complete mental health. The newly minted chief caretaker by the name of Westerlund writes a paper to his superiors that Reinman is crazy, and the case was closed, because, as they say, there is nothing to take from fools. And so that no one suspects anything, the forester is sent under the supervision of his brother, in whose house he spent almost two months under lock and key.
Alopeus didn't care anymore, and nobody wanted to hire Reinman with papers bearing the shameful stigma of the word "crazy." Reinman was deeply offended. How could it possibly be that a person who honestly performed his duty is declared insane, thereby undermining his reputation, and then he becomes an outcast of society? The forester decides to seek justice in St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg there was a forestry department, "in charge" of all the forestry affairs of the empire. It was headed by the Chamberlain and Vice-President of the Imperial Cabinet, His Excellency Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Gagarin.
The prince was one of the favorites of Tsar-Emperor Nicholas I. At the end of 1832, Gagarin was appointed manager of all the imperial glass and porcelain factories. Actually, Gagarin brought this industry into exemplary order. Three years later, he is appointed vice president of the Imperial Cabinet. In addition, he was a member of the commission for the restoration of the Winter Palace, damaged after the fire in 1837.
Only one circumstance spoiled the career of his Excellency: it was the forester Reinman who became him. Fate is an unpredictable lady. Having directed Gagarin and Reinman towards each other, she probably knew that the result would be sad. Meanwhile, the German Ivan found himself in Gagarin's waiting room with a petition. His Excellency, without bothering to figure out what the petitioner came to him with (and the request was, in fact, a trifle: to restore him to his previous position of forestry manager and recognize him as mentally healthy), Reinman was "angry and kicked out."
It turned out that Reinman was dismissed from the forestry in a hurry, "retroactively." Left penniless, work and desperate to find at least some job with such a "diagnosis", Reinman still did not lose hope of finding understanding. Still wondering how it is possible to fall out of favor as a reward for a long and blameless service, the forester pays another visit to Gagarin, and sat in his reception for two days in a row.
And these two days, alas, were wasted. Once again, humiliated and morally crushed, Reinman dares to take a desperate step. If the tsarist bureaucracy is so clumsy, lazy and inactive, then the forester has no choice but to try himself, alone, to put things in order in the “ineffective” Russian chancellery. (Poor, poor Ivan! How many such desperate heads, seeking justice in the bureaucratic swamp, died without achieving anything).
Ivan Reinman uses his last money to buy two pistols from an unfamiliar merchant at the bazaar. Having charged both, he hides them in the pockets of his coat and, for the umpteenth time, goes to see Gagarin. This time he sat in the presence from early morning until three in the afternoon. It was exactly three o'clock when Nikolai Sergeevich Gagarin appeared in the waiting room, again saw the former suppliant Reinman there and, turning purple, roared: “So you are here again? Go away!". Turning his back to the petitioner, the prince was about to leave, but did not have time. His last words were drowned in the roar of shots: the "rebel" fired from both barrels, but the prince got only one bullet - in the neck. The wound turned out to be fatal and soon the prince died.
The deed of the German forester thundered throughout Mother Russia. The sovereign, having received the news of the death of one of his best officials, fell into indescribable rage. The reaction was immediate: the emperor gave an order to immediately try the forester by a military court, and that by the morning of the next day the sentence should be submitted to him for approval. The court considered the murder committed by Reinman, the most serious, and, therefore, the sentence should be the most severe. Therefore, he decided to punish the criminal, for the edification of the rest, with gauntlets, driving him through a thousand people six times. And also to deprive all rights of the state and send to Siberia to hard labor.
Nicholas I immediately signs the verdict (which in fact meant certain death), because it is impossible to withstand six thousand blows.
For huge Russia, the deed of the forester, who shot the official who mocked him, became a pretext for action. Therefore, the story that happened in the Starolakhtinsky forestry turned out to be not the only one and pulled a chain of subsequent ones …
