The Princess (Maykov poem)

Last updated
Princess
Author Apollon Maykov
Original titleКняжна
Country Russia
Language Russian
Genre Poem
Publication date
 1878
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)

The Princess (Russian : Княжна, Knyazhna) is a poem by Apollon Maykov first published in the January 1878 issue of The Russian Messenger . It told the story of a young Russian girl belonging to a noble family who joined a group of radical youth fighting against the repressive state. The poem, condemned by the Russian literary left of the time, in retrospect is seen as a strong political statement attacking both the corrupt political system of mid-19th-century Russia, based on serfdom and the violent methods of undermining it, as professed by the 'nihilistic' youth of the time. [1]

Russian language East Slavic language

Russian is an East Slavic language, which is official in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 25 December 1991. Although, nowadays, nearly three decades after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian is used in official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states, as well as in Israel and Mongolia, the rise of state-specific varieties of this language tends to be strongly denied in Russia, in line with the Russian World ideology.

Apollon Maykov Russian poet and translator

Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov was a Russian poet, best known for his lyric verse showcasing images of Russian villages, nature, and history. His love for ancient Greece and Rome, which he studied for much of his life, is also reflected in his works. Maykov spent four years translating the epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign (1870) into modern Russian. He translated the folklore of Belarus, Greece, Serbia and Spain, as well as works by Heine, Adam Mickiewicz and Goethe, among others. Several of Maykov's poems were set to music by Russian composers, among them Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.

The Russian Messenger or Russian Herald has been the title of three notable magazines published in Russia during the 19th century and early 20th century. Since 1991, in Moscow, a new publication named the Russian Messenger has appeared once again. It is published weekly and its editor-in-chief from 1991-2013 was Alexei Senin, from 2014 Oleg Platonov.

Contents

Background

Initially the target of Maykov's satire was serfdom, and in the poem's early versions, the heroine was a young conservative woman. Later Princess Zhenya turned into a rebel who detested the environment that she had been brought up in, but still in some ways was corrupted by it. Finally, the author has made his heroine a symbol of the Russian cultural elite's infatuation with the Socialist ideas, which had no bearing upon the country's history and cultural traditions, as the author saw it. [1] "[The heroine] is the symbol of our old life, or rather the life of our high society which had lost the spiritual bond with its people but is still bound to the lower classes by common history [part of which is] serfdom. [This high society] is still the holder of Russia's historical legacy and – even if by inertia - on its way to fulfill its historical mission," wrote Maykov in his unpublished "Notes on the insinuations, concerning the Princess". "...Zhenya is planning to start a new life. Our liberals, criticising me, assume that Zhenya symbolizes the start of a new era. I cannot deny - I even agree - that the principles professed by this girl and the generation she belongs to... mark the end of the old times. But I refuse to greet them as heralds of the dawn of some kind of new era," Maykov explained later in the same essay. [1]

Serfdom status of peasants under feudalism

Serfdom is the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. It was a condition of debt bondage, which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century.

Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management, as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, with social ownership being the common element shared by its various forms. In 21st century America, the term socialism, without clear definition, has become a pejorative used by conservatives to taint liberal and progressive policies, proposals, and public figures.

In the finale of the poem's original version Zhenya was departing to the front lines of the Russo-Turkish War as a sister of mercy. The later version of it posed the question: "And what about Zhenya, poor Zhenya? What happened to her? Has she vanished into the dark? Found herself in a Siberian prison, victim of her own heinous doctrines? Or could she have gone, through some transformation... to a monastery to 'pray for her own sins', or to some holy sites? All this is possible, and each road is a thorny one." [1]

Siberia Geographical region

Siberia is an extensive geographical region spanning much of Eurasia and North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of modern Russia since the 16th and 17th centuries.

Critical response

Maykov's "Princess" outraged the Russian democratic press of the time. The article "Mr. Maykov as a Judge of the New Generation of Women", by M.Artemyeva, written for Vospitaniye i Obrazovaniye magazine was banned by censors. The liberal author and historian Orest Miller in his 1888 article ( Russkaya Mysl , No.8, 1888) suggested that the "hypertrophied fear of nihilism" did the author a lot of harm. [2]

Orest Miller Russian folklorist

Orest Fyodorovich Miller was a Russian folklorist, professor in Russian literature, of German origin. He is author of the book "Илья Муромец и богатырство киевское"

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Knyazhna***. Commentaries". Pravda Publishers. Works by A.N.Maykov in 2 Volumes. 1984. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  2. ↑ Russkaya Mysl, No.8, 1888, p.39
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