MIKHAIL LERMONTOV (1841-1841) -
A CELEBRATION OF HIS LIFE AND WORK
Pushkin Club Zoom event - 6.00 PM, Tuesday, 26th October 2021
FINAL/24.10.2021
SLIDE (1) – title-page: portrait of Lermontov in uniform
INTRODUCTION
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. And thank you for that kind introduction, Denis.
This evening, we are celebrating the life and work of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov – Russia’s greatest poet after Pushkin, and also a great prose-writer. This year is the 180th anniversary of his death.
First, let me introduce our Guest Readers. Lucy Daniels and I will be reading the translations of Lermontov’s poems, and Alla Gelich will be reading the poems in Russian.
SLIDE (2).
Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov was born in Moscow on the night of 2/3 October 1814 [15 October new style].
It is thought that his distant forebears were Scottish. One of them - George Learmont - moved to Russia in the 17th century.
SLIDE (3)
Lermontov's maternal grandmother, Yelizaveta Alexeyevna Arsenieva, was а member of the influential Stolypin family:
His mother died of consumption when he was three years’ old. So he barely knew her.
SLIDE (4) - father
When his father himself died some years later, in October 1831, this event caused the teenage Lermontov to meditate on the premature deaths of both his mother and his father, and inspired him at the age of 17 to write his famous poem, The Angel.
SLIDE (5) – mother
In this beautiful poem Lermontov recalls songs his mother used to sing to him:
(1) The Angel (1831) READ DB
SLIDE (6) - Lermontov at 3 years’ old
After his mother’s death, Lermontov – from the age of 3 - was brought up by his grandmother, on her estate at Tarkhany in Penza province:
SLIDE (7) – Grandmother’s estate at Tarkhany
Mikhail lived with her for the next 10 years, from 1817-1827. He liked to play with the serf children on the estate - these encounters gave him а great command of Russian vernacular speech and а knowledge of folk-songs. In his childhood he also spent several summers in the Caucasus, which left а deep and lasting impression on him, and was to be the subject of many of his works.
Lermontov received а thorough early education at home, studying several foreign languages, including English, French and German. He also studied drawing, and became an accomplished painter – as you will see from some of this evening’s slides. He was also an excellent musician.
SLIDE (8) house near Arbat – at No.2 Malaya Molchanovka, where he lived with his grandmother from 1829-1832
In the Spring of 1827 (when Lermontov was 12 years old), Elizaveta Alexeyevna decided that it was time for him to go to school in Moscow, [where he attended the Noblemen’s Pension].
Mikhail lived in Moscow for the next five years [1827-32 – from the age of 12 to 17] and would always consider Moscow his home. He wrote in a letter: "Moscow is my home and always will be: here I was born, here I knew much suffering, and here, too, I was happy". He also wrote later: “Москва, Москва!… люблю тебя как сын,
Как русский, - сильно, пламенно и нежно!”
"Moscow, Moscow, I love you like а son,
Like а Russian - strongly, ardently and tenderly!"
It was in Moscow that he began to write poetry. Pushkin, Schiller and Byron were all strong influences on him.
EKATERINA SUSHKOVA - FIRST ROMANTIC LOVE
( Lermontov was 15/16 at the time)
SLIDE (9) - Ekaterina Sushkova
Lermontov's first real romantic love – when he was 15 or 16 years’ old - was Ekaterina Sushkova. He met her in 1830 at dancing classes in Moscow. She was two years older than he was. Mikhail developed а passionate infatuation for her, but Ekaterina didn't take him at all seriously and treated him with amused and cool disdain.
A significant episode occurred in August 1830. Elizaveta Alexeyevna decided that she and Mikhail should make а pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, about 70 miles from Moscow. Ekaterina and her friend Alexandra Vereshchagina went with them.
When they arrived, they went into the Trinity Cathedral to pray. At the vaulted porch, а blind beggar stretched out his bowl to them. When he heard coins drop into his bowl, he thanked them with tears in his eyes and contrasted their kindness with the callous behaviour of some practical jokers, who the previous day had dropped stones into his bowl.
Lermontov seemed unusually moved by the beggar's words. When they returned to the hospice Mikhail suddenly started writing very fast. When he had finished, he handed Ekaterina the poem he had just written out:
READ
(2) ТHE BEGGAR / НИЩИЙ (1830) LD
This poem was coldly received by Ekaterina, who continued to make fun of Mikhail. This was аn entirely new situation for him. Previously, he had had everything he wanted. But now he had been emphatically rejected by the first woman he had fallen in love with.
MOSCOW UNIVERSITY
In September 1830. Lermontov – still only 15 – enrolled at Moscow University and opted for the Department of Literature.
NATALYА IVANOVА: SECOND LOVE (REQUITED FOR А VERY SHORT TIME) - МАY 1831
SLIDE (10) – Natalya Ivanova
It was in May of the next year, in 1831, that Lermontov met Natalya Ivanova. She was the orphaned daughter of the well-known Moscow playwright, Fyodor Ivanov.
Lermontov quickly fell passionately in love with Natalya. He composed over 30 poems to her. Only later did he appreciate that she had not the faintest idea of their meaning.
This romance lasted а mere month. It came to а dramatic end at the beginning of June 1831. Lermontov was staying with the Ivanovs for а few days. He bounded into the drawing-room to read Natalya some of his new poems, only to be told that she had just become engaged to be married. Mikhail left the room overwhelmed with grief.
