''The Dream of Councillor Popov'' (Сон статс-советника Попова; also – Сон Попова) is a satire in verse by

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...

, first published in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

,А.К. Толстой. Собрание сочинений в 4-х томах. Т 1. Стихотворения и поэмы. Cон Попова. Москва. Художественная литература. 1964. Комментарии. Стр.768. and regarded as one of the best satirical poems in

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

, mixing "sharp, poignant satire… and pure delight in cheerful absurdity". According to critic D.S.Mirsky, "it is ''The Dream…'' that can be seen as Aleksey Tolstoy's most solid claim for immortality".

History

The poem was written in the summer of 1873 and became widely popular, having spread all around the country as a hand-written manuscript. It was generally believed at the time that the target of its satire had been Interior minister

Pyotr Valuev Count Pyotr Aleksandrovich ValuevAlso transliterated Peter Alexandrovich Valuyev. ( rus, Граф Пётр Алекса́ндрович Валу́ев; September 22, 1815 – January 27, 1890) was a Russian statesman and writer. Life Valuev w ...

, a conservative politician keen to create for himself an image of a liberal, by using colourful rhetoric. Later it emerged that was more of an aggregate character, at least one other minister, A.V.Golovin, having been mentioned as a possible prototype. The poem was first published, as a brochure, in 1878 in Berlin, under the title ''The Dream of State Councillor Popov''. In Russia the poem came out in 1882, #12 issue of ''Russkaya starina'' magazine (pp.107-712), dated (wrongly) 1874. It was greatly praised by many prominent authors of the time, including

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

. "Its irresistible. I just can’t help reading you this… and Lev Nikolayevich was beginning to recite ''Popov’s Dream'', causing occasional outbursts of laughter", P.A.Sergienko remembered. In November 1875 the recital of ''Popov's Dream'' was banned from being performed at the evening commemorating Aleksey Tolstoy, organized by the Russian Literary Fund. All public renditions of the poem were impossible until 1915, when the ban was officially lifted.Центральный государственный исторический архив. Дело Гл. Упр. По делам печати. 1915, л.1175

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream of Councillor Popov 1878 poems Poetry by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy