Pushkin online lecture united Russian scholars of Kyrgyzstan
As part of the ten-day Russian language, a webinar took place on June 3 «Pushkin in isolation: the phenomenon of the Boldino autumn» by E.M. Afanasyeva, Doctor of Philology, Chief Researcher of the Laboratory of Philological Research of the State Institute of Russian Language named after. A.S. Pushkin (g. Moscow). The event was organized by the Russian Language Institute of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after the first President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin.
The Pushkin lecture brought together more than 90 students – Russian school teachers, philologists and university students from all regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. The teachers gathered at the online educational platform were greeted by the director of the Russian Language Institute KRSU M.J. Tagaev, Vice-Rector for Science of the State Institute of Russian Language named after. A.S. Pushkina M.A. Osadchy.
E.M.'s speech. Afanasyeva began with a presentation of two aspects of her attitude towards the work of the great poet: «Pushkin – our everything» (A. Grigoriev) and «My Pushkin» (M. Tsvetaeva). The first expresses the idea of Pushkin’s heritage as the cultural code of Russia, the second speaks of the involvement of almost every educated person in the poet’s work.
The lecturer’s fascinating story opened up wide horizons for the audience of A.S.’s spiritual, moral and literary searches. Pushkin, the webinar participants were immersed in the atmosphere of the Pushkin era.
The main topic of the online lecture was a significant period in the poet’s life – autumn 1830, when, due to a cholera epidemic, he was forced to stay at his Nizhny Novgorod estate Boldino. Here A.S. Pushkin completed and wrote a number of literary works: a novel in verse «Eugene Onegin», «Stories of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin», «Little Tragedies», a poem «A House in Kolomna», 32 lyrical poems, etc.
Researchers of the last century often turned to the study of the creative phenomenon of the Boldino autumn. It gained particular relevance in the spring of 2020, at the time of the declaration of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Parallelism of historical situations, noted E.M. Afanasyev, prompted Pushkin scholars to feel and study the Boldino stage of the poet’s biography more deeply. The emotional and intellectual experiences of the past year turned the attention of scientists to the works created by A.S. Pushkin in conditions of isolation, previously unknown to us and which have become an inevitable reality in the last year and a half.
Creative concentration, which allowed the poet to create many literary masterpieces in the difficult conditions of forced seclusion, inspired our contemporaries, Pushkin scholars, to use the quarantine time with maximum creative dedication. E.M. Afanasyeva spoke about large-scale cultural and educational programs implemented by the staff of the Russian Language Institute named after. A.S. Pushkin in 2020-2021: a series of webinars «Pushkin and the phenomenon of Russian classics», projects «Onegin space. Roman A.S. Pushkin in the flow of time», «Kostomarovsky Forum», etc.
At the end of the meeting, Russian teachers expressed deep gratitude to the lecturer for the opportunity to introduce a new understanding of A.S.’s work. Pushkin, who reveals to both the scientist and the common man the vital meanings of Pushkin’s great works. E.M. Afanasyeva warmly thanked her Kyrgyz colleagues and invited them to continue the scientific dialogue.
