Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks
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''Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks'' is a painting by
Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
. It is also known as ''Cossacks of Saporog Are Drafting a Manifesto'' and in Russian, (russian: Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану, Zaporozhtsy pishut pis'mo turetskomu sultanu, lit=Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish sultan). Repin began the 2.03 m (6 foot 8 inch) by 3.58 m (11 foot 9 inch) canvas in 1880 and finished in 1891. His
study Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawi ...
drawings he made in stanitsa Pashkovskaya (today within
Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
), Yekaterinoslav (today
Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
), and
Kachanivka Kachanivka Palace ( uk, Качанівка; ''Kachanivka''; russian: Качановка; ''Kachanovka'') is one of the many country estates built by Pyotr Rumyantsev, Catherine II's viceroy of Little Russia. It stands on the bank of the Smosh R ...
. He recorded the years of work along the lower edge of the canvas. Alexander III bought the painting for 35,000
rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...
. Since then, the canvas has been exhibited in the
State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...
in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
with another version by Repin in the Kharkiv Art Museum in
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
s sending an insulting reply to an ultimatum from the
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
,
Mehmed IV Mehmed IV ( ota, محمد رابع, Meḥmed-i rābi; tr, IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693) also known as Mehmed the Hunter ( tr, Avcı Mehmed) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the a ...
. According to the story, the
Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
(from "beyond the rapids", Ukrainian: ''za porohamy''), inhabiting the lands around the lower
Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, had defeated
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
forces in battle. However, despite his army having suffered this loss to them, Mehmed demanded that the Cossacks submit to Ottoman rule. The Cossacks, led by
Ivan Sirko Ivan Sirko ( uk, Іван Дмитрович Сірко, tr. , ; pl, Iwan Sierko, ; russian: Иван Дмитриевич Серко, translit=Ivan Dmitrievich Serko, ; c. 1610–1680) was a Ukrainian Cossack military leader, Koshovyi Otaman o ...
, replied in a characteristic manner; they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities. The painting exhibits the Cossacks' pleasure at striving to come up with ever more base vulgarities. In the 19th century, the historical Zaporozhian Cossacks were sometimes the subject of picaresque tales demonstrating admiration of their primitive vitality and contemptuous disregard for authority (in marked contrast to the more civilized subjects of the authoritarian Russian state). Whether the incident portrayed actually happened or is just another of these tales is not known, but no concrete or reliable evidence exists that it did happen, although the question remains disputed. U.S.-based Slavic and Eastern European historian Daniel C. Waugh (1978) observed: "The correspondence of the sultan with the
Chyhyryn Chyhyryn ( uk, Чигирин, ) is a city and historic site located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine. From 1648 to 1669 the city was a Hetman residence. After a forced relocation of the Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan see ...
Cossacks had undergone a textual transformation sometime in the eighteenth century whereby the Chyhyryntsy became the Zaporozhians and the controlled satire of the reply was debased into vulgarity. In this vulgar version, the Cossack correspondence spread quite widely in the nineteenth century. (...) The best-known reflection of the nineteenth-century popularity of the Cossack correspondence is the famous painting by II'ia Repin showing the uproarious Zaporozhians penning their reply." According to Ukrainian historian Volodymyr Pylypenko (2019), the letter is 'perhaps the most famous
forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...
in Ukrainian history, a fake with a long and vibrant history (...). The text has undergone numerous translations and rewritings.' A French and a German translation became the best-known versions, as these made the text accessible to a large European readership. Pylypenko pointed out that the letter bears many stylistic similarities to other fake documents and forgeries that appeared in the 17th century, including the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
(Muscovy), which purported to be genuine correspondence between various Eastern European Christian monarchs and the Ottoman sultan, but were in fact works of political-religious propaganda.


Repin's interpretation

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
's 1842 romantic- historical novella ''
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...
'' describes the incident in passing. Repin associated with
Savva Mamontov Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (russian: Са́вва Ива́нович Ма́монтов, ; 3 October 1841 (15 October N.S.), Yalutorovsk – 6 April 1918, Moscow) was a Russian industrialist, merchant, entrepreneur and patron of the arts. Busine ...
and his artistic circle and probably heard the story there; at any rate, Repin made his first sketches for the painting in Mamontov's home. While working on the original version, Repin in 1889 began work on a second version. This work remained unfinished. The artist tried to make the second version of ''The Cossacks'' more "historically authentic". In 1932 it was transferred by the
Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
to the
M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum The M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum (Ukrainian: Харківський історичний музей імені М. Ф. Сумцова, ''Kharkivskyi Istorychnyi Muzei Imeni M. F. Sumtsova'') is a history museum located in Kharkiv, Ukra ...
. In 1935, it was moved to the , where it is now stored. This canvas is slightly smaller than the original version. The historian
Dmytro Yavornytsky Dmytro Ivanovych Yavornytsky ( uk, Дмитро́ Іва́нович Яворни́цький), or Dmitry Ivanovich Yavornitsky (also known as ''Dmitry Evarnitsky'', russian: Дмитрий Иванович Яворницкий; November 6, 1855, ...
assisted Repin in portraying the scene authentically. In the novel ''Compartment No. 6'' by the Finnish author
Rosa Liksom Rosa Liksom (born Anni Ylävaara, Ylitornio, 7 January 1958) is a Finnish writer and artist. She studied anthropology and social sciences at the universities of Helsinki, Copenhagen and Moscow. She won the J. H. Erkko Award in 1985 for her debut ...
, she describes a train trip across Russia during the last days of the Soviet Union. In a town where the train stopped, she writes: "On the main wall of the dining room was a fair reproduction of Ilya Repin's painting 'Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed.' At the place on the painting where the angry letter is being written someone had used a ball-point pen to scrawl the words: To Stalin." She must have been describing the second version of the painting. During the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine in March 2022, when the Kharkiv region came under heavy artillery and air fire, the museum staff rushed to remove their artworks from the museum to a safer place. The second version of ''The Cossacks'' was amongst the artworks relocated for safety.


