And you are an obedient people to them. Mikhail Lermontov - Farewell, unwashed Russia: Verse
Goodbye, unwashed Russia,
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
Analysis of the poem "Goodbye, unwashed Russia" by Lermontov
Lermontov often expressed sharp social and political views in his works. One of the strongest in this regard is the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia." It was created by the poet in 1840, on the eve of his trip to the Caucasus. Many see in him Lermontov's foresight of his death, since the farewell to his homeland was the last.
Russia's ill-wishers often pose this work as an example of harsh criticism of his country by one of its best representatives. One can admit the validity of this opinion. But do not forget that only a person of this magnitude has every right to make such statements. Lermontov deeply loved Russia, he perfectly understood and felt all its shortcomings, the main of which he considered the political system. It is also necessary to take into account the time of creation of the work. Towards the end of his life, the poet experienced a feeling of bitter disappointment in his life. The death of Pushkin, the persecution for, the rejection of society - all this had a depressing effect on the author.
Lermontov despised high society and did not want to continue military service... His dream was to completely devote himself to literary activity. But the rigid framework of censorship here also limited the poet's freedom. The result was a severe spiritual crisis. In this state, the sharply negative poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia" was written.
The first stanza is full of caustic remarks. "Unwashed Russia" symbolizes the dullness and darkness of the overwhelming mass of the population. The country is clearly divided into two main classes: "slaves" and "masters". Arts and sciences, great achievements and victory are just an external cosmetic coating. It is based on the power of the "blue uniforms" over the "obedient people". Lermontov is not particularly enthusiastic about the trip to the Caucasus. He sees it as just an attempt to get rid of the "all-seeing eye" and "all-hearing ears." In these figurative expressions, Lermontov described the atmosphere of total control and surveillance that pervades the entire Russian society.
“Farewell, unwashed Russia” is a merciless assessment of Russian reality in the mid-19th century. In many ways, it is caused by the poet's fatigue and irritation, but is based on love for his Fatherland and the desire for her good and happiness. It is sad that a person, guided in his life only by the best intentions, was forced to say goodbye to his homeland in this way.
Original taken from pankratiev in the OPENING SHOWED
old, but well-oiled springs of the mechanism of Russophobia and information war against Russia:
hippy_end folded the body about Lermontov's unwashed Russia
The video of the speech of the President of Ukraine before yesterday's big concert dedicated to the "Holiday of Visa" has already flown around the interested part of the audience on the Internet
It is short, so you can quickly see in the original how the Ukrainian president aptly quoted the verses of the Russian (!) Poet:
Pyotr Alekseevich mentioned that these poems belonged to another, like a classic of world literature, the great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov
Well, well, yesterday I easily found on the Internet very interesting, in my opinion, information about the "authorship of Lermontov" regarding this pair of stanzas, which, in my naive opinion, is a direct illustration of how in the second half of the 19th century future information wars began
Warning: the investigation is long, but very interesting
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
I don’t know how things are now, but earlier this poem was invariably included in the lists of works recommended and even required for study in high school. Here it is quoted from Lermontov's two-volume edition 1988 edition.
And this is how it sounds according to Volume 2 Complete collection works edited by B.M. Eikhenbaum (1936 edition):
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you obedient to them people.
Take cover from your kings,
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
A seasoned Soviet reader hardly asked himself the question: why, in fact, in the 1936 edition the people were “obedient”, and in the 1988 edition - “devoted”? And why in 1936 the poet intended to “hide behind the ridge from the kings”, and in 1988 - “to hide behind the wall from the pasha”? ..
(And why in the comments to the 1936 edition it is confidently written: "So, obviously, this verse should be printed," text? ..)
If such questions arose among the Soviet reader, he easily found an answer to them: apparently, the great Russian poet M. Yu. Lermontov wrote his poems in several versions, worked a lot on them, improved them, each time finding new colors to describe your feelings.
Let's see how the famous verses were improved. For the first time their appearance was recorded 32 years after the death of Lermontov.
[The most famous and popular Russian poet (!) And even under the conditions of the tendency of the Russian intelligentsia to freethinking, populism and free thought of the middle of the 19th century - Hippie End]
In the spring 1873 year P.I.Bartenev, a Pushkin scholar, founder, publisher and editor of the Russian Archive magazine, wrote to P.A.
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, obedient people to them.
Perhaps behind the ridge of the Caucasus
I will hide from your ts ... her,
From their unseeing eye
From their deaf ears.
It was this version that was published in the 1936 edition (and even as "the most authoritative") - with one significant exception: seemingly small changes in the last two lines give them meaning, exactly opposite the one we are used to:
I will hide from your kings,
From their unseeing eyes,
From their deaf ears.
I hide from your pasha,
From their all-seeing eyes,
From their all-hearing ears.
So, in the first version of the poem known to us - instead of the theme of total control and surveillance by the "pasha" of the ruling regime, which is familiar to us from the school bench - despair is expressed that our "kings" are blind and deaf (obviously, to the suffering of the people).
The poem given in the letter by PI Bartenev was preceded by a short remark: "Lermontov's poems copied from the original." From what other "original" and who exactly "copied" - it remains a mystery forever ...
The next appearance of the poem about unwashed Russia, we also owe P.I.Bartenev. In his letter to N.V. Putyata (no later than 1877), on a separate sheet, it is given already with the "correct" last lines:
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, the people obedient to them.
