Stalin, Putin, and Russian Literature

r
renqiulan
楼主 (文学峸)

Stalin (born Ioseb Jughashvili)

 

Koba, as young Stalin was known, came from Caucasian Georgia on the southwestern periphery of the Russian empire. He picked up Russian only when he was subjected to russification as a pre-seminary student. Historically speaking, he was not much different from an Indian kid anglicized by the British imperialists.

History is full of ironies.

Just as the British imperialists had provoked rebellion among anglicized Indians, the Russian imperialists had whipped up russified Georgians' hatred toward the Tzarist regime. Imperialism bred nationalism.


A Georgian at heart though, Stalin (meaning Man of Steel) always had a soft spot for great Russian writers. Notably he was a lifelong admirer of Alexander S. Pushkin. Why not? Young Stalin was an aspiring poet, penning beautiful Georgian lyrics rendered in his beautiful Georgian voice.

Himself well-read, Stalin had never banned Russian classics even at the height of the Great Purge. Indeed his countless victims, while awaiting firing squads, could still feel free to bury themselves in the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Chekov, you name it.

Putin

The former KGB officer is a fluent German speaker despite his strong Russian accent. He has also learned English as a university student. Above all, he is from St. Petersburg, the window to the West for Peter the Great who was a territorial expansionist as much as a humble student of Western culture and technology.

Vladimir V. Putin is never tired of projecting himself as a Peter the Great of the 21st century. His cockiness knows no bounds. He used to act like a spoiled brat on the world stage, thanks to Russophiles such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

That was then. This is now. Finding himself in the Ukraine quagmire, the little tzar feels the need to stand on the shoulders of a literary giant whom every Russian loves and respects. That's why Pushkin is so heavily painted as a poster child for "Russian superiority."

Putin must have chosen to forget the following famous line from Pushkin:

"I was not born to amuse the Tzars."

Author: renqiulan

 

 

 

盈盈一笑间
秋兰好,谢谢深度好文章。点赞!明天再细看。晚安。
r
renqiulan
谢谢盈盈, 晚安!
C
CBA7
A great write on Russian politicians and literature,谢谢秋兰分享!
C
CBA7
"As Man of Steel, young Stalin was an aspiring poet",
C
CBA7
this sounds like a very poetic fact!
r
renqiulan
Russian classics happen to be my cup of tea, bitter but
C
CBA7
"Imperialism bred nationalism", true, a great point!
r
renqiulan
irresistible. I truly appreciate your kind words.
r
renqiulan
Never underestimate the power of dignity.
C
CBA7
Putin forgot Pushkin's "I was not born to amuse the Tzars."
C
CBA7
fortunately, the world never forgets it.
C
CBA7
秋兰,I start to think you might be a Russian since you know
C
CBA7
so much about Russia! Hahaha!
r
renqiulan
Not really. My Russian is rudimentary at best.
C
CBA7
I cannot agree more!
r
renqiulan
But nationalism could breed totalitarianism and it did.
r
renqiulan
When it comes to translation, Chinese outshines English.
C
CBA7
You're always so humble.
C
CBA7
物极必反!
r
renqiulan
That said, Putin had a good reason to go the whole hog when
C
CBA7
Goodnight, 秋兰!
r
renqiulan
no one stopped him from taking Crimea in 2014.
r
renqiulan
万分感谢小西夤夜来评,晚安!
C
CBA7
Then I start to think you're a Chinese! Hahaha!
C
CBA7
That's sad. The world should do more to stop him for sure.
C
CBA7
We can learn so much from you! We really appreciate it.
r
renqiulan
I know too little but I can't be more grateful. Thanks!
蓝灵
Hi, renqiulan! I'm impressed.
r
renqiulan
I am Chinese, culture-wise.
r
renqiulan
Humility sets me far apart from cocky Putin who, I think,
r
renqiulan
takes humility for humiliation.
r
renqiulan
中庸之道不易行,美国宪法近之矣。
r
renqiulan
Hi, 蓝灵! I'm pleasantly surprised.Thanks for your kind words.
蓝灵
+1
蓝灵
Indeed this post makes a lot of sense.
蓝灵
+100
古树羽音
2014年去彼得堡冬宫,内有普希金庭苑。导游说他的语言诗句美不胜美,如同唐诗译为他文字后,就难以体会原味一样。
蓝灵
Right.
蓝灵
It's a difficult language to learn, in my opinion.
蓝灵
A good observation. Haha!
蓝灵
No doubt.
蓝灵
That's an astute way to put it.
r
renqiulan
非常感谢羽音。游俄期间,第一访处就选十二月党人起义及就义所在地,在那儿不由得念起普希金的《青銅骑士:彼得堡的故事》来。
r
renqiulan
可惜我的俄语实在太蹩脚了,结果还是依英译本。说起彼得堡,不能不说涅瓦河和沿岸的大街,从而又想到果戈理的小说来。
r
renqiulan
果戈理跟普希金是挚友。据说,果戈理的《死魂灵》(鲁迅有译本,惜非全豹),题材就是从普希金那里得来的。
蓝灵
I have a feeling that you might have wanted to write more.
r
renqiulan
More about what and/or whom?
蓝灵
Putin?
r
renqiulan
Your wish is my command. Let me say this: The world is
r
renqiulan
graced with sung and unsung heroes who are making people's
r
renqiulan
lives better everyday. Putin is NOT one of them. He is
r
renqiulan
AGAINST all of them.
蓝灵
And Gorky?
r
renqiulan
In 1932 popular novelist Maxim Gorky answered Stalin's call
r
renqiulan
and returned to Russia from his self-imposed exile. He died
r
renqiulan
in June 1936, just two months before the Great Purge.
蓝灵
I smell a rat. Gorky died conveniently, didn't he?
r
renqiulan
You can say that again.
蓝灵
Could you recommend a good novel about the Great Purge?
r
renqiulan
Of course. "Children of the Arbat" by Anatoly N. Rybakov.
r
renqiulan
Rybakov has also published "The Arbat Trilogy."
r
renqiulan
有《阿尔伯特街的儿女们》中译本,比英译本更胜。信雅达方面,文革前后出版的俄国文学名著中译优于当代英译。
r
renqiulan
Also don't miss Hungarian-born novelist Arthur Koestle's
r
renqiulan
Darkness at Noon (German: Sonnenfinsternis).
蓝灵
Wow! I'll be busy reading in the coming days. Good night!
r
renqiulan
Haha. You won't regret it. Goodnight, 蓝灵 !
盈盈一笑间
俄国历史娓娓道来,知识广博。拜读了!:)
盈盈一笑间
:)
盈盈一笑间
秋兰读的是鲁迅译本?
r
renqiulan
“果浆”了,再谢!
r
renqiulan
对。想指出,鲁迅不谙俄文,所以不算直接翻译。