John of Damascus (poem)
John of Damascus (Иоанн Дамаскин) is a poem by
Background
The main source for Tolstoy was the zhitie (life story) of
Tolstoy himself was critical of the poem's beginning and also its Chapter 7. In a letter to Ivan Aksakov on 31 December 1858 he wrote: "The epic side is not for me, lyricism and occasionally drama draw me away."[1]
Controversy
The poem caused controversy. The Moscow censorship committee at the request of the 3rd Department ordered the circulation of the Russkaya Beseda to be stopped for the poem to be withdrawn from the edition, which had already been printed. Evgraf Kovalevsky, the Minister of Education, issued a special order, permitting the publication[4] which outraged the head of the 3rd Department, Prince Vasily Dolgorukov. Details of this conflict were related by the latter's son N.V. Dolgorukov in one of his 1863 articles.[5]
According to biographer Dmitry Zhukov, Dolgorukov, informed of the forthcoming publication by the Interior Minister
References
- ^ a b c Yampolsky, Igor. Commentaries to John of Damascus. The Works of A.K. Tolstoy in 4 volumes. Vol.I. Poems. Moscow. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura Publishers. 1964. P. 774.
- ^ The Works of A.K. Tolstoy in 4 volumes. Vol.IV. Letter to Boleslav Markevich, 4 February 1859. P.106
- ^ Russkaya Starina, 1895, No.12, р. 212
- ^ The Central State Historical Archives. Saint Petersburg. The Main Censorship Dpt., 1859, No. 152130.
- ^ The Petersburg Sketches, 1934. Moscow, pp.178-179.
- ^ Zhukov, Dmitry. Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. P.54