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Articles

Akhmatova’s Article Pushkin’s Last Fairy Tale: The History of Creation

Slepkov

Iakov V.

editor@litfact.ru

2025

Anna Akhmatova’s “Pushkin Studies ” history of creation and reception A.S. Pushkin academic Pushkin studies Pushkin Committee of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union

2026

The article is devoted to the history of the creation of the first Pushkin-related article by Anna Akhmatova, published in the journal Zvezda in 1933. The article examines the reasons that prompted Akhmatova to professionally study the problems of Pushkin’s work, including, among others, her forced poetic silence. The stages of Akhmatova’s study of Pushkin’s “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” are described in detail, and it is also mentioned who helped her in writing the study: namely, Grigory Georgievsky and Sergey Bondi advised Akhmatova on Pushkin’s manuscripts stored in Moscow, Mikhail Nikitin helped to get acquainted with the Pushkin’s protein manuscript in Leningrad, Nikolay Khardzhiev helped her to master the scientific style of writing, and Dmitry Yakubovich and Tatyana Tsyavlovskaya got her involved in the projects of the Pushkin Committee of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. The article also considers the issue of Akhmatova’s familiarization with the Pushkin’s original manuscripts. For the first time, we present Sergey Bondi’s letters to Akhmatova for 1931–1932, preserved in her personal archive at the Manuscripts department of National Library of Russia, in which he talks about Pushkin’s manuscripts and outlines the history of filling Pushkin’s notebook No. 2374. The appendix contains the Protocol of the session of the Pushkin Committee dated February 15, 1933, when Akhmatova first spoke to academic scientists, presenting them the results of her research.

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Akhmatova, “ʽSkazka o zolotom petushke’ i ʽTsar’ uvidel pred soboi…’.” [“ʽThe Tale of the Golden Cockerel’ and ʽThe King Saw Before Him’.”] Rukopisi A.S. Pushkina: Fototipicheskoe izdanie. Al’bom 1833–1835 g. Tetrad’ No. 2374 Publichnoi biblioteki SSSR im. V.I. Lenina. Kommentarii [Alexander Pushkin’s Manuscripts: A Phototypic Edition. The Album of 1833–1835. Notebook No. 2374 of the USSR Public Library Named After Vladimir Lenin. Commentary]. Moscow, Goslitizdat Publ., 1939, pp. 23–26. (In Russ.)

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Akhmatova, “Posledniaia skazka Pushkina” [“Pushkin’s Last Fairy Tale”]. Zvezda, no. 1, 1933, pp. 161–176. (In Russ.)

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12.

Georgievskii, “Pushkinskii ʽAl’bom 1833–1835 godov’.” [“Pushkin’s ʽAlbum of 1833–1835’.”] Rukopisi A.S. Pushkina: Fototipicheskoe izdanie. Al’bom 1833–1835 g. Tetrad’ No. 2374 Publichnoi biblioteki SSSR im. V.I. Lenina. Kommentarii [Alexander Pushkin’s Manuscripts: A Phototypic Edition. The Album of 1833–1835. Notebook No. 2374 of the USSR Public Library Named After Vladimir Lenin. Commentary]. Moscow, Goslitizdat Publ., 1939, pp. 7–13. (In Russ.)

13.

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14.

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15.

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16.

Glekin, V. Chto mne dano bylo… Ob Anne Akhmatovoi [What Was Given to Me... About Anna Akhmatova], comp., text prep., introd. article and comm. by N.G. Goncharova. Moscow, Azbukovnik Publ., 2015. 299 p. (In Russ.)

17.

Goncharova, G. Proza Anny Akhmatovoi: put’ k misterii [Anna Akhmatova’s Prose: The Path to Mystery]. Moscow, Vodolei Publ., 2023. 628 p. (In Russ.)

18.

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20.

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21.

Letopis’ zhizni i tvorchestva Anny 1889–1966 [The Chronicle of the Life and Work of Anna Akhmatova. 1989–1966], comp., text prep., introd. article and comm. By V.A. Chernykh. 3rd ed., rev. and enl. Moscow, Azbukovnik Publ., 2016. 943 p. (In Russ.)

22.

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24.

Mandel’shtam, N.Ia. Vospominaniia [Memories], text prep. by Iu.L. Freidin, afterword by N.V. Panchenko, author of notes and compiler of the section “Poems by O. Mandelstam” Morozov. Moscow, Kniga Publ., 1989. 479 p. (In Russ.)

25.

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26.

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27.

Oksman, G. “Iz dnevnika, kotorogo ia ne vedu” [“From a Diary I Don’t Keep”]. Vospominaniia ob Anne Akhmatovoi [Memories About Anna Akhmatova], comp. V.Ia. Vilenkin and V.A. Chernykh, comm. by A.V. Kurt and K.M. Polivanov. Moscow, Sovetskii pisatel’ Publ., 1991, pp. 640–647. (In Russ.)

28.

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29.

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30.

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32.

Rabiiants, G. “Anna Akhmatova i pushkinisty” [“Anna Akhmatova and the Pushkin Scholars”]. Pushkinskii muzeum. Al’manakh [Pushkin Museum. The Almanac], issue 2. St. Petersburg, Dorn Publ., 2000, pp. 195–197. (In Russ.)

33.

Rumiantseva, F. “Iz pis’ma k M.N. Ikonnikovoi” [“From a Letter to Maretta Ikonnikova”]. Vospominaniia ob Anne Akhmatovoi [Memories About Anna Akhmatova], comp. V.Ia. Vilenkin and V.A. Chernykh, comm. by A.V. Kurt and K.M. Polivanov. Moscow, Sovetskii pisatel’ Publ., 1991, pp. 345–347. (In Russ.)

34.

Temnenko, M. “Kriticheskaia stat’ia Akhmatovoi: obmen mistifikatsiiami ili skrytaia polemika?” [“Akhmatova’s Critical Article: Hoax Exchange or Hidden Controversy?”]. Krymskii Akhmatovskii nauchnyi sbornik [The Crimean Akhmatova Scientific Collection], issue 4. Simferopol’, Krymskii Arkhiv Publ., 2006, pp. 17–37. (In Russ.)

35.

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38.

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