Borodino (poem)

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Borodino (Russian: Бородино) is a poem by Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov which describes the Battle of Borodino, the turning point of the Napoleon's invasion of Russia. It was first published in 1837 in literary magazine Sovremennik on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the battle.[1]

The poem was based on his 1831 teenager's version, The Battlefield of Borodino (Поле Бородина).[1]

The poem starts with the direct appellation "Tell me, uncle,..". Lermontov had several relatives (Arsenyevs and Stolypins) who were veterans of the Patriotic War of 1812, and there have been opinions that the poem was based on the narrations of one of them. Other critics suggest that the youth version was written under the influence of Denis Davydov's Borodino Battlefield (Бородинское поле).[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Notes to Lermontov's Complete Works (search for "Бородино") (Russian)
  2. ^ "Dvoryans Stolypins" (Russian)