ekphrastic description in the narrative poem “Siberia” by Marina Tsvetaeva.
Tsvetaeva’s poem is a text with a double status. On the one hand, this is a completed historical poem dedicated to the early history of Siberia and the Russian
Empire (16 th – 17 th centuries). On the other hand, the poem is part of a large
historical epic (“Poem of the Tsar’s Family”) dedicated to the collapse of the
empire and the tragic fate of its rulers. The primary sources for Tsvetaeva’s poetic visionary work are the works of Siberian historians (K. Golodnikov,
P. Slovtsov, I. Fisher and others), as well as the literary texts of her contemporaries (M. Voloshin). Marina Tsvetaeva has never been to Siberia, there were no
meaningful encounters with Siberians in her personal biography, however her
contribution to the Siberian text of Russian modernism can be considered as
significant. The article explores the sources of several “living pictures” (poetic
historical sketches of the morals of pre-Petrine Russia). In particular, the paper
deals with the history of the Pokrovsko-Turin Monastery in Tsvetaeva’s poetic
reflection. The historical sketch is significantly deepened by the appearance of
the “Siberian elder” Grigory Rasputin within the 17 th century history. This figure, while still alive, was mythologized simultaneously on an hagiographic and
a demonological basis. Tsvetaeva presents this exotic figure as a cultural revenge of pre-Petrine Rus. In such a historiosophical construction, an important
role is played by the Siberian origins of Rasputin. Against the background
of various “living pictures” of Tsvetaeva’s poem, one “revived” picture stands
out. This is an ekphrastic image of “Menshikov in Berezovo”, referring both to
V. Surikov’s painting and to M. Kuzmin’s famous poem “December freezes in
a pink sky...”. Tsvetaeva’s image of Menshikov clearly takes on palimpsest features. A similar phenomenon (a multilayered work as a factor in the liberation of
author’s consciousness from empirical reality) was examined by Yu. V. Shatin.
The article is devoted to the experience of poetic visionarism and
ekphrastic description in the narrative poem “Siberia” by Marina Tsvetaeva.
Tsvetaeva’s poem is a text with a double status. On the one hand, this is a completed historical poem dedicated to the early history of Siberia and the Russian
Empire (16 th – 17 th centuries). On the other hand, the poem is part of a large
historical epic (“Poem of the Tsar’s Family”) dedicated to the collapse of the
empire and the tragic fate of its rulers. The primary sources for Tsvetaeva’s poetic visionary work are the works of Siberian historians (K. Golodnikov,
P. Slovtsov, I. Fisher and others), as well as the literary texts of her contemporaries (M. Voloshin). Marina Tsvetaeva has never been to Siberia, there were no
meaningful encounters with Siberians in her personal biography, however her
contribution to the Siberian text of Russian modernism can be considered as
significant. The article explores the sources of several “living pictures” (poetic
historical sketches of the morals of pre-Petrine Russia). In particular, the paper
deals with the history of the Pokrovsko-Turin Monastery in Tsvetaeva’s poetic
reflection. The historical sketch is significantly deepened by the appearance of
the “Siberian elder” Grigory Rasputin within the 17 th century history. This figure, while still alive, was mythologized simultaneously on an hagiographic and
a demonological basis. Tsvetaeva presents this exotic figure as a cultural revenge of pre-Petrine Rus. In such a historiosophical construction, an important
role is played by the Siberian origins of Rasputin. Against the background
of various “living pictures” of Tsvetaeva’s poem, one “revived” picture stands
out. This is an ekphrastic image of “Menshikov in Berezovo”, referring both to
V. Surikov’s painting and to M. Kuzmin’s famous poem “December freezes in
a pink sky...”. Tsvetaeva’s image of Menshikov clearly takes on palimpsest features. A similar phenomenon (a multilayered work as a factor in the liberation of
author’s consciousness from empirical reality) was examined by Yu. V. Shatin.
Список литературы
Balmont K. D., Tsvetaeva M. I. Golubaya podkova. Stikhi o Sibiri. Sibir’.
Poema. Novosibirsk, 2019. (in Russ.)
Beletsky S. P. Grigory Rasputin (Iz zapisok). Petrograd, 1923. (in Russ.)
[Brokgauz i Efron.] Entsiklopedicheskiy slovar’. St. Petersburg, 1890–1907,
vol. 1–41. (in Russ.)
Frejlina ee velichestva. “Dnevnik” i vospominaniya Anny Vyrubovoy. Mos-
cow, 1990. (in Russ.)
Golodnikov K. Gorod Tobol’sk i ego okrestnosti: istoricheskiy ocherk.
Tobolsk, 1886. (in Russ.)
Istoriya Sibiri. Comp. by V. K. Andrievich. St. Petersburg, 1889, pt. 1.
(in Russ.)
Korkina E. B. Poema o Tsarskoy sem’e. In: Wiener Slawistischer Almanach.
Tsvetaeva M. Stat’i i teksty. Sonderband 32. Wien, 1992, p. 171–200. (in Russ.)
Kuzmin M. A. Stikhotvoreniya. Intr., comp., prep., comment. by N. A. Bogomolov. St. Petersburg, 2000. (in Russ.)
Mankova I. L. Monastyr’ v prostranstve sibirskogo goroda (po materialam
Turinska XVII – pervoy poloviny XVIII v.). Izvestija UrFU. Serija 2. Gumanitarnye nauki, 2016, vol. 18, no. 1 (148), p. 120–134. (in Russ.)
Rozanov V. V. Mimoletnoe. Moscow, 1994. (in Russ.)
Shatin Yu. V. Ozhivshie kartiny: ekfrazis i diegizis. In: Shatin Yu. V. Russkaya literatura v zerkale semiotiki. Moscow, 2015, p. 159–171. (in Russ.)
Shatin Yu. V. V polemike s vekom. In: Tsvetaeva M. V polemike s vekom.
Novosibirsk, 1991, p. 3–19. (in Russ.)
Slovtsov P. Istoricheskoe obozrenie Sibiri. Moscow, 1838, pt. 1. (in Russ.)
Tsvetaeva M. I. Sobranie sochineniy. In 7 vols. Comp., prep., comment. by
A. Saakyants and L. Mnukhin. Moscow, 1994–1995. (in Russ.)
Tsvetaeva M. I. Stikhotvoreniya i poemy. Intr., comp., prep., comment. by
E. B. Korkina. Leningrad, 1990. (in Russ.)
Tsvetaeva M. Stikhotvoreniya i pojemy: In 5 vols. New York, 1980, vol. 1.
(in Russ.)
Voloshin M. A. Sobranie sochineniy. Moscow, 2003, vol. 1. (in Russ.)
Yadrintsev N. M. Sibir’ kak koloniya v geograficheskom, etnograficheskom
i istoricheskom otnoshenii. 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg, 1892. (in Russ.)
Yadrintsev N. M. Sibir’ kak koloniya. K yubileyu trekhsotletiya. St. Petersburg, 1882. (in Russ.)
Yusupov F. F. Konets Rasputina. Vospominaniya. Moscow, 1990. (in Russ.)
Zapisnye knizhki Al. Bloka. Ltningrad, 1930. (in Russ.)
Siberia in the Poetic Imagination of Russian Modernism: Living and
Animated Paintings by Marina Tsvetaeva С. 152–169. DOI 10.25205/2307-1737-2020-1-152-169