А powerful change came over Mikhail after this unhappy affair. А thirst for revenge took hold of him, like some demonic possession, and was to remain with him for the rest of his life.
LOVE FOR VARVARA LOPUKHINA (OR VARIN'KA) - SPRING 1832
In 1831 Lermontov got to know the Lopukhin family: they were a prominent family in Moscow.
SLIDE 11 – Varvara Lopukhina
In November of that year, he started to pay attention to the Lopukhins' youngest daughter, Varvara Lopukhina. Unlike his other loves Varvara was younger. She was 16, Mikhail was now 17. He called her Varin'ka.
SLIDE (12) – Varvara: 1st portrait by Lermontov
She had striking features, and large, dark eyes, as you can see in this portrait by Lermontov.
SLIDE (13) – Varvara: 2nd portrait by Lermontov
In this further portrait, Varvara is shown dressed as a nun, and Lermontov is here portraying her as the heroine of his greatest narrative poem, The Demon.
Varvara Lopukhina was to be the great love of Lermontov's life. His relationship with her - although it was to prove ill-fated - was probably the deepest and most serious of his life. Varvara Lopukhina was to feature as Vera in Princess Mary, which is the main story in A Hero Of Our Time.
It was in the spring of 1832 that Mikhail and Varvara fell in love with each other. Lermontov felt that he had at last found someone who understood him and shared his feelings. He was so happy that he forgot all about his University course. He skipped lectures and, when exam time came round, - simply failed to turn up.
Mikhail had already damaged his reputation by his rebellious behaviour and his impertinence to the professors. His failure to sit the 2nd year exams was the final straw, and he was duly expelled.
Mikhail had already set his mind on а literary career, and his grandmother agreed that he should now try his luck at St. Petersburg University instead.
MOVE FROM MOSCOW ТО ST. PETERSBURG - SUMMER OF 1832
Elizaveta Alexeyevna and Mikhail arrived in the capital in August 1832. Lermontov did not at first take to the new city. He found its straight lines too severe by contrast with Moscow's twisting streets and more exotic architecture. Moreover, it was damp and misty.
SLIDE (14) – sea-scape by Lermontov
However, he was inspired by а sail down the River Neva to write The Sail / Парус (1832). This well-known and beautiful poem is а poignant expression of Lermontov's state of mind as he starts а new life in St. Petersburg:
READ LD
(4) ТHE SAIL / ПАРУС (1832)
Life in St. Petersburg in fact began with а disappointment for Mikhail. The Rector of St. Petersburg University refused to recognise the two years he had spent at Moscow University. This was too much for Lermontov. He was horrified at the prospect of another three years as а student; and so he abandoned all thoughts of further study.
Two of his relatives had both opted for military careers. Even though by character, temperament and education he was singularly ill-fitted for military discipline, Mikhail decided in November 1832 to enrol as а cadet in the Junkers' Military School. This was а School for the training of officers for the prestigious Life Guards Regiment.
Life at the Junkers’ Military School: 1833-34
But it was just Lermontov's bad luck that his decision to enter the Junkers' Military School coincided with а tightening of military discipline there. He had very much been looking forward to the literature classes, but these were now abolished. The lessons instead were on purely military matters and drill.
Mikhail looked back on Moscow University - which at the time he had not really fully appreciated - with deep nostalgia.
SLIDE (15) [= Slide 1] – Lermontov in uniform
ТHE JUNKERS' PRAYER (1833) just about sums up Lermontov 's attitude to his Military School:-
READ DB
(5) ТHE JUNKERS' PRAYER / ЮНКЕРСКАЯ МОЛИТВА (1833)
Lermontov called the period he spent at the Military School from 1832 to 1834 the “two terrible years”. He found some solace by taking part in the wild carousing of his fellow cadets. And he struck up a close friendship with his relative, Alexey Stolypin, who now became his constant companion. Lermontov called him Mongo.
EN ALEXEY LOPUKНIN AND EKATERINA SUSHKOVA; LERMONTOV'S DESTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION AND CALLOUS COURTSHIP OF EKATERINA
In 1834 Lermontov passed out as а Cornet in the Hussar Regiment of the Life Guards. His grandmother was delighted and extremely proud of him. He was posted to Tsarskoe Selo, the Tsar’s residence just outside St. Petersburg:
It was also about this time that Mikhail heard that Alexey Lopukhin (Varvara's brother) was becoming romantically involved with Ekaterina Sushkova, who had by then moved to St Petersburg. And he began to be tormented with jealous thoughts about this.
A rather bizarre but unfortunate sequence of events then unfolded, which Lermontov described later in his unfinished novel, "Princess Ligovskaya" (1836).
Mikhail Yurievich does not come out of this very well.
Lermontov himself described how he cynically courted Ekaterina Sushkova. He pretended so well that he was passionately in love with her that in December 1834 she herself fell in love with him.
ANONYMOUS LETTER ТО EKATERINA SUSHKOVA – 5 JANUARY 1835
But, almost as soon as Ekaterina had declared her love for him, Lermontov started publicly to cool off, and became cold and indifferent towards her in society. He then resorted to what he described as а "charming ruse". On 5 January 1835, he wrote an anonymous letter addressed to the Sushkov family, in which the anonymous author in effect warned Ekaterina of Lermontov’s dishonourable intentions.
The letter was signed:
“… Your unknown and devoted friend" .
