Derzhavin and the Return of the Victorious Tsar

Abstract

This article is about Derzhavin’s ode on Alexander I’s return to Russia after his victory over Napoleon. It aims to shed light on the development of Derzhavin’s panegyric poetry and thereby also on the cult of the Russian emperor. One point deserves special attention: the sacralization of the tsar. I argue that in contrast to the tradition of Russian panegyrics, Derzhavin’s ode represents Alexander not only as a successful ruler and a military hero, but also as a very pious Christian, one could even say: as a saint, which was highly unusual in Russia’s 18th and early 19th century. We shall also see how Derzhavin uses a panegyric motif borrowed from Lomonosov: the infinite space of the Russian fatherland. Finally, the article attempts to situate Derzhavin’s occasional poem in its “place in life” (“Sitz im Leben”), focussing on the specific, including the biographical circumstances under which it was created and in which it was to function. Two concluding digressions will deal with the demonization of Napoleon and the idea of human greatness in the early years of the 19th century.