On the Question of the Views of A.S. Pushkin on the Insurrection in Poland in 1830-1831

Abstract

The article deals with the political ideas expressed by A.S. Pushkin, first of all, in the poem "To the Slanderers of Russia", as well as in personal correspondence and notes from the period of the Polish insurrection of 1830-1831. An overview of the prehistory and prerequisites for the insurrection is given, the historical context is shown, which determined the formation of the poet's views on the "Polish question". Pushkin's worldview was influenced by the "History of the Russian State" by N.M. Karamzin and, in particular, the story about the occupation of Moscow by Polish troops in 1610-1612. In addition, the poet, like his contemporaries, retained direct impressions of the Patriotic War of 1812, in which the Poles participated on the side of Napoleon. The ode to "Slanderers of Russia" was Pushkin's answer to members of the French Parliament, who raised the issue of supporting the Poles. For the French liberals, the events in Poland were of international significance and were characterized as the struggle of one of the emerging European nations for rights and freedoms. For Pushkin, the Polish rebellion was exclusively an internal affair of Russia, an encroachment on its integrity. The article presents the statements of some representatives of Russian culture who were part of Pushkin's circle of friends, among whom were both supporters and opponents of the state-patriotic position of the poet.