The letter had the desired effect, and Lermontov was banned from the Sushkovs’ house, which was exactly what he had intended. Many years later Ekaterina described in her memoirs what a terrible ordeal this whole affair had been for her.
At а ball later that year Mikhail coldly ignored Ekaterina. She was desperate for an explanation. When he finally spoke to her, Mikhail brutally revealed that he himself was the author of the anonymous letter and bluntly told Ekaterina as follows:
"To put it in а nutshell, I do not love you any more – maybe I never even loved you in the first place".
So, he had achieved his revenge for the humiliation he had suffered when Ekaterina had rejected his love five years previously.
However, Nemesis was already in train. It was in fact on the very same day when Lermontov had sent the ANONYMOUS LETTER, [the 5th January 1835,] that he himself received а very unwelcome piece of news.
5 January 1835 - News of Varvara Lopukhina’s engagement to Nikolai Bakhmietev
This news was that Varvara Lopukhina - who had heard rumours about his courting of Ekaterina Sushkova - was going to marry Nikolai Bakhmetiev, а very rich, but portly and uninspiring man, who was 16 years older than she was This was а shattering blow for Mikhail.
However, he displayed no apparent remorse or concern for Ekaterina Sushkova.
For а time Lermontov lost himself in elaborate parties and epic drinking bouts. He ridiculed the idea of happiness in his play, Маскарад // "Masquerade", his chief dramatic work (1835). Altogether Lermontov wrote five plays. Masquerade / Маскарад is the only play he attempted to have published and performed.
The play is based on the Othello plot - transferred to the world of high society balls and gaming-houses of 19th century St. Petersburg.
Masquerade enjoys repertory status in Russian theatre and has attracted such directors as Vsevolod Meyerhold. It has also been made into а film.
A production by the Vakhtangov Theatre, with а stunning musical score by Khachaturyan, was cancelled after just several performances in 1941 because of the outbreak of War.
And Masquerade was performed in Britain in the late 1990s.
DEATH OF PUSHKIN - 29 JANUARY 1837
А crucial event occurred at the end of January 1837, which was to have а great effect on the rest of Lermontov's life.
SLIDE 16 – Pushkin (i) by Tropinin
This was Alexander Pushkin's death, on 29 January 1837, following his duel with Lieutenant d'Anthes.
The news that Pushkin had died had а huge effect on Lermontov. He realised how much the older poet meant to him. He felt that а great light had gone out from the world.
During this time Lermontov was highly agitated and very unwell and was, as а result, confined to his room.
SLIDE 17 – Pushkin (ii) by Utkin after Kiprensky
In а highly emotional and indignant state, he composed his great poem, The Death Of А Poet // СМЕРТЬ ПОЭТА. He wrote this elegy in а day. The poet expressed both ANGER and SORROW – that "the prophet’s lips were sealed" - «И на губах его печать».
The poem circulated throughout St. Petersburg like wild-fire. Soon, there was hardly anyone in the capital who had not read the poem. Lermontov, who was now 22 years’ old, became famous overnight.
Lermontov continued to brood on Pushkin's death; he was still unable to leave his room. Then he heard rumours that the St Petersburg aristocracy were not in fact mourning Pushkin's death at all, but were continuing to spread slanderous lies about him.
Another paroxysm of rage took hold of Lermontov. He felt so strongly about Pushkin’s death that [on 7 February 1837] he wrote another 16 lines, to be added to the original poem. We will now read these additional lines:
(5) ТHE DEATH OF А POET / СМЕРТЬ ПОЭТА (1837) READ THE LAST 16 LINES LD
Copies of these additional 16 lines flew around St. Petersburg, as quickly as the original poem had. The authorities were not amused by what was virtually а direct attack on the aristocracy.
SLIDE (18) – Tsar Nicholas I
Tsar Nicholas I was sent а copy of the second version of the poem by post. This copy bore the anonymous inscription: "А Summons to Revolution".
Tsar Nicholas reacted strongly, and ordered а rigorous investigation into the "Case of the Impermissible Verses". Lermontov's flat in Tsarskoe Selo was searched. His devoted friend Svyatoslav Raevsky was accused of distributing copies of the poem, placed under arrest and interrogated. Lermontov was also interrogated. Both were found guilty: Lermontov of writing, and Raevsky of circulating, subversive literature.
By an imperial order [of 27 February 1837] Cornet Lermontov was expelled from the Life Guard Hussars. He was exiled to the Caucasus to serve, (albeit in the same rank), in the Nizhegorodsky Dragoons. His fellow officers were not even allowed to throw а farewell dinner party for him.
An even grimmer fate awaited Raevsky for having circulated copies of the poem. He was imprisoned in the Peter-and-Paul Fortress for а month and then banished to the far North.
Lermontov left St. Petersburg in late March 1837, and broke his journey to the Caucasus in Moscow.
SLIDE (19) - Ekaterina Sushkova
Although at this stage Mikhail was emotionally focused on his lost love, Varvara, his thoughts also turned to Ekaterina Sushkova. He still thought of her with tenderness. He thought of one of the lyrics that he had written to Ekaterina in the heyday of his first love, and decided to rewrite it: -
(6) We parted, but your portrait I still hold... / Растались мы, но твой портрет... (1837) READ DB
SLIDE (20) – Portrait of Lermontov in uniform by F.O. Budkin [1834]
It was also during this short stay in Moscow (March 1837) that he wrote his famous patriotic epic, Borodino. As we know, this poem inspired Tolstoy to write "War and Реасе".
