Land of Scoundrels (poem)
Encyclopedia
Land of Scoundrels or Strana Negodyayev is a poem by Russian
poet Sergei Yesenin
completed in 1923. It depicts a conflict between freedom-loving anarchist rebel named Nomakh (anagram
alluding to Nestor Makhno
) and Bolshevik
commissar
Rassvetov who dreams of forcefully modernized Russia. Yesenin moved to writing the poem after bitter contemplations on Russian rebellion in drama Pugachev. Other motifs include his reflections on nature of business-driven modern United States
visited by Yesenin around the time of the poem composition.
After the publication the poem was seen as a critics of Soviet rule. Its contents could be interpreted as an apology of peasant (or "anarchist") rebellion or casting of Bolshevik order as an artificial one, imposed on the people by non-Russian commissars. Following the Land of Scoundrels Yesenin went on to bitter Moscow of Taverns finished next year and even tried to provide repentance of sorts by publication of Russia of Soviets compilation in 1925.
Contemporary commentators agree that questions posed by Yesenin in the poem more than eighty years ago still have immediate bearing for today's Russia: to what extent the Russian people is responsible for current state of affairs, whether the end of old regime was brought by peasants' love for freedom or was imposed by foreign influences; and to whom belongs the country's future.
region in 1919. The main protagonist is gangster Nomakh who is shown as a romantic rebel and anarchist hating "those getting fat on Marx". In past he held revolutionary
ideas in hopes of liberation of mankind, these aspirations (in their peasant interpretation) were close to Yesenin himself. In the poem Nomakh expresses many of own Yesenin's deep thoughts on love for rebellion and hatred for unnatural and 'un-Russian' order imposed on Russia by Bolshevik commissars. His adversary Rassvetov (from Russian "rassvet", the raise of new day) considered to be "positive" character is a commissar and his portrait is bleak and schematic comparing to character of Nomakh. Aside of their juxtaposition one character trait unifying both Nomakh and Rassvetov is their unscrupulousness. Nomakh talks of many gangs multiplying in Russia and of growing ranks of disillusioned rebels ready to kill and plunder. He is full of disregard and contempt to "sheep for whom the shepherd is nurturing knives". This is matched by Rassvetov's amorality who before revolution participated in gold trading stings on Klondike and whose paramount is his own survival. Rassvetov is convinced that fraud is acceptable as a mean to redistribute wealth from rich to poor. He dreams of "steel enema for the whole Russia" that will transform and modernize the country.
Nomakh mounts a successful raid on train passing Ural line. The poem opens with former factory worker Zamarashkin (from Russian "Zamarashka" - puny albeit likable squalid person) standing guard near the rail line. He is confronted by irate commissar Chekistov (made-up name meaning literally "Cheka
man") who engages in long diatribe telling of his contempt for Russians being lazy, insensitive and brutal savages. Zamarashkin retorts that Chekistov's real name is Leibman and even despite the fact he arrived to Russia from Weimar
he really should belong to some shtetl
in Mogilev
area. When Chekistov leaves Nomakh appears: he knows Zamarashkin personally and suggests that latter should join the band. Zamarashkin refuses so the gangsters tie him with rope then take control over the rail semaphores what allows them to stop the train. Rassvetov is on the train with gold cargo along with other commissars (named Charin and Lobok) engaged in conversation on future "americanized" Russia, suggesting that present republic "is a bluff". Nomakh raids the train plundering gold and blowing up the engine. Following the raid the pursuit after Nomakh is opened: it is headed by Rassvetov and the best bet is enlisting the detective, Chinese
communist Litza Hun. Litza Hun tracks Nomakh to an underground tavern where former white officers
, now drunkards, are smoking opium
in nostalgic dreams of the lost glory of Imperial Russia. Nomakh and other gangster named Barsuk (Russian for Badger) show contempt to their sentiments for the times past. Nomakh (followed by Litza Hun) heads to Kiev
where the detective tries to arrest him. In the final part of the poem Chekistov discovers that Nomakh has outwitted the detective and has disappeared. Nomakh hides behind the Peter the Great's portrait on the wall and (probably symbolically) surveys the scene thru Peter's eyes. One of the possible interpretations is that Yesenin is undecided whether the future belongs to anarchist rebel Nomakh (who emerges as a victor) or to cynical Rassvetov; however the point is made that likes of Chekistov, Litza Hun, along with featureless commissars Charin and Lobok, or drunk white officers, are clear losers.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
poet Sergei Yesenin
Sergei Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was a Russian lyrical poet. He was one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century but committed suicide at the age of 30...
completed in 1923. It depicts a conflict between freedom-loving anarchist rebel named Nomakh (anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
alluding to Nestor Makhno
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno or simply Daddy Makhno was a Ukrainian anarcho-communist guerrilla leader turned army commander who led an independent anarchist army in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War....
) and Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
commissar
Commissar
Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia from the time of Peter the Great.The title was used during the Provisional Government for regional heads of administration, but it is mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet...
Rassvetov who dreams of forcefully modernized Russia. Yesenin moved to writing the poem after bitter contemplations on Russian rebellion in drama Pugachev. Other motifs include his reflections on nature of business-driven modern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
visited by Yesenin around the time of the poem composition.
After the publication the poem was seen as a critics of Soviet rule. Its contents could be interpreted as an apology of peasant (or "anarchist") rebellion or casting of Bolshevik order as an artificial one, imposed on the people by non-Russian commissars. Following the Land of Scoundrels Yesenin went on to bitter Moscow of Taverns finished next year and even tried to provide repentance of sorts by publication of Russia of Soviets compilation in 1925.
Contemporary commentators agree that questions posed by Yesenin in the poem more than eighty years ago still have immediate bearing for today's Russia: to what extent the Russian people is responsible for current state of affairs, whether the end of old regime was brought by peasants' love for freedom or was imposed by foreign influences; and to whom belongs the country's future.
Synopsis
The action takes place in UralUral (region)
Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...
region in 1919. The main protagonist is gangster Nomakh who is shown as a romantic rebel and anarchist hating "those getting fat on Marx". In past he held revolutionary
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ideas in hopes of liberation of mankind, these aspirations (in their peasant interpretation) were close to Yesenin himself. In the poem Nomakh expresses many of own Yesenin's deep thoughts on love for rebellion and hatred for unnatural and 'un-Russian' order imposed on Russia by Bolshevik commissars. His adversary Rassvetov (from Russian "rassvet", the raise of new day) considered to be "positive" character is a commissar and his portrait is bleak and schematic comparing to character of Nomakh. Aside of their juxtaposition one character trait unifying both Nomakh and Rassvetov is their unscrupulousness. Nomakh talks of many gangs multiplying in Russia and of growing ranks of disillusioned rebels ready to kill and plunder. He is full of disregard and contempt to "sheep for whom the shepherd is nurturing knives". This is matched by Rassvetov's amorality who before revolution participated in gold trading stings on Klondike and whose paramount is his own survival. Rassvetov is convinced that fraud is acceptable as a mean to redistribute wealth from rich to poor. He dreams of "steel enema for the whole Russia" that will transform and modernize the country.
Nomakh mounts a successful raid on train passing Ural line. The poem opens with former factory worker Zamarashkin (from Russian "Zamarashka" - puny albeit likable squalid person) standing guard near the rail line. He is confronted by irate commissar Chekistov (made-up name meaning literally "Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
man") who engages in long diatribe telling of his contempt for Russians being lazy, insensitive and brutal savages. Zamarashkin retorts that Chekistov's real name is Leibman and even despite the fact he arrived to Russia from Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
he really should belong to some shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
area. When Chekistov leaves Nomakh appears: he knows Zamarashkin personally and suggests that latter should join the band. Zamarashkin refuses so the gangsters tie him with rope then take control over the rail semaphores what allows them to stop the train. Rassvetov is on the train with gold cargo along with other commissars (named Charin and Lobok) engaged in conversation on future "americanized" Russia, suggesting that present republic "is a bluff". Nomakh raids the train plundering gold and blowing up the engine. Following the raid the pursuit after Nomakh is opened: it is headed by Rassvetov and the best bet is enlisting the detective, Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
communist Litza Hun. Litza Hun tracks Nomakh to an underground tavern where former white officers
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, now drunkards, are smoking opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
in nostalgic dreams of the lost glory of Imperial Russia. Nomakh and other gangster named Barsuk (Russian for Badger) show contempt to their sentiments for the times past. Nomakh (followed by Litza Hun) heads to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
where the detective tries to arrest him. In the final part of the poem Chekistov discovers that Nomakh has outwitted the detective and has disappeared. Nomakh hides behind the Peter the Great's portrait on the wall and (probably symbolically) surveys the scene thru Peter's eyes. One of the possible interpretations is that Yesenin is undecided whether the future belongs to anarchist rebel Nomakh (who emerges as a victor) or to cynical Rassvetov; however the point is made that likes of Chekistov, Litza Hun, along with featureless commissars Charin and Lobok, or drunk white officers, are clear losers.