WASHINGTON, the 25th of April. ITAR-TASS correspondent Andrey Surzhanskiy.
No matter how long the current confrontation between the US and Russia might last, sooner or later sensible people will put an end to it. This conviction was voiced in his interview with ITAR-TASS by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov – an 11th generation descendant of the great Russian poet, Counselor to the Russian Minister of Culture, Doctor of Cultural Studies, the patriarch of the Lermontov family and the head of the “Lermontov’s Legacy” Association.
Last Thursday he participated in the celebration of Lermontov’s Bicentennial. The event took place at the Library of Congress and was organized by Washington’s American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation.
The entire capital’s beau monde gathered at the event venue in spite of the recently cooled down, thanks to the developments in the Ukraine, political relations between the two countries. Sergey Kislyak, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the US, laid a special emphasis on the fact that culture remains an important instrument of dialogue and mutual cooperation between people.
“Having such an event in Washington is kind of a detour from this confrontation space,” – commented Lermontov in a conversation. “We understand it very well, that no matter how long this confrontation might last, all the same there will come a moment when sensible people will unite and put an end to it.”
He speculated with regret that in the present time “there is a tendency for cultural exchanges, visits, and joint projects to go sideways.” “As far as I can see this is not publicly announced, but I know that this is the case,” – noted a descendant of the great poet. The fact that tensions between Russia and the US are increasing, in Lermontov’s words, is definitely unpleasant, but “at the same time it forces us to think about the necessity to continue” cultural exchanges. The Chairman of the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, the former Congressman James Symington also believes that the relationship crisis between the two nations sooner or later will be overcome. “My personal perspective on Russia did not change after the events in Crimea,” – emphasized he.
The Librarian of Congress James Billington, who is a recognized authority on and supporter of Russian culture, as well as the author of several books about Russia, confided to the ITAR-TASS correspondent that he bows to Lermontov’s talent. “I began studying the Russian language not with a grammar book, but by reading the works of Russian poets; Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov amongst them is a unique and outstanding figure,” – said he. “To the present day people are fascinated with to what heights he could have risen if he had lived longer.”
Billington reminded us that one of his duties as the Librarian of Congress was the selection of candidates for the title “Poet Laureate”. This title was established by an Act of Congress in 1985. The main duties of the American Poet Laureate include popularizing the love for the written word, making public appearances with lectures and readings and consulting the Library of Congress on their literature programs and general poetry acquisitions for their permanent collection. In this regard the celebration of Lermontov’s Bicentennial at the Library of Congress is not at all incidental. That evening the Library was filled with Lermontov’s poems, and Romances written on his lyricscould leave anyone indifferent.
Культурные ценности должны помочь сгладить противоречия между РФ и США
10:0525.04.2014 (обновлено: 18:39 25.04.2014)25
Вечер прошел в четверг с участием замминистра культуры РФ Григория Ивлиева. Гостями вечера стали исследователи и хранители творчества поэта, деятели российского искусства, представители образовательных и деловых кругов двух стран.
ВАШИНГТОН, 25 апр— РИА Новости, Мария Чаплыгина. Культурное наследие призвано помочь России иСША преодолеть существующие между двумя странами политические разногласия, считают участники прошедшего вБиблиотеке Конгресса вВашингтоне вечера вчесть 200-летия содня рождения М.Ю. Лермонтова.
Вечер прошел вчетверг сучастием замминистра культуры РФ Григория Ивлиева. Гостями вечера стали исследователи ихранители творчества поэта, деятели российского искусства, представители образовательных иделовых кругов двух стран.
"Сегодня мы видим, каки много веков назад, что человечество разделяет борьба заинтересы итолько ценности могут стать тем, что объединяет людей наэтой Земле",— отметил член Общественной палаты РФ, потомок итезка поэта Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов, возглавляющий Ассоциацию наследия Лермонтова.
"Сегодня именно ценности могут стать тем смыслом ицентром единения, которое хранится втворчестве Михаила Лермонтова, Фенимора Купера итворчестве тех писателей, которые… несли откровение людям",— сказал он.