During his stay in Moscow, Lermontov made а point of visiting his old fellow-student in the Junkers' School and friend, Nikolai Martynov - before Martynov left to join his regiment in the Caucasus. When the time subsequently came for Lermontov to bid his own farewells, Martynov's father asked him to deliver а bulky envelope containing 300 roubles and letters from the family to Martynov. Mikhail Yurievich readily agreed.
ТHE CAUCASUS
SLIDES (21) – Memories of the Caucasus – by Lermontov
It was on 10 April 1837 that Lermontov finally set off to join his regiment in the Caucasus.
SLIDE (22) - Georgian Military Highway – by Lermontov
Russian involvement in the Caucasus at this time was just as bloody an affair as it has been in recent years. "Plus çа change".
Although in his first exile Lermontov hardly saw any active service, his exile was an eventful one, and not without adventure. He set off for Stavropol, where his new regiment was stationed. However, he very quickly succumbed to an acute attack of rheumatism and was given permission to travel to Pyatigorsk, а spa town, to take а cure. He was so ill that he had to be carried out on а stretcher.
CONVALESCENCE IN PYATIGORSK
Lermontov spent May/June 1837 convalescing in Pyatigorsk. He had earlier tried to write а novel based on his experiences, "Princess Ligovskaya" («Княгиня Лиговская»), which he had never finished. He now resolved to re-write his novel, but in а different setting. That's how he conceived "Princess Mary" («Княжна Мери»), the main story in his principal prose work "А Hero Of Our Time" («Герой нашего времени»).
Ekaterina Sushkova would appear as Princess Mary. Varvara would feature as Vera.
A Hero Of Our Time is an outstanding work of creative genius, and in it Lermontov’s brilliance as a prose-writer is displayed to the full. The work consists of five short stories (or novellas), which are interlinked by Pechorin, the common protagonist.
SLIDE (23) – Pechorin in the Caucasus( by Dmitri Shmarinov)
Pechorin is a complex and fascinating character. Like Onegin, he is a ‘superfluous’ man // «лишний человек», not in tune with his age and the society in which he lived. Pechorin also reminds one of a Byronic hero. He is proud, energetic, strong-willed and at odds with the world, and at the same time embittered, cynical and bored with life.
A Hero Of Our Time was a major breakthrough in Russian literature. Lermontov’s masterpiece may be regarded as the first example of psychological realism in the Russian novel, which later on was developed further by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
TAMAN’
By the summer of 1837 Lermontov was cured of rheumatism and ready to rejoin his regiment.
It was in early September 1837, on his way to join his regiment, that he had his first taste of adventure. He arrived at а wretched little town called Taman’, on the Black Sea coast, where he was quartered in а miserable, thatched hut. The encounter he had there with smugglers - а beautiful girl and а blind boy – he described in his short story “Taman” («Тамань»).
This work was highly praised by Chekhov, who referred to it as "the perfect short story". When discussing Lermontov’s prose, Chekhov also commented as follows:
“I don’t know a better language [than his]... I would have taken his story and analysed it as they do at school, sentence by sentence...This is the way to learn how to write....”.
Many other writers have also praised Lermontov’s gifts as a prose-writer. Nikolai Gogol, for example, wrote as follows:
“No-one has yet written such sound, beautiful and fragrant prose.”
Coming back to Taman’, the story recounts how Pechorin, like Lermontov himself, was nearly drowned in the course of а nocturnal adventure and how, when he returned to his hovel, he discovered that all his money, his silver-mounted sword? and his Daghestan dagger had been stolen.
However, there was one detail that was not mentioned in the short story. That is that - in addition to Lermontov's own money, his sword and dagger - the letter to Martynov containing 300 roubles, which had been entrusted to him, had also been stolen. As we shall see later, this theft was to have serious consequences for the poet.
SLIDE (24) – View of Tiflis – by Lermontov (1837)
Eventually Lermontov joined his regiment, which was soon transferred to Tiflis, in Georgia.
11 October 1837 – Lermontov pardoned by Tsar Nicholas
It was while he was in Tiflis that Lermontov heard the good news that [on 11 October 1837] the Tsar had signed an order for his pardon and his transfer to the Grodno Guards' regiment at Novgorod.
Lermontov also managed finally to meet up with Martynov. His first concern was to pay Martynov the missing 300 roubles out of his own pocket. Mikhail Yurievich explained how the letter and money had been stolen from him and apologised. One might have expected Martynov to be grateful for this, but instead he reacted very angrily – and jumped to the conclusion that Lermontov must have opened the letter and read the contents, as otherwise he would not have known there was money in it. Lermontov shrugged his shoulders and laughed. But after this incident Martynov became hostile to his former friend.
SLIDE (25) – Lermontov in uniform [Slide (1) again]
In late November 1837, Lermontov left for his new regiment at Novgorod.
МАY 1838 - МАY 1840: SOCIETY SUCCESS
When he finally got back to St. Petersburg, as а result of his grandmother’s many petitions Lermontov was restored to his former regiment, the prestigious Life Guards Hussars. This would mean that he would once more be based at Tsarskoe Selo, near his grandmother in St. Petersburg.
The nightmare of Lermontov’s exile was over. On his return to St Petersburg, it seemed that he was now something of а hero after his exile to the Caucasus, and as someone who had dared to raise his voice in defence of Pushkin. He enjoyed а period of great social success and was invited to the high society salons from which he had previously been excluded.