Perhaps behind the ridge of the Caucasus
I will hide from your kings
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
« Copied from the original"- noted PI Bartenev in a letter of 1873. " From the original hand of Lermontov", - he clarifies in a letter to N. V. Putyata (where, by the way , the meaning of the last two lines is expanded, in comparison with the version of 1873, exactly 180 degrees).
[The "original" is one, but there are two different texts in it at the same time, and, as it were, in four stanzas in two versions, and in two in one (!) - Hippie Eng]
If not for the death of Lermontov three decades earlier, we could well think about the extraordinary exactingness with which the poet finalizes his work ...
Despite the fact that poems about unwashed Russia were discovered in 1873 by P.I.Bartenev, they should be published - at least in his own journal! - he was in no hurry. Their first publication, 14 years later, carried out by the famous biographer of Lermontov P.A.Viskovatov.
[Those. in the era of just a wave of free-thinking in Russia in the 70-80s. XIX century - the time of Dostoevsky, Chernyshevsky, Nekrasov, Narodnaya Volya and the domination of the culture of the already formed Russian intelligentsia, such verses of such a symbol of Russian poetry as Mikhail Lermontov, not that they were NOT immediately picked up, but “lay in the tables of publishers ... for 14 years ( fourteen years old, Karl (!)- Hippie End]
In one of the issues of the magazine "Russian Starina" for 1887, at the end of his article devoted to the analysis of a completely different poem by Lermontov, he quite unexpectedly quoted poems about unwashed Russia:
The end of the article by P. A. Viskovatov in the journal "Russian Starina" (1887)
As we can see, the version of P.A.Viskovatov is somewhat different from the two that are given in the letters of P.I.Bartenev. Considering that in those letters P. I. Bartenev always referred to some "originals", it should probably be concluded that P. A. Viskovatov in his publication also relied on some kind of "original" unknown to us - however , he generally bypasses the question of the origin of the text he made public.
Only in 1890, 17 years after that very first letter of his with poems P. I. Bartenev considered it possible to publish them in his journal "Russian Archive", successfully filling them free place at the end of the page and preceded them with a title that completely ignores the publications of P.A.Viskovatov (and there were already two of them by that time):
"Unpublished Ossistichie of Lermontov" in the magazine "Russian Archive" (1890)
It turns out that this is already third version of the poem known to P.I.Bartenev. The first two, according to him, were (it is not clear by whom) copied from the "originals", and one of those "originals" was even "the hands of Lermontov." As for the third version, published by him in the "Russian Archive", here PI Bartenev does not even mention any "hand of Lermontov", making a cautious postscript: "Recorded from the words of the poet by a contemporary."
Like this. Not that manuscripts — even a list from a manuscript at P. I. Bartenev in 1890 no longer exists (and where, excuse me, where did his former “lists from the originals” go?). Someone once wrote something down ... What "contemporary"? Whose contemporary? Under what circumstances and when did he write these verses? What's his name at least? ..
There are no answers to these questions to this day.... And it is precisely this text, the third version of PI Bartenev, which we all now know as a poem by M. Yu. Lermontov! ..
I am conducting a thought experiment: it is necessary to establish the authorship of some text. True, there is no manuscript, but there are several documentary evidence. I lay them out in front of me and begin to read:
P. I. Bartenev, in a letter from 1873: (“Here are some more poems of Lermontov,
copied from the original»)
And you, obedient im people
From the original hand of Lermontov»)
And you, obedient im people
And you loyal to them people
P. I. Bartenev, magazine of 1890 (" Recorded from the words of the poet by a contemporary»)
And you, loyal to them people
I don't understand ... 1873 is an obedient year. Around the same time, but no later than 1877 - obedient. 1887 - devotee. Lord, but in fact there is revision text! But how can it be if the alleged author died in 1841?..
copied from the original»)
Perhaps for ridge Caucasus
I will hide from your kings
P. I. Bartenev, in a letter of 1877 (" From the original hand of Lermontov»)
Perhaps for ridge Caucasus
I will hide from your kings
P.A.Viskovatov, in an article of 1887 (there is no indication of the source)
Perhaps behind the ridge of the Caucasus
I will hide from your chiefs
according to the poet's contemporary»)
Perhaps for by the wall Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
The ridge held on for the longest time - from 1873 to 1890, until, finally, it was replaced by a more euphonious “wall” in this case.
But the most painful thing was the refinement of the rhyme for the word "ears". Kings? .. No. Leaders? .. Not very much either. Pasha? .. Yes! Ideally: "Pasha - ears" (and in general, the word "pasha" is still on everyone's lips: not long ago, just ten years ago, the great Russian-Turkish war ended in complete victory - and there, after all, Osman Pasha and Nadir Pasha, and Mukhtar Pasha, and many others).
But the most fundamental - because semantic - revision was made in the final two lines:
P. I. Bartenev, in a letter of 1873 (“Here are some more poems of Lermontov,
copied from the original»)
From their unseeing eyes,
From their deaf ears
P.I.Bartenev, in a letter of 1877 (“With the original hand of Lermontov»)
From their all-seeing eyes,
From their all-hearing ears
P.A.Viskovatov, in an article of 1887 (there is no indication of the source)
From their all-seeing eyes,
From their all-hearing ears
P. I. Bartenev, magazine of 1890 (“Recorded according to the poet's contemporary»)
From their all-seeing eyes,
From their all-hearing ears
The processing is thorough and deep: from eyes that see nothing to eyes that see and notice absolutely everything. From the ears that do not hear the moans of the people, to the ears with which literally all the walls in unwashed Russia are stuffed - there is nowhere to go from these all-hearing ears! ..
