How Many Monuments of “Our All” are There in the World?
Sergei Yolkin
2012
******
There are two things here that are obvious to every Russian… firstly, the observation by Grigoriev, “Pushkin was our all” (“Пушкин — наше всё”). Like all pithy aphorisms, it’s a devil to translate… there are strong overtones of “acme” and “apex” in it, there’s a sense that Pushkin has a position in Russian literature that no one can challenge. Secondly, the original Russian in the text of the cartoon above refers to “Not Made by Hands” (нерукотворный), a style of icon of the Saviour. As always, Yolkin has more than just the “obvious” meaning in mind, doesn’t he?
______________________________
According to Konstantin Kosachyov, the head of the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), the agency plans to make a list of all the monuments to the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin in foreign countries.
7 September 2012
Sergei Yolkin
RIA-Novosti
Voices from Russia 
You must be logged in to post a comment.