По словам посла РФ вСША Сергея Кисляка, вечер стал "глотком свежего воздуха" внынешний сложный период двусторонних отношений России иСША. "Неважно, какие бы подъемы ипадения нипереживали наши двусторонние отношения… необходимо, чтобы культура по-прежнему оставалась инструментом диалога, инструментом, обогащающим людей". Посол выразил надежду, что молодое поколение американцев ироссиян будут больше знать окультуре итрадициях друг друга, азначит смогут сделать еще больше, чем нынешнее поколение, дляразвития двусторонних отношений.
"Незнание русского языка неявляется препятствием ктому, чтобы ценить слова имысли Михаила Лермонтова",— заявила всвою очередь президент организовавшего вечер Фонда aмериканo-российского культурного сотрудничества Сьюзан Лерман. "Я, каки многие вэтом зале, привержена тому, чтобы двери культурных обменов между нашими странами были открыты ипоток их был постоянным исильным",— сказала меценат, приветствуя гостей вечера. По ее словам, Лермонтов широко известен вСША ио значимости его 200-летнего юбилея свидетельствует тот факт, что его отмечают водной изсамых известных библиотек США, Библиотеке Конгресса.
РИА Новости
Cultural Values Help Smooth out Disagreements between Russia and the US
10:05 the 25th of April 2014
Last Thursday a celebratory evening with the Deputy of Russian Minister of Culture GrigoriyIvliev’s participation took place. Amongst the event guests there were the researchers and curators of the poet’s legacy, Russian cultural figures and representatives of the educational and business communities from both countries.
WASHINGTON, the 25th of April – RIA Novosti, Maria Chaplyghina. Cultural heritage is meant to help Russia and the US to overcome the existing political disagreements, as noted by the participants of the recent evening, devoted to M. Y. Lermontov’s Bicentennial. The event took place in Washington, at the Library of Congress.
The evening happened last Thursday in the presence of the Deputy of the Russian Minister of Culture GrigoriyIvliev’s. Amongst the event guests there were the researchers and curators of the poet’s legacy, Russian cultural figures and representatives of the educational and business communities from both countries.
“Nowadays we see that, just like many centuries ago, the humanity is preoccupied with fighting for different interests, and only values can be the one “medium”, which will unite people,” – said one of Russia’s ombudsmen, a descendant and name-sake of the poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, the head of the “Lermontov’s Legacy” Association.
“Today values can be the sense and the center of that same purpose of unity, which is manifested in works by Mikhail Lermontov, Fenimore Cooper and other writers, who would be bringing truth to their readers,” – said he.
According to Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador to the US, the evening became a “breath of fresh air” in the current complicated period in the Russian-American bilateral relations. “Regardless of the ups and downs, which both countries are going through in our relations… it is necessary to keep culture as the instrument of dialogue, instrument of enriching people’s hearts.” The Ambassador expressed his hope for the young Americans and Russians to learn and know more about cultures and traditions of each other, which then means they will be able to work and do more, other than the current generation of diplomats, for the development of bilateral relations.
“Not speaking the Russian language is not an obstacle to appreciation of Mikhail Lermontov’s words and thoughts,” – said in her turn Susan Lehrman, a member of the Board of Directors for the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, which was the evening’s host. “I, just as many sitting here, am very true to the belief that the doors of cultural exchange between our two countries should remain open and the flow of such exchange should stay constant and strong,” – said the philanthropist, addressing the evening’s guests. According to her Lermontov is widely known in the US and the fact that the poet’s Bicentennial is celebrated in one of the most famous American libraries, the Library of Congress, speaks for itself.
Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Lermontov at the Library ofCongress
The American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation (ARCCF) held a beautiful celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of one of Russia's most revered poets, Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov, at the Library of Congress.
James Billington hosts Lermontov celebration in DC
May 2, 2014RandianneLeyshon, special to RBTH
The bicentennial celebration of Lermontov’s life and work places emphasis on shared cultural values as a means to resolving diplomatic differences.
