Summary
Count Rostopchín, Moscow's governor, faces his moment of reckoning as Napoleon approaches. When angry crowds gather demanding action, he feels his power slipping away—like an administrator who thought he was steering a great ship, only to realize during a storm that he was merely clinging to it with a boat hook. Desperate to maintain control and deflect blame, Rostopchín presents Vereshchágin, a young alleged traitor, to the mob as a sacrifice. What follows is a horrific scene of mob violence that Rostopchín himself commands, shouting 'Cut him down!' The crowd tears the young man apart in a frenzy of bloodlust. Afterward, as Rostopchín flees in his carriage, he encounters a madman who seems to mirror his own guilt, screaming about resurrection and torn bodies. The governor tries to justify his actions through the concept of 'public good'—that convenient lie people tell themselves when they commit atrocities. He meets with Kutuzov, attempting to shift blame for Moscow's fall, but the old general sees through him. This chapter exposes how authority figures create scapegoats to maintain power, how easily civilized people become savage when given permission, and how we rationalize evil through noble-sounding principles. Rostopchín's blood-stained memory will haunt him forever, showing that some acts cannot be justified, no matter how we dress them up.
Coming Up in Chapter 255
As Moscow empties and burns, we follow the streams of refugees fleeing the doomed city. Among them, familiar faces make desperate choices about what to save and what to abandon as the old world crumbles around them.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Toward nine o’clock in the morning, when the troops were already moving through Moscow, nobody came to the count any more for instructions. Those who were able to get away were going of their own accord, those who remained behind decided for themselves what they must do. The count ordered his carriage that he might drive to Sokólniki, and sat in his study with folded hands, morose, sallow, and taciturn. In quiet and untroubled times it seems to every administrator that it is only by his efforts that the whole population under his rule is kept going, and in this consciousness of being indispensable every administrator finds the chief reward of his labor and efforts. While the sea of history remains calm the ruler-administrator in his frail bark, holding on with a boat hook to the ship of the people and himself moving, naturally imagines that his efforts move the ship he is holding on to. But as soon as a storm arises and the sea begins to heave and the ship to move, such a delusion is no longer possible. The ship moves independently with its own enormous motion, the boat hook no longer reaches the moving vessel, and suddenly the administrator, instead of appearing a ruler and a source of power, becomes an insignificant, useless, feeble man. Rostopchín felt this, and it was this which exasperated him. The superintendent of police, whom the crowd had stopped, went in to see him at the same time as an adjutant who informed the count that the horses were harnessed. They were both pale, and the superintendent of police, after reporting that he had executed the instructions he had received, informed the count that an immense crowd had collected in the courtyard and wished to see him. Without saying a word Rostopchín rose and walked hastily to his light, luxurious drawing room, went to the balcony door, took hold of the handle, let it go again, and went to the window from which he had a better view of the whole crowd. The tall lad was standing in front, flourishing his arm and saying something with a stern look. The blood-stained smith stood beside him with a gloomy face. A drone of voices was audible through the closed window. “Is my carriage ready?” asked Rostopchín, stepping back from the window. “It is, your excellency,” replied the adjutant. Rostopchín went again to the balcony door. “But what do they want?” he asked the superintendent of police. “Your excellency, they say they have got ready, according to your orders, to go against the French, and they shouted something about treachery. But it is a turbulent crowd, your excellency—I hardly managed to get away from it. Your excellency, I venture to suggest...” “You may go. I don’t need you to tell me what to do!” exclaimed Rostopchín angrily. He stood by the balcony door looking at the crowd. “This is what they have done with Russia! This is what they have done with me!”...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Scapegoat Creation
Authority figures maintain power by sacrificing vulnerable targets to deflect blame and channel public anger away from themselves.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when authority figures create scapegoats to deflect from their own failures and maintain control.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when problems at work or in the news get blamed on individual people rather than systemic issues—ask yourself who benefits from this person taking the fall.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Scapegoating
The practice of blaming one person or group for problems they didn't cause, usually to deflect attention from the real culprits. Leaders use scapegoats to channel public anger away from themselves and toward a convenient target.
Modern Usage:
Politicians blame immigrants for economic problems, or bosses blame one employee when the whole department is failing.
Mob mentality
When normally decent people become violent and irrational as part of a crowd. Individual conscience gets overwhelmed by group emotions, and people do things they'd never do alone.
Modern Usage:
We see this in everything from sports riots to online harassment campaigns where thousands pile on one person.
Administrative delusion
The false belief that bureaucrats and managers have that they're actually controlling big systems or events. Like thinking you're steering a massive ship when you're just holding a tiny rope.
Modern Usage:
Middle managers who think they run the company, or politicians who claim credit for economic trends they had nothing to do with.
Public good rationalization
The way people justify terrible actions by claiming they're for the greater good or society's benefit. It's how ordinary people convince themselves that cruelty is actually noble.
Modern Usage:
People justify everything from workplace bullying to police brutality by saying it's 'for the greater good' or 'sends a message.'
Authority in crisis
How leaders behave when their power is threatened - they often become desperate, cruel, and irrational. Real crises reveal who actually has control and who was just pretending.
