The Burning Word Reflected in the Literature of the Times
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Stockholm Slavic Papers 31 Emma-Lina Löflund The first decades of the twentieth century shook Russia to the core with war, revolution, and terror. This transformation of society is The Burning Word reflected in the literature of the times. One such work is the book Neopalimaia Kupina: Stikhi o voine i revoliutsii (The Burning Bush: History and Myth in Maximilian Voloshin's Neopalimaia Kupina Poems about War and Revolution) by Maximilian Voloshin (1877– 1932). Containing poems written from 1905 to 1924, it is a work which depicts the war years and revolutionary period as one of many Emma-Lina Löflund turning points in Russian history. This dissertation shows how Word Burning The Voloshin, a poet closely affiliated with the Russian Symbolists who had a profound interest in anthroposophy and occultism, used poetry not only to document the events of his times, but also to attempt to create theurgic art which could initiate a national revival. The dissertation examines the book’s compositional history, and outlines resurrection through death as the book’s underlying model. Emma-Lina Löflund is a specialist in Russian poetry. She is affiliated with the Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch and German at Stockholm University. ISBN 978-91-7911-430-5 ISSN 0347-7002 Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch and German Doctoral Thesis in Slavic Languages at Stockholm University, Sweden 2021 The Burning Word History and Myth in Maximilian Voloshin's Neopalimaia Kupina Emma-Lina Löflund Academic dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages at Stockholm University to be publicly defended on Friday 28 May 2021 at 15.00 digitally via Zoom. Public link will be made available at https://www.su.se/slabafinety/ Abstract The book Neopalimaia Kupina: stikhi o voine i revoliutsii (The Burning Bush: Poems about War and Revolution) by Maximilian Voloshin (1877–1932) depicts the revolutionary period in Russia. This dissertation analyzes the work’s composition, showing how it was shaped and reshaped in response to the dramatic events of the first two and a half decades of the twentieth century, and how it remains open and mirrors the ongoing development of history. The revolutionary events are presented against the background of earlier turning points in Russia’s past. In addition to documenting contemporary events in poetry, Voloshin, who was closely affiliated with the Russian Symbolists and had a profound interest in anthroposophy and occultism, expressed a belief in theurgic art that could initiate a national revival. The analysis demonstrates that the poems in Neopalimaia Kupina are interconnected through a conglomeration of myths centering on transformation through death and resurrection. The poems also evoke a sense of recurrence connecting different layers of Russian history. By depicting episodes from a mythical as well as a historical perspective, the poems reflect correspondences which can be elucidated through Boris Uspensky’s semiotic model of a dual perception of time (linear and cyclical) as well as Zara Mints’ concept of neomythological texts. The analysis also considers performativity as a tool for life-creation in Voloshin’s work and connects it to his exploration of apotropaic genres: magic spells, incantations, prayers, and anthroposophical mantras. Against the backdrop of the Bolshevik takeover and the remolding of Russian society which was marked by war, terror and famine, these poems express a disbelief in the Communist utopia of the early Soviet period. Keywords: Maximilian Voloshin, Russian Symbolism, poetry, Russian Revolution, neomythological texts, performativity, anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner, theurgy, life-creation, myth-creation, semiotics. Stockholm 2021 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-191959 ISBN 978-91-7911-430-5 ISBN 978-91-7911-431-2 ISSN 0347-7002 Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch, and German Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm THE BURNING WORD Emma-Lina Löflund The Burning Word History and Myth in Maximilian Voloshin's Neopalimaia Kupina Emma-Lina Löflund ©Emma-Lina Löflund, Stockholm University 2021 ISBN print 978-91-7911-430-5 ISBN PDF 978-91-7911-431-2 ISSN 0347-7002 Cover illustration: Åke Zimmermann Bjersby The cover illustration contains images of Voloshin’s manuscripts, reproduced here with the permission of the Archive of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkinskii Dom). Printed in Sweden by Universitetsservice US-AB, Stockholm 2021 To Seva Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ ix A Note on Transliteration and Quotations ..................................................... xii Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Maximilian Voloshin: Life and Work ................................................................................ 4 Previous Scholarship ...................................................................................................... 9 Aim of the Dissertation ................................................................................................. 16 History and Myth in Neopalimaia Kupina: Some Concepts .......................................... 17 The Apocalypse and the Anthroposophical Vision of a Slavic Cultural Epoch ............. 24 Life-Creation and the Theurgic Art of the Russian Symbolists ..................................... 29 Multiple Meanings in the Title ....................................................................................... 33 Presentation of the Chapters ........................................................................................ 38 Chapter 1. The Compositional History of Neopalimaia Kupina .................... 39 The Collected Works Edition of Neopalimaia Kupina: A Synopsis ............................... 40 Laying the Foundations: Anno mundi ardentis 1915 and Demony glukhonemye ........ 49 Neopalimaia Kupina Takes Form ................................................................................. 56 Chapter 2. Neopalimaia Kupina as an Amalgamation of Myths ................... 66 The Apocalypse, the Seed, and the Resurrection of Lazarus ...................................... 67 The Burning Bush, the Phoenix, and Other Indestructible Characters ......................... 76 Chapter 3. Times of Troubles in History and Myth ....................................... 84 On the Threshold of a New Time of Troubles ............................................................... 84 Writing the Poetry of Terror: The Documentary-Protocol Style ............................... 86 Corresponding Narratives: The Victim’s Perspective .............................................. 91 Demons and Destructive Forces ............................................................................. 96 Compositional Strategies and Auto-Quotation ............................................................. 99 The Northeast Wind as a Leitmotif .......................................................................... 99 Auto-Quotation and the Theme of Famine ............................................................ 101 Compositional Mirroring ........................................................................................ 105 Correspondences and “Relabeling” ...................................................................... 106 Chapter 4. The Poet as Chronicler and Conjurer of Russian History ........ 109 The Poet as Chronicler ............................................................................................... 110 Adaptations of Historical Chronicles ..................................................................... 119 The Poet as Conjurer and Poetry as Performance ..................................................... 121 The Poet as a Prophet .......................................................................................... 126 Exploring the Power of Words ............................................................................... 130 “Drugu” and “Molitva o gorode” ............................................................................. 132 “Zakliat´e o Russkoi zemle” ................................................................................... 135 “Khvala Bogomateri” ............................................................................................. 140 “Zaklinanie (ot usobits)” ......................................................................................... 146 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 151 Bibliography ............................................................................................... 153 Sammanfattning ......................................................................................... 164 Acknowledgements Writing this dissertation has been an exciting journey, which I have been for- tunate to share with colleagues, family, and friends who have travelled along- side me. During the past six years, they have encouraged me to curiously ex- plore new territory, they have inspired me, and at times both pushed and pulled me towards my destination. This book would not have come into being with- out their support and faith in me. To my academic supervisor, Anna Ljunggren, more than anyone, I am greatly indebted. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge, for your unwa- vering and warm support, for patiently reading yet another version