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Oleksandr Pushkin

Oleksandr Serhiiovych Pushkin (1799–1837) was a russian poet and prose writer. His 1820 visit to Crimea and the works dedicated to the peninsula significantly influenced the formation of the russian imperial myth of Crimea as an "exotic southern outpost," while the poet's perception of specific Crimean cities (in particular Kerch) was superficial and ironic.

Overview

In 1820, during his journey from the Caucasus to Crimea, the first stop of Oleksandr Pushkin was Kerch. At that time the city was considered the first gateway to Crimea from the east, yet it failed to impress the poet. Pushkin expected to see the majestic ruins of the ancient Greek acropolis of Panticapaeum and the tomb of King Mithridates VI Eupator, but found only a heap of stones, a neglected ditch, and a staircase. The poet's negative impressions were limited to fishing boats and the smell of fish, about which he left critical and disappointed notes.

Pushkin's negative depiction of Kerch launched a literary fashion for other Crimean locations (in particular the Southern Coast and Bakhchysarai), while Kerch remained on the margins of tourist and literary routes for a long time. In Kerch itself, the figure of the poet evokes contradictory and ironic feelings, which manifested in the installation in 1999 of a peculiar miniature monument on the city's embankment.

Key Details / Subtopics

Pushkin's 1820 Visit to Kerch and Disappointment with Antiquity

  • First stop in Crimea: Kerch was the first city of the peninsula that the poet visited after the Caucasus.
  • Search for Panticapaeum and the tomb of Mithridates: Pushkin expected to see well-preserved ancient monuments, but found only "a heap of stones, cliffs, roughly hewn... a few steps."
  • Destruction of heritage: The decline of the ancient monuments was a consequence of the reuse of old materials by the new settlers of the russian empire to build their own dwellings (unlike the Crimean Tatars, who did not touch the ancient masonry for religious reasons).
  • Overall impression: The poet remembered Kerch as a fishing and industrial town with a strong smell of fish, which shaped a negative image of the city in literature.

Colonial Discourse and the "Poetic Atlas"

  • Pushkin's essays and poems laid the foundation for the colonial perception of Crimea in russian literature of the 19th–20th centuries (see more in the "Poetic Atlas of Crimea").
  • In his works, Crimea appeared as an exotic decoration, devoid of a deep understanding of local culture and history.

The Monument "To A. S. Pushkin from the People of Kerch" (1999) and the City's Reflection

  • Installation: In 1999, for the poet's 200th anniversary, a monument was installed on the Kerch embankment, made by a worker of the ship-repair plant (SRZ) using argon welding over two shifts.
  • Specifics: The monument is made "full-length," but its size turned out to be much smaller than the poet's actual height (160 cm), so the townspeople ironically compare it to a child's height and photograph children next to it.
  • Discussions and perception: Some perceived the tiny size of the monument as mockery and an ironic revenge of Kerch against the poet for his dismissive words about the city (especially in comparison with the tall monument to Taras Shevchenko in the park on Kirov Street), while others saw it as an expression of respect for the poet's single brief visit.
  • The 2004 theft: In 2004, the miniature monument was stolen (presumably as a souvenir), but it was soon found and returned almost undamaged.

Controversies and Open Questions

  • The people of Kerch's assessment of the poet: There is a duality in the local perception — from attempts to integrate him into the city's canonical landmarks to hidden irony and "revenge" through sculptural forms for the poet's inattention to Kerch's ancient history.