As you can see, the methods of hybrid information warfare are not at all a product of modernity, but were fully used back in the distant 70s and 80s. 19th century
Moreover, here's what is interesting: in painting, as you know, there is a fully qualified examination of the authenticity of works attributed to famous artists
So isn't it time to introduce a similar institution to establish authenticity? literary works attributed to the classics of world literature (?)
But you see for yourself - they are quite using it within the framework of an ordinary hybrid information war ...
====
In the first part, devoted to a parody of Lermontov's poems, attributed to the pen of the "most" great poet, a detailed investigation was carried out of the appearance and completion of the famous two stanzas about "unwashed Russia" almost four decades after the death of the poet
Which, in my naive opinion, was a good illustration of how back in the second half of the 19th century those same hybrid information wars of the West against the East in general, and Russia-USSR, in particular, began.
Here are a few more opinions of people who were involved in the work of M. Yu. Lermontov about this "Lermontov poem", not only published "from his name" for a century and a half, but even included in the school courses of Russian literature (!)
Pay particular attention to the completely authentic (as opposed to this literary "mystification of the century") text from the work of another great Russian writer and poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - it is very indicative, since in it "unwashed Russia" is shown precisely through the eyes of a "washed and cultured foreigner "
So - I quote:
« Academician N.N. Skatov in his article dedicated to the 190th birthday of Mikhail Lermontov, he confirmed:
"All this again and again makes you return (to last time it was done by M.D. Elzon) to one of the most famous attributed Lermontov poems. As is known, there is no autograph of this poem... Well, it happens. But for more than thirty years, no evidence of any oral information has appeared: this is about Lermontov's poem of such a degree of political radicalism.
There is not a single list, except for the one to which P.I.Bartenev refers, from whose submission the poem became known in 1873, and which is also allegedly lost. By the way, the speech in the poem about the desire to hide behind the "wall of the Caucasus" while Lermontov went to serve on North Caucasus, that is, strictly speaking, before reaching up to its wall.
Academician Skatov Nikolay Nikolaevich
Finally, the main thing - this contradicts Lermontov's entire system of views, more and more entrenched in its Russophilia, which is even called rusoman and who writes (here is the autograph in Vl. F. Odoevsky's album, just preserved): " Russia has no past: it is all in the present and the future... Affected by the tale: Eruslan Lazarevich sat in a seat for 20 years and slept soundly, but at the age of 21 he woke up from a heavy sleep - he got up and walked ... and he met 37 kings and 70 heroes and beat them and sat down to reign over them ... Such is Russia ... "
"Literary scholars who value their reputation usually stipulate the absence of an autograph and never attribute a work to the author without at least lifetime copies. But not in this case! Both publications - by P.A. Viskovatov, and then P.I. Bartenev, although they are not once caught in bad faith, were accepted without a doubt and further disputes were only about discrepancies. And here a controversy unfolded, which has not subsided until now.
[Remember also the post in this magazine about the basics of information warfare with a specially published simple formula: emotions - stimulus - emotional reaction ...? Well, watch out for the manipulations: love for the "washed West" and contempt for your home country(emotions) - stimulus: a parody attributed to the pen of the most famous and authoritative poet in the cultural Russian environment: "Farewell, unwashed Russia, country of slaves, country of masters ..." reaction of joy from such an authoritative confirmation of their initial emotions - as you can see, everything is very simple - Hippie End]
It was because of the first line that the poem became popular, and for some it is now over-topical. Today, everyone who speaks and writes about Russia scornfully, with a mockery, complete rejection of its social, both pre-revolutionary and revolutionary systems, will certainly cite the famous line, taking it as their allies and referring to the authority of the great national poet. This is symptomatic. A stronger literary argument for defaming Russia than a reference to her national poetic genius, it's hard to come up with. "
Before naming the author's name, let's pay attention to several features of the mentioned poem. First of all, the adjective "unwashed". Let's turn to Lermontov's elder brother. In his essay " Travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg"(the title was given in a controversy with the essay of the liberal Alexander Radishchev" A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow ") Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin cites the following dialogue between the author and the Englishman:
"I. What struck you most of all in the Russian peasant?
He. His neatness, cleverness and freedom.
I. How is it?
He. Your the peasant goes to the bathhouse every Saturday; he washes himself every morning, more than that washes his hands several times a day... There is nothing to say about his intelligence. Travelers travel from region to region across Russia, not knowing a single word of your language, and everywhere they are understood, fulfill their requirements, conclude conditions; I have never met between them what our neighbors call un badoud, I have never noticed in them either coarse surprise or ignorant contempt for someone else's. Everyone knows their susceptibility; agility and dexterity are amazing ...
I. Fairly; but freedom? Do you really regard the Russian peasant as free?
He. Take a look at it: what could be freer than his circulation! Is there even a shadow of slavish humiliation in his gait and speech? Have you been to England? "
Who could?
Human other historical time and origin.
