Russian Tashkent in Satirical Poetry of the Early Twentieth Century

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-8297-2025-35-314-338
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/XUJVGS
УДК / UDK: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
Issue:

no. 1 (35), 2025
Author: Viktor A. Sukhanov
About the author:

Viktor A. Sukhanov, Lecturer, Department of Russian Literary Studies, National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek, University St., 4, 100174 Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0776-1104

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Abstract:

The article deals with the image of Tashkent as it appears in the Russian satirical poetry of the early 20th century. Initially, the article presents a review of sketches about Tashkent of that time made by travelers from the central part of Russia. The article emphasizes that the main feature of these works is the combination of Asian realities and features of the Russian province in the cultural image of Tashkent. Further, the comparison reveals the differences in the descriptions of Tashkent in the poems of visiting poets and Tashkent poets: while in the texts of the first category of authors there is a unity of Russian and Asian motifs, in the texts of Tashkent poets the city is portrayed as a typical Russian province. The central part of the article analyzes the poetic feuilletons of two satirical journals of the early last century, Turkestan Scorpion and Turkestan Kara-Kurt. The method of cataloging reveals the main components of the image of Tashkent of that period, which was portrayed by satirical poets (permanent residents of the city) as a provincial Russian city with minimal inclusions of Asian realities.
Keywords: Russian literature, satirical poetry, colonial literature, postcolonial discourse, orientalism, Tashkent, Central Asia.
For citation:

Sukhanov, V.A. “Russian Tashkent in Satirical Poetry of the Early 20th Century.” Literaturnyi fakt, no. 1 (35), 2025, pp. 314–338. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-8297-2025-35-314-338
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