Vassily Igorevich Nesterenko, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation. Source: Press Photo
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, the Renaissance man, was celebrated this month, lauded not only as a poet and novelist, but also as a skilled painter, a visionary, and even a prophet. Born in 1814 and killed in a duel in 1841, Lermontov was not only recognized for his talents in his lifetime, but the strength of his work as a Romantic poet and amateur painter resulted in a legacy lasting 200 years after his birth.
The American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation (ARCCF) hosted an evening at the Library of Congress in the author’s honor. ARCCF executive director, Alexander Potemkin, emphasized a point that would be repeated throughout the evening that sharing of cultural values such as literature often acts as the “first signal of warmer times.” Cultural diplomacy was one of many factors that helped end the Cold War, said Potemkin, the last cultural attaché in the Soviet Embassy and the first cultural attaché under the new Russian Federation.
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, the Renaissance man, was celebrated this month. Source: Press PhotoLermontov’s bicentennial was a long awaited celebration, said Potemkin. He explained that exactly one hundred years after Lermontov’s death, Russia tried to celebrate this anniversary, but World War I started. A celebration was also thwarted 125 years after the author’s death when Russia was fighting World War II.
Dr. James Billington, the Librarian of Congress — who is tasked with appointing the U.S. Poet Laureate — said it was an honor to celebrate another great poet. Billington, who is also a well-known Russian scholar, spoke about the “amazing richness” in Lermontov’s poetry, which is “rhythmic in form and biting in content.”
Sergei Kislyak, ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, said that after “focusing more on things happening in our world, I came into this room feeling a breath of fresh air.”
The ambassador pointed out what a significant contribution the 26-year-old author had on Russian culture, literature, art and cinema and expressed his hopes for the upcoming cohort of Russian and American scholars.
“It’s important that the young generation of Russians and Americans know more of each others’ culture and history, and when they are running the government, they will be doing a little better with Russian and American relations.”
During his life, Lermontov’s writing was so powerful and his voice so influential that his poem about the death of Pushkin (which placed the blame on the state for the poet’s death) led to his first exile in the Caucusas. His words still hold sway over audiences today.
Known best for his novel “Hero of Our Time” and for poems such as “Death of a Poet and The Sails,” Lermontov was a multifaceted artist. To celebrate his diverse talents, a wide variety of mediums were used to honor the author. Part of the opera based on Lermontov’s poem “The Demon” was performed, along with musical renditions of several poems sung by countertenor, Terry Barber.
Vassily Nesterenko spoke about the two portraits he painted and displayed for the event: one of Lermontov and one of James Fenimore Cooper, whose books about the American frontier were often a source of literary inspiration for Lermontov.
Nesterenko spoke about Lermontov’s natural talent as a painter. Had he not died so young or focused so much on writing, Nesterenko believed that Lermontov could have gained great fame with his art alone.
Placing additional emphasis on the role of literature in bringing cultures together, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, a 6thgeneration direct descendent, said through a translator, “we see how the struggle over different interests divides human beings… And today, only in shared values can we find common interests in the words of [Lermontov] that will let us overcome our differences.”
The living Lermontov wore a Scottish tartan scarf, representing his family’s heritage before they were Russian nobles. Dr. Nikolai Zlobin, author of the bookAmerica – What a Lifeand founder of the think tank, Center on Global Interests, pointed out that not very many people are aware of Lermontov’s connection to Scotland.
“Lots of people in Russia think it is good to isolate Russian culture from outside influence,” he said. But many, if not most, great Russian writers did allow themselves to be positively influenced by other cultures, including Pushkin and Lermontov. Zlobin continued: “This event should show that a mix of culture and heritage is the best way to go.”
Potemkin added that one hundred and fifty years after the poet’s death (1964), Khrushchev stepped down, and now 200 years later when relations between Russia and America are tenuous, Potemkin was worried that once again something would inhibit the celebration.
He sees the event as a significant victory and added “I hope the great poet hears it somewhere upstairs that his anniversary was celebrated with American friends.”
Forever young, Lermontov exquisitely haunts the ages
March 25, 2014Alena Tveritina, RBTH
Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) was a man capable of stirring strong emotions – and not only with his verses.
