The poem "The Borodino Anniversary": Pushkin and his ideas about the meaning of Russia

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most significant patriotic poems in Russian poetry is the work "Borodino Anniversary". Pushkin, the author of this work, expressed his firm confidence in the power of the Russian Empire, its internal and external strength. He also argued the idea that the country is able to resist any enemy in the international arena. An interesting fact is that this poem was created at about the same time as another no less famous work of the poet - "Slanderers of Russia", in which he also promoted the idea of \u200b\u200bpreserving the strength and greatness of the Russian people.

History of the creation of the poem

In response to the suppression of the Polish uprising, the poem "Borodino Anniversary" appeared. Pushkin, who always reacted very sensitively to contemporary events, wrote two works at once, in which he expressed confidence in the indivisibility of the empire. At this time, the poet moved away from youthful revolutionary romance, his mature works are distinguished by greater restraint and loy alty to the authorities. Many critics note that Alexander Sergeevich considered the entry of Poland into the empireguarantee of its integrity.

Therefore, he spoke positively about the suppression of the Polish uprising, although in correspondence with friends he often admired the courage of those people who fought for their country. However, the main addressee of these poems was not the leaders of the uprising, but Europe, or rather, those of its representatives who called for armed intervention in Russian-Polish relations.

Political overtones

The poem "Borodino Anniversary" turned out to be very relevant for its time. Pushkin directly addressed those European deputies who believed that their countries should help the Polish rebels in their armed struggle.

The poet himself considered the contradictions between Poland and Russia "an old family dispute", as he claimed in another poem we mentioned and in correspondence. Therefore, the author argued that European states should not interfere in this Slavic dispute. The main complaint of the poet is not against the Polish rebels, but against those who wanted to forcibly interfere in Russian politics.

Historical references

The work "Borodino Anniversary" is full of numerous examples of the past. Pushkin, who knew Russian history very well, recalls the glory and greatness of the empire, first of all, the victory at the Borodino field, which took place on August 26. On the same day, Russian troops took Warsaw in 1831 - hence the title of the poem.

The poet, addressing the opponents of Russia, lists all the troubles and misfortunes that our country has suffered in the past, and declares that it not only has not weakened, but has retained its former strength, power and greatness. Many of Alexander Pushkin's poems are imbued with the spirit of patriotism due to the author's admiration for the past of the Russian state. In the essay under consideration, the poet made the historical theme particularly relevant, showing with concrete examples that our country is able to withstand any trials.

Meaning

There is a point of view that the work was ordered to the poet by Emperor Nicholas I himself, who wanted to make him the ideologist of his policy. However, it should be noted here that the work in question corresponds to the ideological evolution that the poet went through in his work. In adulthood, Alexander Sergeevich in his writings conveyed the idea of the great importance of Russia, and this idea became the main one in his poem “The Borodino Anniversary”. Pushkin (the year of writing the work is 1831) abandoned revolutionary youth ideas and turned to historical topics, seeing the country's past as a guarantee of its happy future.