Kutyreva reports that this poem "rather parodies Pushkin's lines" Goodbye free element!", a nowhere else found in Lermontov"blue uniforms" appear in the satirical poem "The Demon", written in 1874-1879 by a former official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who discovered the gift of poet-satirist Dmitry Dmitrievich Minaev.
Dmitry Minaev
It was in the post-reform era among the intelligentsia and semi-education it has become fashionable to scold not only the government, but also Russia... By the end of the reign of Nicholas I, it came to idiocy and savagery - educated people wanted us to be beaten in Sevastopol and Crimean war! And when this, unfortunately, happened, only the enemies of Russia were the winner.
The children of priests and officials hated not only their class, their environment, their government, but the entire Russian people. This bacillus infected the Bolsheviks, who also wanted defeat in the war with Japan and Germany. Their heirs introduced a disgusting rhyme, attributing it to Lermontov, into school anthologies, so that the pernicious smell would spread to subsequent generations.
In October, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Lermontov, and we hope that the truth will be restored not only in the works of literary scholars, but also in school textbooks... This is much more important "
Well, I would specifically argue with the "hatred of the Bolsheviks" - because the Bolsheviks were first of all pragmatists, and this differed from political competitors: first, practical thinking, then - "ideas" and emotions, which cannot be said about the quoted author
But the fact that these two stanzas are just a parody and a rather simple and crude forgery, I will try to make it clear in the next post, which concludes this unexpected topic for the magazine, about the use of an outright fake in an informational, hybrid war that has been lasting for more than a hundred years.
Well, now you can compare the two poems standing next to each other, included in school course Russian literature, one of which really belongs to Lermontov, and the other ... just still, it turns out, is included in the course of Russian literature
After which there will be, I hope, the most interesting
But first - I quote:
“… Let's remember two poems. Both took place at school.
1. HOMELAND
I love my homeland, but with a strange love!
My mind will not conquer her.
Not blood-bought glory
No peace full of proud confidence,
Neither dark antiquity cherished traditions
Do not stir in me a joyful dream.
But I love - why, I don't know myself -
Cold silence of her steppes,
Its endless forests sway,
The floods of her rivers are like the seas;
I like to ride in a cart on a country road
And, with a slow gaze piercing the night shadow,
To meet on the sides, sighing for an overnight stay,
The quivering lights of the sad villages;
I love the smoke of burnt stubble
Overnight wagon train in the steppe
And on a hill in the middle of a yellow cornfield
A couple of whitening birches.
With joy, unfamiliar to many,
I see a full threshing floor
Hut, covered with straw,
Window with carved shutters;
And on a holiday, dewy evening,
Watch until midnight ready
To the dance with stamping and whistling
Under the talk of drunken peasants.
2. Goodbye, unwashed Russia
Goodbye unwashed Russia
A land of slaves, a land of masters.
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
The manuscript of the first poem has come down to us. Lermontov's hand... The second appeared in the lists in the early 70s of the XIX, then in the magazine "Russian Starina" under his name in 46 (!) years after the fatal duel. Moreover, the canonical "pasha" in that publication in the lists is preceded by "leaders", there is a variant of "kings". Not known neither the draft, nor Lermontov's autograph "
You know, as a person who has had a lot to do with poetry in life, I can tell you that there is no such delicate lightness in the second verse top level poetic skill, which is in the first
But the chopped style is a good parody - in the second verse it is just there
So I took it and just did a simple experiment right there and then.
Namely, in just 5 minutes I socialized a "parody of a parody", but NOT on a topic that was topical in the 70s and 80s of the last century, but on a topic that is relevant now - in the mid-2010s
So ... about the information stuffing that oppresses us in the course of modern hybrid wars:
Goodbye wretched mind
Always slaves to other people's masters,
And you hybrid creatures
And you, the people who believe in them.
Perhaps on the mountains of the Caucasus
I'll take cover by kicking you with your blow
From your blind eye
From non-filtering ears.
Well, how, "scourges"?
In five minutes, Karl!
But if I wanted to, I could have, in the style of that Lermontov time, something, taking some original line of the same Pushkin as a basis, "supposedly Lermontov's" to compose ...
And what am I now ... "Lermontov", (?)
In general, imagine how powerful the "hybrid effect" had to be on the brains of many people, so that for a whole century or more, it would seem that all these inconsistencies were not noticed in relation to the work of one of the world's greatest writers (and "Hero of Our Time" is included in the " best novels of all times and peoples "), the great classics of Russian poetry, whose works were thoroughly studied during all this time by many state maintenance Lermontovedov (!)
We can say that it is a demonstrative operation to introduce "hybrid products" into the heads of civilized people according to a simple scheme: emotions - stimulus - emotional reaction ... - multiple repetitions in a closed loop.
So successful that the "ideal victims" have already put this initial "information injection" on a mass conveyor by themselves, having taught it to entire generations of their children in the literal sense of the word.
So isn't it time to take and finally "kick the wretched consciousness with your breath"?
Finally, at the end of the previous post, I tried to show how easy it is to write this kind of parody, in contrast to real Lermontov's poems, making literally in 5 minutes a parody of a parody - on the topic of hybrid wars
And he also hinted that I could, in the spirit of that Lermontov era, write something similar if I wanted
But, of course, this time would have taken more than five minutes, and over time, as you know, I now have a constant tension
Well, so, this hint of mine I have already partly carried out
While having dinner on the balcony, contemplating the setting sun, in fifteen minutes I composed a version of "unwashed Russia", in my humble opinion, perhaps more Lermontov than the "original" attributed to him
First, the fundamental principle, which, by the way, was finalized in late XIX centuries for some years:
Goodbye unwashed Russia
A land of slaves, a land of masters.
