Gavriliada
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Gavriiliada (Гавриилиада, literally, the Gabriliad, in Russian) is a sexually explicit work written by Alexander Pushkin, a famous Russian poet, in April 1821, while he was in his student years. Although during his life he denied his authorship in court under oath, due to a sensitive nature of material it is believed he was lying and didn't want to admit authorship to avoid prosecution.
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[edit] Synopsis
Gavriliada is a satiric description of the beginning of New Testament, primarily making fun of virgin birth. In this interpretation, Mary, the mother of Jesus, a young and attractive Jewish girl, is married to an old and impotent carpenter who took her only to keep the house. God chose her to be the father of Jesus and sent Archangel Gabriel to check if she was still a virgin. Satan learned about that plan and seduced and deflowered Mary to prevent the whole thing from happening. Gabriel saved her from Satan, slept with Mary and miraclously restored her virginity. That morning, God in a form of a dove flew to Mary and had intercourse with her (still in the form of a dove), thus conceiving Jesus, and Gabriel became Mary's lover.
Although the story is highly blasphemous and obscene, it is not pornographic and written in a very good language. Illegal copies of the text circulated Russian society ever since, until it finally saw print at the beginning of 20th century.
[edit] Case of Gavriiliada
In 1826, during the investigation of Decembrist activities, chief investigator Bibikov came across multiple copies of the poem. However, this produced no consequences until 1828, when Holy Synod learned about the poem. Because the Holy Synod could prosecute blasphemy, a new inquest was opened. However, for some reason, the case left Holy Synod and was investigated by civil authorities.
In the summer of 1828, Pushkin was asked by the investigators about who gave him the text. Pushkin alleged that the poem circulated among Hussar officers and that he got a copy of a poem one of them circa 1820. He claimed he couldn't remember the person he got the poem from. This sounded like a lame excuse, so Pushkin was watched closely.
In the fall of 1828, Russian tsar Nicholas I asked Pushkin "in his name" to clarify the issue in a private confidential letter (Pushkin enjoyed special treatment by Russian monarch). However, politics of that time might suggest that both "formal request" and reply by Pushkin were initiated by third party. Whatever the truth is, some time later the case had "gone cold", and, although it was never formally closed, Pushkin was left alone.
In 1951, a hand-written copy of the letter of Pushkin to the tsar was found. Despite disputes of authenticity surrounding the discovery, most scientists agree that the letter is a genuine copy since it alludes a lot to the previous letter in a way that rules out chance beyond reasonable doubt.
[edit] Authenticity dispute
Although Pushkin himself denied authorship of Gavriiliada, an overwhelming majority of scientists agree that he indeed wrote the poem. Usual argument against his authorship is the content of the poem. However, Pushkin was known as a somewhat rebellious person and is known, for example, to write epigrams on his superiors accusing them of homosexuality. The language of the poem is stunningly similar to Pushkin's even to the naked eye. Therefore, most likely, he indeed wrote the piece.
