Pushkin's "Klevetnikam Rossii" (1831)

[Beth Holmgren]

I'd also recommend you take a look at Megan Dixon's article,
"Repositioning Pushkin and the Poems of the Polish Uprising" in the
volume POLISH ENCOUNTERS, RUSSIAN IDENTITY, ed. by David L. Ransel and
Bozena Shallcross (Indiana University Press, 2005).

Beth Holmgren


On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 22:35:09 +0100, you wrote:

>Dear Philippe,
>
>I have some notes on this myself.  Here they are - summarized from Binyon's
>biography of Pushkin:
>
>"During the 1820s Russian rule in Poland had grown more oppressive. In
>November 1830 the Poles had rebelled and a war had begun.  The Poles asked
>France to support them, and Pushkin was afraid that a new European war might
>begin. In late August 1831, the Russian army took Warsaw and Poland was once
>again subdued.  Even as a young radical, Pushkin had been supportive of
>Russian imperialism in the Caucasus, so it is not especially surprising that
>he joined with Zhukovsky in publishing a small brochure On the Taking of
>Warsaw.  This contained one poem by Zhukovsky and two by Pushkin: ŒTo the
>Slanderers of Russia¹ and ŒBorodino Anniversary¹.  The former, the more
>important of these two poems, is addressed primarily to various French
>politicians who had been critical of Russia.  Pushkin¹s central argument is
>depressingly similar to one repeated only too often by the Soviet regime in
>similar circumstances: that this is a quarrel between Slavs, a Œdomestic
>quarrel¹, and it is not for outsiders to interfere.  The three poems were,
>unsurprisingly admired at court.  No less surprisingly, many liberals,
>including Vyazemsky, were fiercely critical, accusing Pushkin of currying
>favour with the Tsar.  There is no doubt that this last criticism was
>unfair.  Whatever one may think of them, Pushkin¹s views were deeply held
>and entirely sincere."
>
>BUT I AM NO LONGER CONFIDENT OF MY LAST SENTENCE.  Pushkin wrote this poem
>at more or less the same time as he finally gave in to demands to rewrite
>his earlier version of BORIS GODUNOV; the original version was considered
>too positive in its portrayal of the False Dmitry (who, of course, enjoyed
>Polish support).  This does seem to have been a time when Pushkin - insecure
>in many ways and desperately short of money - seems to have been trying to
>improve his position with the authorities.
>
>I too would be very interested to know what other people think.
>
>Vsego dobrogo,
>
>Robert
>
>> Dear list members,
>>  
>> As I am preparing a contribution on relations between Russia and "Europe", I
>> came accross Pushkin's piece of poetry "Klevetnikam Rossii", where he
>> justifies the Russian repression of the Polish uprisal in 1830-31 against
>> French deputies expressing their sympathy to Poles.
>>  
>> The text (a rather nationalist piece) is in marked contrast with Pushkin's
>> supposed progressist views...
>>  
>> Could someone give me any any clue on where this text was first published in
>> Russia and France and under what circumstances it was written ?
>>  
>> Thanks in advance
>>  
>> Philippe
>> (Strasbourg, France)
>>  
>> 
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