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
Well, now compare, trying to remember the work of Lermontov:
Goodbye vicious Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you, the guardians of violence,
And you, obedient people to them.
Perhaps near the ridge of the Caucasus
Hide from your chains
The hypocrites of the all-seeing eye
Rumors of all-hearing speeches.
And even more organic:
Goodbye vicious Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you, the guardians of violence,
And you, obedient people to them.
Perhaps near the ridge of the Caucasus
Hide from your chains
The hypocrites of the all-seeing eye
Rumors of stinging speeches.
"Mikhail Lermontov, previously unknown edition" (written in about 15 minutes), probable time of creation: before the poet's departure to the Caucasus
Note that in the second version there is a less precise rhyme: "chains - speeches"
However, the first version has its analogue - the rhyme, perhaps even more inaccurate: "Russia - blue"
Well, perhaps my version, without false modesty, is not more organic than the general orientation and general atmosphere of the poems of the real Mikhail Lermontov?
Moreover, not for any "wall of the Caucasus" in real life he was NOT going to go, but was going, as those who undertook to expose this fake, rightly noted, to the North Caucasus - that is, "near the ridge of the Caucasus" - clearly more accurate.
Goodbye unwashed Russia
A land of slaves, a land of masters.
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
The poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." Lermontov wrote in Last year his untimely interrupted life. At the very time of the heyday of literary talent.
These simple eight lines are almost the most recognizable passage among the rich literary heritage of the poet. And the point is not even in any special sense, beauty or perfection of the poem's syllable. It's just that these lines have been mandatory for decades. school curriculum and memorized by each new generation of students.
What did the poet want to say with this eight-line? What circumstances prompted him to write the verse "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..."? How deep is the meaning hidden in a few, at first glance, simple lines?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
It is almost impossible to correctly understand any work if viewed outside the context of the historical background. This statement is especially applicable to poetry. After all, a voluminous work such as a novel or a story allows us to draw this very background, which affects our perception, and a short verse most often serves as a kind of expression of emotions caused by the environment and needs explanation.
The poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." (Lermontov), the analysis of which will be carried out, dates back to 1841. At this time, the half-century war in the Caucasus was in full swing. Russia sought to annex these mountainous territories and strengthen the border, and the freedom-loving mountaineers did their best to preserve their freedom.
At that time, the transfer of a soldier or officer to units operating in the Caucasus was synonymous with exile with a one-way ticket. Especially if the person was followed by a corresponding order, which encouraged the use of the above brave man in the hottest spots of battles.
photo: istpravda.ru THE PERSONALITY OF THE WRITER
By 1841, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was already 26 years old (he did not live to see his birthday this year). He had already gained fame as a poet, but as a person in society he was not loved. And this attitude, it must be admitted, was well deserved. The writer deliberately tried to gain a reputation as a joker and a rake. Moreover, his jokes were more caustic and impudent than good-natured. Lermontov's poems and his personal qualities of a noisy frequenter of secular salons were so strikingly inconsistent with each other that most readers considered the experiences reflected in poetry to be a sheer game of rich imagination. Only nice words that do not have the closest relation to him.
However, according to the testimony of his few friends, Mikhail put on the mask in public, and on the paper he poured out the secret songs of the soul that had suffered from the callousness of the world around him.
But no one doubted that the one who wrote "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." was a real patriot. Love for the Motherland was expressed not only in lofty rhymes, but also in military deeds. When the time came to participate in hostilities, Mikhail Yuryevich did not disgrace the honor of his ancient noble family. It is fair to say that military career did not seduce Mikhail at all. He even tried to resign in order to be able to engage in literary activities without distractions, but did not dare to disappoint his grandmother who raised him, who dreamed of seeing her only grandson as a successful military man.
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE
In 1837 Lermontov was convicted for the poem "Death of a Poet" and sent to the first exile in the Caucasus. Thanks to the petition of the grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva, who had connections at court, he did not stay there for long - only a few months. And this stay was for the poet a treasure trove of pleasant impressions rather than a real danger.
At the beginning of 1840, Lermontov got involved in a duel, for which he was sentenced to a second exile in the war zone. This time, the order was accompanied by the order of the emperor on the need to constantly involve the convict in the first line of the offensive.
In connection with these events, the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." was written. Lermontov expressed in it his attitude to the then existing order. He throws daring remarks, in which there is an inexpressible bitterness from the fact that arbitrariness is happening in his beloved Motherland, and the whole people servilely maintains the established order.
This poem, without a doubt, was written impromptu, in one fell swoop. In it, the author threw out all his indignation and desire to leave behind the pain of the injustice. He expresses the hope to find peace far from the Motherland, in the vast expanses of the Caucasus.
Lermontov was not only a talented poet, but also a gifted artist. Many sketches were made by Lermontov during his exile to the Caucasus in 1837. Among them there is a wonderful landscape of Krestovaya mountain Literally every phrase in these two verses contains a serious semantic load. It is worth taking a little time to understand the significance of the images used by Lermontov for people who lived at the end of the turbulent 19th century. Only in this case, the strength and beauty contained in the eight verses in question will appear before you in all its splendor.