Of the many charismatic, romantic and tragic Russian poets, Mikhail Lermontov, born 200 years ago, was among the most beloved. Yet he died at the age of 26, and was surrounded by controversy even as a child and long after his untimely death.
This month, the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation (ARCCF) celebrates Lermontov’s bicentennialat the Library of Congress on April 24with an evening of culture in his honor in the Capital.
Lermontov became famous overnight: as Russia was mourning its greatest poet Aleksandr Pushkin, who had been killed in a duel, the 22-year-old cavalry officer wrote a bold and very emotional poem,“Death of a Poet.” The work became an instant hit in St. Petersburg, as its denizens copied the verse by hand and passed it on. In the poem, Lermontov went on to assail society, effectively blaming Pushkin’s death on the authorities and the fashionable customs of the times. The official response was furious and came swiftly: The freethinking poet was arrested and exiled to the Caucasus, where a seemingly never-ending war was in progress.
Literature on the front lines: Russian writers in the Caucasus conflicts
Lermontov was dispatched to Georgia and fell in love with the place. There was no actual fighting going that he took part in, but he returned from exile full of ideas and storylines, which fed most of his best-known works that he wrote over the next couple of years.
However soon the poet attracted the authorities’ attention once again: this time by taking a part in a duel, banned in Russia at the time. An officer in the Russian Army, he was sent to the Caucasus again, this time to Chechnya, to quell the resistance of Islamic mountain tribes against Russian forces.
Lermontov showed reckless courage, ruthlessness and even a kind of malice on and off the battlefield – as those who had the misfortune to become the butt of his jokes could attest to. His mother died when Mikhail was just two years old. Scholars write that she was desperately unhappy in her marriage; some even believe that her depression may have somehow been the cause of her premature death. Lermontov’s father also had Scottish descendants, which, according to legend, hailed directly from the medieval poet Thomas Learmonth (aka Thomas the Rhymer). He was a military man who had no fortune but was popular with women.
A portrait ofMikhail YurievichLermontovbyPyotrZabolotsky, painted in 1837. Source: WikipediaAfter his wife’s death, he left his son with his wealthy mother-in-law, knowing full well that he would not be able to give his boy a decent education. The grandmother doted on her only grandson, but according to historians, that love did not quite heal the wound inflicted by the trauma of his mother’s death and father’s abandonment.
Lermontov was a very impressionable young man: he experienced his first love at the age of 10 and wrote his first serious poems at the age of 13. He himself thought that he had grown up too soon, and his poems suggest as much, but in some respects he remained a child throughout his very brief life. As a cadet at the cavalry school, he often was the soul of the party, forever coming up with pranks and jokes, not all of which were innocent.
Even when his studies were over, Lermontov’s toxic sense of fun was not. One anecdote from this era reveals how he took revenge on a young woman who had once rejected his love: Lermontov pretended that he was in love with her again, this time won her heart and then… sent an anonymous letter to her parents, where he slandered himself, which led to them denouncing her affair with him. He was very pleased with himself, and discussed it in his letters to all his friends. He did not stop there, but managed to become best man at the young woman’s wedding.
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And yet, no matter how dubious some of his pranks and behavior may have been, his talent for poetry was transcendent. Lermontov was gifted not only with words. He was also musical and was an excellent artist. He chose a military career out of convention. Besides, there was something attractive about the idea of being a hussar, who were always thought to be so daring and dashing, all the more so since Lermontov was always insecure about his looks. Which may have led to the final tragedy of his life.
During his second exile to the Caucasus, in 1841, Lermontov was on holiday in Pyatigorsk. He dueled with a former friend, a retired officer, Nikolay Martynov. The real cause of that duel would become a source of heated debate for the next century and a half. It is known that the row was sparked by Lermontov’s constant teasing of Martynov. Was there a lady involved (as one theory suggests), or was it a provocation by the tsarist secret police that wanted to destroy the freethinking poet and his espousal of personal liberty? In any case, the duel took place, and Lermontov was killed at the age of 26, and Russia lost its most promising poet.