Models

The "Cossacks” who posed for the painting were friends of Repin and academics from Saint Petersburg University, and included men of Ukrainian, Russian, Cossack, Jewish and Polish ancestry.История создания картины «Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану»
/ref> File:Zaporoj kazaki-10.jpg,
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...
, leader of the Cossacks File:Zaporoj kazaki-14.jpg, "The Writer" File:Zaporoj kazaki-8.jpg, "The smiling soldier" (Otaman Ivan Sirko) File:Zaporoj kazaki1.jpg, "Smiling soldier with red cap"
File:Zaporoj kazaki-11.jpg, "Cossack with yellow hat" File:Zaporoj kazaki-2.jpg, "Tall smiling man" File:Zaporoj kazaki-6.jpg, "Serious cossack" File:Zaporoj kazaki-12.jpg, "Top of a bald head"


Depictions

The image has become a well-known reference in Russian culture, parodied or emulated by other work such as political cartoons, including ''Members of Duma drafting a reply to Stolypin'' and ''Soviet leaders write the letter of defiance to George Curzon'', seen below. It is also referenced in other works, such as both the 2009 Russian film ''
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...
'', which depicts the scene itself, and the American film of the same name (which includes the painting in its opening credits); both are adaptations of a historical novella by that name, though the novella does not include the scene. Beyond Russia, the painting is frequently used as a symbol or metonymy for Cossacks in general. The "Cossacks" expansion to the video game ''
Europa Universalis IV ''Europa Universalis IV'' is a 2013 grand strategy video game in the ''Europa Universalis'' series, developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to ''Europa Universalis III'' (2007). The game was rele ...
'' adapted the text of the reply for its trailer and included artwork based on the original painting, the game '' Cossacks: European Wars'' has the central detail of the picture in its logo, and the game ''
Cossacks 3 ''Cossacks 3'' is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It is a remake of the 2001 game ''Cossacks: European Wars'' and is once again set in 17th and 18th century Europe. The main diffe ...
'' has the painting as the background of the main menu. The text has inspired several adaptations; most notable is probably the French versification by
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...
, included as "Réponse des Cosaques Zaporogues au Sultan de Constantinople" as part of his poem "La Chanson du mal-aimé", in his 1913 collection ''
Alcools ''Alcools'' (English: Alcohols) is a collection of poems by the French author Guillaume Apollinaire. His first major collection was published in 1913. The first poem in the collection, ''Zone'' (an epic poem of Paris), has been called "''the'' ...
''. This version was set to music by
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
in his Symphony No. 14, amongst other poets, and by French singer-songwriter
Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released s ...
, in a full
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
on ''
La Chanson du mal-aimé ''La Chanson du mal-aimé'' (English: ''Song of the Poorly Loved'') is an oratorio composed by Léo Ferré in 1952–53 on Guillaume Apollinaire's eponymous poem. This piece for four soloist singers, choir and orchestra is an example of an oratorio ...
'' in 1953. Not all treatment of the painting has been positive. Particularly, art critic
Clement Greenberg Clement Greenberg () (January 16, 1909 – May 7, 1994), occasionally writing under the pseudonym K. Hardesh, was an American essayist known mainly as an art critic closely associated with American modern art of the mid-20th century and a formal ...
's influential 1939 essay ''
Avant-Garde and Kitsch "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" is the title of a 1939 essay by Clement Greenberg, first published in the ''Partisan Review'', in which he claimed that avant-garde and modernist art was a means to resist the "dumbing down" of culture caused by consumeris ...
'' selected Repin's painting as an example of "
kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...
".


References


Book references

* Dmytro I. Yavornytsky (1895) ''History of the Zaporogian Cossacks, Vol. 2'', pp. 517–518. St. Petersburg. Available in both modern Ukrainian and Russian language editions. * Myron B. Kuropas (1961) ''The Saga of Ukraine: An Outline History''. MUN Enterprises * Саєнко В.М. (2004) ''"Лист до турецького султана" та деякі міфологічні відповідності'' // Нові дослідження пам’яток козацької доби в Україні. – Вип.13. – К. – С. 418–420. * Prymak, Thomas M., "Message to Mehmed: Repin Creates his ''Zaporozhian Cossacks''," in his ''Ukraine, the Middle East, and the West'' (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2021), pp. 173–200. * Jack Carr, (2019) ''True Believer,'' Atria/Emily Bestler Books, chapter 67.


External links


The Cossack Letter
* . A detailed analysis of the letter and its different variants.
History of the painting

''Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks''
''Outstanding Paintings''. St. Peterburg, 1966. p. 271
Versified version of the letter sung by singer-songwriter Léo Ferré and choir (1972)
{{Ilya Repin 1891 paintings Collections of the Russian Museum Paintings by Ilya Repin 17th century in the Zaporozhian Host Paintings of people Political art Works about Cossacks Musical instruments in art