"GOODBYE"
The word "goodbye" does not raise any special questions at first. The author goes to the war zone, and such an appeal is quite appropriate here. However, even in this, at first glance, completely obvious and indisputable concept, there is something more. In fact, the poet seeks to say goodbye not to his beloved Motherland, but to the existing social order that is unacceptable to him.
This is a gesture almost bordering on despair. The feeling of indignation seething in the poet's chest spills out with a short "Goodbye!" He may be defeated by the system, but not broken in spirit.
"UNWASHED RUSSIA"
The first and completely legitimate question that arises for everyone who is even a little familiar with the work of Mikhail Yuryevich is the following: why does the poet use the phrase "unwashed Russia"? Lermontov does not mean here the physical impurity of his fellow citizens.
At first, Lermontov's poems testify that it was simply unthinkable for him to humiliate ordinary Russian people. Love and respect for them permeates all of his work. The poet boldly challenges the way of life of the nobility, but he absorbs the life of ordinary peasants as organically as he does the harsh beauty of Russian nature.
And secondly, historically, it so happened that from time immemorial in Russia, the maintenance of cleanliness was held in high esteem. Baths existed in the poorest villages, and the peasants bathed there at least once a week. The same cannot be said about "enlightened" Europe, where sophisticated noble ladies took a bath - at best - two or three times a year. And their cavaliers used gallons of perfume and cologne in order to kill the stench of an unwashed body.
So, with the expression "goodbye, unwashed Russia" Lermontov, whose verse, according to the customs of that time, was supposed to be scattered throughout the noble salons, even without being published, simply wanted to express his disregard for the state structure. It was an insulting remark, which, by the way, could only offend a Russian at that time.
"LAND OF SLAVES"
Even a superficial analysis of the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." does not give grounds to believe that by the word "slaves" the author somehow means serfs. No, here he points to the slavish obedience of the upper class. In fact, the powerlessness of each of them in the face of the mighty of the world this.
"LAND OF THE LORD"
The word "gentlemen" here carries a clear negative connotation. It is akin to the concept of "tyrants" - those who perpetrate reprisals solely at their own discretion. The dissatisfaction of the young poet is understandable. After all, the duel for which he was convicted was just childishness. When Lermontov's opponent, who was the initiator of the duel, missed by shooting, Mikhail simply unloaded his pistol with a shot to the side - he was not going to harm Ernest de Barant, who called him.
duel between Lermontov and De Barant However, it was Mikhail who had to be punished, because Ernest de Barant was a son French ambassador, and his participation in the unseemly incident was simply hushed up. Perhaps that is why the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ...", the history of the creation of which is closely connected with a not entirely fair trial, is saturated with such bitterness.
"AND YOU, BLUE UNITS ..."
In the Russian Empire, blue uniforms were worn by representatives of the gendarmerie, who were not particularly popular either among the common people or among the military. And the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." does not depict them at all as a force that maintains order, but as accomplices of the existing tsarist arbitrariness.
"AND YOU, THEIR DEVOTED PEOPLE"
People loyal to the security department? Yes, it never happened! Here Lermontov speaks not so much about the people as people, but about state structure generally. The author believes that Russia has lagged well behind the neighboring powers in Europe in terms of the level of development of the state apparatus. And this situation is possible only because the people as a whole meekly support the existing order.
"IT MAY BE HIDDEN BEYOND THE WALL OF THE CAUCASUS"
The desire to hide from anything in a war zone may not seem entirely logical. However, for Lermontov, the Caucasus was a truly special place. He first visited it when he was still a little boy, and he carried vivid impressions of this period throughout his life.
During his first exile, Mikhail traveled more than fought. He admired the majestic nature and felt very comfortable away from secular squabbles. Keeping these circumstances in mind, it is easier to understand the poet's desire to hide in the Caucasus.
"... FROM YOUR PASHA"
But the word "pasha" looks somewhat odd when applied to the representatives of power in the Russian Empire. Why Lermontov uses the title of military leaders Ottoman Empire to describe the Russian gendarmes?
Some editions put the word "kings" or even "leaders" in this place. However, it is difficult to agree that it was precisely these options that Lermontov used initially. "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." - a verse in which the author opposes the specific existing order, in which the tsar played a key role. But there can be only one king, like a leader, in a country. Use similar titles in plural in this case it would be simply illiterate.
To contemporaries of Mikhail Yuryevich, such a phrase would definitely cut the ear. Imagine that in the news an announcer says something like: "And today the presidents of our country ...". This is approximately how the phrase “hide from the kings” would have sounded to readers in the 19th century.
Throughout history, the Turks have been irreconcilable enemies for the Russian people. And until now, identification with this nationality is used for offensive nicknames. The verse "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." was written at a time when Turkey for the Russian society was firmly associated with a tough despotic state. Therefore, representatives of the top of the gendarmes were sometimes called pashas to emphasize the attitude of the common people towards them. Apparently, it was this meaning that the great Russian poet put into his poem.
"ALL-SEEING" AND "ALL-HEARING"
The ill-fated duel between Mikhail Lermontov and Ernest de Barant was, of course, exclusively private. A quarrel between young people took place in the house of a certain Countess of Laval, who was giving a ball. The duel itself took place two days later according to all unwritten rules - in a secluded place and in the presence of seconds on both sides.
