Vergil in Russia

Abstract

Abstract This book aims to uncover the nature of the Russian reception of the greatest Roman poet, Vergil, and argues that the best way to analyse his presence in Russian letters is to view it in the context of the formation and development of Russian national and literary identity. The Russian reception of Vergil provided Russian thinkers with a means to define Russian European features. It also helped to clearly differentiate between ‘them’ and ‘us’, between Russia and Europe. The reception of Vergil in Russian literature began to play an integral role in the eighteenth century, starting with Peter the Great’s reforms, and continued to be an important point of reference for Russian writers well into the last part of the twentieth century. Vergil in Russia certainly cannot be considered in isolation from his European reception, since most Russian discourses of identity have been formed in the implied dialogue with outsiders. However, the Russian reception of Vergil offers significantly more than mere foreign importation or imitation of beliefs and attitudes towards Vergil developed in Europe. It provides a gateway to understanding Russian eighteenth- and nineteenth-century thought about national identity and values, and offers important sources of later thinking about the character and destiny of Russia. Central to the Russian reception of Vergil is Russia’s challenge to define the character and validity of its own civilization. Vergil’s poems, especially the Aeneid, offered the Russian literati an opportunity to think about and act upon national self-determination in both political and cultural terms.