Is it true that Lermontov is the author of the poem “Farewell, unwashed Russia”?

The poem "Farewell, unwashed Russia" is attributed to the authorship of M.Yu. Lermontov and it was with such an attribution that almost a century and a half has been published in textbooks literature, collections poetry of the poet and Online catalogs:

Goodbye, unwashed Russia,
Country of slaves, country of gentlemen,
And you are blue uniforms,
And you, a devoted people to them.
Perhaps behind the wall of the Caucasus
I get off your pasha
From their all -seeing eyes,
From their vain ears.

This is a poem Analyzed On the "Direct Line" President Vladimir Putin, also attributing authorship to Lermontov.

For many years after the death of the poet, there were no doubts about Lermontov’s authorship in the press. However, a polemic arose in the Soviet years - is it true? First Raised This question is a writer and literary critic Vladimir Bushin. The fact is that the original manuscript of this poem does not exist. This is not uncommon for the works of that time, the author’s manuscript could not be preserved, as, for example, it was with Pushkin’s poem “In the depths of Siberian ore”. However, there are many manuscript copies made by Pushkin contemporaries, which indirectly indicates that since he did not dispute his authorship then, it was to him that belonged to him. “Farewell, unwashed Russia” first appeared in the form of a handwritten copy only in the 1870s, almost 35 years after the death of the poet. There are no earlier written references to the existence of this work - neither in the diaries of Lermontov and his contemporaries, nor in letters. There are no drafts. The first publication took place only in 1887, almost half a century after the death of the poet. It also alerted Bushin, since the publishers of the literary magazines of that time - the “polar star”, “bells” and others - literally hunted for such works, and it is strange that the poem was not published earlier. The poem by the publisher was sent by literary critic Pyotr Bartenev, who indicated that he wrote him off the original. He later sent him to other publishers, and in 1890 he printed in his journal Russian Archive. At the same time, textually the poems were somewhat different, which is strange, given that Bartenev supposedly had a original. So, for example, in one version, the poet wanted to take refuge behind the Caucasus ridge “from their all -seeing eyes, from their ounsels of ears”, and in the other “from their invisible eyes, from their inaudible ears”. Subsequently, Bartenev said that he recorded a poem from the words of a contemporary, also unnamed, which, however, did not explain the discrepancies.

Bushin and historian Gennady Klechenov supported doubts. In 1994, he Published In the Literary Newspaper a critical article where he expressed his arguments against the authorship of Lermontov. They practically coincided with those that Bushin expressed: the absence of the original and any mention of contemporaries, differences in the published versions, contradictions in the words of Bartenev himself about the source of the poem. Other literary critics, for example, expressed the same doubts Mikhail Elson, Nikolai Skatov And Pavel Basinsky.

Writer Valery Hatyushin I put forward The version that the authorship of “Farewell, unwashed Russia” belongs to Dmitry Minaev, a mystifier and a feuilletonist, known for his parodies on the works of famous poets. In favor of this version, he says that in his other parody of Lermontov’s poem, “demon” Minaev also mentions “blue uniforms”, while the poet himself does not meet anywhere else.

Writer Sergei Sokurov supports The version of Khatyushin believes that it was Minaev that was the same “contemporary” who deceived Bartenev and dictated that very poem. One of the main arguments of Sokurov and some other literary scholars that Lermontov, the patriot of his homeland, could not respond so insulting about Russia - “unwashed”, “country of slaves”.

However, Olga Miller, one of the most authoritative Lermontovs in our country, He thinksthat all these arguments are insufficient in order to deny the authorship of the poet. In her opinion, such confusion with versions, lists and lack of original is a very typical thing for that time. As for foreign magazines where it was possible to freely print what was prohibited in Russia, not everyone considered it necessary to send something there. And as for the argument about the absence of patriotism, which is not characteristic of Lermontov, Miller believes that it was accepted to identify the homeland and the state during the years of Soviet power, for Lermontov it was completely different things, and he criticizes just “official” Russia, power, and not his homeland. In addition, Miller admits that Bartenev could go to mystification in order to play one of his friends, but the publication of fakes with famous publishers and magazines goes far beyond such a draw, and Bartenev, according to Miller, could not go. 

Not Agree With the arguments of opponents of the authorship of the poet and researcher Nina Saprygina. She believes that arguments about the absence of the original manuscript, versions of versions and allegedly not characteristic of Lermontov’s criticism of the Fatherland are insufficient in order to make a loud conclusion that the poem is a fake. Saprygina notes that in addition to “Farewell to Russia,” there are 42 more poems by Lermontov, which were first published only after 1873. Their original also could not be found, and yet, no one disputes their authorship.

Scientific-literary scholars are discussing whether Lermontov really wrote “Farewell, Unwashed Russia,” still. In 2017, a round table dedicated to this topic was held in the Lermontov Museum-Reserve in Pyatigorsk. It was attended by 24 authoritative Russian and foreign Lermontanes. Scientists came to conclusionthat “Farewell, unwashed Russia” nevertheless wrote M.Yu. Lermontov. Thus, the Ukrainian researcher Oleg Zaslavsky expressed the opinion that the authors of the poem Bartenev or Minaev are not justified by the authors of the poem, and there were no more serious candidates for authorship. For him, there is not the slightest doubt in Lermontov. The literary critic Vladimir Zakharov doubts the competence of critics and writers who deny the authorship of Lermontov. He believes that none of them - neither Klechenov, nor Skatov, nor Bushin - not an authoritative expert in the work of Lermontov and literary criticism in general. Researcher Lyudmila Khodanen believes that the image of the Caucasus from the poem, as well as criticism of Russia, mixed with love for the homeland, is quite characteristic of Lermontov’s work.

To find out for sure whether Lermontov really wrote the poem “Farewell, unwashed Russia”, if there is no original or reliable certificate of falsification, is impossible. However, narrow-lermontate experts came to consensus that the author of the poem is still most likely M. Yu. Lermontov.