Despite the fact that this skirmish did not have any unpleasant consequences, less than three weeks had passed since Lermontov was taken into custody. He was charged with the article on "failure to report." Neither the seconds nor his opponent were called to account.
The reason for the start of the investigation was not some specific denunciation of one of the direct participants, but rumors of a duel that spread among the young officers. Therefore, the poet uses the epithets "all-seeing" and "all-hearing", characterizing the work of the security department.
However, some editions of the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." give a diametrically opposite reading of the last two lines. In them, the author complains about “the eyes not seeing” and “ears not hearing”, speaking about the blindness and partiality of the legal proceedings.
Well, this theory has a right to exist. However, why are there so many variations? In the end, Lermontov's poems are not works of a thousand years ago, which archaeologists have to restore bit by bit. And at the time of writing this poem, the author was already famous enough that his creation scattered among the intelligentsia in the blink of an eye, thereby leaving a trail of tens and hundreds of copies. Such discrepancies made many doubt even that this verse was written by Lermontov at all. "Farewell, unwashed Russia ..." has come under crushing criticism.
Photo: emaze.com The main argument given by those who doubt that the author of this poem is Mikhail Lermontov is the time of publication of the work. Almost half a century has passed since the poet's death - 46 years. And the earliest copy of the manuscript copies that have survived to this day dates back to the early 70s of the last century. And this implies a gap of three decades between the writing of the original and the copy.
Not a single sketch or draft, made by the hand of Mikhail Yuryevich himself, also exists. True, Bartnev (the historian who revealed a previously unknown poem) in a letter of a personal nature refers to the existence of the original, written with the pen of Lermontov, however, besides him, no one has ever seen this document.
Even more bewilderment among literary critics is caused by the very nature of the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia ...". An analysis of the author's attitude to the country he is leaving leaves no doubt not only of disappointment, but even, in some way, of disdain for the Motherland, which Lermontov had never shown before.
But, somewhat besieging fans of spectacular revelations, it is worth noting that his famous "Farewell!" Lermontov does not abandon the Motherland, but the imperfect state apparatus. And all the literary critics and biographers of the poet agree with this.
Another argument used by critics is comparative analysis two verses: "Homeland" and "Goodbye, unwashed Russia ...". They were supposedly written several months apart. However, one is imbued with reverence for the Fatherland, and the second is full of epithets that are unflattering for the same Motherland.
Could the poet's mood have changed so dramatically? Is not it so? Notes of bitterness of loneliness are inherent in most of Lermontov's works. We find them, simply expressed more expressively, in the verse "Farewell, unwashed Russia ...". There is no disdain for the native land, which critics are stubbornly trying to point out. There is pain here that the poet would like to see his country prosperous and progressive, but he has to come to terms with the fact that these aspirations are being stifled by the existing regime.
But, in the end, everyone decides for himself personally what to believe in. There are enough arguments both from one side and from the other. And whoever the author of this poem really is, it is firmly rooted in Russian literature and can definitely tell a lot about the situation reigning in the middle of the 19th century.
And for fans of the work of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, there are enough works, the author of which, undoubtedly, is the poet. By the way, the one who was called Pushkin's successor during his lifetime! His literary heritage, no doubt, can be compared with the placers of precious stones in the treasury of Russian literature.
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
"Blue uniforms" - we are talking about the officers of the gendarme corps.
The autograph has not survived.
Written, according to the testimony of biographers, in April 1841, before Lermontov's departure from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus.
Several versions of the text of this poem have come down to us in the lists made at different times by PI Bartenev.
In 1873, Bartenev, sending a poem to PA Efremov, wrote: "Here are some more poems by Lermontov copied from the original." The following text was reported:
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, obedient people to them.
Perhaps behind the ridge of the Caucasus
I will hide from your kings
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
In 1955, another version of the text was published - a list of the same Bartenev from the archive of N.V. Putyata. In this list, verse 4 reads: "And you, a people obedient to them." The rest of the text is as in a letter to Efremov (for more details see: Izvestia of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Department of Literature and Language, 1955, vol. 14, issue 4, pp. 372–373).
That edition, where verse 6 reads "I will hide from your pasha", there is reason to consider the most probable in meaning and form. Lermontov's sharply accusatory poem, directed against the autocratic-bureaucratic regime in Russia, was circulated in the lists and was subjected to many distortions.
At a meeting with teachers - winners of the Teacher of the Year of Russia 2016 competition, Vladimir Putin read the poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia!"
Among other things, there was a conversation about Lermontov and Putin began to read his poems.
Goodbye unwashed Russia
Land of slaves, land of masters
And you blue uniforms
And you, their loyal people.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I will hide from your pasha
From their all-seeing eye
From their all-hearing ears.
What should you remember when you hear this poem? It appeared for the first time in a letter from the famous publisher, archaeographer and bibliographer, Peter Ivanovich Bartenev, to the literary critic Peter Alexandrovich Efremov dated March 9, 1873. That is, 32 years after the death of Lermontov. Bartenev wrote: "Here are Lermontov's poems copied from the original." In 1890, publishing the poem in his journal "Russian Archive", Bartenev placed a postscript: "Recorded from the words of the poet by a contemporary." That is, the poem is now "copied from the original", then written down from someone else's words. Marvelous. Surprising and suspicious.