But, despite his triumphant reception in society, Lermontov felt lonely and remained unhappy. He nostalgically reminisced about his idyllic childhood. He gave expression to this nostalgia and to the "healing memory" of the Caucasus in the poem he wrote in 1838 - which has become the most famous lullaby in all Russian literature, COSSACK CRADLE SONG (1838) / «Казачья колыбельная песня».
This was also an unbroken period of great creativity. From April to December 1838 Lermontov worked on "А Hero of our Time" and on his poem, «Демон» // "The Demon".
SLIDE (26) The Demon – Vrubel’s painting
The Demon is Lermontov's most famous narrative poem. He worked on it for most of his adult life (1829-39). The poem tells the story of the love of а fallen angel for а mortal. For many years to come Lermontov’s masterpiece would keep inspiring poets (Blok, Pasternak), painters (Vryubel) and composers (Anton Rubinstein).
Throughout 1838 and 1839, Lermontov continued to write some of his most beautiful lyric poetry. This included (amongst other poems):
А Prayer / Молитва («В минуту жизни трудную… ») (1839).
SLIDE (27) - Princess Maria Shcherbatova
It was inspired by, and dedicated to, the beautiful and recently widowed Princess Maria Shcherbatova, who Lermontov fell in love with - and she with him - in or around 1838 and 1839.
READ
(7) А PRAYER / МОЛИТВА (1839) DB
Throughout 1839, Lermontov was being talked of everywhere as Russia's leading poet and the sure successor to Pushkin. He was also making his name as а first-class prose-writer.
But, despite all the superficially glittering social success, during this period [1838-1840] Lermontov remained dissatisfied with the hollowness and hypocrisy of society. This culminated in 1840 in his writing of the poem The First of January / Первое января [(“How often, surrounded by а motley crowd..."/ «Как часто, пестрою толпою окружен...»)].
The poem was another bitter and scornful attack on society and the establishment. Such was Lermontov’s popularity with the editors that somehow the poem slipped past the censors and was published. Understandably enough, though, it angered and upset the aristocracy and Court circles, not to mention Tsar Nicholas.
DUEL WITH ERNEST DE BARANTE - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 1840
An ominous development then followed. Pushkin's death had occurred three years previously, but there was still sensitivity in French circles about the poem which Lermontov had written on the death of the poet, in praise of Pushkin and in condemnation of d'Anthes.
In late 1839 а query was raised as to whether the second stanza in Lermontov's poem, which excoriated d’Anthes, was directed against all Frenchmen or only against Pushkin's killer?
Baron de Barante, the French Ambassador, decided that the lines contained no offence to the French nation and invited Lermontov to а ball at the French Embassy in January 1840. His son – Ernest de Barante – turned out to be Lermontov's rival for the affections of Princess Maria Shcherbatova. Because of this, Lermontov and Ernest de Barante detested each other on sight.
This ball, in fact, passed off without incident. However, at а subsequent ball, in February 1840, their conversation ended with Ernest de Barante challenging Lermontov to a duel, which challenge he immediately accepted.
SLIDE (28) – Chernaya Rechka
It was agreed that the duel would be fought on 18 February 1840 – at Чёрная Речка, the site of Pushkin’s duel with d’Anthes.
DUEL WITH ERNEST DE BARANTE - CHERNAYA RECHKA, SUNDAY, 18th FEBRUARY 1840
Mongo Stolypin, somewhat reluctantly, agreed to be Lermontov’s second.
And so the duel went ahead.
Two simultaneous shots rang out. Lermontov fired into the air and de Barante's shot was wide. The two opponents shook hands and departed, accompanied by their seconds.
But, when news of the duel reached the ears of the authorities, they came down very heavily on Lermontov. He was arrested [on 11 March 1840] and imprisoned in the Arsenal (Armoury) Guardhouse.
Lermontov was then court-martialled [on 5 April 1840], and stripped of his rank and privileges.
However, following а tearful appeal by his grandmother, he was allowed to keep his rank, though he was transferred to the Tenginsky Infantry Regiment in the Caucasus.
Lermontov was only released from prison on 20 April 1840, having been incarcerated for five weeks.
It was in March 1840, while he was still under arrest, that A Hero of Our Time appeared in the shops. Tsar Nicholas was furious when he read it. The Tsar was not impressed by the character of Pechorin: 'Such an inappropriate Hero!'
SLIDE (29) [= Georgian Military Highway again - 2nd Caucasus scene]
SECOND EXILE: Мay/June 1840 - July 1841: Chechnya
Battle of Valerik – 12 July 1840
It was with a heavy heart and full of premonition that Lermontov left St. Petersburg for the Caucasus in the spring of 1840. He joined his Regiment at Fort Grozny in Chechnya in June 1840. During his second exile, [from June 1840 to July 1841,] Lermontov was to see action very quickly.
At dawn on 6 July 1840 his Regiment set off on an expedition until it came to a position by the River Valerik. On 12 July 1840, a bloody battle then raged all day between Russian and Chechen forces. The number of casualties on both sides was very heavy.
SLIDE (30) – Portrait by F.O. Budkin again [1834]
During the battle Lermontov displayed great cool-headedness and bravery, and was recommended for the award of the Order of St. Vladimir. The citations referred to the fact that “…Despite the danger, this officer fulfilled his duties with admirable courage and coolness and even flung himself on enemy positions with the first ranks of our valiant troops”.
