Pol D.V., Korzhova I.N.

The artist’s truth: Pushkin’s influence in S. A. Yesenin’s image
of Khlopusha as a national type. Pp. 120–128.

UDC 821.161.1.09

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2025.86.1.013

 

Abstract. The article considers the stages of formation of the image of Khlopusha (Afanasy Sokolov) as a national-cultural type. It is noted that the genesis of the image was exclusively literary and did not rely on folklore, because the dissemination of the memory of the uprising among the people was severely suppressed by the authorities. A. S. Pushkin and S. A. Yesenin played a special role in the formation of this type. Pushkin as a historian, partly relying on P. I. Rychkov’s chronicle The Siege of Orenburg, includes Khlopusha in the circle of Pugachev’s closest associates, and in The Captain’s Daughter makes him the embodiment of the brigand, dashing side of the rebellion. Khlopusha’s proximity to the common folk and, perhaps, romantic type of robber opens up the possibility of redemption for this image. In the 19th century, these features were developed in traditional oral literature. S. A. Yesenin in his poem Pugachev multiplies Khlopusha’s previous crimes, combines his prowess with the idea of merciless revenge against the nobles. These features were developed in the work of writers of 20th–21st centuries, who made Khlopusha an iconic embodiment of the people’s rebellion. S. A. Yesenin’s poem “Pugachev” created a myth that Khlopusha was sent as an assassin to the impostor of the Tzar. This myth, though not supported by historical evidence, is nevertheless broadcast in A. V. Ivanov’s historical-publicist book Pitchfork. The study shows that the image of Khlopusha as an established type is based on the combination of the features of a fairly-minded robber and an angry avenger, on emphasizing Khlopusha’s closeness to Pugachev and his role in the seizure of the Ural factories and the uprising as a whole.

 

Keywords: adventure plot, historical image, mythologization, national type, Pugachev, imposture, rebel type, Khlopusha.

 

Bibliography

 

  1. Bolnoeva E. V. Reception of Pugachev’s image in Russian Avant-garde of early 20th Century. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta imeni N. I. Lobachevskogo. [Bulletin of the Nizhny Novgorod University named after N. I. Lobachevsky]. 2018, iss. 3, pp. 178–183. (In Russian).
  2. Yevsina N. A. S. A. Auslender’s Novel “Pugachevshchina” and the Pugachev theme in Soviet Literature of the 1920s. Mirovaya literatura v kontekste kultury.[World literature in the cultural context]. 2013, iss. 2, pp. 59–64. (In Russian).
  3. Yemelka Pugachov i Khlopusha. Razboyniki i buntovshchiki: povest v trekh chastyakh. Zaimstvovannaya iz dostovernykh istochnikov. [Yemelyan Pugachev and Khlopusha. Robbers and rebels: a story in three parts. Based on reliable sources]. Moscow, Bookseller Manukhin Publ., 1870, bk. 3, 252 p. (In Russian).
  4. Yesenin S. A. Pugachev. sobr. soch.: v 7 t.: Poemy. [Yesenin S. A. Complete works:
    in 7 volumes: Poems]. Moscow, 1998, vol. 3, pp. 7–51. (In Russian).
  5. Zheleznov Ya. Ya. Uraltsy. [People of the Urals]. St. Petersburg, 1910, vol. 3, 439 p. (In Russian).
  6. Zizhka M. V. Interrogation of Pugachev’s officer A. Khlopusha. Krasnyy arkhiv.[Red Archive]. 1935, iss. 1, pp. 162–171. (In Russian).
  7. Ivanov A. V. Vily. [Pitchfork]. Moscow, AST, Ed. Elena Shubina, 2016, 574 p. (In Russian).
  8. Limonov Yu. A., Paneyakh V. M. Afanasy Timofeevich Sokolov — Khlopusha. Limonov Yu. A., Mavrodin V. V., Paneyakh V. M. [Pugachev and the Pugachevites]. Leningrad, Nauka, 1974, pp. 138–151.
    (In Russian).
  9. Pesni i skazaniya o Razine i Pugacheve.[Songs and tales about Razin and Pugachev]. Moscow, Leningrad, Academia, 1935, 418 p. (In Russian).
  10. Pugachov v Srednem Povolzhye i Zavolzhye. Narodnoye tvorchestvo, otryvki iz literaturnykh proizvedeniy, istoricheskiye dokumenty. Sost. A. N. Lozanova.[Pugachev in the Middle Volga and Trans-Volga regions. Folklore, excerpts from literary works, historical documents. Compiled by A. N. Lozanova]. Kuybyshev, Kuybyshev Region Publ., 1947, 184 p. (In Russian).
  11. Pushkin A. S. Zolotoy tom. Sobr. soch. Red., biogr. ocherk i prim. B. Tomashevskogo. [Golden volume. Collected works. Ed., biographical essay and notes by B. Tomashevsky]. Moscow, Image, 1993. 976 p. (In Russian).
  12. Raynova M. B. Khudozhestvennaya interpretatsiya obraza Yemelyana Pugachova v russkoy sovetskoy literature: dis. … kand. filol. nauk.[Artistic interpretation of the image of Yemelyan Pugachev in Russian Soviet literature: diss. … of Candidate of Philology]. Moscow, 1979, 291 p. (In Russian).
  13. Stroyev A. F. Te, kto popravlyayet Fortunu. Avantyuristy prosveshcheniya.[Those who correct Fortune. Adventurers of the Enlightenment epoch]. Moscow, NLO, 1998, 400 p. (In Russian).
  14. Feuchtwanger L. The house of Desdemona, or the power and limitations of historical fiction. Feykhtvanger L. Sobr. soch.: v 6 t. [Feuchtwanger L. Collected works: in 6 volumes]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1990, vol. 6, pp. 543–679. (In Russian).
  15. Shubnikova-Guseva N. I., Samodelova E. A. Commentaries. Yesenin S. A. sobr. soch.: v 7 t. [Yesenin S. A. Complete Works: in 7 volumes]. Moscow, 1998, vol. 3: Poems, pp. 435–718. (In Russian).
  16. Ekshtut S. A. Bitvy za khram Mnemoziny. Ocherki intellektualnoy istorii.[Battles for the Temple of Mnemosyne. Essays on intellectual history]. St. Petersburg, Aletheia, 2003, 320 p. (In Russian).
Uncategorized