However, the first to PRINT the poem was Pavel Aleksandrovich Viskovatov in the 12th issue of the historical monthly "Russian antiquity" in 1887. 46 years after the death of Lermontov. Also without indicating the source and circumstances of obtaining this text. By the way, this is the same Viskovatov, about whom Dostoevsky wrote: "a Russian who lives abroad permanently," and travels to Russia "every year for three weeks to receive income and returns again to Germany, where he has a wife and children."
Well, finally, already in Soviet time in 1955, a letter from the same Bartenev to the amateur historian Nikolai Vasilyevich Putyata was published, with the postscript: "from the original hand of Lermontov."
It's funny that in all three cases there are discrepancies. Then instead of the "loyal people" - "obedient to them people." Then instead of "I will hide from your pasha" - "I will hide from your kings." Then instead of "I will hide from your kings" - "I will hide from your leaders." The people are sometimes "obedient", sometimes "submissive", sometimes "betrayed." How Lermontov, having been dead for a long time, could amend his poem for decades is unclear.
Neither the original of the poem, nor the mysterious "contemporary", to whose memory Bartenev referred, are still unknown to literary scholars.
Although, of course, the Lermontov archive is not at all impeccable and about a hundred originals of his poems are still unknown. For example, the autograph of a part of the poem "Death of a Poet" has been lost. The last one is quite sharp 16 lines. But: there is a large number of lists - 23, and 7 of them refer to 1837; the memoirs of Lermontov's friend - Raevsky - about how the poem was created, and other evidence are known. This is how authorship is established.
Well, it should be added that the lack of confidence of literary critics in Bartenev is caused, among other things, by the fact that before the “discovery” of “unwashed Russia” he had already twice (!) Been convicted of trying to pass off unknown poems for Lermontov's. What sensational discoveries you can make in order to increase the number of subscribers to your magazine! It's almost like catching Pokemon in a church.
It is also strange that after the first publication in 1887, there was no reaction to the poem from the reading public. There was no discussion, no controversy in the press. Maybe the audience just knew who these lines belonged to?
According to the most widespread version, the author of the falsification was the poet-parodist Dmitry Minaev, who was well known to Bartenev. Russian poet-satirist, journalist, translator, critic, "extreme liberal and nihilist", an ardent antipatriot. One of the favorite themes of his works is the theme of the "backwardness" of Russia.
Minaev parodied Pushkin, Nekrasov, Ostrovsky, Fet, Tyutchev, Turgenev, Benediktov ... All. Among others, Minaev parodied Lermontov. In one of his parodies with the title "Demon" he just used the metaphor about "blue uniforms". Which is not found anywhere in Lermontov himself.
The demon is racing.
No interference
He does not see on the night air
On his blue uniform
Stars of all ranks sparkle ...
Lermontov Minaev parodied several times. Here, for example, is a caustic parody of Lermontov's prophetic tragic poem "Dream". Written shortly before his death.
Lermontov:
V midday fever, in the valley of Dagestan,
Lead in my chest I lay motionless.
A deep wound was still smoking,
Drop by drop my blood was grinded ...
Minaev:
In the midday heat at Bezborodko's dacha
I lay motionless with the Russian Conversation.
It was a burning noon, the air was flowing meekly,
Lulling me ...
Russkaya Beseda was a patriotic magazine of that time.
It is also important to note that Unwashed Russia is primarily a parody of Pushkin.
TO THE SEA
Goodbye free element!
For the last time in front of me
You roll blue waves
And you shine with proud beauty.
It is difficult to imagine that Lermontov, who idolized Pushkin, could take the lines of his beloved poet as the basis for a vulgar Russophobic parody.
Well, and a few words about the actual content of the poem. Particularly surprising are the lines about the people, devoted blue uniforms... The people in those years were primarily the serf peasantry. The blue uniforms are the gendarme corps. Political police Russian Empire... It was created by decree of Nicholas I after the uprising of the Decembrists.
The assertion that the people are "obedient", "subdued" or, even more so, "devoted" to a separate corps of gendarmes is nonsense. The people were devoted and subdued to the master, the landowner. And most likely he knew nothing about the existence of blue uniforms. And to engage in blue uniforms spying on the peasants is somehow strange. Any claims and questions of the gendarmes could only be addressed to the owner of the peasant, since it was he who was responsible for him. The peasant himself was simply not an independently responsible subject.
During the Soviet era, Lermontov had to be shown as a fierce fighter against autocracy. Every schoolchild crammed these verses almost from the first grade.
Well, today the words "unwashed Russia, the land of slaves, the land of masters" have become a powerful ideological cliché that almost everyone knows. For some reason, we still really need our citizens from an early age to consider the Motherland "unwashed" and wretched.
That this poem is a literary forgery, the authors of "Literary Russia", director of the Pushkin House, respected scientist, academician and doctor of philological sciences Nikolai Skatov have repeatedly pointed out, Soviet writer Vladimir Bushin, literary critic Mikhail Elzon and Candidate of Philosophy Alexander Kutyreva.
It is a pity that at a meeting with Putin, none of the teachers dared to inform the president that Mikhail Lermontov, an ardent Russian patriot, an officer, not only did not write, but could not write such a foul poem. Surely they know.
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