Modern Usage:
CEOs during company layoffs, politicians during scandals, or managers when their department is being restructured.
Blood guilt
The psychological weight of having caused someone's death or suffering, especially when done for selfish reasons. This guilt often haunts people forever, no matter how they try to justify it.
Modern Usage:
Doctors who make fatal mistakes, drivers in deadly accidents, or anyone whose decisions led to someone getting seriously hurt.
Characters in This Chapter
Count Rostopchín
Desperate authority figure
Moscow's governor who realizes his power is an illusion as Napoleon approaches. He sacrifices an innocent man to an angry mob to save his own reputation and maintain the appearance of control.
Modern Equivalent:
The CEO who throws employees under the bus during a corporate scandal
Vereshchágin
Scapegoat victim
A young man accused of treason who becomes Rostopchín's sacrifice to the mob. His brutal murder shows how easily innocent people become victims when leaders need someone to blame.
Modern Equivalent:
The whistleblower who gets fired and blacklisted for exposing company problems
The crowd/mob
Collective antagonist
Ordinary Moscow citizens who transform into a bloodthirsty mob when given permission by authority. They tear apart an innocent man while convincing themselves they're being patriotic.
Modern Equivalent:
Social media users who destroy someone's life over a viral video without knowing the full story
Kutuzov
Truth-telling elder
The old general who sees through Rostopchín's attempts to shift blame for Moscow's fall. He represents wisdom that cuts through political spin and self-serving excuses.
Modern Equivalent:
The veteran employee who calls out management's lies during a company crisis
Key Quotes & Analysis
"While the sea of history remains calm the ruler-administrator in his frail bark, holding on with a boat hook to the ship of the people and himself moving, naturally imagines that his efforts move the ship he is holding on to."
Context: Describing how administrators delude themselves about their power during peaceful times
This metaphor perfectly captures how middle management and bureaucrats overestimate their importance. They think they're steering the ship when they're barely hanging on to it.
In Today's Words:
When things are going smooth, every manager thinks they're running the show, but they're really just along for the ride.
"Cut him down! I command it!"
Context: Ordering the mob to kill Vereshchágin to deflect their anger from himself
This moment shows how quickly authority figures will sacrifice innocent people to save themselves. Rostopchín becomes a murderer to protect his reputation.
In Today's Words:
Do whatever it takes to destroy him - that's an order!
"It was necessary for the public good."
Context: Trying to justify the murder to himself afterward
The classic rationalization of evil - wrapping cruelty in noble language. This is how people sleep at night after doing terrible things.
In Today's Words:
I had to do it for everyone's sake.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
Rostopchín discovers his authority was always illusory—he was clinging to power with a boat hook, not steering it
Development
Evolved from earlier scenes of aristocratic privilege to this raw exposure of power's true nature
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when your boss's authority crumbles during a real crisis, revealing how little control they actually had.
Mob Psychology
In This Chapter
Civilized people transform into savage killers when given permission and a target by authority
Development
Introduced here as Tolstoy examines how quickly social order collapses into violence
In Your Life:
You see this in online pile-ons where reasonable people join vicious attacks once someone gives them permission to be cruel.
Moral Rationalization
In This Chapter
Rostopchín justifies murder through 'public good'—the convenient lie that dresses up atrocities as noble acts
Development
Developed from earlier characters' self-deception into this extreme example of moral blindness
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself justifying harmful actions by claiming they serve a greater good or protect others.
Guilt and Memory
In This Chapter
The blood-stained memory haunts Rostopchín immediately, showing some acts cannot be rationalized away
Development
Introduced here as Tolstoy explores the psychological cost of evil actions
In Your Life:
You know this feeling when you've hurt someone and no amount of justification can erase the memory of what you did.
Scapegoating
In This Chapter
Vereshchágin becomes the perfect sacrifice—young, defenseless, already labeled as other and dangerous
Development
Introduced here as a key mechanism of how societies deflect responsibility
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when your workplace blames the newest employee for problems that existed long before they arrived.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Rostopchín decide to hand Vereshchágin over to the angry crowd instead of protecting him?
analysis • surface - 2
How does Rostopchín transform from feeling powerless to feeling in control during this scene?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen leaders throw someone under the bus to save themselves when things go wrong?
application • medium - 4
If you were in a workplace where your boss was setting up a coworker as a scapegoat, what would you do?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how ordinary people can become violent when given permission by authority?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Scapegoat Pattern
Think of a recent situation where someone in authority blamed an individual for a bigger problem. Draw or write out the three stages: What crisis threatened the leader's power? Who did they choose as the target? How did they redirect anger toward that person? Then identify what the leader gained by sacrificing someone else.
Consider:
- •Look for vulnerable targets - people with less power, different backgrounds, or who can't fight back
- •Notice how the scapegoat is presented as the real problem, not just part of it
- •Pay attention to how quickly crowds turn violent when given permission by authority
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt pressured to blame someone else for a problem you were part of. What stopped you or what made you do it? How did it feel afterward?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 255: When Order Dissolves Into Chaos
In the next chapter, you'll discover disciplined organizations can rapidly collapse when structure disappears, and learn individual accountability matters more than grand explanations for disasters. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.