Nikitin O.V.
“Life and poetry are one thing.” Reflections on a unique book about Pushkin (review of G. M. Sedova’s book, He had a lot to die for at the Black River. 2nd edition, enlarged. St. Petersburg, Rostok Publ., 2020. 704 p.). Pp.213-225.
UDC 821.161.1(048)
DOI 10.37724/RSU.2025.87.2.019
Abstract. The review-critical article analyzes the problematics of the monograph by G. M. Sedova “He had something to die for at the Black River” (St. Petersburg, 2020) in the context of A. S. Pushkin’s spiritual quest, literary tradition and public relations of the first half of the 19th century. The author provides valuable documentary evidence of the poet’s acquaintances about his life and work, talks about the contradictory attitude of contemporaries to Alexander Pushkin, shows the moral image of the Russian genius in the circle of artistic battles of that era and life collisions. Special attention is paid to the study of the last stage of the poet’s biography and the circumstances that led to his death. New historical materials are introduced and examined, and rare sources of the XIX–XX centuries are reinterpreted. The review is accompanied by the author’s reflections on the current state of Pushkin studies and the place of the poet in the historical context of our time.
Keywords: Pushkin, poetics, philological tradition, confessionalism, spiritual culture, history of literature, artistic creation.
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