''Borodino'' (russian: Бородино) is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

which describes the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napole ...

, the major battle of

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. It was first published in 1837 in the literary magazine ''

Sovremennik ''Sovremennik'' ( rus, «Современник», p=səvrʲɪˈmʲenʲːɪk, a=Ru-современник.ogg, "The Contemporary") was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in Saint Petersburg in 1836–1866. It came out ...

''.Notes to Lermontov's Complete Works
(search for "Бородино") Lermontov-Borodino-Sovremennik1837

The poem was based on his 1831 teenage version, ''The Battlefield of Borodino'' (Поле Бородина). The poem starts with the direct appeal "Tell me, uncle,...". Lermontov had several relatives (Arsenyevs and Stolypins) who were veterans of the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental blo ...

, and there have been speculation that the poem was based on the narrations of one of them. Other critics suggest that his original version was written under the influence of

Denis Davydov Denis Vasilyevich Davydov ( rus, Дени́с Васи́льевич Давы́дов, p=dʲɪˈnʲis vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ dɐˈvɨdəf, a=Dyenis Vasilyevich Davydov.ru.vorb.oga; – ) was a Russian soldier-poet of the Napoleonic Wars who in ...

's ''Borodino Battlefield'' (Бородинское поле)."Dvoryans Stolypins"

References

{{Mikhail Lermontov 1837 poems Poetry by Mikhail Lermontov Works originally published in Sovremennik

Links

References