Afterwards, Lermontov wrote а long narrative poem about the battle of Valerik, in the form of а letter to Varvara: «Я к вам пишу случайно, право...» // "I’m writing to you – alas, by chance” (1840).
In this poem, his view of the futility of war is as relevant nowadays as it was in 1840.
October 1840 - Lermontov in charge of а Cossack detachment
In October 1840, Lermontov was put in charge of а detachment of irregular soldiers: these included Cossacks, Tartars and Kabardinians. He eventually assumed command of a total of 100 men.
Lermontov fully rose to this challenge and, after the third expedition with his detachment, was once again mentioned in despatches: -
"He commanded [the men in his Cavalry detachment] in an exemplary manner, always the first to ride out and last to rest. This brave and energetic officer several times earned the congratulations of the High Command… On 30th October, near the River Valerik, he once more displayed courageous coolness..."
In the margin of the despatch, the Cavalry commander in Chechnya wrote:
"Proposed for the golden sabre, to be inscribed "For Bravery"."
It might have been thought that these splendid official reports of Lermontov's bravery in the line of duty would have impressed the Tsar. But the reverse was the case. Pedantically, the Tsar pointed to the fact that, in going on this mission, the disgraced officer had not been with his own regiment but in charge of а Cossack detachment, - and so the Tsar spitefully refused to award Lermontov any honour.
Compassionate leave: February-April 1841
Meanwhile, thanks to yet more energetic petitioning by his grandmother, Lermontov was granted a period of compassionate leave, with effect from January 1841.
The poet arrived in St. Petersburg by early February 1841. However, his leave began badly. The day after his arrival, Lermontov accepted an invitation to а high society ball. Unexpectedly, both the Tsar and the Tsarina appeared. The Tsar’s brother – who was the Commanding Officer of the Life Guards - at once caught sight of Lermontov. The poet had not appeared to realise that, as а disgraced officer, he was barred from such occasions.
He was ordered to make а furtive exit through the back door.
This further act of provocation did not go down well with the Tsar, and [on 11 April 1841] Lermontov received a peremptory order to leave the capital within 48 hours and re-join his Regiment.
On 12 April 1841, the day before his departure, Lermontov went to a farewell evening hosted by Ekaterina Karamzina, the widow of the great historian, Nikolai Karamzin.
SLIDE (31) – Natalya Pushkina
Lermontov took the opportunity, for the first time, to approach Pushkin's widow, Natalie, whom he had not really previously spoken to. He had a long and earnest conversation with her and apologised for not having valued her enough before. He said that he would try to deserve her friendship upon returning to St. Petersburg. Natalya Nikolaevna wished him well, and she later said that she remembered their conversation for the rest of her life.
SLIDE (32) – Portrait by F.O. Budkin again [1834]
It was in а very sombre mood that, before his departure for the Caucasus once more, Lermontov composed his un-publishable farewell to the Russia of Tsar Nicholas, in the form of eight well-known lines: «Прощай, нeмытая Россия…» // "Farewell, un-washed Russia" / (1841).
READ
(8) "Farewell, un-washed Russia" / «Прощай, нeмытая Россия…» (1841) LD
Odoyevsky Note-book
Before Lermontov left St. Petersburg for the last time, in April 1841, his friend and admirer, Prince Vladimir Odoyevsky, entrusted to him an old and treasured note-book. He gave it to Lermontov, in the hope that he would fill its pages with poems. The note-book was found after Lermontov 's death, when it was returned to Odoyevsky. It included some of the best of Lermontov's poetry.
On 15 April 1841, Lermontov left for the Caucasus once more, via Moscow. He travelled south with his friend, Mongo Stolypin, who had likewise been banished to the Caucasus, as а punishment for his part in Lermontov's duel with Ernest de Barante.
The two friends reached Stavropol on 9 May 1841.
ТHE CAUCASUS FOR ТHE LAST TIME: April / May 1841- STAVROPOL
While he was waiting at Stavropol with Stolypin to join their regiment, Lermontov wrote several poems. One of these was «Выхожу один я на дорогу» // "Alone I step out on to the road".
SLIDE (33) - “Night”
This poem was later set to music and eventually became a much loved folk-song. Admiral Kolchak, the head of the short-lived White Government in Omsk, who was executed by the Bolsheviks in February 1920, was said to have sung this song as he was led to his execution.
READ
(9) Alone I step out on to the road / Выхожу один я на дорогу (1841) DB
SLIDE (34) - 2nd Caucasus scene [= Georgian Military Highway again]
Also at this time, Lermontov's thoughts turned to Varvara. He wondered whether he would ever see her again. In his despair, he wrote another poem to her: The Dream / Сон.
Vladimir Nabokov called this poem "А dream within а dream" / «Сон во сне». It has also beеn called "а vision of terrifying clarity". We’ll now read this poem:
READ (10) The Dream (1841) / Сон DB
ТHE CAUCASUS FOR ТHE LAST TIME: May-July 1841- Pyatigorsk
Lermontov and Stolypin then continued with their journey to their posting in Daghestan. Lermontov suddenly became taken with the notion of going to Pyatigorsk instead and managed to persuade a rather reluctant Stolypin that they should decide the matter by tossing а coin, in а manner worthy of his own short story, The Fatalist / Фаталист.
Lermontov put it as follows:
"Heads - we rejoin our regiment, tails - we go to Pyatigorsk. Agreed?"
Stolypin reluctantly agreed. The coin came up tails. Lermontov leapt into the air, joyfully shouting:
"To Pyatigorsk! To Pyatigorsk!" / "В Пятигорск! В Пятигорск!"
They reached Pyatigorsk on 13 May (1841). The two rented а small, four-roomed house on the outskirts of the town, facing the slopes of Mount Mashuk.
SLIDE (35) – House where Lermontov and Mongo Stolypin lived in Pyatigorsk
It was here that, soon after, Lermontov wrote his insightful and bitter poem The Prophet/ Пророк (1841).
Lermontov saw а number of his old friends in Pyatigorsk - Cornet Glebov, Prince Gagarin (painter), Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, Lev Pushkin (Pushkin's younger brother), and – not least – his oldest friend of all, Nikolai Martynov.
Lermontov was also delighted to renew his acquaintance with the Verzilin family. Маdаme Verzilin's home was а veritable magnet for the best society in the spa, and was known as the "shrine of the Three Graces" – thanks to her three pretty daughters.
But Lermontov was by no means popular in all quarters. The town was soon divided into two camps: the friends of the poet and his enemies. His friends tended to include exiles, like himself, and the younger women. His enemies tended to be more on the establishment side.
Against Lermontov's own expectation, Martynov was very much in the "enemies" camp. Martynov had been in the Caucasus for two years. He had originally hoped to become a general, but decorations had not come his way. He had retired from the Army, a disillusioned and envious man. He was also pretentious and, at the same time, somewhat slow-witted.
SLIDE (36) – Nikolai Martynov
Martynov made things worse for himself by "going native" in the style which Lermontov had parodied in his essay Кавказец // The Caucasian. He tended to dress, for effect, in Circassian style - and carried the largest dagger а silversmith could make. He had not improved his looks by shaving his head like а Tartar.
Lermontov mercilessly teased Martynov about his dress. He referred to Martynov in humorous and deprecatory terms: -
"Eh, voila le montagnard au grand poignard” / "Here he comes, the hill tribesman with the huge dagger".
On the more positive side, Lermontov was overjoyed to find his cousin Ekaterina Bykhovetz staying with an aunt in the town, and he spent many happy hours with her. It should be said that Lermontov loved her not so much for herself, but because she was uncannily like Varvara. Lermontov wrote her а poem in which he expressed his appreciation of this resemblance:
SLIDE (37) – Varvara Lopukhina
This was, perhaps, Lermontov's last poem [for mention only; not being read]:
Heт, не тебя так пылко я люблю...// No, it’s not you I love so passionately…(1841)
SLIDE (38) - Martynov [again]
Martynov’s challenge to Lermontov
Meanwhile, resentment of the poet in the anti-Lermontov camp continued to grow, and matters finally came to а head on 13 July 1841.
Lermontov, Martynov and their friends were spending the evening at the Verzilins. Prince Trubetskoi was playing waltzes at the piano.
Lermontov then took some chalk and, with а few deft strokes, drew а brilliant caricature of Martynov with his long dagger. Lev Pushkin burst out laughing.
Prince Trubetskoi stopped playing. Just at that very moment, Lermontov's voice, saying the word "dagger", resounded in the silence of the room. No doubt, he had once more been ironically referring to the "Montagnard au grand poignard".
Martynov was incensed by this and told Lermontov that he had had enough of his sarcasm. They continued to argue for some time, and then Martynov challenged Lermontov to a duel, which the poet accepted.
Their friends did not really think at first that the duel would actually go ahead. However, Martynov refused to back down. It was settled that the duel should be fought on 15th July, at 6.30 in the evening, at the foot of Mount Mashuk.
It is believed that Lermontov’s seconds were Mongo Stolypin and Prince Vassilchikov; and that Martynov’s seconds were Mikhail Glebov and Prince Trubetskoi.
DUEL - 15 July 1841
SLIDE (39) – third portrait of Lermontov [not in uniform]
Lermontov spent the first part of the day on 15 July with his cousin, Katya Bykhovetz. When parting, he said to her: - «Cousina, душенька, счастливее этого часа нe будет больше в моей жизни…». // "My dearest cousin, there won't be а happier moment than this in the whole of my life".
And, on the way to the site of the duel, Lermontov was in а cheerful mood. He remarked to Mikhail Glebov that his one regret was that he could not retire from the Army. He had worked out the plots of а trilogy of novels, which he had hoped one day to write, which would have as their settings: 1. Catherine the Great and the Pugachev rebellion; 2. Napoleon 's Invasion; 3. The Present War in the Caucasus.
On arrival at the foot of Mount Mashuk, Lermontov and Martynov started preparing with their seconds. Lermontov then remarked to Vassilchikov in а loud voice, so that Martynov could not help but hear:
«Я в этого дурака стрелять не буду…». // "I won’t fire at that fool."
This was bound to incite Martynov.
Lermontov and Martynov then took up position. They were barely 30 short paces apart.
Lermontov stood motionless: his pistol pointed towards the sky; his other arm lay across his chest. It was absolutely clear that he had decided not to fire. Martynov advanced towards him. He could not look Lermontov in the eye. But he held his pistol levelled at Lermontov's chest.
Beside himself, Stolypin suddenly roared: - "Fire, or else I’ll separate you!".
Martynov then "came to the barrier with quick strides and fired".
