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Essay on Representation of Peter in 'The Bronze Horseman' and 'Digression-road to Russia'
Russian poets Alexander Pushkin and Adam Mickiewicz lived and wrote a century apart. Pushkin's fame came at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as Russia moved politically into the modern era and poetically into the Romantic era. Mickiewicz 's notoriety came at the beginning of the twentieth century, when Russia moved politically into the Soviet era and poetically into the Symbolist era. Yet, these two poets, placed as bookends on either side of the Russian period between 1800-1920, have more in common than the one hundred triumphant and tumultuous years between them might suggest. Both created artistic poetry that reflects the social and political conflicts of their time, yet their works remain intentionally ambiguous with regard to the on-going debates of their respective eras.
During Pushkin's lifetime in the early nineteenth century, Russia's major socio-political debate was between the conservative "Slavophiles" and the liberal "Westernizers." The Slavophiles believed that Russia should develop her own culture, her own institutions, and her own place in the world. They felt that Russia was unique, not part of Europe or even Asia. The Slavophiles held the position that Russia had its own native culture and genius, and therefore, it was wrong to force Russia to follow a European pattern. Westernizer’s believed that Russia showed signs of failure and backwardness when compared to Western countries, and they aggressively advocated the wholesale adoption of European ideas and values. They felt that the principle task for Russia was to catch up with Europe.
In "The Bronze Horseman" Alexander Pushkin shows that he is a Russian moderate. His poem contains elements that suggest both Westernizer and Slavophilic sentiments. His Westernizer sympathies are found in the presentation of St. Petersburg itself. Here is a city that is described in splendor and glory--a real tribute to Peter, whose vision came to fruition in St. Petersburg...............
