''Tambov Treasurer's Wife'' (Tambovskaya kaznacheysha, Тамбо′вская казначе′йша) is a poem by

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 ...

, written and published by ''

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 ...

'' in

1838 Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration o ...

.Commentaries to Tambov Treasurer's Wife. The Works of M.Yu.Lermontov in 4 volumes. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura Publishers. Moscow, 1958. Vol. 2. Pp. 495-497.

Summary

A visiting

uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

falls in love with the 18-year-old wife of the old

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 29 ...

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

and, after several attempts to woo her, 'wins' her from her husband in the game of cards.

History

On February 15, 1838 Lermontov informed M.A.Lopukhina (writing in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

): "I've been to Zhukovsky and, following his request, brought him ''Tambov Teasurer's Wife''. He took it to Vyazemsky, they read it together and liked it a lot. It will be printed in the next ''Sovremennik'' issue." Since Lermontov speaks of the poem as if it had already been read by Lopukhina, it must have been finished by mid-January, when he left

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The poem (signed "-v") was published in No.3 issue of ''Sovremennik'', with both editorial (by Zhukovsky) and censorial cuts. The title was curtailed to just ''Kaznatcheysha'' (A Treasurer's Wife). The manuscript of the poem has been lost. None of the omitted lines has been restored since. The way the poem was treated outraged Lermontov.

Ivan Panayev Ivan Ivanovich Panaev (russian: link=no, Ива́н Ива́нович Пана́ев; March 27, 1812 – March 2, 1862) was a Russian writer, literary critic, journalist and magazine publisher. Early life Panaev was born into a gentry family ...

remembered: "...I found Lermontov at Krayevsky's greatly agitated. He ermontovheld a thin pink book of ''Sovremennik'' in his hands showing the intention to tear it apart, but Krayevsky wouldn't let him. "It's Devil knows what! - Lermontov was shouting, shaking the journal. - Is it permissible at all to do such things? That's unbelievable!" Then he sat at the table, took a large red pencil and on the sleeve of the journal where his Treasurer's Wife was published, drew some sort of caricature." Panayev, I.I., Literature Memoirs. Goslitizdat, Leningrad, 1950, p.135

References

{{Mikhail Lermontov 1838 poems Poetry by Mikhail Lermontov