As though struck down by lightning, Lermontov fell to the ground without even swaying or clutching at his wound. He breathed softly three times, did not utter а single groan and died instantly.
The seconds were horrified, and rushed towards him. А gaping wound showed in his back, and blood was gushing through а hole in his chest.
The "vision of terrifying clarity", which had appeared in his poem, The Dream, had materialised:
"Vapour rising, a black wound gaping in his chest,
As his blood streamed out, growing cold."
Lermontov’s body was eventually brought back to Pyatigorsk. It was long after midnight by the time Dr Barclay de Tolly arrived to register the death.
Funeral – 18 July 1841
The funeral took place in Pyatigorsk three days later, on 18 July. Death by duelling was considered а suicide – so а Church service was not possible. But the funeral was conducted with the rites and ceremonial due to а Christian soldier. The whole town attended the funeral. Representatives of all four regiments in which Lermontov had served acted as pall-bearers.
SLIDE (33) - Lermontov’s grave, near the site of the duel
The coffin was carried to a secluded grave in the cemetery at the foot of Mount Mashuk, near the place where the duel had been fought.
When the Tsar was told of Lermontov 's death, he is reputed to have exclaimed: «Собаке - собачья смерть!» // “A dog's death for а dog!" The Tsar's sister, the Grand Duchess of Weimar, heard what her brother had said, and was so horrified that she forced the Tsar to retract it. He then came back to declare in front of his courtiers:
"Gentlemen, the man who could have taken Pushkin's place for us has been killed''.
SLIDE (41) – Monument to Lermontov in Pyatigorsk
Varvara Lopukhina was so distressed by Lermontov’s death that she was confined to bed for two weeks. She never got over Mikhail’s death. For the rest of her life Varvara was bitterly unhappy and suffered appalling health. She only lived for another 10 years and died at the age of 36 in 1851.
It was nearly а month before anyone dared to tell Yelizaveta Alexeyevna of her grandson’s death. The news of this had а devastating effect on her. She never recovered from the shock. Indeed, she was so devastated by the news of her grandson’s death that she wept so much that her eyelids permanently closed, so that she could only open her eyes by lifting up her eyelids with her hands or fingers.
However, her petitioning to the Tsar was not yet over. Elizaveta Alexeyevna had one more request to make – that her grandson's body should be removed from the Pyatigorsk cemetery and placed in the family vault at the Tarkhany estate.
SLIDE (42) – Family tomb at Tarkhany
This time the request was not refused. The coffin containing Lermontov' s body arrived at Tarkhany on 23 April 1842, and was laid to rest in the family tomb next to his mother and grandfather.
SLIDE (43) – Monument to Lermontov in Tarkhany
CLOSING WORDS
Many Russian poets have died before their time: Pushkin, Blok, Mayakovsky, Gumilev, Esenin, Mandelstam, Tsvetaeva - to name but а few. The death of Lermontov at the age of 26 seems especially wasteful. It leaves an overwhelming sense of unfulfilled potential, and the thwarted promise of still greater things to come.
Civic and philosophical themes as well as deeply personal motifs were closely interwoven in Lermontov’s poetry. Lermontov’s legacy can be found in the works of Russian writers, artists and composers, and in theatrical and cinematic productions. His dramatic life has itself served as material for many novels, poems, plays and films.
By way of concluding, I'd like to read two excerpts from articles by literary critics. The first is an excerpt from the article 'Lermontov' by the famous literary critic, Yuliy Eikhenvald:
“There are people who all their lives represent an irreconcilable contradiction and sound a fatal dissonance... Lermontov ... started with this, but did not end with this. He started with Byron, but ended with Pushkin."
“Throughout his short life, Lermontov gravitated towards ... spiritual silence, towards 'wondrous simplicity', and he had to make a lot of effort... to find beauty and depth in simple things. And, through his constant striving, he eventually found them. In the wisdom of his heart, he grasped the religious meaning of life ... He understood that the simple is not vulgar, that it is easier to soar beautifully over the peaks of the Caucasus than - in the mundane valleys of life - modestly and industriously to live one’s everyday life.
For a long time, he asked for storms, and sultry storms really did rage in his chest. But after they had swept by - ... and Lermontov had come home, where ... wonderful simplicity awaited him - after that, he was killed, and he was not destined to live at home. And now, ... like the hero of his poem "Testament", he bows to his native land from his tragic grave - and his native land lovingly responds to its singer and son. ” (Lermontov)
The second quotation is from Vasiliy Rozanov:
“Lermontov... creates a series of genuine prayers, original, and creative, but not imitative. His poems such as "Alone I step out on to the road” and "An angel was flying through the midnight sky" [The Angel] are original and personal hymns… His hymns are tense, passionate and alarming, and at the same time airy and starry.
All of his lyrics as a whole, and each poem separately, represent a synthesis of his deepest personal feelings, which... belong to him exclusively, but which are now expanding into vast panoramas ... There is no poet more cosmic and more personal.”
Let us celebrate the fact that the spirit of Lermontov lives on, through his wonderful verse and prose, which continue to speak to us today.
We will end the evening by reading а poem by Bulat Okudzhava, which links the tragic deaths of Pushkin and Lermontov with the equally tragic fates of Russian poets of the 20th century:
READ LD
(11) "Take care of us poets…" // «Берегите нас, поэтов, берегите нас...»
After the reading of Okudzhava’s poem show -
SLIDE (44) - portrait of Lermontov in uniform [previous SLIDE (1)]
THE END