To the Slanderers of Russia explained

To the Slanderers of Russia
Author:	Alexander Pushkin
Original Title:	Клеветникам России
Original Title Lang:	ru
Written:	1831
First:	1831
Country:	Russia
Language:	Russian
Genre:	Ode
Publication Date:	1831
Wikisource:	ru:Клеветникам России (Пушкин)

"To the Slanderers of Russia" (Russian: Клеветникам России|translit=Klevetnikam Rossii) is a patriotic poem^[1] by Alexander Pushkin, published in 1831.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Synopsis

The poem was written during the 1830–1831 Polish uprising. The immediate reason for writing it was that some members of the French parliament had called for French armed intervention on the side of Polish insurgents against the Russian army.^{[10] [11] [12]} In the poem, Pushkin explains that from the Russian point of view the uprising is just a part of the ages old quarrel between relatives (Slavs).^[13] He tells the French to leave Slavs alone because the eventual outcome of all quarrels between Slavs must be decided between Slavs themselves. He says that the French parliamentarians don't understand Slavs or Slavic languages, they seek a fight simply because they hate Russia for defeating Napoleon. He dares them to attack Russia in reality, not just in words, saying that in case of a military attack the whole Russian country will rise against the invaders.

The poem had mixed reception in Russian society: it was lauded by government and nationalists, but criticized by liberal intelligentsia.

Adam Mickiewicz published the reply poem Do przyjaciół Moskali ("To Friends Moskals", at the end of part 3 of the cycle Dziady), where he accused Pushkin of betrayal of their formerly common ideals of freedom, as expressed by the Decembrists. Pushkin started writing a reply, He Lived Among Us, published only posthumously.^[14]

External links

• Translation into (19th century) English included in Blackwood's Magazine (Volume 74, 1853).

Notes and References

1. Shevchenko and Pushkin's to the Slanderers of Russia. Clarence A. Manning. Modern Language Notes . 59 . 7 . November 1944. 495–497. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 10.2307/2911316 . 2911316 . Pushkin's patriotic poem had aroused hostility among some of the Russian liberals ....
   Book: Bakunin: Statism and Anarchy. Mikhail Bakunin. 1990. Cambridge University Press. 9780521369732 .
   Book: Political History and Culture of Russia, Volume 21. 2005. Pennsylvania State University. Nova Science Publishers.
   Book: An Outline of Russian Literature. Maurice Baring, Sheba Blake. Sheba Blake Publishing. 2021. 9783986774691 .
2. Book: Michael Wachtel. A Commentary to Pushkin's Lyric Poetry, 1826–1836. 25 January 2012. University of Wisconsin Pres. 978-0-299-28543-2. 227–.
3. Book: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. 1853. W. Blackwood. 150–.
4. Book: Olga Maiorova. From the Shadow of Empire: Defining the Russian Nation through Cultural Mythology, 1855–1870. 17 August 2010. Univ of Wisconsin Press. 978-0-299-23593-2. 201–.
5. Book: Myroslav Shkandrij. Russia and Ukraine: Literature and the Discourse of Empire from Napoleonic to Postcolonial Times. 9 October 2001. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. 978-0-7735-2234-3. 69–.
6. Book: Alyssa Dinega Gillespie. Taboo Pushkin: Topics, Texts, Interpretations. 24 July 2012. University of Wisconsin Pres. 978-0-299-28703-0. 288–.
7. Book: Ewa Thompson

   . Ewa M. Thompson. Ewa Thompson . The Search for Self-Definition in Russian Literature. 5 December 1991. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 978-90-272-7759-6. 156–.

8. Book: Joe Andrew. Writers and Society During the Rise of Russian Realism. 18 June 1980. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 978-1-349-04421-4. 30–.
9. Book: Izabela Kalinowska. Between East and West: Polish and Russian Nineteenth-century Travel to the Orient. 2004. University Rochester Press. 978-1-58046-172-6. 172–.
10. Web site: Гибридная Крымская война: как это делалось в XIX веке - Публицистика - История России - федеральный портал История.РФ. 2016-03-27. 2016-12-27.
11. Web site: Перед гробницею святой…. Православие.Ru. 2010-07-20. 2016-12-27.
12. Журнальный зал - Новый Мир, 1994 №6 - ОЛЬГА МУРАВЬЕВА - "Вражды бессмысленной позор...". Novyy Mir. 6. 1994. 2016-12-27.
13. Book: Владимир Санников. Краткий словарь русских острот. 16 February 2014. ЛитРес. 978-5-457-54446-8. 272–.
14. Благой Д. Д. "Мицкевич и Пушкин." // Изв. АН СССР. Отд. литературы и языка. — 1956, июль-август. — Т. XV. — Вып. 4. — С. 314.